Given its title, it’s easy to assume Here for a Good Time -- George Strait’s 39th album in 30 years -- would be a single-minded soundtrack to a never-ending party, but things are a little more complicated than that.
Strait slips into a reflective mood almost immediately, settling into the wryly melancholy “Drinkin' Man” on the second song, setting a reflective tone he carries through much of the rest of the record, particularly on its companion piece, “Poison.” These two tunes undercut Strait’s rallying call for moonshine on the title track, but there’s not a contradiction here so much as Strait serving the needs of the song, his weary regret reading as convincingly as his carefree partying.
If the livelier numbers initially make the strongest impression -- whether it’s Al Anderson’s sunny pop opener “Love’s Gonna Make It Alright” or a pair of fleet-footed blues in “Lone Star Blues” and “Blue Marlin Blues” -- it’s the introspective moments that anchor the album and lend it a measure of gravity.
And it is just measure enough -- a touch of an autumnal breeze arriving via his duet with Faith Hill on Jesse Winchester’s “A Showman’s Life,” a passing acknowledgment of Strait’s mortality on the sweetly sad “I’ll Always Remember You” -- to give Here for a Good Time some emotional resonance.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Love's Gonna Make It AlrightAl Anderson, Chris Stapleton | George Strait | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 2 | Drinkin' ManDean Dillon, Bubba Strait, George Strait | George Strait | Play | 04:27 | 10 MB | 24 MB |
| 3 | Shame on MeBubba Strait, George Strait | George Strait | Play | 02:39 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 4 | PoisonChuck Cannon, Allen Shamblin | George Strait | Play | 03:39 | 8 MB | 19 MB |
| 5 | Here for a Good TimeDean Dillon, Bubba Strait, George Strait | George Strait | Play | 03:01 | 6 MB | 20 MB |
| 6 | House Across the BayDean Dillon, Bubba Strait, George Strait | George Strait | Play | 03:36 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 7 | Lone Star BluesDelbert McClinton, Gary Nicholson | George Strait | Play | 04:18 | 9 MB | 30 MB |
| 8 | Three Nails and a CrossBobby Boyd, Dean Dillon, Bubba Strait, George Strait | George Strait | Play | 03:43 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 9 | Blue Marlin BluesDean Dillon, Bubba Strait, George Strait | George Strait | Play | 03:24 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | I'll Always Remember YouDean Dillon, Bubba Strait, George Strait | George Strait | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 11 | A Showman's Life (with Faith Hill) | George Strait | Play | 04:43 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 41 mins | 94 MB | |||||
| 37 mins | 233 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chuck Ainlay | Engineer, Mixing |
| 2 | Craig Allen | Design |
| 3 | Al Anderson | Composer |
| 4 | Eddie Bayers | Drums |
| 5 | Bobby Boyd | Composer |
| 6 | Tony Brown | Producer |
| 7 | Terry Calonge | Photography |
| 8 | Chuck Cannon | Composer |
| 9 | Jim Cooley | Assistant |
| 10 | Dean Dillon | Composer |
| 11 | Stuart Duncan | Fiddle, Mandolin |
| 12 | Tom Flora | Vocals (Background) |
| 13 | Kelley Fromme-May | Photography |
| 14 | Amy Garges | Production Assistant |
| 15 | Vanessa Gavalya | Photography |
| 16 | Steve Gibson | Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 17 | Wes Hightower | Vocals (Background) |
| 18 | Faith Hill | Featured Artist, Vocals (Background) |
| 19 | Bob Ludwig | Mastering |
| 20 | Brent Mason | Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 21 | Delbert McClinton | Composer |
| 22 | Steve Nathan | Hammond B3, Piano, Synthesizer |
| 23 | Gary Nicholson | Composer |
| 24 | Danny O'Brian | Booking |
| 25 | Matt Rollings | Hammond B3, Piano, Wurlitzer |
| 26 | Brandon Schexnayder | Assistant, Engineer |
| 27 | Allen Shamblin | Composer |
| 28 | Marty Slayton | Vocals (Background) |
| 29 | Chris Stapleton | Composer, Vocals (Background) |
| 30 | Bubba Strait | Composer |
| 31 | George Strait | Composer, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 32 | Ilya Toshinsky | Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 33 | Brian David Willis | Digital Editing |
| 34 | Jesse Winchester | Composer |
| 35 | Erv Woolsey | Management |
| 36 | Glenn Worf | Bass, Bass (Upright) |
| 37 | Brian Wright | A&R |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |