Who would have thought that a string of clichés -- hit the wall, face the fact, deal, don't hold your breath, born to run -- could become the bones of a ballad about surviving a broken heart? "Walk It Off" (written with longtime collaborator Scotty Emerick) is not atypical of Toby Keith's work. The man does know his way around the lyrics of love and is willing to show his tender side.
Interestingly, the greater world (i.e., folks who don't regularly follow country) probably know Keith best for 2002's "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)," his rabble-rousing response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks -- and the subsequent he-said, she-said feud with Dixie Chicks' lead singer Natalie Maines.
His latest album is a mix of "attitude" songs and love songs. The title track is rock 'n' roll and, yes, a bit sexist: If your girl starts acting like she's one of a kind/ You grab the next one standing in line.
That's what you get with Keith. "High Maintenance Woman" is the maintenance man with an attitude, longing for the rich lady. On the other hand, "I Know She Hung the Moon," is a sweet one, about a guy who's out with the belle of the ball and knows that she's going home with no one but him.
Keith and Bobby Pinson teamed up for the pounding West Texas oil field song "Pump Jack," and he worked with Craig Wiseman on "Hit It," about a pool-shark honey and a bottle of Jack Daniels. Then it's on to Fred Eaglesmith's 1996 "White Rose," a gentle ode to a long-gone gas station in a little town somewhere.
Whatever it is you like about Toby Keith, you'll find it here.
Toby Keith's in Toby Keith mode for "High Maintenance Woman", the first track from his next album which is slated for a June release.
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