That's Why I Sing This Way
Daryle Singletary's career has so far been an example of square peg traditionalist unfairly forced into the round hole of Nashville hackdom. His first recordings for Giant reflected the incongruity of a fine traditional singer shoved into the meat grinder of Nashville formulas, obscuring his real talent. Never imitating, his voice, in many ways an amalgam of all those he honors, glides through standards likeLefty Frizzell's "Long Black Veil,"Merle Haggard's "Make Up and Faded Blue Jeans," andGeorge Jones's "Walk Through This World with Me." He also presents some unexpected treats, reviving John Wesley Ryles's long-forgotten 1968 hit "Kay,"Johnny Paycheck's "Old Violin,"Conway Twitty's "I'd Love to Lay You Down," and theLoretta Lynn-Twitty duet "After the Fire Is Gone," sung withRhonda Vincent.Dwight Yoakam, George Jones, Merle Haggard, and Johnny Paycheck all contribute cameos. A newly penned Max D. Barnes title track sums up this loving tribute, and Singletary's potential becomes abundantly clear.--Rich Kienzle