Clancy's Tavern

iTunes Review

As one of country music’s best-known performers, Toby Keith plays his songs with a muscular tone that decades ago would’ve at least got him tagged as “country rock.” The electric guitars are serious, and the drums are strong and solid. He sings of his grandmother’s old bar on the Arkansas-Oklahoma border on the title track and pays tribute to the good ol’ U.S.A. with the anthemic “Made in America.” In the tradition of great country music, Keith also contributes a few drinking songs, from the cruising speed of “Beers Ago” to the pokey jump of “Red Solo Cup,” about one of the few items still manufactured in the U.S.A. “Chill-Axin’” takes on an island breeze with its pedal steel guitar. “I Need To Hear a Country Song” plays to the brokenhearted who have always sought comfort from a knowing country tune. Keith has grown up quite a bit over the years. His youthful swagger has been tempered with heart, as “I Won’t Let You Down,” “South of You,” and “Just Another Sundown” are among the album’s most poignant. The deluxe edition features four bonus cuts, including a cover of Three Dog Night’s “Shambala,” and the video for “Made in America.”