Redneck Girls Forever

Album Review

After reuniting with Curb Records late in their career, Howard and David Bellamy re-emerge with new material following a double greatest-hits collection. Redneck Girls Forever is typical of the Bellamy style, featuring a smattering of social commentary about how the world has left the over-40 crowd in the dust intermingled with steamy love songs. Most of the cuts are written by David Bellamy. The Bellamy Brothers can't seem to let go of the past, constantly bewailing the state of the modern world and the fact that the two siblings are just plain getting older. Most of the songs are curved around a seemingly catchy hook, such as "What I Used to Do All Night," a 60-something's lament on losing "intimate stamina." Sometimes the hook is effective, but other times ("The Andy Griffith Show") the nostalgia is stifling. A shining moment comes when the Bellamys recount the story of a marital infidelity and deliver the line, "After I go to hell can I come on home to you?" When you've recorded as many hits and albums as the Bellamys have, the pressure to continue the streak isn't as great; unfortunately, the trade-off can result in mediocrity.