Troubadour

George Strait

By Rob Greenwell

George Strait: What can you say about the man that hasn't already been said? He is perhaps the greatest country singer to ever stand before a microphone (with absolutely no disrespect to any of the greats of the past).

His latest album is called Troubadour, a decent project that has good songs and a pre-requisite smash hit. While George is great enough to sing the phone book and people will flock to buy his records, he normally does have one that stands head and shoulders about the rest.

The song I am referring to is "I Saw God Today," a song that primarily talks about a man being there for the birth of his daughter. He leaves the hospital to take a coffee break after being with her for 18 hours. During his break he realizes when he sees a flower in the middle of the cracks of concrete that God is all around us, we just don't normally look around to see his wondrous works. This song stands up to any of his classics; it may be his best song in the last 10 years.

The rest of this CD is solid, filled with the typical pain-filled emotion with which he can so masterfully wrench your heart. "House with No Doors" is a perfect example of George's ability to make you feel the pain of the song's heartbreak. There is also a song in this record that almost seems biographical - the title track tells the story of an old guy still hanging in there with the young bucks after all these years.

To be totally honest with you, this project would probably forgotten if it wasn't for "I Saw God Today." The rest of the songs don't match up, but that one song is well worth the price of admission. It goes to prove to you that after all these years this old guy is still running (and still winning) with these young bucks around.

The old buck can be found at www.georgestrait.com.