Beer for My Horses (CD - 2008)

Photographers: Jeremy Cowart; Gregory E. Peters.

Workaholic Toby Keith produced, co-wrote, and stars in the film BEER FOR MY HORSES, so naturally he oversaw the soundtrack as well. He doesn't dominate the disc, though, beyond the title track that inspired the movie. It's a mixed bag that includes everything from a couple of classic Ted Nugent tunes to cuts from rootsy rebels like James McMurtry and David Allan Coe. Of course, Keith throws in a couple of the artists he's already signed to his own label, like the female vocal group Carter's Chord and the Big & Rich-esque country/hip-hop/rock roughnecks Trailer Choir. Tracks from old-school country hitmakers Mel Tillis and Mac Davis add to the cross-generational appeal of this audio companion to what sounds like a country fan's dream movie.

The easiest way to take the sting out of a song that enthusiastically endorses vigilante justice is to turn the tune into a feature-length comedy with the help of a comedian responsible for Morning Wood. At least that's the road Toby Keith followed when he adapted Beer for My Horses into a film, hiring Rodney Carrington as his collaborator and co-star. It shouldn't be a surprise that both Toby and Rodney show up on the soundtrack -- the former with the title song and the rip-roaring Mica Roberts duet "Let's Get Trashed," the latter with his tender ballad "Show Them to Me" -- but so do their other co-stars: David Allan Coe sings "If That Ain't Country (Part 2)," Gina Gershon turns in some sultry spaghetti western claptrap called "La Di Da," and Ted Nugent gets two of his classic rock standards, "Cat Scratch Fever" and "Stranglehold," onto the collection (sadly, Claire Forlani did not seize this opportunity to cut a Miranda Lambert tribute). Add the Trailer Choir's Big & Rich wannabe "Off the Hillbilly Hook," that's more than half the soundtrack, but of more interest is the middle of the record, where James McMurtry sprawls out for eight minutes on the randy "Choctaw Bingo," Mac Davis dips into a Tex-Mex two-step on "No Mas Cerveza," Mel Tillis has a nice "Burning Memories," and Carter's Chord has a sweet, slow "Song of Blue." This gives the album a core that almost prevents it from being quite as crass and corny as the movie. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine minimize