Track Listing

1. Good Time
2. Small Town Southern Man
3. I Wish I Could Back Up
4. Country Boy
5. Right Where I Want You
6. 1976
7. When The Love Factor's High
8. Long Long Way
9. Sissy's Song
10. I Still Like Bologna
11. Never Loved Before (with Martina McBride)
12. Nothing Left To Do
13. Listen To Your Senses
14. This Time
15. Laid Back 'n Low Key (Cay)
16. If You Want To Make Me Happy
17. If Jesus Walked The World Today

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1121 in Music
• Brand: Arista
• Released on: 2008-03-04
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.com
Within his 2008 release, Good Time, a generous selection of 17 tracks, Alan Jackson sings of all sorts of times. Not only the "Good Time" of the title track--a dance floor, barroom anthem with a hint of Chuck Berry--but tender times ("Right Where I Want You"), mournful times ("Sissy's Son"), lovelorn times ("Listen to Your Senses"), kick-back times ("Laid Back 'n Low Key"), even times of marital monotony ("Nothing Left To Do"). With his return to more traditional country, he channels his inner George Jones on "When the Love Factor's High" and "If You Want to Make Me Happy," takes a bluegrass turn on the uptempo, downbeat "Long Long Way," teams with Martina McBride on "Never Loved Before," eulogizes his father on "Small Town Southern Man" and closes with the honky-tonk gospel of "If Jesus Walked the World Today." Since Jackson is the sole songwriter here, the listener gets a sense of every side of his multifaceted musical personality. --Don McLeese

Customer Reviews

A REAL GOOD TIME!
Alan Jackson is one of those Country stars that always shoots straight. No he hasn't been nominated a lot of late for this award or that. But his work is always there and, for true Country fans, his songs are a must and a reminder of just what Country Music is and how it should sound.

GOOD TIME makes the case completely. The album is Jackson at his purest and best. No real experimentation here. No seeming attempts at addressing the ever-shifting expectations of those new to the genre. This is Alan Jackson doing what he does best and, as the title exclaims, listening to this one is a real Good Time!

Every track (and there are seventeen of them!) is a hit in my book. The sixth track on the album, 1976, a look back at a simpler life, came through as my favorite. The song spoke very well to me about a great many things and I found myself reminiscing along with Alan about an important year in my life.

But, hey, as I said, every song here, from the title track to Country Boy to Small Town Southern Man, is Jackson at his finest. He holds nothing back and, as you listen, you'll find yourself realizing, as I did, that Alan Jackson is a no-nonsense Country treasure whom I hope continues to wow us all with his talent and perspective.

THE HORSEMAN

Classic Alan Jackson
"Good Time" is classic Alan Jackson with the added bonus that this disc contains 17 cuts, instead of the typical 10 or 12 songs. More Alan for the money is always a good thing!

As you may or may not know, Alan's last two CDs were a bit different than his previous catalog. "Like Red on a Rose" (four stars) played with a bluesy-jazz sound, while "Precious Memories" (six stars if I could) was a beautiful and inspirational country gospel recording. Both these themes (bluesy-jazz and country gospel) have always been around in Jackson's recordings, but those two CDs highlighted those elements in specific.

In "Good Time," Alan returns to what made him a well-deserved superstar more than a decade ago. There are several songs celebrating simple living, with "Small Town Southern Man" being a mega-hit in the vein of "Home" or "Drive (for Daddy Gene)." "I Still Like Bologna" represents the fun-side of Jackson (a la "Talkin' Song Repair Blues") and there is a nod to his spiritual side in "If Jesus Walked the World Today." The duet with Martina McBride ("Never Loved Before") is also a standout and should be a #1 single soon. The amazing thing is that all of these are original Alan Jackson-written songs!

The Real Alan Jackson Is Back
I know more than a few Alan Jackson fans who were concerned that Alan's previous album marked a permanent change of direction for him. That album, produced by Alison Krauss, will likely prove to be the worst selling album in the Alan Jackson catalog so it is good to see that Good Time is a return to form for him. His fans can stop worrying now.

"Good Time" is jam-packed with solid country music and, as usual for an Alan Jackson album, the songs will appeal to a wide audience. There are love ballads for the ladies, a drinking song or two for the guys, some autobiographical songs, and lots of Alan Jackson humor on display.

Alan shares some of his own story on "Small Town Southern Man," the first single from the album, a song in which he pays tribute to his father, and on "1976" in which he describes some of the notable highlights of 1976, the year he met his wife at the local Dairy Queen. One suspects that the lady has a sense of humor after listening to "Nothing Left to Do," Alan's description of "one night in the life" in which he tells us that there's "nothing left to do now that we've done it."

Other examples of Jackson's humorous touch are "I Still Like Bologna," in which he admits to enjoying plenty about the digital age but says that he's not ready yet to give up all of life's simple pleasures and "If Jesus Walked the World Today," in which he imagines that when Jesus comes back it will be as a hillbilly.

"If You Want to Make Me Happy," a traditional honky tonk song, kicks off with a fiddle and closes with a steel guitar. What more can a country fan ask for? How about a hook that advises, "If you want to make me happy, pour me bourbon on the rocks and play every sad song on the jukebox." Does it get any better than that, country fans?

"Good Time" includes a love song duet with the talented Martina McBride, "Never Loved Before," that may be destined to be a single at some point. It is just one of at least half a dozen love songs on the album, some of which are mid-to-up-tempo songs that even the guys will enjoy.

Alan Jackson fans will love this album...and, with seventeen songs on it, Alan is offering us a real bargain. Buy this album. You won't be sorry.