George Strait – “Troubadour”

It’s an okay song melody-wise, but it’s not a single in my book. Probably the weakest single the King has put out in years. There are many more worthy songs on the album. Vanity project?

And you are??…… A loser?! These are two of the best songwriters in the business (I think they know how to write a song better than you or me) and the KING of country music. Some people call him the best A & R guy in the business. If you don’t know what that means, you have no place to comment on any song.
As for “Brady” not comprehending the lyric; #1: Go read a book…. one about Jesse James. That should clear that up for you.
#2: Don’t try to couple lines together and thoughts together that don’t go together, bonehead.
Who made you a critic anyway? The critics are the millions of fans who bought Troubadour. Now they are calling radio and asking for it… radio is playing it. “Joe Jukebox” with a copy of it in his truck on the way home from Wal*Mart will decide (much better than you!) whether or not this song speaks to him.

I love this song. I cannot believe you gave this a thhumbs down but his album review was well received. I guess not everyone is suited for the King.

“Strait will eventually sell one million copies of this record (at least to stores) but to say millions have bought the record is just foolish. It’s not a great stance to make an argument.”

And no matter how many copies it sells or doesn’t sell, that does not attest to its quality. A lot of crap music sells millions of copies, especially these days, and a lot of really good music goes unnoticed.

For the record, I do like this song. It’s not Strait’s best single ever, but I wouldn’t have given it a thumbs-down. I like the whole album. The best track is the duet with Patty Loveless, “House of Cash.”

Razor X, that was my point: that we can’t judge ‘worth’ of a song based on sales.

Brady: I think it’s human nature. Some (most?) only look for the rating. A sad, but true, practice.

“Does anyone disagree with what’s written in the review or is the rating the only thing anyone pays attention to?”

To be perfectly honest, “Troubadour” is not one of the stand-out tracks on the album, so it’s not one that I really focused much on. I’m vaguely familiar with the lyrics but not familiar enough to really weigh in on whether I agree with your opinion or not. Nothing in the lyrics really stood out as particularly good or particularly bad.

I do look at more than just the rating — I agreed totally with the recent reviews of the Jessica Simpson single and the Alan Jackson single a little while back.

“So you’d give the song a thumbs up without taking a critical look at the lyrics?”

Not if I was actually writing a review of it.

To David: “Who made you a critic?”. The tons and tons of readers who make a point to click on this site every day, even multiple times a day…thats who makes Brady, Brody, Jim, Matt, and Ben “critics”. You also came to this site and read the review, Bonehead, so you actually help make him a critic as well. I have said it before, if you think “critics” are pointless and only think they serve a purpose when you agree with them, stop reading freaking blogs and websites that feature crtiques and evaluations of music and the artists that create the music.

“Razor X, so are you saying that the song might actually warrant a thumbs down if you were to take a critical look at it?”

I really don’t know. It’s hard to say when the only choices are “thumbs up” or “thumbs down”. If singles were rated with stars like albums, it would be much easier, because then I’d just knock it down a star for having weak lyrics. Since I don’t intensely dislike the song, I probably wouldn’t give it a thumbs down.

Why do the singles have a different ratings system from the albums, anyway?

Brady,

I disagree with portions of the review. The main part saying that there is no substance to the lyrics. George’s last single may have had too much substance where as this one may not have enough. There is no middle ground and that could be what may be leaving a bit of a tart taste to Troubador … but you are right about if anyone else sang this song, it would sound like a regret.

As a strait fan the single is just okay. It is one of the tracks I like on the cd. I probably won’t have given it a thumbs up or down. Just in the middle.

I agree with you here, Brady. I think this is just a boring, slow song with lyrics that go nowhere, and the line about the mirror just sticks out like a sore thumb (I also hate it when they use a word again, instead of coming up with another word that rhymes with it.) And whatever happened to Leslie Satcher? She used to be a good writer, but her last few contributions (including For These Times by Martina) have been dreck.

Smittian,

There is a fundamental difference between people with keyboards and Brady–credentials aside. That difference is that every day (or roundabouts) Brady’s criticism (positive or negative) is vetted by the public. Every review he writes has an effect on his professional reputation, and that people regularly read his work (and trust me, many people read his work) speaks to the fact that while his writing might be centered around an “opinion” it a noteworthy opinion, whether you would care to agree or not.

You could certainly go and start your own blog and start writing reviews, but I believe the average blog has a total readership of three people. So if you want to be read by tens of thousands of people, like Brady is, you’re going to need to:

A) be a very good writer
B) have an incredible amount of knowledge about what you’re writing about
C) have a unique perspective on your subject

You’re also going to need to work hard to build relationships in the industry so that you have access to music and artists; you’re going to need to be consistent and consistently engaging; and you’re going to need to offer something that doesn’t already exist in the marketplace.

We do that here. No one–and I mean NO one–covers mainstream country music with as much honesty and candor as we do.

Now, it is not unexpected that people will post comments here decrying our relevance or our credibility; alas, that is the nature of New Media.

That’s ok. The interactivity is one of the reasons I love this medium. Do you know that I occasionally turn down print jobs (i.e. writing reviews for print publications) because I get paid more, and have a wider readership, when I write for The 9513?

Indeed, there are big differences between “guys with keyboards” and music critics.

This whole discussion makes me think of something Simon said once, referring to an AI contestant who played the “your opinion” card: “Yes, it may be just one opinion, but it happens to be a very well-informed and important opinion.”

If your blog averages 12 readers per day, it is significantly under-appreciated.

I must disagree with your rating of this song. The song is a very easy listen and the lyrics are on point. The selection and timing of this song and album are almost poetic as (this almost kills me to say) the King is getting older and I fear he is near the end of his music journey. I believe George has realized he is no spring chicken and is comming to terms with it. While George is no song writer he does select music that speaks to him as well as songs based on their hit making ability. As for your loss in the lyric composition, it is done in away that would follow reflective thought. Feeling 25 and reflection in a mirror are not the same thing. Once can feel their youth and realize that who they are now is not a reflection of the person they once were. I am sorry the song did not follow your logic, however, I would have to say the song is darn near perfect. I do agree that had this been any other artist its meaning would not be as profound.

He still “feels” 25.

That does not conflict with the assertion that the mirror doesn’t show the whole truth. The mirror shows an old man.

He doesn’t say, “I still ‘look’ 25.”

The reference to Jesse James is saying, no matter what he does he will still be who he is. Jesse tried to go straight and could not. That’s all it means. As far as the thumbs down review goes, he flat out does not get the song. He rode in on a song and he leave the same way he came in. I’m a George Strait fan and to me this is signature Strait and one of his best if not his best. I am a professional songwriter and “I get” the whole lyric unlike Brady. Sorry Brady, You missed this one.

Oh fer cryin out loud… just listen to him! It’s the interpretation that makes the song. Without the words there’s no song. “Troubadour” is awesome, George made it so. That song tore me up when I first heard it. I knew what he was feeling. The video confirmed it. “River of Love” just became George’s 57th single, and he will be 57 next month. He lets his music do his talkin’ and his fans are just fine with that. I don’t need any self made critics telling me what a good song is, pickin it apart. I know what I love. Next album.. he’s recording it right now, and I can hardly wait… a n t i c i p a t i o n.