Country Again

Following on the heels of a collection of gospel songs, and his first Country release since My Life, Country Again (his twenty-seventh studio album and his first for Bigger Picture Music Group) was thought to have lacked the sheen and snap of a major-label comeback, but part of the charm of this collection of songs is its ragged edges, such as the title track story of a redneck who turns his pickup into a time machine and travels into the future to discover they’re playing country music again.

Its narrative may not scan (ie; charted in the top 200), but its novelty is as appealing as the record’s casual diversity, how Milsap winds up touching upon many of his signature styles: a bit of country-soul, a lot of smooth crooning, some hard country to balance the soft rock flirtations, all punctuated by ‘50s rock & roll throwbacks. Milsap’s voice is certainly a little rougher than it used to be but he still knows how to slyly sell a song and he’s got a strong batch of material, all elements that make Country Again a solidly great album.