What I Do

Nashville fads swing back and forth between pop and twang, but for the last fifteen years, chart-topper Alan Jackson has sat smack dab in the middle with a big, friendly smile on his face, racking up one hit after another. On his fourteenth album, the laid-back Georgia native offers his usual mix of heartfelt love songs, toe-tapping honky tonk, and unapologetically dopey novelty tunes. It kicks off with "Too Much of a Good Thing," an irresistible hit single with the feel of a timeless country classic, and continues along the same vein with Jackson's oaken vocals gliding atop a sweet mix of fiddles, guitars, and pedal steel. The mournful "Monday Morning Church" features harmony vocals from Jackson's fellow neo-traditionalist Patty Loveless, while "The Talkin' Song Repair Blues" was a goofy and therefore unexpected radio hit. Jackson also introduces his fans to country newcomers the Wrights, a husband-wife duo who wrote two of the songs here, adding their considerable talents to the already-swinging Alan Jackson sound. This is commercial country music at its very best.