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Album Review: Toby Keith, "White Trash With Money" (Show Dog Nashville)
The name of Toby Keith 's 2003 album was "Shock'n Y'all." The cowboy crooner, however, should have saved that awkward title for his newest release--because it's shockingly good.
Keith is responsible for some of the most mediocre and empty-headed country anthems in recent history. Yet, it's hard not to be reminded of some all-time great musicians while listening to "White Trash With Money," which marks a true first for Keith.
The CD opens with "Get Drunk and Be Somebody," which is a sudsy party tune that sounds right out of the Jimmy Buffett songbook. The vocalist then seems to be channeling Dwight Yoakam, circa 1993's "This Time," on the cool honky-tonker "A Little Too Late."
The most impressive song in the collection is the convincingly tender and complex "Crash Here Tonight," in which Keith wrestles with his mixed emotions for a woman. Indeed, it's a track worthy of the great Merle Haggard--a comparison that is not tossed around lightly. In this critic's book, there's no greater compliment that can be given to a country singer.
"White Trash With Money" is Keith's best record to date, by at least a country mile. It's so good that it could even make fans out of the Dixie Chicks.
