George Strait offers up some 'Twang'

_{George Strait - Twang
© MCA Nashville}

Country superstar George Strait has released the 38th album of his career, and proves that he's still got a few tricks up his sleeve.

George Strait definitely knows what he's doing when it comes to his career. He's had a career-topping 57 number ones to his name, has sold over 67 million albums, and is releasing his 38th album, entitled simply Twang. It definitely suits his style, which is pure, traditional country music that still appeals to fans of contemporary country as well. But, while he could probably just go on auto-pilot and still put out a great album, he chose to spice things up with his latest release. Twang has the standard honky tonkers like the title cut, and ballads, like the first single, "Living for the Night," and "Beautiful Day for Goodbye," but then adds some spicey cajun fare with "Hot Grease and Zydeco," and even a traditional Mexican folk song, "El Rey," sung completely in Spanish, to create an eclectic and truly enjoyable album.

Another new addition is the fact that Strait has put pen to paper to co-write three of the tracks on Twang -- "Living for the Night," "He's Got That Something Special" and "Out of Sight Out of Mind." He wrote these with son Bubba and songwriter extraordinaire, Dean Dillon, who has penned quite a few of Strait's biggest hits over the years. Bubba was also the sole writer of the wonderfully classic Western-styled song that sounds like it could have been recorded by Marty Robbins, "Arkansas Dave." In a career that has spanned over two decades, Strait has only recorded one other song that he wrote. His first recorded composition, "I Can't See Texas from Here," was from his 1982 sophomore album, Strait from the Heart.

"My son's desire to write really inspired me," Strait says in a press release. "After writing a few songs with Bubba, I had the idea to call and see if Dean Dillon wanted to come to my ranch and write with us. He did, we had a great time, and we were able to come up with a few songs."

"Where Have I Been All My Life" is a reflective story song, where the narrator realizes that life is passing him by in a hurry, and nowadays, he finds himself agreeing more with his father, and learning about forgiveness being just as much for himself as for the other person.

"I Gotta Get to You" sounds like classic 90s Strait, while "The Breath You Take" is an emotional ballad about not letting life pass you by. "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" is a traditional steel-soaked weeper that will have folks two-stepping along in dancehalls across the country.

My choices for future singles would be: "Gotta Get to You," "Twang" and "The Breath You Take." I'm rating this album 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

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