Charlie Robison - Good Times

Charlie Robison
Good Times

(Dualtone)

First Appeared in The Music Box, October 2004, Volume 11, #10

Written by T.J. Simon

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Hailing from Bandera, Texas, Charlie Robison is a singer-songwriter with a voice like Jimmy Buffett and a lighthearted songwriting style that recalls both John Prine and Todd Snider. He is the brother of Bruce Robison and the husband of Dixie Chick Emily Robison, and on his previous studio albums, he left a mark as a purveyor of impressive country tunes, all of which were frequently accompanied by well-played, but never showy, instrumentation.

Robison’s fourth effort Good Times is better than most mainstream country offerings, but it never quite rises to the level of his most recent records. The best track on the album is the title cut, which cops Prine’s mannerisms by merging fun, lyrical wordplay with a solid guitar and piano arrangement. Elsewhere, the liquor-soaked Something in the Water is a memorable tune in the tradition of Little Feat, while Love Means Never Having to Say You’re Hungry is a large-band blues number that just as easily could have been penned by fellow Texan Lyle Lovett. In other words, Good Times succeeds every time Robison approaches the songs from a clever and humourous perspective. Unfortunately, the converse is also true, and the album suffers whenever Robison gets too serious. His own slow songs (Always and Photograph) prove to be exercises in ho-hum mediocrity, and the ballads written by others (Keith Gattis’ Big City Blues and Waylon Payne’s The Bottom) are poor choices that don’t fare much better.

If it’s any consolation, Robison did assemble a credible group of musicians to support his efforts, and their collective contributions keep Good Times from faltering further. In particular, Chip Dolan’s Tex-Mex accordion on Flatland Boogie serves as an effective example of Robison’s ear for selecting good backing talent. Even so, while there’s nothing to abhor on the outing, the album does fail to live up to the high standards Robison previously established for himself with his superb efforts Life of the Party and Step Right Up. starstarstar

Good Times is available
from Barnes & Noble. To order, Click Here!

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Ratings

1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

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Copyright © 2004 The Music Box