(Dualtone) Good Times is Charlie Robison's first studio release since 2001's Step Right Up. It's also his first studio release since parting ways with Sony's Lucky Dog imprint and with his personal life moving from 'newlywed' to husband and father. His latest release finds Charlie, with a few years of marriage and fatherhood (which translates into and experience and maturity) under his belt, making a transition from 'life of the party' to 'mid-life' adulthood.

Back on an indie label (Dualtone), Charlie returns with an eclectic mix of originals and songs from the pen of Terry Allen, Keith Gattis and Waylon Payne with an album that's less polished than his Lucky Dog release, but more polished and not quite as brash as his early indie releases. Lloyd Maines is at the production helm (and also contributes steel guitars, dobro and papoose) and backing Charlie are musicians that include Riley Osbourn, David Grissom, Rich Brotherton and Ted Roddy, with brother Bruce Robison and Natalie Maines dropping by to add harmony vocals.

Charlie delivers his trademark tongue-in-cheek honky tonkers with the title track "Good Times," the raucously fun, down & dirty "Love Means Never Having to Say You're Hungry," and a raggedly rowdy "Something in the Water." He presents two Keith Gattis songs back to back, a gorgeous, soaring rendition of "El Cerrito Place" that features stunning harmony by Natalie Maines and an equally strong bluesy cover of "Big City Blues." Charlie offers up a smoky atmosphere laced with heartache in a standout version of Waylon Payne's barroom weeper, "The Bottom." He also turns in a terrific cover of Terry Allen's Tex-Mex border tale, "Flatland Boogie" with Bruce on harmony. 

Good Times also contains two of Charlie's best ballads, a poignant song of family that seems to be very much influenced by Bruce's style of songwriting. The second is the utterly heartbreaking "Always" with it's mournfully haunting melody. "New Year's Day," Charlie's latest single, is one of his trademark mid-tempo story songs he always does so well, and this one's no exception. "Magnolia" is another great story song, but this one's done in waltz-time with a strong bluegrass influence that works really well.

Although Charlie's finding his middle ground, that's not to say he's going soft. Good Times is still filled with plenty of attitude, but he tempers it with a measure of heart. He doesn't possess a 'purty' voice, but a sturdy one and he's as vocally expressive as ever without being too ragged around the edges. Musically, his calculatedly 'sloppy' sound still holds all its warmth and charm. Good Times shows he continues to grow and mature as a songwriter and he's chosen some strong covers to supplement his originals. Although he's been laying low the past couple of years, make no mistake, as Good Times proves, Charlie Robison is still very much a contender, particularly when he does things his way- away from the restraints of 'major label supervision.'

Standout Tracks: "New Year's Day," "El Cerrito Place," "Big City Blues," "The Bottom," "Love Means Never Having To Say You're Hungry," "Photograph," "Always," "Magnolia"

On The Net: www.charlierobison.com

AnnMarie Harrington TakeCountryBack November 2004

Read TCB's previous interviews with Charlie Robison:

http://www.takecountryback.com/reviews/crrev0601.htm

http://www.takecountryback.com/reviews/crint2.htm