New Country Music: Sunset Man by James Otto
Rocker Nikki Sixx & John Rich Pen Country Music Songs for New CD
Oct 10, 2008
A native of Washington state born into a traveling military family, Otto's second studio album, Sunset Man, is his first offering for the Raybaw/ Warner Bros. label and an album with liner notes that name-drop nearly as much as celebrity-blogger Perez Hilton.
Unlike the gossip-mongering Hilton, however, Otto's merely giving credit where credit is due, beginning with co-producer duties on Sunset Man, which were covered by the artist, John Rich of Big & Rich fame and Jay DeMarcus, bassist-harmony vocalist of Rascal Flatts, respectively. (DeMarcus also happens to be Otto’s brother-in-law, for those interested in the genre’s trivia. Seems they married sisters.)
Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx Enters the Country Music Fray
The first thing to catch this reviewer off guard was the CD’s opening cut, Ain't Gonna Stop, which was co-inked by Otto and an unlikely country songsmith, Nikki Sixx, best known as bassist for metal-rockers Motley Crue. It’s a good-time, partying ‘n’ beer drinking anthem, laced with both smokin’ fiddle and driving lead guitar, wherein Otto tells all he’s “come a long, long way with this bad attitude.”
This track is the album’s official welcome to come on over “to the Otto show.” But be forewarned that it’s a nonstop ride, because “ain’t nothin’ gonna slow me down and I ain’t gonna stop ‘til I drop,” assures the artist.
Ain’t Gonna Stop gets things rollin’ for Otto, but it ends abruptly and listeners' heads may still be bobbin’ for a couple beats after the song ends, thanks to its quick ceasefire. The silence is only a pregnant pause at best, though, and then Otto’s best-known and breakthrough hit, Just Got Started Lovin’ You, begins its initial but now-familiar strains and, pow! Everyone’s on board once more with the Otto show.
Just Got Started Lovin' You Hits No. 1 at Country Music Radio
Written by Otto, Jim Femino and Dee Vincent Williams, Just Got Started Lovin’ You is playful, sensual, inviting and infectious, all at once. It’s one of those tunes that causes listeners to hit the “Repeat” button on their CD players, over and over. After all, it's simply delicious to hear Otto’s soulful “mmmmmhhhhh” and “aawwwhaaa” expressions of longing. Moreover, apparently, lots of music fans were hitting “Repeat,” because the single raced to No. 1 on the U.S. country charts and sailed to No. 2 on Canada’s Country list.
There's no denying this hit will send music fans to the stores in search of the album after just one listen. “You don’t have to go now, honey, call and tell’em you won’t be in today,” urges the long-tressed bad boy of a country crooner. “Baby, there ain’t nothing at the office so important it can’t wait.” Besides, “What’s the point in fightin’ what we’re both feelin’, baby, we both know we’ll never win. Let’s just stop all this resistin’ and give in.” And there’s no way around it, for any woman with a pulse within earshot is swooning, even if she won’t concede such is the case.
Overall, Otto’s voice is strong and at its best when he’s feelin’ amorous or got the blues. Sure, he can deliver those boot-stompin’, rallying songs with the best of them, thanks to his long tenure in the Nashville-based MuzikMafia family, an informal collection of American country music artists founded in 2001 by Big Kenny and Rich, along with Jon Nicholson and Cory Gierman. And granted, Otto’s country-outlaw appearance fits the part, but make no mistake, because he’s at his best when given the chance to bend his voice around a lonesome song, such as For You, the sophomore single release from Sunset Man.
Sunset Man Ranks Among Top Country Music of 2008
Surprisingly, For You managed only to eek its way to No. 39 on the U.S. charts. (Methinks the recurrent radio success of Just Got Started Lovin' You may have impeded this worthy follow-up song's climb, but who's to say?) Nonetheless, it's "only-Top 40" status isn’t reflective of the cut's appeal, because the tune is a winner, hands down, as is You Don’t Act Like My Woman and the wistfully passionate The Man that I Am.
Of course, this reviewer is still wondering how Drink & Dial made the song cut on this nearly filler-free CD. Perhaps a clue rests in the fact co-producer Rich is a co-writer on it, but no matter the case, it’s the weakest link in what is otherwise a solid CD by a deserving songwriter-artist.
At 35, and after a Navy stint followed by 11 years of trying to make it in Music City (including a haphazard, one-CD deal with Mercury Nashville in 2004), Otto’s finally arrived commercially and without selling out. Plus, along the way he's accrued a devoted legion of fans, dubbed “Ottomaniacs,” who’ve happily hopped into what the singer calls “The Otto Zone” for the ride.
All in all, with Sunset Man, Otto's recording career has been given its rightful renaissance. On the 11-song effort, the once-struggling artist demonstrates he can effortlessly combine his modern country voice with rock and soul infuences to create an earthy, earnest sound that’s both fresh and comfortable.
Sources
Morris, Edward, June 6, 2008. James Otto Celebrates His First No. 1 Single, Honor Ends an 11-Year Quest. Retrieved Oct. 9, 2008, at http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1588915/james-otto-celebrates-his-first-no-1-single.jhtml
MuzikMafia entry, Wikipedia. Modified Sept. 8, 2008. Accessed Oct. 9, 2008, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MuzikMafia
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