Greetings,
When I was growing up, I was never a huge fan of country music. I suppose I wasn't exposed to it all that much, and what I did hear just did not impress me much. Hey, Shania! Anyway, as I matured, so did the world of country music. Oh, don't get me wrong. There is still plenty of talk of drinkin' and cheatin' and truckin', whatever that is. But it seems that many artists have given themselves permission to go a little deeper into things when it comes to the subject matter of their songs. One of the best examples of this is one of my favorite artists, not only in country, but of all genres, Jimmy Wayne.
In 2003, he released his self-titled debut, and it performed fairly well, making it into the top ten along with a few of the singles. Unfortunately, his label closed shortly thereafter, leaving him professionally homeless. Five years later, with a new deal, he finally released his second album, Do You Believe Me Now?. And this is the one I will be discussing today.
Naturally, the first song I heard from it was the title track, the lead off single, and I was amazed. I had never even heard of this guy, but I was instantly enthralled. Jimmy Wayne has one of the best voices in the business. And I say this having heard him sing out of the studio. I think the only help this man has had with his voice was when God stuck it in his throat.
So I immediately went out and bought the whole album, discovering that the first song was a good preview for what was to come, which explains why it became his first number one. As many people know, I am a lyric snob. Now though I loved the first song melodically and lyrically, I braced myself that the rest of them may not have lived up to it. It is after all country and, right or wrong, many of us have been programmed to expect little in the way of lyrics from this genre. Well, I'm happy to say that I was very wrong.
While Jimmy did not write all the songs, he did take part in the writing of a good number of them. One thing he was not afraid to do was expose a lot about his past. In the song "Kerosene Kid", he talks about the hardships of his childhood, and in "Where You're Going", he tells a story of a trip to a home for a delinquent teenagers, like the one of which he was a resident at one time. Maybe even the same one. I can't remember.
That's another thing about Jimmy Wayne. He has the most amazing back story. It's heartbreaking and triumphant. You hear it, and you will be overwhelmed that he got to where he is from where he had once been. And he has certainly used what he has been through to help those who are going through the same things now. Most notably, he has been a champion for the foster care system, bringing attention to its problems and doing everything in his power to fix them.
Okay, I could go on and on and on about this man's awesomeness, but back to the album.
Of course, I have my favorite songs. One of them is "I Will". It's one of those songs full of things that every woman wants a man to say to her. Begging her to stay with him, saying he'll love her forever. All the things that are, in theory, cliche, but will never be that to a woman. Another great one is "No Good For Me", which is a duet with Patty Loveless. That pretty much makes it good on its own, but it would be beautiful regardless.
Now this album does contain two songs from his previous album. One is "Stay Gone, which was inspired by his sister's marital troubles. The other is "I Love You This Much." About that second song, it is a tearjerker beyond belief, and it has a bit of an M. Night Shyamalan twist ending, if M. Night Shyamalan was a Christian and not at all pretentious. So I am telling you all of this as a warning, because it is a must to listen to. It also shows that Jimmy Wayne has never been a man afraid to express his faith in Christ. I guess they don't mind that too much in country music.
So considering all of this man's overwhelming talent, I really don't think he is as big as he should be. He might not be as "successful" as your Kenny Chesneys or your Keith Urbans, and you probably won't see him starring in any movies with Gwyneth Paltrow. But Jimmy Wayne never seems to be a man who measures his success by album sales or sold out concert venues. Of course, he is grateful for his career, and I think as long as he can make a living doing what he loves and, in turn, using his fame to help others, he will be more than happy with his life.
And a little P.S., he's really cute! That never hurts.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
