Five years ago I read Chris Willman’s book about the political affiliation of country music artists and how this affected their songwriting and careers. Willman was inspired to write the book after profiling The Dixie Chicks during the political brouhaha over Natalie Maines badmouthing of George W. Bush. Country music at the time became an interesting battleground for the political soul of the nation.
It’s funny how things have changed. In the book Gretchen Wilson suggested that it wasn’t really proper to discuss politics with folks (see subsequently campaigned with Sarah Palin), Chely Wright was the poster girl for red-state military pride (she’s since come out as a lesbian), and Toby Keith was actually a presence on country radio (what happened to his career?).
I also distinctly remember an anecdote about a drunken Ronnie Dunn railing about the left and generally being an obnoxious idiot. The book did not paint a flattering portrait and so I got it in my head that he was probably just a jerk. So when he announced he was going solo and releasing an album without his former duo partner I thought for sure he would simply become part of the necrotic intellectual ulcer of the country scene left festering by Mr. Keith.
But to my surprise his latest album, Bleed Red, is actually fucking great. Dunn has interestingly chosen two slow numbers as the first singles. The eponymous lead single was a heartfelt apology song. And the new single, “Cost of Living,” is simply spectacular. It’s on repeat on my iPod regularly. It’s a first-person number about a guy in a job interview who’s just trying to make ends meet. It’s quiet, touching, and—surprise—not at all cloying. It’s definitely some grade-A material and Mr. Dunn sings it beautifully.
Anyways, this is much to say that this album has been a surprise. Five years ago I was ready to write him off as an industry dirtbag. Turns out all these years it was Kix Brooks that was holding him back. Who knew?
