Enjoy Yourself

Audio Mixer: John Kelton.
Recording information: Shrimpboat Sound, Key West, FL; Sound Stage, Nashville, TN; The Sound Kitchen, Franklin, TN.
Photographer: Kate Powers.
It could be argued that Billy Currington is enjoying himself just a tad too much on his fourth album. Everything rolls just a little bit too easily, Currington letting his words crawl out in a slow drawl, the tempos never getting any quicker than a shuffle, although things almost get heated on the bluesy closer, "Lil' Ol' Lonesome Dixie Town." It's such a low-key, lazy record, so consistent in tone that the singsongy chorus of "Love Done Gone" positively blares, that it almost seems slight, but Currington works better when he's unhurried, sounding relaxed and natural when he admits he's "Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer" or when he wishes that his girl loved him like his dog does or when he says with a smile that a "Bad Day of Fishin'" beats a good day of anything else. That last song is the only tune on Enjoy Yourself that Currington had a hand in writing, a stark contrast to 2008's Little Bit of Everything where he penned roughly half the tunes, but the strength of the album is that it doesn't sound like it was written by a bunch of Nashville pros -- its mellow vibes and occasional soft romantic touch feel true to Currington. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine