Of course the song that made me buy this cd is The Baby. I can identify, being the baby of three in my family. This song stood out as the best thing they were playing on the country music stations on the computer.

Playboys of the Southwestern World sounds like a hit to me. It is a really interesting story and has a good sound too. I like to listen to lyrics. And I don't trust Mexico after all the stories I've heard of the Mexican authorities locking away American kids for next to nothing, and extorting money from their families to make their prison time bearable. Hey amigo, your folks send us thirty thousand or we break your arm. I don't know if it's still true. Reminds me of the song Lawyers Guns and Money. Anyway, Playboys is much more lighthearted.

I was really surprised by the last song on the cd, Someday. It sounds like I wrote it. I always think about the exact same things. It really knocked me out that the singer of my favorite current country song was singing about the things I always think and talk about.

There are a few others that are related lyrically, like the one about the guy who is dying and seeing he's "Almost Home". Even in current black music there are a few on the subject, like India Arie's song "The Truth" and Erykah Badu's song "Next Lifetime". But "Someday" gets into it a lot deeper than the last two.

Thanks to Raymond Moody's books, and all that followed, there's a lot of interest in where the hell we go after here. If you are interested, you might want to check out the best book on the subject, here on Amazon, called Journey of Souls.


This is Real Country Music   May 27, 2003
Vicki E. Rader (Mechanicsville, MD United States)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Finally, country music is beginning to sound like REAL country music again! Not to take anything away from all the current Nashville talents who are crossing over into the pop genre, but when you get the country itch, it needs a good old country scratchin'! I generally need to listen to a new CD 3 or 4 times before it grows on me...but this one was absolutely enjoyable all the way through on the first spin. No bad tracks...only good and better! We need more singers like Blake Shelton around forever! And he ain't bad to look at, either!


The Dreamer   February 16, 2003
Pam Boneysteele (Oxford, AL)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

If I only had one word for this album it would be WOW! I really didn't know if Blake could improve on his first album but he did. Some albums the songs sound alike, but on this one all the songs sound so different. I believe Blake is also able to show us his different vocal styles. He has a Travis Tritt sound on "Heavy lifting". He also sounds like he had more fun making this album, just listen to "Playboys of the Southwestern" And how can you forget the heart wrenching emotions of "The Baby". Blake sings it with such emotions, I don't think any other artist could have done it as well. In my opinion Blake is the best young country singer out there today. And this album shows how versitile he really is. I would highly suggest buying this album to anyone.


A sophmore album worthy of the first!   February 8, 2003
DanD
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

When I first heard Blake Shelton's latest hit, "The Baby," I thought to myself--Aw, no, he's gone soft! That is NOT the case. Shelton delivers his second album with a masculinity that the guys will relate to, and the girls will think is sexy. So, you see, either way you win!

To the album.

Producer Bobby Braddock has helped shape Shelton into an artist that bridges alt-country and mainstream country. The opening track, a pumping, stomping number called "Heavy Liftin'", is a perfect example of this. "My Neck of the Woods" is for the rednecks in the audience, while "The Baby" is for you sentamentalists (I'm sorry if that's spelled wrong).

"Georgia in a Jug" is about a man who's goin' on his honeymoon to Mexico alone; and the funny and off-beat "Playboys of the Southwestern World" also deals with a trip to Mexico...and a little more. The John Rich (former frontman of Lonestar)-penned "Underneath the Same Moon" is a poignant ballad of wondering where an old lover is. "Someday" questions where you go and what happens when you die.

"The Dreamer" is an autobiographical piece written by Shelton (duh, think about it for a minute) that tries to balance his fame and his life. "Asphalt Cowboy" is about a man born to run, written to the woman he loves, explaining it all.

This album will hit you. Not hard, and not bad; maybe a little pinch on the cheek, for a job well-done. "The Dreamer" is not an earth-shattering album; Blake Shelton is not a beat-all performer. But let me tell you this: he's darn good. Buy this album; if you regret your purchase, you don't like country music.


VINCE, REBA, TOBY, AND NOW BLAKE   February 14, 2003
RICH EAKER (ADA, OKLA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

OKLAHOMA JUST KEEPS ON PRODUCING GREAT COUNTRY SINGERS. BLAKE IS OBVIOUSLY THE NEXT IN A LONG LIST OF GREAT OKLAHOMA COUNTRY SINGERS. BLAKE'S FIRST RELEASE OF THE BABY IS JUST A SAMPLE OF THE GREAT SONGS ON THIS CD. BUT THIS CD NOT ONLY HAS GREAT BALLADS IT ALSO HAS SOME FAST PACED SONGS AS WELL SUCH AS PLAYBOYS OF THE SOUTHWESTERN WORLD, HEAVY LIFTIN, AND MY NECK OF THE WOODS. DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS GREAT CD.