From the archives: George Strait Troubadour review

OK, with this weed remembering the deaths of Diego and Paul, I need something a little more upbeat. So here's a review I made of George Strait's latest CD - Troubadour. George Strait is my favorite singer, by the way.



Thursday, April 03, 2008
Review of George Strait’s Troubadour Current mood: excited Category: Music
Well, I bought George Strait’s new CD, Troubadour, on Tuesday. I would have to give the CD an A. I had heard from the George Strait Fan Club that it was a really great CD, and I think that caused my expectations to be too high at first, but after listening to the CD a second time, I love it! It’s hard to top his last stuido CD, It Just Comes Natural, and I’m not sure yet if this will, but it’s very good. It’s a very diverse CD, with songs reminiscient of songs throughout George’s career. The title track, which I first heard at King George’s concert last Friday, is very good.

My favorites are the Western Swing songs ’Make Her Fall in Love With Me Song’ and the duet with Dean Dillon ’West Texas Town’. They’re both a lot of fun. I’m not always the biggest fan of George’s duets - even though I love Alan Jackson and Kenny Chesney - they just aren’t usually my favorite songs. But West Texas Town is, and I think it’ll be a hit if he releases it. It’s only about a minute, forty-five seconds, so it’s kind of short.

Brothers of the Highway and River of Love are also a lot of fun and a little different from most Strait songs. This CD definitely displays all the different styles of Strait songs. House of Cash is one of those duets I talked about before. I love Patty Loveless, but I’m not the biggest fan of this song. It’s just not my favorite, but it is a good song and George sings it well.
I’ve heard a national reviewer say that such formulaic songs as ’I Saw God Today’ are beneath George. Maybe it is a bit formulaic, but it’s such a great song with a great message, and George sings it so well that who cares.

The other songs on the album are good too, but I imagine the releases from the album will be among those I’ve written about. It’s a great album and it’s amazing that George Strait continues to put out such quality during his third decade as a singer. Simply amazing!

3:02 PM

From the archives: George Strait Concert Review

I've got to see many George Strait concerts over the years. He is definitely my favorite singer. I just love almost every one of his songs. He could go on and sing for 4 hours and still have PLENTY of songs he wouldn't have played that I would have liked.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008
George Strait Concert Review Current mood: calm Category: Music
Last Friday night, March 28th, I got to see George Strait. It was a fantastic concert. I had a lot of fun.

My friend Jennifer invited me to go to the concert with her and some friends. I gladly accepted. The tickets were only $35. When my mom and I were thinking of going to see George Strait in Fresno, by the time she was able to call them, they only had nosebleed seats left and they were still $70. So we passed. These were nosebleeds to, but for only $35, I’ll gladly take it.

I went with Jennifer, our friend Chris, and two other friends of Jennifer’s. Chris isn’t much of a country fan, but someone else canceled, so he went.
This was at least my tenth George Strait concert (let’s see, about three at least before going to school - one in SLC, one George Strait Country Music Festival in Provo (that was probably the weirdest GS concert - no beer or cigarettes - it was great), one other festival in Las Vegas, one concert in Sacramento, one at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, and this one at Oakland’s Oracle Arena. I’m sure there are two other ones I haven’t accounted for here. Anyway, the GSCMF concerts were actually a low point for George. They had gotten boring, especially compared to Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney. He played a lot of other people’s old school country, and it just wasn’t that exciting any more. The concert in Sacramento, when I went with my sister and her friends changed all of that. He now plays a LOT of his own songs. It’s cool. And the last three concerts have had a different mix of songs. He’ll always sing Amarillo By Morning, end the main concert with Unwound, and end the encore with The Cowboy Rides Away, but most of the other songs were either different, or not as often heard as those ones. He didn’t even sing one of my least favorite songs, which I’ve heard at EVERY concert for years, Milk Cow Blues. I was a little shocked at that.

The concert was great. GS seemed to enjoy himself and so did we. Even Chris seemed to enjoy himself, especially making cat calls and yee haws. I did get beer or something pouring down my back. The people behind me had dropped it. I didn’t realize it right away, and they didn’t acknowledge it at all. It was annoying, but it wasn’t too bad. It quickly dried enough that I was able to enjoy the concert. I had kind of expected to hear some more of his songs from the 80s and early 90s, to tell you the truth, but this concert seemed to be heavier on songs from the last ten years. Man, I could easily listen to a ten hour concert from him. With breaks, of course, but man, he has so many songs he could sing!

George Strait doesn’t move around the stage much, but his music moves for me. I guess that’s why I enjoy his concerts for me. I always get a little sad when I start to hear Unwound, knowing the concert’s almost over. And then when I hear the Cowboy Rides Away, I get prepared to say goodbye to George until next time. See you next trip!




[New] Link to review: http://www.ibabuzz.com/concerts/2008/03/29/george-strait-is-king-of-country-in-oakland/