About.com Rating
Bottom Line:
If you want an album that pays tribute to some of the best classic country tunes ever recorded, then Straight From The Heart is for you. Daryle Singletary is an artist being overlooked by radio and I think if anyone is deserving of more airplay, it's him.
little bit more modern, but the honky-tonk feeling remains. The one thing the man could count on was the bottle to drown out bad memories, but lately even wine hasn't been enough to numb the pain.
John Anderson is represented on the album, not only with a cover version of "Black Sheep," but also with guest vocals. He sings the last line: "I said wake me early, be good to my dogs, and teach my children to pray." This is a great song.
"Some Broken Hearts Never Mend," most notably by Don Williams, is about a man who wakes up missing the woman he used to be with. He tries to heal his broken heart with a late-night rendevouz with a lady willing to hold him tight but even then all he sees was his ex. He'll always love her, even though they are now apart.
"Jesus And Bartenders" is a song that's been covered by many artists (including Rebecca Lynn Howard and Sonny Burgess) but it never gets old to me. It's a wonderfully written song and I'd love to hear it released to radio and become popular with more country fans. Another song I'd love to hear on the radio is "I Still Sing This Way," which happens to be the album's first single. Record executives can try to change Daryle's image by dressing him up in leather pants or having him dance around on stage but he's still going to have his hardcore country sound so there is no point in trying to turn him into something he's not.
He wants to wait for the real country music to come back around because then he'll "be back in style" again.
"Lovin' On Back Streets" is a song that I had not previously heard. Mel Street originally recorded this song about a married man feeling guilty for cheating on his wife. "For awhile we shared the sweet affection that makes it worth the sorrow and the shame," Daryle sings. During the day the man feels like he's "suffering through hell, for the heaven darkness brings."
The last song on the disc is the classic Tammy Wynette / George Jones song "We're Gonna Hold On." Joining Daryle on the song is one of my favorite singers - Rhonda Vincent. I just love it when they sing together because their voices blend so well.
Some of the other cover songs that complete Straight From The Heart are: Buck Owens' "I've Got A Tiger By The Tail," Keith Whitley's "Miami, My Amy," and Conway Twitty's "Fifteen Years Ago." While I really enjoy the covers, I wish there could have been a few more original songs.
Song List:
- Bottle Let Me Down
- Black Sheep
- Some Broken Hearts Never Mend
- Promises
- I've Got A Tiger By The Tail
- Jesus And Bartenders
- These Days I Barely Get By
- Miami, My Amy
- I Still Sing This Way
- Lovin' On Back Streets
- Fifteen Years Ago
- We're Gonna Hold On