Learn to Live (CD - 2008)

Personnel: Phillip Stein, Melissa Fuller, Ann Inman, Waylon Weatherholt, Frank Randazzo, Bradley Clark, Sarah Ross, Brad Clark (vocals); Pat Buchanan (guitar, electric guitar, baritone guitar, mandolin); B. James Lowry (acoustic guitar, resonator guitar); Bryan Sutton (acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin); Ilya Toshinsky (acoustic guitar, mandolin); Brent Mason (electric guitar, baritone guitar); J.T. Corenflos, Brad Paisley (electric guitar); Dan Dugmore (steel guitar, dobro); Mike Johnson (steel guitar); Ron Block (banjo); Aubrey Haynie (mandolin, fiddle); Kristin Wilkinson, Monisa Angell (violin); Anthony LaMarchina (viola, cello); Mary Kathryn Vanosdale, Pamela Sixfin, David Davidson , David Angell (strings); Gordon Mote (piano, Hammond b-3 organ); Jim "Moose" Brown (piano, Wurlitzer organ); Michael Rhodes , Mike Brignardello (bass instrument); Greg Morrow, Shannon Forrest (drums); Eric Darken (percussion); Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Wes Hightower (background vocals).

Audio Mixer: Justin Niebank.

Recording information: Blackbird Studios, Nashville, TN; The Castle, Franklin, TN; The Sound Kitchen, Franklin, TN.

Photographer: Russ Harrington.

Arrangers: John Hobbs; Kristin Wilkinson.

Although for the rest of his life, underinformed fans of 1990s pop will forever be calling Darius Rucker "Hootie," the former Hootie & the Blowfish singer-songwriter makes his solo debut with a perfectly credible take on mainstream contemporary Nashville country. The laid-back, largely acoustic folk-pop of Hootie & the Blowfish was never that far removed from contemporary country in the first place, so only the fact that Rucker is the first major African-American country star since the heyday of Charley Pride makes the stylistic crossover out of the ordinary. First single "Don't Think I Don't Think About It," a Top 5 hit on the Billboard country charts even prior to the album's release, makes clear how comfortable Rucker is with the blend of the Eagles and the Dixie Chicks that is contemporary country radio, and tracks like "History in the Making" and "Forever Road" are equally fine examples of the form.

Darius Rucker's leap into country music is not a move without precedent for the Hootie & the Blowfish lead singer, as his band was loosely rooted in country-ish roots rock. Nevertheless, a more important antecedent for Learn to Live is a 2005 Burger King commercial where Rucker was decked out in a Nudie suit while singing a spin on "Big Rock Candy Mountain." It was the unveiling of Rucker the country singer, and caused enough of a sensation to make a country album seem like a feasible move. As slight as the commercial was, it provided a stronger musical foundation than the urban R&B behind his 2002 solo debut Back to Then did, as Rucker showed no inclination toward modern soul in Hootie, whereas Learn to Live appeals directly to the frat boys and sports fanatics that made Cracked Rear View perhaps the most inexplicable multi-platinum hit of the '90s. Like those songs, the tunes on Learn to Live are big and simple, powered by obvious hooks delivered plainly -- and truth be told, apart from the 2-step shuffle of "All I Want," the loping modern country of "Alright," and the slow pace of the clever barroom crawl "Drinkin' and Dialin'," they don't feel especially country, either. They may not be made for honky tonks, but they do feel rootsy, much like Cracked Rear View did, and as they're written with Rucker in mind, not a jam band, they're more pop in form and feel than anything he's done since. Which, of course, also makes them ingratiating: these songs aren't knockouts, but they're friendly and comfortable, the kind of sturdy roots-pop that seems like it'd be easy to pull off but must not be, as this delicate balance of conversational melody and guy-next-door appeal has proven elusive to Rucker for over a decade now. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine minimize