Brooks & Dunn Albums (11)
What The Critics Say
Brooks & Dunn began revving up their redneck credentials with Hillbilly Deluxe, a record with no small debt to Big & Rich's gonzo strut, and they continue that path on its 2007 follow-up, Cowboy Town. Despite the title, Cowboy Town doesn't feel that western -- it's a slick, swaggering set of rock & roll, designed for sports bars, not honky tonks. Brooks & Dunn have always teetered between being just a bit too commercial and thoroughly country, but this is one of their efforts where the seesaw tips toward one direction definitively, as this album is as oversized as Texas without sounding a lick like the Lonestar State. Well, there's one exception to the rule -- Jerry Jeff Walker is roped in for a duet on "Ballad of Jerry Jeff Walker," an exceptional homage to his funny, loping signature sound that's easily the best thing here, and not because it's the most country: it's because it's the least mannered tune here. The other highlights on Cowboy Town share a similar wild, wooly spirit, as the duo turns out pretty good Stonesy rockers on "Put a Girl in It" and "Chance of a Lifetime" (which has a nice dip into John Anderson territory on the chorus), grinds out a wonderfully weird slice of ZZ Top boogie on "Drop in the Bucket," and pumps out a deliriously fun "Tequila," whose pumping Farfisa organ on a one-chord riff can't help but bring to mind the Sir Douglas Quintet. All these arrive in the middle of the album, offering a spike of life after it seems that Brooks & Dunn have gotten too mannered with the opening track and the plodding "Proud of the House We Built." And that mannered impression isn't wrong -- Brooks & Dunn have crafted these songs, along with the silly anthem "American Dream" (a song where Merle Haggard, Neil Armstrong, and MLK are shoehorned into one bridge) and "God Must Be Busy" (a litany of destruction and sadness, amber alerts, "the Bloods and Crips are at it...old folks can't afford the drugs they can't live without"), with an eye on the middle of the road, and they do it well enough that this music will likely win them that audience yet again. But it's that section of rowdy rockers in the middle of the album where the duo comes alive, and they're what saves this record from being too studied and dull. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
During the first half of the 2000s Brooks & Dunn broadened their horizons, incorporating stronger elements of pop and rock to their neo-traditionalist country. As its title suggests, 2005's Hillbilly Deluxe finds the duo returning to their roots, creating a lean, tight collection of 13 straight-ahead country songs. This may be a reaction to the romanticization of rednecks in recent country music, but Hillbilly Deluxe doesn't sound crass or commercial. It sounds like a logical back-to-basics move after the rock flirtations of 2001's Steers and Stripes and 2003's Red Dirt Road. Brooks & Dunn don't hide their intentions at all: not only does the album boast a proudly hillbilly title, but the album kicks off with the anthemic "Play Something Country," where a redneck woman implores the DJ to play some "Kenny, Keith, Alan, and Patsy Cline," and Brooks & Dunn follow that advice for the rest of the album, never straying far from country, even when they're covering Nicolette Larson's early-'80s hit "Building Bridges" with Sheryl Crow on backing vocals. Most of this direction seems to come from Ronnie Dunn, who provides the great majority of original material here: six of the 13 songs are from Dunn (all but one co-written with Terry McBride), and his tunes are the purest country here, whether it's barroom tales like "Whiskey Do My Talkin'" or weepers like "I May Never Get Over You." That's not to say that Kix Brooks doesn't have a presence here. With the exception of the poppier "One More Roll of the Dice," he also devotes himself to straight-ahead country, highlighted by the sweetly melancholy "Her West Was Wilder" and the rocking closer, "She Likes to Get out of Town." Brooks might not write as much here as he normally does, but the covers he sings are expertly chosen, and the album as a whole gels as well as either Steers and Stripes or Red Dirt Road. Even though Hillbilly Deluxe isn't quite as ambitious as either of those records, it's just as satisfying and further proof that Brooks & Dunn are one of the most reliable, consistently enjoyable acts in modern country music. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Emboldened by the positive reaction to 2001's Steers and Stripes, where the venerated veteran country duo stretched their musical chops, Brooks & Dunn followed with a record that pushed even further and garnered greater musical achievement. Released in the summer of 2003, Red Dirt Road is a bit of a concept album, with Brooks & Dunn sketching out a nostalgic trip through their past and a tribute to their roots and upbringing. This isn't just conveyed by the lyrics, which contain offhanded references to '70s icons, including Born to Run; the music touches on a bunch of the duo's formative influences, whether it's the Keith Richards homage that kicks off the album opener, "You Can't Take the Honky Tonk Out of the Girl," or the Stax horns that punctuate "Believer." Instead of sounding bound to tradition, Brooks & Dunn sound as musically invigorated as they did on Steers and Stripes, demonstrating nuance and muscle in equal measures; after all, they not only do modern country-rock better than their peers, they can pull off a dobro-driven honky tonk song like "My Baby's Everything I Love" with equal aplomb, and then dive into wry satire with the uncredited gospel satire "Holy War" that closes the album. It's not just the amalgam of styles that impresses, but it's the writing, which is as wide-ranging as the performances and just as convincing. Plus, the loose concept gives the album structure and focus, and this, added to the fine songwriting, means that Red Dirt Road is not just one of Brooks & Dunn's most ambitious records, it's also one of their best. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'It Won't Be Christmas Without You'
Release Date 9/10/2002
Tracks 11
Label Arista
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Steers and Stripes'
Release Date 4/16/2001
Tracks 14
Label Grapevine
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Ronnie Dunn told Country Weekly magazine that "Country music is more diversified than ever, so you can really do more styles and different things." Lucky for Brooks & Dunn, who've obviously used the state of country music to their advantage, making album number nine something undoubtedly worth hearing. Or maybe it's the year they spent working on it. Whatever it is, Steers & Stripes is one of the finer albums from the eight-time winners of CMA's Vocal Duo of the Year. It seems to recapture everything likable about Brooks & Dunn that's been missing from the last few albums. The 14-track collection offers up a bevy of beauties from hardcore country to some penetrating rock. The slow, agonizing conviction in "The Long Goodbye," the Latin-flavored "My Heart Is Lost to You," the reassuring sentiment in "Unloved," and the rockabilly revelry of "See Jane Dance" are just a few tunes on this eminent song-packed album that really make a lasting impression. ~ Maria Dinoia, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Brooks & Dunn have always seemed more traditionalist than they actually were. Even with their first album, they had a clear commercial mind behind their rootsiest material, and it's undeniable that they were not only one of the driving forces behind the line-dance craze, but that they had some of the better mainstream country ballads of the decade. Their trick was not just strong vocals, but keeping the music lean and direct, so it sounded like straight-up country even when it had pop aspirations. They retained that illusion up until the end of the '90s, when they not only increased their pop quotient, but they started to feel like a collective instead of a duo. That's a roundabout way of saying that 1999's Tight Rope, while a solid album, isn't quite up to their old standards. For instance, such blatant radio crossover moves as covering John Waite's New Wave-era classic "Missing You" feels wrong, even if it's done as well as it possibly could be. That's obviously a misstep, but the really strange thing about Tight Rope is how the alternation between a Brooks song and Dunn song feels like two solo albums pieced together, which is something that's never happened before. That these pieces are musically in line with the duo's previous efforts only hammers home the fact that this record is competent, occasionally enjoyable, but not particularly inspired. Parts of the record work quite well, such as "Temptation #9" or the closer "Texas and Norma Jean," but there are large stretches that either feel contrived or a little too generic. Since Brooks & Dunn are professionals, Tight Rope is always listenable, but the combination of bland material and the disjointed feeling of the record leaves it a little unsatisfying. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The studio formula that melded vocalist Ronnie Dunn with Kix Brooks is still in effect on cuts like "Your Love Don't Take a Backseat to Nothing" and a duet with country-pop diva Reba McEntire ("If You See Him, If You See Her"); there are some good moments here. Dunn's cover of Roger Miller's "Husbands and Wives" displays his abilities nicely, while Brooks comes to life as a rock & roller on "Way Gone." Also good are "Brand New Whiskey" and "Born and Raised in Black and White." However, the final cut, a gospel-kissed tune ("You're My Angel") that shows just how strong Dunn's voice is, evokes the most emotion. Dunn, when allowed to free himself from trite material and heavy production practices, is amazing. ~ Jana Pendragon, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Brooks & Dunn get a lot of mileage out of two potent personalities. Ronnie Dunn's expressive voice, underrated even with the band's huge success, and Kix Brooks' energized stage presence give even their routine material enough of a spin to earn them their status as country music's leading duet team of the '90s. With Borderline, their fourth album, they sometimes have to strain a bit too hard. The primary exception is an outstanding cover of B.W. Stevenson's 1972 pop hit, "My Maria," which Dunn elevates with an outstanding vocal performance that puts him in a league with the Mavericks' Raul Malo. There's a powerful ballad or two and an entertaining novelty number about a wife bluntly persuading her man that they are going out on the town that night. ~ Michael McCall, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Waitin' on Sundown didn't depart from Brooks & Dunn's formula much, but the fans didn't mind -- it sold over three million albums anyway. By this point, the duo's albums have become a handful of solid singles -- this time out, they were "Little Miss Honky Tonk," "She's Not the Cheatin' Kind," and "You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone" -- surrounded by filler, but the hits will make the fans forgive the filler. ~ Thom Owens, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
As with most second albums, the successful traits started to isolate themselves on Hard Workin' Man: macho stuff like "Hard Workin' Man" and "Rock My World (Little Country Girl)" rocked harder than anything on Brand New Man, though Brooks & Dunn made sure their women came off as good as they did (catch the "and women too" tag on "Hard Workin' Man"). The slower songs ("That Ain't No Way to Go," "She Used to Be Mine") tended toward the sort of evocative images that ran all through their debut. The pair never put all the elements together they way they did their first time out, but they came close enough that few people noticed. ~ Brian Mansfield, All Music Guide
