Recently in country music we've gotten to a point where nearly anything that's "mainstream" tends to get the fisheye from those of us who "prefer our country music real."  It's true that a lot of music which reaches the mainstream is anything but country, and artists who are accepted by the Nashville music machine are polished to a high shine and lose all their country edges.  But that's only partially true, and we do ourselves a disservice by not occasionally checking out newcomers.  Because every so often an artist comes along who can be both mainstream and excellent, and I think we have one of them in newcomer Dierks Bentley.

There are a couple of reasons I like Dierks.  The first is his sound, which is as pure and true and new as a young Alan Jackson was a decade or so back.  Dierks' debut CD is as good a one as ol' AJ's "Here In the Real World" was.  It's a fine showcase for Dierks' crystal-clear high baritone, which wrings emotion out of every song, from the quick-stepping fun of the first single, "What Was I Thinkin'," to the sorrow-soaked "Whiskey Tears," as terrific a mournful drinkin' song as ever George Jones crooned.  Dierks two-steps in style with the she's leavin' me song "I Bought The Shoes," and the whole disc is worth lines like "I heard that old Jones song just the other day/ 'bout a man who took a broken heart to his grave/ but I'll be damned if a memory's gonna lay me down" from "Forget About You" and "Bartenders, barstools, and barmaids/ bartenders listen when you talk/ barstools are there when you can't walk/ and I'll always make a waitress my best friend/ until the music stops and closin' time begins" from "Bartenders Etc."  Heck, he even closes the disc with a train song (with a little help from the Del McCoury band).

While I was more or less ambivalent about the disc's first single, with the release of the second, the powerful "My Last Name," I knew I'd have to check Dierks out further.  I was further sold when I heard Pete Anderson recommend him, and I found out that steel guitarist extraordinaire, Gary Morse, was touring with him.  With powerful names like that in his corner, I figured I would probably like the rest of his disc, and it was true.  With songs like "How Am I Doin'," "Distant Shore," and "Train Travelin'," Dierks proves he's more than "just mainstream."  He's as powerful a real country singer as there is out there today.

One other thing I admit I really like about Dierks is he doesn't LOOK like the mainstream.  They haven't made him up into a little Tim McGraw, thank goodness.  He isn't blow-dried and beefed up, and he doesn't wear an unblocked hat fresh out of the box that's never been rained on.  Nope, Dierks is as unique in appearance as he is in voice, and that makes him a really fresh presence in or out of the mainstream.  He plays country music drenched with fiddle and steel, he sings about lovin' and leavin', drinkin' and cryin', and he doesn't look like he spends more time in the gym than with a guitar.  Yet somehow he's in the mainstream and getting radio air play.  Huh.

From that, I think maybe there's hope, even for Nashville and mainstream country music. 

Standout Tracks: "My Last Name" "Bartenders Etc."  "How Am I Doin'" "Whiskey Tears"

Final Word: Extremely impressive debut.  I hope to hear more from Dierks.

Online: www.dierks.com

Kathy Coleman TakeCountryBack January 2004