See If I Care (CD - 2003)

Personnel: Gary Allan (vocals); John Willis, Jake Kelly, Willie Nelson (acoustic guitar); Brent Rowan (electric guitar); Mike Henderson, Richard Bennett (electric guitar); Dan Dugmore, Robby Turner (steel guitar); Hank Singer (mandolin, fiddle); Stuart Duncan (fiddle); Jim Hoke (harmonica, accordion); Steve Nathan (piano, Wurlitzer piano, Hammond B-3 organ); Michael Rhodes (bass); Chad Cromwell (drums); Eric Darken (percussion).

Recorded at Sound Kitchen, Nashville, Tennessee.

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

Personnel: Jack Kelly , John Willis, Willie Nelson (acoustic guitar); Mike Henderson, Richard Bennett , Brent Rowan (electric guitar); Dan Dugmore, Robby Turner (steel guitar); Hank Singer (mandolin, fiddle); Stuart Duncan (fiddle); Jim Hoke (harmonica, accordion); Steve Nathan (piano, Wurlitzer organ); Chad Cromwell (drums); Eric Darken (percussion); Chris Stapleton, Harry Stinson, Jamie O'Hara, Jim Lauderdale, John Wesley Ryles, Lisa Cochran, Marabeth Jordan, Bergen White (background vocals).

Audio Mixer: Greg Droman.

Recording information: House Of Gain, Nashville, TN; Paragon Studios, Nashville, TN; Sound Kitchen, Nashville, TN.

Editor: Ronnie Thomas.

Photographers: Tony Baker & His Orchestra; Tony Baker.

One of Gary Allan's gifts is the ability to sing about reckless drinking and fatherhood with the same amount of conviction. It's what makes his fifth release, See If I Care, a pleasing and sincere listen. With lyrics that focus on the changes in attitude one goes through while raising a child, the poignant hit "Tough Little Boys" is the obvious highlight and avoids schmaltz through sincerity. The title cut is another bittersweet winner and the slow, epic "Songs About Rain" is further proof Allan is a master balladeer. True to the Bakersfield aesthetic, the up-tempo numbers go easy on the rock and heavy on the honky tonk. The kicking "Drinkin' Dark Whiskey" sticks in the head for a long time and "Guys Like Me" is an energetic plea to bring back great tunes to the jukebox. The only thing keeping See If I Care from being outstanding is that, while none of the songs here are cliché, some are only fair and the album ends up more of a performer's showcase. Too honest for mainstream country and too darn fun for the alt-country set, Allan comes off as a true maverick with enough charisma and cool to make even medium material sound well done. ~ David Jeffries

On his first couple of albums for Decca, Gary Allan's talent was somewhat submerged in assembly-line Nashville production. After a label change, his third disc, 1999's SMOKE RINGS IN THE DARK found him fulfilling his potential with a rootsy, accessible New Traditionalist sound. A few years down the line, he continues to progress, bucking the Nashville Nazis along the way.

The album opener "Drinkin' Dark Whiskey," co-written by hard-country rebel Mike Henderson, is so full of fierce electric guitar and tough singing, it might have fallen off a Steve Earle record. The terse, tortured "See If I Care" sounds like a cross between Dwight Yoakam and TUNNEL OF LOVE-era Springsteen. "Songs About Rain," penned by another country upstart, Pat McLaughlin, cleverly skewers overused song metaphors. There are no charging power ballads on SEE IF I CARE and no hokey, cheap-shot lyrics, just tasteful production, thoughtful songwriting, and solid singing--fairly novel concepts for a 21st-century country star. minimize