Shock'n Few

Toby Keith has been one of country music's top artists for over ten years. He is known mainly for his humorous twist on the genre, his ability to depict damaged relationships accurately, and creating controversial songs. Although lacking in the common power ballads that we have come to expect from Toby, his latest CD, Shock'N Y'all, once again brings all these components together to create a wonderful and patriotic compilation that captures the passion of blue-collar Americans.

Known best for his controversial songs such as "I Wanna Talk About Me" and "Courtesy Of The Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)," Keith yet again writes songs that have the critics stirring. "If I Was Jesus" takes being Christian to a whole new level that many people would argue goes just a tad too far. However, after listening to the song two or three times, the listener understands what the song really is about: thanking Jesus for laying his life down for us. Another controversial song, "The Taliban Song" provides relief in a time when political battles are happening every day. This song pokes fun at Iraqi's and the Taliban, and basically is a patriotic song designed to loosen people up and make them laugh.

Although coming close with "Don't Leave, I Think I Love You," Keith falls a bit short in the powerful love song category that country music fans have come to expect from him. After timeless classics like "You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This" and "I'm Just Talkin' Bout Tonight," Toby Keith fans will be thoroughly disappointed to find that this CD is a purely fun and upbeat one.

However, one expectation that Keith exceeds is the number of songs on the CD designed to make the listener laugh. "I Love This Bar" tells of the ups and downs of being a blue-collar country boy and how, at the end of the night, he can always go back to the bar and expect a good time. Another song, "Nights I Can't Remember, Friends I'll Never Forget" tells of the joys of drinking through high school and Toby explains a couple humorous personal experiences throughout the song. Two songs that Keith wrote while traveling from city to city in his touring bus, "The Taliban Song" and "Weed With Willie" show his patriotism and his love for his mentor and best friend, Willie Nelson.

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