Clint Black – “Long Cool Woman”

Songwriters: Allan Clarke, Roger Cook, and Roger Greenaway

What’s happening in a world when Clint Black releases only the second single of his career that wasn’t written himself and it follows the first? And when is he going to give his next album a title and release it? It seems like he’s grasping at straws now to try and get back in the game. On top of that, nothing better exemplifies John Rich’s assertion that classic rock and modern country music are the exact same thing better than this cover of “Long Cool Woman” by the classic rock group The Hollies. The intro is slightly updated and sounds like something from a late 90’s alternative band, but it’s hard to fault Black for today’s radio climate and his signature twang (what I like to call his mojo) adds an element of country to the record.

Back in his review of Black’s first single, “The Strong One,” from his upcoming, untitled album, Jim Malec stated that it “has one major problem, however, in terms of commercial viability–it simply does not fit a current radio format which has, as a standard, songs jam-packed with fast-paced, hard hitting lyrical imagery.” As if Black had read that review or read the market the same way after “The Strong One” peaked in the upper 30s, this single addresses every one of those issues. “Long Cool Woman” is definitely fast-paced and if “A pair of .45’s made me open my eyes / My temperature started to rise / She was a long cool woman in a black dress” isn’t hard hitting imagery, I don’t know what it is.

Despite my apprehensions about the song being more rock than country–ignore what John Rich said–it’s still a catchy lyric with a good vocal performance by Clint Black, and we can always use more of his mojo on radio when he’s performing good material.

Listen: Clint Black – “Long Cool Woman”