Drive

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
He sings straight, writes songs without a half dozen Music Row hacks pitching in their two cents and keeps the music basic. On IDrive/I, Jackson mixes wistful visions with satire, sorrow and eloquence, using old cars ("Drive (For Daddy Gene)") to explore growing up and, on "Work In Progress", spoofing a woman obsessed with "improving" her man. As usual, he explores love's joy ("When Love Comes Around") and anguish ("The Sounds"). His flair for thoughtful, evocative expression reaches its zenith with his classic 9-11 commentary "Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)", included in both the studio version and the song's live debut on the CMA Awards. Non-originals, including the Mark Irwin-Irene Kelley tune "A Little Bluer Than That", fit the album's tone. "Designated Drinker", a duet with George Strait, is a pleasant vocal event, though it's rendered mundane by the quality of the other material. Yet again, Jackson zaps Nashville's fallacy that any recipe for success requires generous helpings of dated pop and rock. I--Rich Kienzle/I

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2004-07-09 rating:
THIS is Country!
As if contemporary country music needed any reminding of Alan Jackson's place in the highest echelon of the art, 'Drive' serves that purpose masterfully. A mix of original and cover songs, Jackson is on top form in this album. The success of the title track was deserved and it leads the way into a very neatly connected series of classic Jackson material. Songs about love, songs about cars, (songs about the love of cars!). His live CMA version of 'Where were you when the world stopped turning', is a poigniant reminder of the need to look at what is important in our lives in the post 9/11 era. Perhaps including the studio version of the same song allows it to dominate the album a little too much, but it is a small price to pay when listening to Jackson's take on contemporary country. If you like his music, this album may stay in your CD player for many weeks. It is worth far more than you will pay for it.

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review by: conanthelib date: 2004-07-02 rating:
Drive by AJ
A fabulous album. A total mix of style available - from the reminiscing title track, through a couple of fantastic love songs (Once in a Lifetime Love is a particular favourite), a bit of comedy with the 'older woman', to the haunting live version of Where Were You When the World Stopped turning - written for the World Trade Center incidents of September 11. Truly a joy to listen to.

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review by: Pete the music fan date: 2004-05-19 rating:
Definitely one of his best
Throughout his career, Alan has delivered albums of a consistently high quality, firmly rooted in traditional country yet managing to appeal to a wider audience – even sometimes including people who can't stand the music. Of course, I love country music and Alan has been one of my favorites ever since his incredible debut album on the Arista label, Here in the real world. This album is certainly one of Alan's best.pThe standout track here is, of course, Where were you were you when the world stopped turning, about the attacks on New York and the Pentagon. Alan captured the mood of America and many other countries with this song. Close inspection of the lyrics shows that it is really quite a clever song – it asks everybody where they were when it happened, acknowledges all the victims, fire fighters and others involved, places his faith in God and admits to ignorance of Iraq and Iran. In the immediate aftermath, that's just what Americans wanted to hear. The success of this song ensured the success of the album, but one great song, however brilliant, does not make a great album. Do not worry - the quality of the other songs ensures that greatness.pOther highlights include the title track (about a father teaching his son to drive), Work in progress (an amusing song about a man failing to live up to a woman's expectations but trying to), Desperate drinker (a duet with George Strait) and First love (about a car that was three years older than himself). pThe other songs are all brilliant, many of them exploring various aspects of love including A little bluer than that (about a man who has lost his woman to another man), Bring on the night (contrasting the tedium of work with the joys of love), The sounds (about a woman leaving her man), That'd be alright (about looking on the bright side of life), Once in a lifetime love, When love comes around (two songs about the joys of love) and I slipped and fell in love (about a new love).pMany people will acclaim this as Alan's best ever album. I'm not sure if I'd go that far but it's certainly a contender. With albums of such high quality, Alan manages to keep selling traditional country music in large quantities. Long may he continue to do so.

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review by: urbanecowboy_uk date: 2003-02-16 rating:
IT'S GONNA BE ALRIGHT
The release of 'Drive' represents Alan Jackson at the top of his career. I remember hearing that Alan was to play 'Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning', about the Terrorist attack on September 11th in New York, live on the CMAs in 2001 and fearing that the music press would pan it as exploitative or simply in bad taste. I needn't have worried. This sensitive song captured the mood of many Americans and became something of an anthem, putting their thoughts into words and contributing to the healing process. It appears twice on the album, studio and live versions.pOutstanding tracks are 'Drive' (a song for Daddy Gene), about a father teaching his son to drive and is a tribute to Alan's own father. 'Work In Progress' is about how a woman tries to make her man the way she wants him to be and mostly succeeds despite his stubbornness. There is also the fun 'That Would Be All Right' which has such nonsense lyrics that they are guranteed to make you smile. But the duet with George Strait on 'Designated Beer Drinker' - about two buddies drinking together is disappointing.pAlan's love for an older woman is made clear in 'First Love' and is semi-autobiographical. Happily the very car which he refers to in the song (and holds many of his teenage memories) was found and bought by his wife back in 1993. Alan has lovingly restored it and it is now back on the road. pA sound album. There are some stinkers and you will have heard better songs in his back catalogue of hits but this represents a reflective and mature artist who has done it all but still seeks to push the boundaries further.


review by: date: 2002-12-21 rating:
Best country album i've ever bought
I bought this album after hearing Alan Jackson sing 'where were you (when the world stopped turning) at the national country music festival 2001. I'd never heard the song before but decided i must have it. I found it on amazon and on the premise of liking one song i bought the album. It is most definately the best country album i have ever bought. Other songs like Drive and bluer than that are great. Its a great album to play in the car stereo on a long journey. All the songs have a really catchy tune and you almost instantly know the words. I would recommend this album to everyone not just the hardened country fan.

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