Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn are nothing short of icons in country music, a duo entirely synonymous with the honky tonk mainstream country sound that dominated the airwaves in the 90’s and early aughts. You know exactly what you’re getting when you throw on a Brooks & Dunn record– Telecasters with crunchy tone, drums that absolutely groove, a handful of lovely waltzing slow numbers, and multi-part harmonies in every soaring chorus. These boys are just a damn good time whenever they come on through the speakers and it’s going to take every inch of your soul to resist the urge to get up and dance. “When We Were Kings” was the anthem for high school parties for my friend Kit and I back in the mid aughts, an iconic anthem that defined our love for country and our love for the deep friendship we possessed.
Outside of the brilliant musicianship stuffed into this album (as you would expect Red Dirt Road features the creme de la creme of Nashville session musicians) is the the silky smooth lead vocals of primary singer Ronnie Dunn. There’s a metric ton of great fundamental singers in country music, but something about Dunn’s intonation and silky smooth harmonic delivery just sounds so perfectly country. When I think of traditional country singers I’d want to sound like if I could choose such a thing, Ronnie Dunn occupies the top spot most days, and stays in the top five on days when I’m preferring something else. He’s the sound I hear in my head when I hear the term “country singer”.
A final note– Brooks & Dunn put out a compilation album of their top hits in 2019 called Reboot, which features modern country artists re-imagining the duo’s most famous songs. The title track to this album (“Red Dirt Road”) is an absolute gem, and it was amazing to hear how the arrangement of Cody Johnson’s version tugs at the heartstrings in an entirely different way. It’s a worthy listen after you wrap 2003’s Red Dirt Road.
Standout Songs: “You Can’t Take The Honky Tonk out of the Girl”, “Believer”, “Red Dirt Road”, “That’s What She Gets for Loving Me”
