Cowboys and Dreamers is a George Strait record.
I considered ending the review there. Say no more.
It’s been a month since the release of this album, and I’ve been making the most of it. I’ve listened to it in my house, on the road, at the beach, even over in Europe.
I wouldn’t say that George Strait needed practice being a great recording artist. That debut album Strait Country already reached greatness. But, the crazy thing about George Strait is that his talent hasn’t diminished in the slightest. His singing on Cowboys and Dreamers is as good as ever.
Cowboys and Dreams produced by Ainlay & Brown
This 31st album maintains the same Strait production quality standard. Chuck Ainlay returns, but also back is longtime, legendary producer Tony Brown, who last produced George Strait 11 years ago —the album Love Is Everything.
Great songs? Oh, there are quite a few on Cowboys and Dreamers. The title track by the late Keith Gattis was also written by Jessie Jo Dillon and Bubba Strait. It gives me hope that there are still great country songs being written almost a quarter of the way through the 21st century. It’s also great that it represents a new generation of great writers, who happen to have very talented parents.
“MIA down in MIA,” by Adam Craig and Dean Dillon is a pure escapism anthem. Beaches are those rare places where reality meets your wildest expectations.
“Wish I Could Say” by the late Keith Gattis is a story most men have lived. It’s pure country storytelling.
Strait sings Braddock again
I was excited to see a Bobby Braddock song, and I consider Braddock one of the greats in songwriting. His song “Calling From The Car” feels like it was tailor-made for George Strait. You may recall Strait previously recorded Bobby Braddock’s song “She Told Me So,” but that song went way back to the 1970s when George Jones recorded it.
Speaking of old songs, Strait does a stellar cover of fellow Texas troubadour Waylon Jennings song “Waymore’s Blues” (co-written by Jerry McGill who used the pen name Curtis Buck.) I’ve said it before, but I’d be thrilled if George Strait did a whole album of classic country songs, from the 1940s through the 1970s.
Strait is unafraid to sing atypical songs
You have to have place on your album for songs that aren’t necessarily hits, but for some people those songs will mean everything. I talked with Dean Dillon about just that. That’s a good description for “The Book,” which is a very interesting song. It’s also cool because the song was written by two fathers, each with one of their children credited as co-writers: George Strait and Bubba Strait, along with Dean Dillon and Jessie Jo Dillon. The circle continues to go around, if you know what I mean.
“The Little Things,” written by Monty Criswell, George Strait and Bubba Strait, is a song about the little things, which as you age, you come to see so clearly, are the big things.
Well, that’s all I’ve got. I hope you have a good one. Make times for the little things, like listening to music, for example, this latest one from King George.
Thanks for listening. Until next time.
