Album Review – Clint Black’s “On Purpose”
It’s fitting that Clint’s last name is “Black” because he seems to have spent his entire career overshadowed by his peers, even when he was at his commercial peak. As part of the now famous “Class of ’89,” he was always vying for attention with Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, and Brooks & Dunn. He still was wildly successful. 22 #1 singles is nothing to scoff at. But Garth Brooks stole the show, Brooks & Dunn dominated the duo space, and Jackson had the longevity in the spotlight that eluded Black. Listening back to those early records though, Black gave nothing up to his ’89 brothers, and time didn’t have to pass to rehabilitate the material in the eyes of traditionalists like some others.
Clint Black took some time off to focus on his family in the midst of his heyday, and the decision ended up being a costly one in a loss of momentum in his career, even though he never stopped trying and touring. Even today, he decides to release his first full-length original record in ten years, and the same week of the release, George Strait calls a surprise press conference and says he’s releasing a new record the same day. Now fans of 90’s country may have to choose what to do with that paycheck money instead of placing it all on Black. Only seems fitting.
Ten years is a long time, and you never know what you might get out of these mature artists who are not quite legends, yet are no longer radio relevant. There is nothing wrong with On Purpose. It’s a fine record from a revered and seasoned country artist. But if you are hoping for a traditional country effort, or a revival of the spirit of the late 80’s / early 90’s, it’s not exactly that. It’s more of a late 90’s, early 2000’s, adult contemporary country effort with a few interesting textures and a couple of good songs, but not something that feels like it will quench ten years of anticipation, or set the world on fire.
On Purpose never really gets going. The opening song “Time For That” might be the album’s best, and seems to be Clint’s explanation for his extended hiatus through song. A spirited mandolin and good melody draw you in, but almost immediately you get the sense this album is going to be safe and straightforward in the production. There’s little to no twang here, with most of the guitar work handled with sort of standard Stratocaster tones, and a lot of keys and organ. There is some steel guitar here and a little fiddle, but they work within the same appropriate, but safe lines for the solos instead of stamping any real original mark or texture on this record.
All of the songs from On Purpose work on a basic level, but they never seem to reach any “moments,” and never give Clint Black the singer a chance to shine. “Summertime Song” is an ode to songs that stick in your head, yet the melody is a little to meandering to become infectious on its own, and the line about how you love a song, but can’t remember the words seems a little contradictory.
There’s a couple of songs where the lyrical payoff just doesn’t stick the landing like it should, like in “Still Call it News,” which replaces the two words “new” and “news,” trying to be clever, but falling just short. On Purpose tries to get your heart pumping at the 12th spot on this 14-song album with “Beer,” and though this is no attempt at Bro-Country, it turns out to be about as bad as you would expect from the title—singing the praises of the amber brew while rattling off names of certain localities on the World map, which is always the easy way out to fleshing out a song idea.
It just feels like Clint has no finger on the pulse of what people are listening to out there, either in the mainstream or traditional ranks, and his radar is frozen in the early 2000’s when he last undertook this exercise. Sort of like Garth Brooks, his song selection is rusty. Sort of like the Bleeding Cowboy-esque font on the cover, the material feels a little dated. If anyone will get into this album, you have a feeling they will be big fans of Wheel of Fortune and Werther’s Original.
On the flip side, this feels like a very personal album for Clint. He made it for himself, and many of the songs seem inspired by the station in life he finds himself in. There’s a duet with his wife Lisa Hartman called “You Still Get To Me,” sort of a bluesy, swaying song that goes down just fine. On Purpose has just as many blues and jazzy textures as it does country, which is not necessary a complaint, but the production throughout struggles to give any signature moments to this music. Songs like “You Still Get To Me” and “Breathing Air” also reinforce this moment in time Clint finds himself in, and is only appropriate for him to reflect on and celebrate.
I’m going to eek out a positive review here because in the end there’s nothing wrong with On Purpose and there certainly will be an audience (however small) who will appreciate listening to an album like this. But as some roaring comeback for Clint, or a deep artistic expression, or something that will further the charge to save country music, it just falls a little in the shadows of other efforts.
1 1/4 of 2 Guns Up (6/10)
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jimmy row
September 25, 2015 @ 10:12 am
Trig- Nothing wrong with Stratocaster tones, they can be very twangy. I think you mean pointy wasburn marshall half stack” tones
Trigger
September 25, 2015 @ 10:40 am
Not saying there’s anything wrong with Stratocaster tones. That’s just my way of describing guitar licks that are more akin to the rock world, not the country world with Telecasters. You start talking about amps and pickups, and you’ll completely lose most readers.
Herman
September 25, 2015 @ 1:28 pm
Granted I’ve only listened to the brief clips available on the album’s amazon page, but I don’t hear Marshalls on this record (maybe on one or two songs?). Yeah, most of the time it sounds like a Strat neck pickup, but I’m pretty sure they’re using something like a Deluxe Reverb most of the time. The overdriven guitar parts aren’t nearly crunchy enough to be a Marshall.
gtrman86
September 25, 2015 @ 4:15 pm
It is very easy to pick out a Strat sound from a Tele, especially in Country music. A strat just doesn’t have the bite or attack even in the bridge position, without getting technical it just sounds weak opposed to a Tele. In my opinion there are only two electric guitars in Country, the Tele and all the others.
Gary Jackson
September 25, 2015 @ 6:00 pm
I would beg to differ with that statement. I know most of the old time pickers played a Tele but to me a Tele is too twangy. Some of them makes it feel like I am having an ice pick stuck in my ear. I much prefer my Peavey guitars and amps. I can get the twang if I need it but lots of other tones also.
Trigger, sorry for going off topic here.
Megan Conley
September 25, 2015 @ 10:15 am
My thoughts exactly…nothing especially wrong with it, but nothing really great about it either.
Dusty
September 25, 2015 @ 10:41 am
My hope is that this album overperforms and gives Clint the confidence to record a stronger follow-up.
the pistolero
September 25, 2015 @ 11:16 am
Eh, that’s depressing, although I will admit Black’s early stuff was better anyway. Those first three albums were golden, but after that it was a bit less consistent. I really dug the Nothin’ But the Taillights album back when the title track was on the radio, though.
Trig ”” are we gonna get a review of the new George Strait album too? 😀
Gena R.
September 25, 2015 @ 11:21 am
“Time for That” is a nice, fun track; but trying to put my finger on what the opening riff sounds like… Of all things, that little bit of tune reminds me of the repeating melody in “You’re a Good Man, Albert Brown” by the Dukes Of Stratosphear (XTC). 😀
Liza
September 25, 2015 @ 2:50 pm
The opening riff made me think of Just To See You Smile.
Gena R.
September 25, 2015 @ 6:14 pm
Good ear! I like that song, but I hadn’t heard it in a long while.
Smokey J.
September 25, 2015 @ 11:39 am
Haven’t heard it yet, but that single you embedded doesn’t do anything for me one way or the other. If that’s the album’s best, I have a feeling that I will be bored. I’m really glad he’s back making music, though.
I grew up on all of the early 90’s stars. They got me hooked on country music to begin with, but when those artists have put out music recently, I’ve been pretty much underwhelmed. There’s just no going back, sometimes. They come across as just a little out of their element and unsure of their direction.
I hope George’s album is good. I suspect it will be. Unlike these other guys, he just kept on doing what he was doing, and it still works.
luckyoldsun
September 25, 2015 @ 5:32 pm
It’s funny–Strait has been writing songs–OK, actually co-writing–on his recent albums, which he didn’t do when he was in his heyday.
yessir
September 25, 2015 @ 11:40 am
Didn’t he sign with thirty tigers??….is this that album?
Trigger
September 25, 2015 @ 12:46 pm
Yes, this was released by Thirty Tigers.
Klancy
September 25, 2015 @ 12:27 pm
I thought the fourth part of the class of 89 was Travis Tritt and not B & D.
Anywho, I plan on getting this. Not expecting anything special, I just like his music.
Trigger
September 25, 2015 @ 1:00 pm
Yes, Travis Tritt is also part of the “Class of ’89”. I guess he didn’t work into my analogy, but I think his career also achieved the longevity that alluded Black.
luckyoldsun
September 25, 2015 @ 5:29 pm
Black and Tritt had similar longevity. Black had platinum albums and #1 and top-5 singles throughout the ’90s. Tritt was done as a top-10 artist by 1997, but then enjoyed a short-lived resurgence in 2000-01.
Both of them have been extremely disappointing–and almost inactive–since the radio phase of their careers ended.
Acca Dacca
September 25, 2015 @ 6:12 pm
Inactive sure, but disappointing? In what respect? Clint released one of his best ever albums in 2005 called Drinkin’ Songs & Other Logic (ironically his most recent before On Purpose). Travis Tritt’s first as an independent artist was The Storm in 2007, by most accounts one of HIS best as well (it was re-released after a protracted legal battle in 2013 as The Calm After… with two new tracks).
However, I agree with the comparison of their mainstream prominence. I often wonder what caused Tritt to fall out of favor with radio. His sound wasn’t so traditional as to not fit in until at least the mid 2000s, so what happened? Black was fading a bit by the early 2000s but what really did him in (as Trigger asserts in the review) was taking time off, then coming back with an independent label.
luckyoldsun
September 25, 2015 @ 6:51 pm
I think Black’s material deteriorated. He often seems to be trying to hard to be clever–like he wants to be the next Cole Porter, rather than Hank Williams. I’ll just have to disagree with you on the quality of “Drinkin’ Songs”–I don’t remember hearing any really good songs on the disc. There’ve been a lot of country songs songs about country songs and I’ve absolutely loved many of them–from Moe Bandy’s “I Just Started Hating Cheating Songs” to Junior Brown’s “My Baby Don’t Listen to Nothing But Ernest Tubb.” I thought the title cut on “Drinkin’ Songs” was lame, in comparison.
Acca Dacca
September 25, 2015 @ 6:56 pm
Touche. I personally enjoy Clint’s attempts at being clever, particularly since he often acknowledges them in a winking, self-aware sort of way. I love wit, particularly when it’s not elitist. It also doesn’t hurt when the history of rich songwriting in country music has been completely abandoned in the mainstream. Perhaps my standards have just scraped through the bottom of the barrel and I’m just thirsty for anything with some measure of intelligence.
Frank the tank
September 26, 2015 @ 1:13 pm
Speaking of Travis Tritt, I found it interesting that “The Trouble” made use of the spelling of the word trouble, but much less effectively, in my opinion, than Tritt did.
Jay
September 25, 2015 @ 12:31 pm
Are the Taboola ads a new thing?
Trigger
September 25, 2015 @ 1:00 pm
We are working on the ads on the site over this weekend, so I apologize in advance if folks see something weird, see an obstructive ad in a weird place, etc. etc. as stuff gets moved around and tested. The eventual goal is to make the ads LESS intrusive, especially on mobile, and to hopefully advertise stuff that actually better fits the mindset of the site instead of hot Asian girls or Luke Bryan or whatever crap is being populated that I have little control over. It may take a few days to get there, but hopefully the eventual outcome is better for everyone. If anyone wants to offer their feedback or if you’re seeing something weird, feel free to email me and I’ll let the right folks know.
https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/contact
Jim Bob
September 25, 2015 @ 1:22 pm
Just saw him live last week and it was awesome! I think…I should’ve eaten anything at all that day….instead I got super hammered and fell on my ass from a standing-still position. We left early. Oops.
On the bright side, I was escorted to the car by the wife and not to the jail by the police. So, I guess I’ve got that going for me, right??
Keith
September 25, 2015 @ 3:38 pm
There are 2 Clint Blacks. The one before he was married and after he was married. His first two albums was solid gold country and then a huge let down afterwards.
Albert
September 25, 2015 @ 5:41 pm
BINGO , Keith
Acca Dacca
September 25, 2015 @ 6:14 pm
I don’t know, I like to think his first four albums are all golden. Killin’ Time and Put Yourself in My Shoes then The Hard Way and No Time to Kill. He really let the ball drop with One Emotion.
Adrian
October 2, 2015 @ 1:56 pm
100% agree with this.
John Wayne Twitty
September 25, 2015 @ 5:25 pm
Werther’s kick ass.
Pete Marshall
September 25, 2015 @ 7:20 pm
I like Clint Black better than Garth Brooks. I am glad Clint has a new cd out.
Brett Dale
September 25, 2015 @ 8:37 pm
Killing time is one of my all time favorite albums, it will always be known as his career album.
Pete Marshall
September 25, 2015 @ 9:32 pm
“Looking for Christmas” is a great Christmas cd.
Pete Marshall
September 25, 2015 @ 9:33 pm
“Killin’ Time” and “Put yourself in my shoes” are both of my favorite cd’s of Clint Black.
Acca Dacca
September 25, 2015 @ 9:35 pm
Apparently I need a new set of favorite country artists. Most of my top few (that are still alive) have released albums that haven’t done much for me one way or the other lately. Nonetheless, I consider your review to be more or less an accurate appraisal of my own feelings as well. I’d give it a 7/10. It’s pleasant, but almost unbearably so. It never really raises the pulse, even if there are moments that are good fun. Honestly, Trigger, you hit the nail on the head for me with this one, down to many of the same points only with differing prose. I felt the same way about Alan Jackson’s latest, though it had a bit more personality.
I think On Purpose‘s biggest problem is the adult contemporary vibe Black put into it. The music is glossed to hell. Clint’s vocals even seem subdued by the sound; he never really hits that sweet spot, and I know he still can because he did it in concert here in Arkansas back in November 2014. As I recall, he played “Time for That” and/or “Better and Worse” which sounded much more lively in that context, despite having the exact tempo of the studio version(s). Speaking of tempo, all of these songs are mid-tempo ballads, which might be why the record never really gets going. It’s one of those lazy afternoon records you put on while you drone off to sleep. Nothing WRONG with that, it just doesn’t really feel like a record that took ten years to make. If anything, this one feels more like a middle of the road effort that sells decent upon release but isn’t really remembered years later, even by fans.
I still give credit to the man for maintaining his personality through the record. The title seems to allude to the fact that, yes, waiting ten years to release a new record was a purposeful decision (and he pokes a little fun at himself here). Clint once again reprises to the “theme” of his career with a song about time as the opening number. I also appreciate the subtle irony of including “You Still Get to Me”, which was originally recorded for The Long Cool EP in 2008. Clint said at the time the EP was more or less a preview of his then-upcoming album. I assume On Purpose isn’t what he was working on in ’08, and the track itself is a new recording of the song. Regardless, he stayed true to his word on that one. Ha!
I consider “Beer” to be something of an anomaly. He brought in Big & Rich, which of course excited me as a fan of both artists. However, the song can’t escape the mellowness of the album long enough to be a rousing barn stomper, but isn’t overtly silly enough to be considered a novelty. I think that’s why it ultimately doesn’t work all that well. It inhabits an odd nether region where it’s obvious that the parties involved were trying to be playful, but it’s so nonchalant that it’s hard not to take it somewhat seriously and that kills the vibe. It also doesn’t help that beer is one of the ten words that all mainstream country artists have to include in EVERY song these days, so it’s hard to even give it a chance based on the title alone.
I really hope that Clint gets the ball rolling again. This one seems like he’s dipping his toe in the water after several years of staying dry. I suppose he’s just doing the same thing he’s always done to gauge whether there’s a place for him in the business in 2015. Or not. Perhaps it’s just a reflection of where he is in life. Does country music work best with sad or otherwise disillusioned emotion behind it? Typically, the “best” country records aren’t happy, and that’s what On Purpose is. Clint’s enjoying life and communicating that through song. There’s no edge because he’s comfortable. Hard not to be happy for him, but it doesn’t inform his music in the best way, I’d argue.
In other news, speaking of his fellow ’89 classmates, is that new album from Garth coming this year or not? Originally he was speaking of a double album, then he split it in two for consecutive releases, but he’s been fairly mum on that front. I suppose the slightly anemic response to Man Against Machine has him rethinking the whole affair? After all, I’m still convinced it’s what’s spurred all of the No Fences reissue with bonus tracks talk…
Also, everyone keeps saying King George is going to displace Black’s album sales this week, but what about Don Henley? Is Cass County not going to be tabulated on the country charts? Or do you just consider them less direct competitors?
Trigger
September 25, 2015 @ 10:20 pm
I’m sure “Cass County” will be on the country charts, but I would say it inhabits a different sapce in the country market. Henley’s going to bring his fan base from the rock and adult contemporary world, even the NPR crowd. Clint Black and George Strait inhabit a very similar space within country and an older listening crowd. In the end, it may not affect either artist’s sales. But usually the industry tries to avoid doubling up on dates like that for this very reason.
Acca Dacca
September 26, 2015 @ 12:09 am
Aye. That’s what I was thinking about Don. It’d surprise me if he didn’t hit number 1 this week, even with George releasing a new album. Lack of a hit single might hurt his debut this time around whereas Henley can ride off of his association with the Eagles, but I guess we’ll see. It’s too bad for Clint, though. Who knows, if this album does well if might get him the attention to secure that Hall of Fame recognition you imply that his hiatus has cost him thus far.
Heard anything on the Garth front? Update about the new album or misguided reissue?
Trigger
September 26, 2015 @ 9:32 am
Thomas Rhett could very likely be #1 this week, but it should be an interesting race.
I think Garth is just focusing on touring for the moment while Sony gets its shit together.
Pete Marshall
September 26, 2015 @ 2:38 pm
I’d rather have George be at #1 than Thomas.
Dan
September 26, 2015 @ 2:50 am
as a fan of Clint’s late 90’s music, I found this album quite interesting: it’s enjoyable country music with some hints of pop and blues. I do agree that it doesn’t really feels fresh in 2015, but it sounds like Clint wanted to and that’s what really matters to me. I agree with your review Trig, but to me the most interesting cut is Better and Worse (musically, at least). i think it would’ve been a better radio song, even though I know radio won’t play the current single ”Time for That”.
Frank the tank
September 26, 2015 @ 9:02 am
Great review – I had many of the same thoughts after listening to this. There were a few good songs, a few I wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to again and the rest were ok. Overall, I would agree that this is an average album – not bad, but not great either.
Don
September 26, 2015 @ 1:13 pm
I enjoyed this album. Someone above put it very well in saying that it is a “happy” album. There’s a nice lite, adult contemporary sound that made this a good listen on the ride home. Country lite if you will.
Kevin L.
September 27, 2015 @ 8:57 pm
I was really hoping for Clint to return more to his honky tonk roots with this album. We do have some strong songs on ‘On Purpose’. Maybe the album will grow on me with repeated listenings but for now I consider Time for That, Breathing Air, and You Still Get to Me as some
of Clint’s strongest material in
years. It seems as though they made an effort to ratchet down his propensity to bust it out vocally like he did on the Cool EP’s version of You Still Get to Me and other past songs like ‘You Don’t Need Me Now’
Time for That is more marketable to country radio than ‘Rainbow in the Rain’ was 10 years ago. It’s a longshot but I think it has a chance at making the Top 20 on country radio.
I agree with others that Clint gets too cute when writing many of his newer songs. None of the tracks on Killin Time were all that clever but they were solid gold country songs.
Whatever the case, Clint’s latest album is his strongest since 1997 that has to count for something.
Clint is halfway there. The instrumentation fills of his first 3 albums were excellent and I noticed a definite improvement in this area with ‘On Purpose’ Now Clint needs to write from the heart and not the thesaurus when his next album comes along.
Canuck
September 27, 2015 @ 10:18 pm
Your review doesn’t surprise me, and I agree. Clint Black is a middling artist who had a good run with his early material, but whose relevance became negligible after that initial success.
While I respect his decision to step down from music while he was popular, he seriously derailed his career, and it never recovered. And whoever said that his music declined after getting married hit the nail right on the head. Clint was never known as having a dangerous edge to his music by any means, but anything that was even remotely themed like “Killin’ Time” (a GREAT country song, by the way….a classic, in fact) promptly disappeared. Am I right in remembering that his wife, Lisa Hartman, started to manage him as well?
Clint’s music is alright, but he’s always had to work at it pretty hard, especially his singing. He always sounds like he’s forcing himself to sing, and it’s a strain. He certainly doesn’t have the pipes that many of his contemporaries have, that’s for sure.
Clint Black’s not a great singer or entertainer, but I’ll take him over some of the swill being released nowadays in the country genre.
Jake
September 28, 2015 @ 6:26 am
Trigger, haven’t heard the album yet but I’m curious as to what you mean by ”he doesn’t know what listeners want”(paraphrasing). What listeners want today is complete garbage(mainstream country radio) and the traditional artists of today are making music that harkens back to the old days when traditional country dominated. I will listen to the album and try to see if I understand, but one thing I will bet on now is that its better than 99.9% of any mainstream country being released.
Trigger
September 28, 2015 @ 8:36 am
I wasn’t trying to say Black should make an album that appeals to today’s country listeners. God forbid if he did. I’m just trying to say that the album doesn’t really fit anywhere. Mainstream listeners obviously are not going to listen to it, and neither are staunch traditionalists. That puts him in sort of a no man’s land.
Chris
September 28, 2015 @ 7:15 am
Bro-country and metro-bro are washed in douchebag and the rust of unplayed steel guitars.
Norrie
September 30, 2015 @ 12:36 pm
I’m quite enjoying it,I thought I’d be underwhelmed after reading the review and some of the comments but most of it is pretty solid and Clint sounds great.
Some of the lyrics can be a bit too sugary sweet and it lacks a true killer 10/10 song to crown it but overall it’s a very good listen.
Cowboy Joe
October 2, 2015 @ 2:46 pm
Spot on review, Trigger. Bought the whole dang thing as I’m seeing Clint in concert next week and wanted to be prepared. I really wanted to love this album but guess I’ll have to be content with liking it. It all goes down pretty easily, just not enough stand-out tracks. Time for That is the best of the bunch. Just listened to The Trouble again and realized it’s a deadringer for Garth’s They Call it Rodeo from the opening electric piano reverbs.
As others have suggested, mediocre Clint Black is still a million times better than an outstanding Florida Georgia Line.