"Where there’s smoke there’s fire” proves true once again in an exceptional new CD by MCA artist Gary Allan. Allan’s first two releases, Used Heart for Sale and It Would Be You were universally acclaimed. Good as they were, it’s obvious now that his earlier albums gave us but a glimpse of Allan’s prodigious talent.

Smoke Rings in the Dark takes the wraps off that talent and transports both listener and artist to a new level. This album is alternatively bluesy, rockin’ and timelessly traditional. The superb blend of musical styles is enhanced by expressive vocals and a compelling honesty that ensures the same musical integrity in this album as was evident in Allan’s previous work.

The title cut (and first single release) alone is worth the price of the CD. In "Smoke Rings in the Dark," Allan presents his own version of Dante’s Inferno, sending listeners to a place and time where all hope truly has been abandoned - a place where “the night is like a dagger, long and cold and sharp.” This is a song in which pain sears the soul with a suffocating sadness, enveloping anyone and everyone in a quiet, desolate despair.

Allan “recovers” nicely in the CD’s second cut,"Right Where I Need to Be." The tune mixes a brisk pace with energetic vocals. Add a pinch of a “take-this-job-and-shove-it” attitude and you’ll be right where you need to be with this number.

"Don’t Tell Mama" is a classic “weeper” that would make David Allan Coe, Steve Goodman and every traditionalist from here to Sunday proud. It’s unabashedly twangy country in which “mama”, “pick-ups” “whiskey” and “the Lord” all get a nod. Enjoy! Enjoy! Enjoy! (Especially all you refugees running full-tilt away from the latest “hot, new country”).

"Lovin’ You Against My Will," "Sorry," and "Cryin’ for Nothin’" are penned respectively by Jamie O’Hara, Shawn Camp and Kevin Welch. All three are gifted songwriters who, at one time or another, have tried to establish themselves as singers." Lovin’ You Against My Will" has a slight southwestern flavor and is an angst-ridden lament by a man headed down the wrong path. "Sorry" is funky and fun and "Cryin’ for Nothin’" is a defiant story of love gone bad.

"Bourbon Borderline" is another steel-soaked “drinking” song. (Hey, when you can get two first-class drinking songs on one CD, you know you’ve got a winner!)

Anyone who has seen Allan in concert knows that one of biggest hits of each show is his rousing rendition of Del Shannon’s 1961 hit," Runaway." This song just rips along and, by itself, lightens the tone of the whole album. Was is nagging fans? Good timing? Or a “What-the-heck” attitude that got this song on the album? Who knows? Regardless, Allan hits paydirt with this cover.

Allan introduced "Cowboy Blues" at his 1999 Fan Fair fan club party to a tremendously positive response. In this song, he makes (as he says) his “whistlin’ debut. The song is a new look at an old theme (the lonely life on the road), in which a stage performance is likened to a shoot-out.

Allan takes primary writing credit (with Odie Blackmon and Jamie O’Hara) for"I’m the One" and the album ends with another Shawn Camp song, "Greenfields."

A number not mentioned until now is "Learning to Live with Me." This song deserves mention because it is not only a song of self-reflection but also a song that reflects the overall tone of the album. Allan appears, in this third album, to have gone through a natural maturing process both as an artist and as a person. The devil-may-care brashness so apparent in previous albums is missing here. Used Heart for Sale and It Would Be You featured numbers such as "Send Back My Heart," "Forever and a Day," "Used Heart for Sale," and" Red Lips, Blue Eyes, Little White Lies."

These, and other songs, presented heartbreak and “love gone bad” themes irreverently, sometimes humorously, and with a kicking beat. Natural resiliency was, if not openly stated, at least implied. In Smoke Rings in the Dark, Allan often becomes the wishful, wistful balladeer whose youthful optimism is tempered with resignation and the knowledge that some of life’s experiences exact a high toll.

Gary Allan’s latest offering is a departure, in overall tone, from his previous CDs. Production includes extensive use of background singers and some use of strings, resulting in a lusher, fuller sound. What’s impressive here is how well-suited and powerfully eloquent Allan is in presenting the stylistically diverse material found on the album. Smoke Rings in the Dark is a bargain, not only in terms of quality but in terms of length ( 12 songs, 40 minutes). The album is a winner all the way.

Interview with Gary Allan
Gary Allan at Zanie's Comedy Club

Mountain West Music 2002