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 John Michael Montgomery is one of Country Music's almost forgotten gems - and with good grace - he'll soon be right back where he belongs, at the top of the tree!
He has a couple of things that so many of today's artists don't:
He can sing: by which I mean, hold a note, sing in tune, put emotion into his vocals;
He has (mainly) superb taste in material: he gets songs that work much in the way George Strait does.
Every album - I find - has a highlight, and what fascinates me is that you can play the album to a dozen folks and each on will likely choose a different song as their "favorite". I had to wait to the last three tracks to find mine on "Time Flies". "Drunkard's Prayer" is the highlight of "Time Flies".
First, because it chimes with me and my past life. But more because Montgomery has the skill to sing and old-fashioned Country song with feeling and authenticity. This has to be one of his finest performances and one of the finest songs he's ever recorded.
It's closely followed by "All In A Day": wonderful spoken intro, brilliant lyrics and vocals to die for. It is criminal that this guy isn't a superstar, he outclasses so much of the factory music fodder we're served up by Nashville. And JMM closes with "Brothers Till The End", a delightful old-style song which tells of days gone by, but not that long ago!
JMM WAS known for his humorous songs. And he doesn't disappoint here when he launches into "With My Shirt On". As a slightly-beyond-middle-aged man, I know where JMM's coming from in the lyrics. This is superb Country music - old style whining pedal-steels, fiddles weaving in and out of the melody a steady backbeat. Of course, that'll leave it outside the censorious remit of the lackey-like "Country" radio stations.
In his previous successful period, JMM was one of Country music's finest balladeer's and "If You Ever Went Away" shows exactly why. Montgomery can even half-speak a line and make it sound like he's talking to YOU rather than millions of radio listeners. He uses his vocal skills to the full on this, the album's second single which, to my surprise, barely made a showing on the charts.
Sadly the arrangement of "Let's Get Lost" drowns out the recording's finest asset - Montgomery's superb singing. Even so, this also shows the guy has lost none of his skill. On "Forever" he goes a little over the top - perhaps with an eye on the crossover market. But his singing is as good as ever.
"Loving And Letting Go" is a fairly straightforward ballad, and the lyrics of "Fly On" are tortured to the point of agony. All nice gentle background music.
"What Did I Do" is upbeat Country music with a strong backbeat and Montgomery's delivery perfect as usual. The guy has the knack of putting feeling into songs - even "funny songs". The humor here's a little weak - it's good-old-boy stuff , and it doesn't sit well in the 21st Century.
The album, Montgomery and his label are ALL let down by ONE HUGE ERROR of judgement: The inclusion of a song called "Mad Cowboy Disease". It was put out in March, as the album's lead off single. Unsurprisingly, it bombed.
Back then, I wrote: "John Michael Montgomery must be one of the most insensitive guys on this earth. The bosses at his label and the writers of this song come a very close second.
"If ANYONE ANYWHERE thinks that making a joke based on bovine spongiform encephalopathy (that's MAD COW DISEASE) is funny, they have a very sick and twisted sense of humor. Draw your own conclusions about John Michael Montgomery!
"It's no joke when a disease you have no control over wipes out your herd. I know: I've seen, first hand, how it affects farmers and ranchers. It's not just the cattle that are destroyed: it's the cattlemen, their families, their income, the whole nine yards.
"Montgomery might JUST have got away with this if the lyrics were funny. They are NOT! He may yet deny any connection to Mad Cow Disease. Only a fool would try that. The title is a play on words used because, right now, it's topical in the USA.
"He should hang his head in shame, and so too should his label."
I stand by every word.
So: this album is a welcome relief from the trash which Nashville is bent on pushing at us. Much of it is laid back balladeering which JMM does so well. But if you don't like that kind of music, persist.
My View: The last three tracks make this album great value for money!
What do YOU think?? Tell us here!
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