What I Do  (Audio CD) 
by Alan Jackson

Swaddled in the usual twang and spiced up by Stuart Duncan's sparkling mandolin and fiddle, Jackson continues his endless exploration of joy and sorrow tempered by his guileless humility. As usual, his originals provide the most power. The joy of "Too Much of a Good Thing" contrasts with the throbbing sense of loss found on "Rainy Day in June." Too cute and transparent for its own good, "USA Today" pales (though the publishers surely loved the plug) next to the finely honed laments "If French Fries Were Fat Free" and "You Don't Have to Paint Me a Picture." The latter, with the line "Your love's like some old cheap magic marker that said forever, now it's gone," is worthy of Harlan Howard. Of the non-originals, "Talkin' Song Repair Blues" may be a songwriters' in-joke, but the Billy Burnette-Shawn Camp composition "Burnin' the Honky Tonks Down" yanks Jackson from his usual laid-back comfort zone into a ripping vocal-instrumental jam. As a whole, the album stands as a benediction to an artist whose integrity and success has prevailed in the face of endless trends and fads that have swept away many lesser talents. --Rich Kienzle