Posted by Katherine St Asaph on 01/13/2012 at 2:06 PM Reviews

The Popdust Files: Blake Shelton, country

Blake Shelton’s album Red River Blues has given country radio a few meaty slabs (we’d say “its meatier slabs,” but contemporary country’s been outdoing itself on that front for a while now) with solid-romance anthems “Honey Bee” and “God Gave Me You”; meanwhile, on different airwaves, he’s helped raise The Voice to institutional status, in the process raising his profile too. What better time to lighten and loosen up a bit? And what better option does country music (and the human body) have to accomplish that than a drinking song? Listen to the aptly titled “Drink on It” below:

Scene: A country-enough bar. A woman’s about to leave for an early night in, but Blake’s not; he offers another round so she’ll stick around. She’s drinking a Cosmo (meaning, incidentally, that she’s neither the subject of “Honey Bee” or among the spikier likes of Miranda Lambert), and he’s got whiskey. His conversational tone leads, and her light soprano floats in from behind. Guitars twirl about the scene like pleasantries, although she and Blake’s conversation goes farther–Jesus, politics, her prick of an ex and his cheatin’ heart. This goes on for some time, then Blake why not think on it, through drinking on it and maybe sleeping on it? In a musical atmosphere like this, though, he can’t help but sound demure, and she can’t help but sing along. “Drink On It” might end in a nice, quiet affair or in a one-night stand, but Shelton and his songwriters set the right tone for both options sound equally pleasant. Some nights don’t end earth-shakingly but sweetly.

POPDUST SAYS:
[starreview tpl=16]