Don Walser: Down At The Sky-Vue Drive-In

Don Walser is a wonderful throwback to a time when country radio wasn't glutted with slick, predictable schmaltz; when the genre had more to do with heartfelt emotion than Nashville politics and Kmart-friendly predictability. The 63-year-old Texan's greatest asset is his incomparably clear, emotive voice, which has led him to be rightly dubbed "The Pavarotti Of The Plains." But Walser is more than just a voice as big as his own 300-pound frame: Unlike, say, Slim Whitman, Walser is as much about restraint as vocal dazzle. That said, his records tend to be marred by conventional studio-band arrangements (courtesy of Walser's Pure Texas Band), complete with whining fiddles and static slide guitars. Down At The Sky-Vue Drive-In is no different: Sure, his wondrous voice still carries much of the refreshingly old-fashioned material, whether he's yodeling up a storm ("In My Dear Old Southern Home"), crooning the classics ("Please Help Me I'm Falling," which builds to a hair-raising climax), or dabbling in the politically incorrect (the comically out-of-date "Cherokee Maid"). But the recording itself is disappointingly sterile. The lush "Rose Marie," performed with the Kronos Quartet (!), is amazing, but otherwise, Walser's voice would be far better served if he were playing alone with an acoustic guitar. Sky-Vue Drive-In just sounds frustratingly busy and grounded in the studio. He only started making albums a few years ago, and this will do for now, but Walser has yet to make a record that does his monumental talents justice.