LITTLE ROCK — Toby Keith’s latest, Clancy’s Tavern (Show Dog/Universal), is the 15th album of his now quite long and quite successful career. The album, like too many today, comes in a standard version or deluxe set that tacks on four live tracks if you are willing to pay a little more.
Clancy’s Tavern finds Keith doing more or less what he has been doing all along — there’s a patriotic anthem right at the start (“Made in the USA”) and a song about beer and heartbreak ballads. There are zero surprises and Keith isn’t aiming for a grand statement or even a new big career push. While it is more of the same from Keith, this album is terrific.
Keith has said that he has found a group of collaborators he enjoys working with (noted songwriter and sometime solo artist Bobby Pinson being one), and that he likes to work fast. In this respect, Keith is like country stars of old who would crank out as many singles as possible in order for one or two to hit the charts.
This way of working suits Keith, who seems to approach his music career the way a factory worker punches the clock. Let Kenny Chesney take years off and then come back with a depressing album that contemplates too much and has left its spirit and joy on the beach. Keith keeps plugging along, impervious to the changes and drama of Music Row. So on occasion, as with Clancy’s Tavern, he hits a mother lode of good material.
The songs take familiar subjects and gives them enough attention and slight twists to make them memorable. The title track, written by Keith and Scotty Emerick, is about Keith’s grandmother’s bar and clearly seeks to be the country answer to “Piano Man.” The details and melody are strong enough that it has a chance.
“Made in America” is already a hit and its patriotic theme will remind everybody of “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue,” the anthem written in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that features the specific placement of a boot. “Made in America” is more rousing than aggressive as it paints a picture of an old man who “pays a little more in the store for a tag in the back that says USA.”
The heartbreak of “I Need to Hear a Country Song” is nothing new, but the pace is just fast enough to keep the song moving forward. “Beers Ago,” written by Keith and Pinson, is nostalgic, funny (the line “the second runner-up of the 4H pageant” ought to earn some kind of firstplace award) and infectious as all get out. The funniest song — hands down — is “Red Solo Cup,” the ode to the ubiquitous party receptacle. Keith didn’t write it, but was smart enough to realize how big it could be. Keith is 50 now but he’ll be singing it until he quits.
Through this all, Keith’s subtle baritone gains your admiration. He is able to project the ache needed on many of these songs and still pull off the novelty tunes. He keeps growing as a singer.
And that makes sense, given the consistent dedication Keith puts into his chosen profession. It’s way too easy to take him for granted. But do that and you’ll miss a winner like Clancy’s Tavern.
Style, Pages 37 on 11/22/2011