D'Lectrified Review

The best and worst you can say about Clint Black's debut as his own producer is, it's an ambitious, often enjoyable exercise in self-indulgence. D'lectrified is a sprawling, 14-cut mishmash featuring guest appearances by everyone from Kenny Loggins and Bruce Hornsby to Eric Idle (on a clever, spaced-out rendition of Monty Python's "The Galaxy Song") and Black's wife, actress Lisa Hartman Black. Black's penchant for blues and Dixieland-style horn arrangements serves him well on remakes of gems like the Marshall Tucker Band's "Bob Away My Blues" and Leon Russell's "Dixie Lullaby" (where Hornsby gets a fine workout on the ivories). And Black does what he does best on smooth country ballads like "Been There" (a great duet with Steve Wariner) and "Where Your Love Won't Go." On the other hand, his aimless, tepid remake of Waylon Jennings's "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?" (featuring a goofy vocal cameo from Jennings) is little more than a waste of space. Not much more can be said of Black's almost unrecognizable "rethinks" of a pair of his own previous hits, "No Time to Kill" and "Burn One Down." On top of that, D'lectrified has some pointless instrumental breaks throughout that meander everywhere without really going anywhere. --Bob Allen