Down by The Ol’ Mainstream has been a not-too occasional feature here on the Knob.  My goal is to spotlight worthy releases that have a bit more polish to them than the normal music I blab about.

Every so often, I hear a tune that reminds me of how much I loved Country radio back in the mid-nineties. I’m not ashamed to admit it, I think Tim McGraw’s first album was good. Mark Chestnutt and Tracy Byrd were going platinum while wearing faded Wranglers and not concerning themselves with what stylists and label reps were likely trying to get them to do in order to make them look like what Tim McGraw looks like now. George Strait and Alan Jackson had yet to switch to auto-pilot, Dwight Yoakam was too big to play in even the bigger honky-tonks, and The Maverick’s weren’t merely a critical darling, but an in-arguably commercially successful band with multiple ACM and CMA awards for group honors, a trophy that now comically and repeatedly goes to Rascal Flatts. Sure, there was a good bit of slick and hokey fluff back then, but you could listen to the radio all day at work or whe you were out driving around and not feel like you were selling your soul or having your brain sucked out of your head (for the most part).

One of the guys I really liked back then was Daryle Singletary. He had some solid tunes that ended up being pretty successful for him. “Let Her Lie” and “Amen Kind of Love” were songs that really showcased Singletary’s rich baritone and also, would likely never touch the charts in today’s world of vapid chart-toppers. After listening to Singletary’s new album, Rockin’ In the Country (E1 Music), it’s with a bittersweet feeling that I report that Daryle Singletary hasn’t changed much. I really mean that as a good thing, as the new disc is an easy listen and brings back pleasant memories of seeing George Strait at Texas Stadium in ’96 with a bill that included Alan Jackson, Faith Hill (before her pop-diva status become confirmed), Rick Trevino, Junior Brown and Lari White. The bitterness of listening to this disc comes from the fact that the album-buying, radio-listening public has passed Singletary by. Again, that’s not a bad thing, if the goal is creating an album that is a true reflection of yourself as an artist. If the goal is commercial success, that’s not likely in this case. For me, it’s not so much that the album is some amazing, buzz-worthy disc that will help Singletary reclaim his spot on the charts by ushering in a new era of neo-traditionalists on Music Row, because I dont feel that will happen in this case, at least. It’s really the way that album makes me feel about how things used to be, compared to how they are now that hits home with me.

Songs like the title track, along with ”That’s Why God Made Me”, The Verne Gosdin staple ”How Can I Believe in You” and “Love You With the Lights On” – that song is a tad on the creepy side, but it sounds real nice- are what used to be called “neo-traditional”, and now sadly, are more likely to be called “dated” or perhaps more complimentary, “retro”, by your fans of current Country radio.

It’s not the best Country disc of the year – far from it - and the album will not end up on many “best of” lists for 2009, however, there is something to be said for making quality music and being true to ones self as an artist. Thankfully, Singletary employed the notion of creating something with actual meat on it’s bones and even some playfulness thrown in. He didn’t take the approach of forcing some feeble, desperate and slick comeback where the result ends up being more shameful than noble.