Country superstar Collin Raye returns with a Pop Country gem via Time-Life music. Admittedly, I’m not a big fan of the Contemporary Country genre, but Raye incorporates enough Rock and Roll elements to offset most of my dislike.
If you are looking for something super catchy and radio friendly and you don’t mind a little twang here and there then you should check out Never Going Back.” The title track opens the album and is the first in a string of interesting (even if sometimes cheesy) lyrics. In fact, the lyrics make this album more than worth your time as Raye is one of the few men out there promoting family values. The best example of this is “Midlife Chrysler,” a song about a man who is having a midlife crisis but chooses to have it alongside his wife of twenty-five years. They become like kids again and fall even deeper in love and it’s about damn time someone celebrated a married couple that deal with life together and come out stronger. This song alone makes the album entirely worth your hard-earned money. Other highlights include “Where It Leads,” the ballad “Without You” (a duet with the amazing Susan Ashton), and the powerful “Where It Leads.”
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
