James Otto : Sunset Man

Country Music Reviews

James Otto: Sunset Man

James Otto grew up listening to Def Leppard and AC/DC. Unfortunately, for someone purporting to be a Country singer, it shows.

He claims to be moving musical boundaries, playing "Country music without prejudice".

Put this CD in the player and you'll find he actually plays three Country songs and a bunch of medicore stuff from a variety of other genres.

There is a clue in the album's credits: the fingerprints of John Rich and Kenny Alphin (Big & Rich) are all over this album.  What those two have tried to do to Country music over the past few years is legend and, in my view, criminal.

Their influence explains why, no matter what Otto's label says to the contrary, this isn't a Country album by any normal measure.

"Where Angels Hang Around" - co-written by Otto and veteran Country music songwriter Monty Criswell - is beautiful, the best track on the album. It's real Country music: lyrics with meaning; vocals with feeling; Otto is brilliant here.  

And that's what makes this album so thoroughly disappointing. He can do Country; he can do Country BRILLIANTLY. So why not do COUNTRY?

The title track - "Sunset Man" - is also a Country song with great lyrics, excellent music and real emotion in every line Otto sings.

I didn't think much of "Just Got Started Lovin' You" when it was released as the lead off single from this album, but I did comment on Otto's superb vocals.

When he has Country material, and he puts his mind to it, Otto is at the top of the tree. So why does he have to spoil the whole thing with an overload of pop, rock, heavy metal and movie ballads?

"Drink & Dial" almost moves Otto back into Country rock. The 'phone dial up at the start is corny beyond belief, and the lyrics are drunk on cliches but it has echoes of Country music in it somewhere.

So to the other music on this CD: most of it is, at best, mediocre.

If you're looking for a "middle-of-the-road" rock ballad, "For You" is ideal. And, in some ways, it is the very essence of what Nashville is doing to Country music. This is a pop song, not a bad one. But they've stuck a pedal steel onto it and called it Country. It ain't, but so far as Nashville goes these days, it is.

"Ain't Gonna Stop" is a poor hard rock track - poor because it has none of the rich, harsh guitar work such a track should have and the vocals are watery for such a venture. I'll ignore the fact it has no place on a Country album.

"Damn Right" starts with promise but that lasts barely 20 seconds. This rapidly declines into mediocrity. There's no doubt this guy can sing, but, bar the lyrics, this is no Country song! It has pretensions of a bluesy power ballad. It just never gets real.

The fact is that James Otto wants to be a rock star, and he may one day, make a very fine rock star. But his heart isn't in Country music. An interview he gave was VERY telling: he grew up, he said, listening to Def Leppard and AC/DC, not bands known for their Country music success. He's really "into Cold Play, Train, Maroon 5, Ryan Adams, Jeff Buckley and Kid Rock". Again, none true Country acts.

And he lists his all time favorite singers as "Van Halen, The Rolling Stones, Donnie Hathaway, Otis Redding, The Black Crowes, and of course, Bob Seger". COUNTRY???

Combine those influences with the destructive forces that Rich and Alphin bring to Country music and you have the reason this is not a Country album.

My View: Otto could yet produce some of Country's finest modern music. He needs to ditch the jokers before he gets there though!!

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