Times Like These

1	Me Lovin' You 3:09
2	If She Were Any Other Woman 3:17
3	Back to You 3:08
4	So Gone 2:59
5	You Ain't Doin' It Right 3:30
6	Addicted to the Rain 3:40
7	I'd Run 4:09
8	Dyess Arkansas 4:47
9	Glad I'm Gone 3:35
10	Times Like These 3:30
11	Run Away Home 3:56

Barnes & Noble

Don't be misled: Beneath his burly-boy image, Buddy Jewell is a genuine sensitive guy, but with a zero wimp factor. Sturdy, big-hearted balladeering is what he does best, and he does it often on this, his sophomore album. Banjo, fiddle, organ, pedal steel, and an infectious stomping beat drive the opening tune, "Me Loving You," in which Jewell pledges to "be faithful and true," and sings unashamedly of making a fool of himself for the sake of love. Good man. Taking chances and learning to live with the consequences, for ill or good -- especially when it comes to falling in love -- is the message of "You Ain't Doin' It Right," an infectious mid-tempo toe-tapper. Getting a tad swampy and funky, Jewell sings the praises of a woman who's stuck with him through hard times and kept his feet "on solid ground," in a keening billet-doux, "If She Were Any Other Woman." A beautiful country-pop item, "Dyess, Arkansas" floats along on a sing-song melody reminiscent of a Mac Davis tune, and Jewell offers up a fine, low-key vocal in singing the praises of the unchanging small town and its received values; it happens to be the same town Johnny Cash grew up in, and the acutely observed details of life in Dyess are worthy of the Man in Black's appreciation of the little things that matter. Producer Garth Fundis keeps it country with ample flourishes of fiddle, pedal steel, harmonica, and twang-rich guitar, and Jewell applies his husky baritone in precisely the right proportions to be an effective belter, although he really thrives on the more introspective numbers, when he can dig down for some soulful musings on the state of the heart. This fellow figures to be around a while. David McGee

All Music Guide

Buddy Jewell won the first Nashville Star competition in 2003, propelling him to a number one country album later that year, as well as two singles that peaked at number three on the country charts. All this success wasn't because his music was remarkable -- it was because Jewell cut a likable figure on TV. As a professional demo singer, he had technical skills and a pleasing voice, he was an attractive everyman, and (best of all) he was middle-aged, the kind of singer who wouldn't get a break in the music biz unless it was a stroke of luck, like a televised talent contest. With Jewell in his forties, the show illustrated that it could help break somebody who didn't appear to be a conventional new country star, while giving the audience an emotional bond to the winner, since they felt that they helped give this guy the chance of a lifetime. All of these were factors in Jewell's stardom, since the music itself was standard, by the books Music City country, professionally crafted but never taking any risks. His debut was a success based entirely on his personality and back story, since his voice, as nice as it is, doesn't stand out from the crowd -- unless it's given a big showcase, as it was on Nashville Star. Perhaps this musical conservatism was expected on a debut that was designed to establish Buddy Jewell as a commercial force outside of the TV show that made him, but instead of stretching out on his 2005 follow-up, Times Like These, Jewell not only follows the same blueprint he did on his eponymous first album, but takes even fewer risks this time around. Working with producer Garth Fundis, Jewell has a set of 11 songs (four of them bearing his writing credit, two of them he penned on his own), heavy on ballads and laid-back midtempo country-pop. In fact, there's not even an uptempo cut for a change of pace; instead, it's all earnest, sentimental, and slick, crafted with the radio in mind, since the hook is in the glossy production, not in melodic choruses. Jewell sings sweetly and sincerely, which is enough to make this pleasant mood music, maybe for office work or a lazy afternoon, but not enough to give Times Like These a distinctive personality. However, to his legions of fans, Buddy Jewell already has a distinctive personality because of his starring role on TV -- they know his history, they like him, they're rooting for him. To them, he's treated like any other star, as appealing for his personality as he is for his work, but for anybody who didn't follow Nashville Star and just heard his music on the radio or listened to Times Like These without knowing the back story, Buddy Jewell would come across as pleasant but generic and ultimately kind of forgettable. Stephen Thomas Erlewine