Full Speed Ahead In Reverse5 Out Of 5 Stars
Everyone's favorite out Canadian Cowboy, Drake Jensen, has set the control of his Wayback Machine for his new "Retro" album. Doing a covers album is always a risky venture as you're just as likely to step on a sacred cow than give a song proper respect. Drake walks that balance really well here, making his retro-world a place where Cyndi Lauper cuddles up to George Strait as easily as Pam Tillis plays footsie with Billy Idol. The thread that ties it all together is Drake's honey sweet voice, which, at times does resemble Strait's. It's not a completely country album, but you'll be surprised at just how much Lauper's "I Drove All Night" sounds with just a hint of Texas. Ditto for Idol's "Eyes Without A Face."
That's part of the fun of "Retro." There are a couple of die-hard country standards here, including the late Dan Seals' heart-breaker, "Everything That Glitters is Not Gold" and Strait's "Amarillo By Morning." He's also unafraid about some gender switching covering Tillis and Reba McEntire ("You Lie"). He also steps up to the plate to do a duet (originally by Seals and Marie Osmond) with Tia McGraff for "Meet Me In Montana." There are other artists here that you may be familiar with, some maybe not, But the result is pure; "Retro" may be a collection of oldies, but Drake Jensen makes them sound just like you'd want them to.
I can also recommend Drake's other studio albums linked below. "Stand By Your Man" is a good kicker single.
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