Gary Allan - It Would Be You (1998)

Gary Allan's sophomore effort shows considerable growth since the release of his 1996 debut project, Used Heart for Sale, which seemingly filed away Allan's sharp honky tonk edge. This time out, some of the material reflects the soft pop fluff manufactured and sold as country music by Factory Music City, which don't necessarily show Allan in the best light. There are also moments when Allan sounds too much like fellow honky tonker Mark Chesnutt for his own good. Chalk this up to the Nashville production style. Allan's musical vision has always been firmly rooted in the work of George Jones, Buck Owens, Ernest Tubb, and Merle Haggard. These influences are evident in his cover of Conway Twitty's "She Loves Me, She Don't Love You" and the Marty Stuart/Kostas co-write "Don't Leave Her Lonely Too Long." Just as listenable are "I've Got a Quarter in My Pocket," "Red Lips, Blue Eyes, Little White Lies," and the only tune on the project that Allan had a hand in writing, "Baby I Will." Although Allan suffers in the face of the marketing blitz that surrounds his young career, this latter material makes up for it. © Jana Pendragon