CD Review: Country Sunshine - Bruce Robison
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In "Bed of Ashes," the ashes represent remnants from an old fiery flame that left him in the dust. It has been so long since they had a happy moment he can only feel pain instead of remembering the good time they shared.
"Blame it on Me" is a slow that is also about a breakup, only this time he knows what she is about to do before she does it. Before she says anything, he lets her know that he was never any good enough for her in the first place and it's his fault she wants to go. . "I am too rough, I work too hard, I got no cool friends, I drive an old car. I'm not the picture of anyone's dreams," he says in one verse. A song that I think is just as excellent as their last one together ("Angry All The Time"); "Friendless Marriage" is a tune that reminds me of the old Loretta Lynn/Conway Twitty type of duet in that it is not very lovey-dovey and focuses on more of the bottom side of a marriage. The woman sings about the man not trying to save their home, while the man reflects on how their love used to be wild and free. He says she is always sad and never smiles, and she is complaining about how when she cries her husband never comforts her and tries to make her feel better. The only reason they are staying together is because they share a child. "What Would Willie Do" is the first single release from "Country Sunshine," and it shows a little bit of Bruce's humorous side. The whole song is about Bruce wondering what Willie Nelson does when life gets a little too hard. He reminds us of a story that Willie forgave his ex-wife when she sewed him into bed after he passed out in it, how the IRS took all of his belongings and he went out and performed another show like nothing happened. Alot of people look up to Willie like some sort of major idol and so this is a humorous take on the "WWJD" phrase (What Would Jesus Do?). Looking solely at the lyrics of "Sixteen," I was reminded of the situation in the Garth Brooks song "That Summer," but this song is a little bit deeper in the sense of emotion. The question that rings throughout is "Who was using whom?" Was it the older divorced woman that wanted folks to see her with a younger man or was it the young man that wanted his friends to see him with an older woman so they would think he was more experience that he actually was? "It was nearly right, but not near enough to bring to light but where you wonder who was using who." I was ecstatic to learn that "Tonight" is on this album. When I first heard it on Charlie Robison's "Step Right Up" album it instantly became my favorite. Bruce's version has some lyric changes but the entire feeling is there, only in a different way than his brother's recording. This has to be one of the best songs I have ever heard; I just love it so much and I hope that either he or Charlie releases it as a single so that everyone can be lucky enough to hear it on the radio. Bruce Robison seems to be the opposite of Charlie Robison musically. While Bruce's focus seems to be more on writing beautiful songs and singing calm, laid back tunes, Charlie seems to be a little more on the raucous/rowdy side. Both are very talented siblings and the contrast is very nice between the two. Bruce's wife, Kelly Willis, is also talented and when they both sing together you can hear something magical. This is a great album for anything that likes real country music. Song List:
MP3 Clips courtesy of Bruce Robison's Official Site.
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