One Emotion (CD - 1994)

Personnel: Clint Black (vocals, acoustic, electric & 12-string guitars, harmonica); Hayden Nicholas (acoustic, electric & baritone guitars, electric sitar); Martin Young, Biff Watson (acoustic guitar); Dann Huff, Brent Mason (electric guitar); Jeff Peterson (steel guitar, dobro); Aubrey Haynie (fiddle); Dane Bryant (piano); Jake Willemain, Glenn Worf (bass); Dick Gay, Eddie Bayer (drums); Thom Flora, John Wesley Ryles, Curtis Young (background vocals).

One Emotion continued Clint Black's streak of uneven albums, featuring a handful of exemplary tracks, including the Merle Haggard collaboration "Untanglin' My Mind," but just as many mediocre songs, like "You Made Me Feel," which was written with Michael McDonald. Nothing on One Emotion is particularly bad, but it doesn't sound like Black is pushing himself into new territories, either. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

From the soulful, country-pop title track of ONE EMOTION to the fiddle-driven hoe-down "You Walked By," Clint delivers more of an assortment of feelings than the one-dimensional statement of the album's title might imply.

Although Black is a first-rate songwriter, two highlights were co-written with other superstars. "Untanglin' My Mind" was written with Clint's idol, country legend, Merle Haggard. With its whiney steel guitar and plaintive lyrics, it is country at its most traditional. On the other hand, "Almost A Lifetime," written with Michael McDonald, is a country/pop/jazz hybrid which also serves as an excellent showcase for Black's versatile vocal prowess.

Clint Black has one of the most powerful, emotive voices in country music, and with his long-time collaborator, Hayden Nicholas, he constructs well-honed trad-country and pop-country songs which never stray too far from the winning style made so popular with his breakthrough KILLIN' TIME.

Whether he's singing about the power of love in "You Made Me Feel," the exasperation of ending a relationship, "If anyone should ask...tell them you drove me crazy," or aging in "Life Gets Away," Clint Black has effectively created a full-blown document of his life and ALL the emotions that make up the broad base of country music. minimize