George Strait Album: “Lead On”
 Description :
Personnel: George Strait (vocals); Brent Mason (acoustic & electric guitars), Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Steve Nathan (organ, synthesizer), Glenn Worf (bass); Eddie Bayers (drums); Curtis Young, Liana Manis (background vocals).
<p>Everyone loves George Strait. From country fans to rock critics, George Strait is singled out as the PURE country artist. On LEAD ON, his admirers have new reason to follow.
<p>His unadulterated country sound, awash in steel, fiddles and clean guitar picking, is swept by the deep waves of his distinctive Texas baritone. From the cajun dance beat of "Adalida" to the maxi-traditional "I Met A Friend Of Yours Today," Strait runs the gamut of tasty and tasteful country. No filler, no radio junkfood, just a lesson to all the wannabes, this is Country Music 101.
<p>"Nobody Gets Hurt," by Jim Lauderdale (a Strait favorite) and Terry McBride, is a contemporary country classic with an old-time bass shuffle that makes it sound warmly familiar. "Down Louisiana Way" sounds like a frisky Lucinda Williams cover. "The Big One" is classic Straitabilly, an unobtrusive marriage of rock and country. "Lead On" is a gentle ballad, with dead-on delivery and phrasing.
<p>Every cut is restrained, no excesses, but there's no holding back either. The tear in Strait's beer is as salty as any other country singer, and when he hurts you hear the sting. LEAD ON is like a greatest hits package: diverse, familiar, and of the highest quality. Only George Strait can pull off such a feat with ten new songs.
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Track Listing :
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Album Information :
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UPC:008811109226
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Format:CD
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Type:Performer
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Genre:Country - Contemporary Country
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Artist:George Strait
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Guest Artists:Steve Gibson; Stuart Duncan; Matt Rollings; Buddy Emmons
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Producer:Tony Brown; George Strait
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Label:MCA Records (USA)
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Distributed:Universal Distribution
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Release Date:1994/11/08
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Original Release Year:1994
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Discs:1
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Recording:Digital
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Mixing:Digital
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Mastering:Digital
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Mono / Stereo:Stereo
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Studio / Live:Studio
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Customer review - February 06, 1999
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
- An overlooked good record
George's Strait discography has always been consistently good. This CD was never much in light, but it is excellent, with even a few gems like the cajun-flavored "Adalida", and the moving "Down Louisiana Way" which were not included in his fabulous box-set. Buy and listen. Paul LeBoutillier 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
- Pretty good album that was overlooked
The first thing I noticed was this was the first Strait album with lyrics included in the liner notes, which was nice of them to finally do.
My favorite songs on this one are Nobody Has To Get Hurt and I'll Always Be Loving You. Both have solid melodies and choruses that practically force you to sing along. Nice, creative idea on Nobody. Lead On is very The Chair-ish, as both do great jobs at examining the initial stages of a relationship. You Can't Make A Heart delivers an impressive and overlooked message, and I Met A Friend relates a realistic scenario to the meltdown of a couple.
Adalida and Big One are songs that start to get away from him a few times, with Adalida being perhaps the only substance-free song on the album. George's weakest songs have always been at least listenable and above average. This applies to What Am I Waiting.
Overall, this is a solid album, but lacks the one gotta-have, instant-classic tune that many of Strait's other albums possess.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
- One Of George's Best Albums.
I Like This Album. It Was Released In The Fall Of 1994. The Lead-Off Single "The Big One" Went Strait To Number 1. So Didn't "You Can't Make A Heart Love Somebody". The Title Track Is Also Another Love Balled. Buy This CD Today. - Great CD
I really enjoy George Straits music and I do intend to get more of them as soon as I can - A very good album for the most part
Whilst George Strait hasn't had the same level of success of other 1980s and 1990s Country singers, he has indeed had as much consistency as the best of them, to date he has topped the US Country Chart with 50 different songs.
Whilst he was not a revolutionist (ala Garth Brooks, who draw some of his inspiration from Strait) he most certainly brought the tradition instruments such as Fiddle and Steel Guitar back to the forefront of Country music.
This album, recorded more 13 years after his debut, opens with the track "You can't make a heart love somebody", a track about a man proposing to the love of his life, who has to break the news she doesn't feel the same (it features the heart choking line "My Heart's the only part of me that's not in love with you"). Steel Guitar a-plenty, this is a true Country "tear in my beer" love song.
"Adalida" the next selection on "Lead On" is more upbeat, with a Cajun feel. It's a good song but by no means the best.
"I met a friend of yours today", however, is one of those great story telling songs, that was a big airplay success on Country Radio in both Britain and America in the 90's.
This is the type of song that would go down very well at the end of a small Nashville concert (although The Stadiums George plays today probably would want to end on a more upbeat number).
Other standout cuts on this selection include "The Big One." This was indeed a big Strait hit and another transalantic success on Country Radio (In the 1990s, (then) DJ of London's Country 1035AM, Randy Lee Rose, once played the track back to back on his show). Cleverly written with lines such as "S.O.S in this situation means She's Outta Site".
The already mentioned songs along with "Nobody Has To Get Hurt", "What Am I Waiting For" and the ballad "Lead On" represent the best of the album.
The 3 remaining tracks "Noone But You", "I'll Always be loving you" and "Down Louisiana Way" are all ok, but you'll probably find yourselfs skipping these tracks after a few listens to get to the better ones.
Overall, a nice album by one of the (many) good singers in the country genre.
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