There aren't a whole lot of hell-raisers making music in Nashville these days, but there are a few. And most of those bad boys are big.
Real big. Growly blond bear Toby Keith was a semipro football player (a defensive end, no less) and an oil driller before he became a country heavyweight. Then there's tall, lumbering Big Kenny, one-half of the tradition-tweaking duo Big & Rich, whose 2004 debut, "Horse of a Different Color," also features the "hick-hop" of Cowboy Troy, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound rapper.
It just so happens that this is a big month for these oversize outlaws: The 6-foot-4 Keith releases his 10th studio album, the much-anticipated "Honkytonk University." And Cowboy Troy drops his debut, the Big & Rich-produced "Loco Motive." It's the first disc released on Raybaw Records, which is run by the Muzik Mafia, a Nashville collective of free spirits (Big & Rich included) intent on messing with Music Row.
Only one of these new discs is a gem, however. The other kicks off with what could be the hit single of the summer -- then loses steam in a hurry. Of course, I'd never say that to the guy's face. He has fists the size of canned hams!
No matter where you squat on the political spectrum, chances are good that, at some point, you've hated Toby Keith. The ornery Oklahoman wouldn't have it any other way, of course -- especially since he's moved more than 20 million albums mainly by being so unpredictable. His 9/11 battle cry, 2002's "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)," was an ugly blast of jingoism that commenced a feud with left-leaning Dixie Chick Natalie Maines. But Keith describes himself as a Democrat (albeit a very conservative one); he even hangs out with noted Dem Willie Nelson. Heck, one of Keith's most likable hits, 2003's "I Love This Bar," is a touchy-feely anthem of tolerance.
There are plenty of surprises on the new "Honkytonk University," but they don't involve flag-waving rhetoric or take-that songs (such as his 1999 hit "How Do You Like Me Now?!"). Keith, it turns out, is in a wistful mood these days. With writing partner Scotty Emerick, the 43-year-old superstar has crafted a relatively somber album about growing older and looking back. There are moments of swagger, but they're often laced with an underlying vulnerability.
The autobiographical title cut has a git-along beat, perfect for aging gunslingers riding into town, and Keith sings of earning an education in his grandma's nightclub, on the football field, and at "every corn dog fair and rodeo." On the future hit "As Good as I Once Was," a steel-strung reminder of Jimmy Buffett before he went coconuts, Keith sings with weary good humor as randy women looking for love and "redneck boys" looking for a fight provoke our hero into proving that, aching bones and all, he can still get the job done every now and then.
Although he's never been one to get mushy on us, the deep-voiced Keith even shows off his romantic side with a series of gritty ballads that nod to his heroes, among them Merle Haggard, who cameos on the sly breakup song "She Ain't Hooked on Me No More" ("I'm pickin' up all my bad habits again / She's letting one go"). The Hag should have hung around for "You Ain't Leavin' (Thank God Are Ya)," an old-school she's-goner that does an upbeat about-face just when you least expect it.
Not all of Keith's soft side is so winning: On "Big Blue Note," the singer again sounds like Buffett -- but this time in a painfully Parrotheaded way. Ultimately, though, the duds are far outnumbered by the dazzlers. Keith, one of the loudest rowdies around, has made a cool, quiet album. Go figure.
"I Play Chicken With the Train," the kickoff track on Cowboy Troy's "Loco Motive," is anything but quiet: With Big & Rich shouting the titular hook, the rapper boasting about being a black man breaking through in Nashville, and all those fiddles, drums and geetars, the song is a catchy slap to the dull head of crossover country music. Troy booms: "The big blackneck comin' through to you / 'Boy, you done fell and bumped yo' head!' / Uh-huh, that what they said / People said it's impossible, not probable, too radical." Oh, it's radical all right.
It's also one of the most inventive singles in a long time.
It's easy to root for Cowboy Troy, aka Troy Coleman. After all, Nashville hasn't had a headlining black talent since Charley Pride -- and that was 40 years ago. The problem, however, is that the thirty-something rapper is ultimately a straight-ahead rhymer with little imagination or variation in his flow. When Troy showed up out of nowhere on Big & Rich's "Rollin' (The Ballad of Big & Rich)," it was a powerhouse flourish. As the main ingredient, however, the rapper has yet to develop the star power to carry a full-length album. At this point, he reminds you of such likable '80s one-hitters as Young MC and Tone-Loc.
After "I Play Chicken With the Train" and the hiccuping catchphrase cut "Crick in My Neck," the tracks on "Loco Motive" lose recklessness and energy. On the autobiographical "Ain't Broke Yet," it's clear that Troy is uninspired whenever a song is anything but fast. He needs to listen to such world-class rhymers as Jay-Z and Eminem, guys who can handle any tempo. Troy has the lyrics; now he needs the flash.
And as for Big & Rich, two of the most important young artists in Nashville, they co-wrote several cuts and should have known their friend's limitations. Keep it crazy, guys. That's what the Muzik Mafia does best. It certainly doesn't help when milquetoast crooner Tim McGraw is invited to sing on the blah religious ballad "Somebody's Smilin' on Me." That's not outlaw -- that's outhouse.
Toby Keith is scheduled to appear July 9 at Nissan Pavilion.
