Search - Ricky Van Shelton :: Wild Eyed Dream

Rockabilly country from an unsung hero

Dino | Scotland | 01/19/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although he enjoyed tremendous success for around seven years in the late 80s/early 90s, Ricky Van Shelton is given very little credit for his role in the resurgence of traditional country during that period. While Randy Travis and Dwight Yoakam are often credited for ending the urban cowboy era, Shelton is usually overlooked despite having equal, and sometimes greater, chart success than both Travis and Yoakam. This album, his first, is largely upbeat in a very rockabilly style. Many of the songs that make up Wild-Eyed Dream would also be suitable for artists such as BR549 and Wayne Hancock - Baby I'm Ready, I Don't Care, Crime Of Passion and a superb cover of Merle Haggard's Workin' Man Blues all jump out of the stereo and create a hugely enjoyable album. Shelton would lean more towards ballads in his future releases, and early examples of his faultless tenor, ideally suited to Elvis/Conway Twitty style country ballads are included here with Somebody Lied and Life Turned Her That Way providing a nice balance between the faster tracks. His last major hit was in 1994, but he continues to record quality albums on the independent Audium label - his most recent release, Fried Green Tomatoes, made my list of top 5 country albums for 2001."