Music
Dean Miller
Platinum (Koch)That Dean Miller takes on Fred Eaglesmith’s “105” during his third shot at establishing a country music career says something about how he’s evolved since he began playing around town more than a decade ago.
Eaglesmith’s allegorical tale, about a guy who lives faster than everyone else, requires a blustery performance, one that balances macho confidence with a sly wink. Miller isn’t quite as wild-eyed as the Canadian who wrote it, but he comes across a lot less reserved here than he did on his 1997 debut for Capitol—or on his aborted second chance with 2002’s Just Me for Universal South.
In getting another opportunity, Miller needed to show more nerve and personality, and he does just that on Platinum, his first album since joining Koch Records. Miller has an expressive voice, and he’s flashed talent as a writer, but his previous work blended in with several other young upstarts who sang mild-mannered neo-honky-tonk. Miller hoped to tap the same modern country cool as Dwight Yoakam, The Mavericks and Gary Allan, but he just wasn’t as stylish artistically. He lacked the spark that set the others apart.
On Platinum, Miller finds the conviction that he previously lacked. The album-opening “Hard Love” takes Waylon’s low-string stomp and gives it a roadhouse wallop, and there’s nothing timid in Miller’s barbed vocals. Similarly, “Coming Back to You” is the classic drinking song he’s been trying to write since the beginning of his career, and “Stronger Than Your Love” serves up a broken heart with a twist that’s clever yet still grounded in real emotion. Maybe best of all, “Music Executive” takes a swipe at the coldhearted way the music industry deals with the talent it depends upon, and Miller uses his insider knowledge to hit the corporate machine where it’s most vulnerable.
Other than the Eaglesmith song, the album’s only other cover is a rollicking version of “I’ve Been a Long Time Leaving,” a song written by the singer’s father, the late Roger Miller. The son doesn’t scat with quite the insane glee as his one-of-a-kind dad, but he articulates the rapid-fire lines with wit, color and clarity, which is tough to pull off.
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That said, Miller stumbles a time or two. “Right Now” has the ringing chorus of a hit by Kenny Chesney or Tim McGraw, but without the payoff, and “Yes Man” is the kind of formulaic Music Row tune that radio likes but that everybody forgets the day it’s dropped from heavy rotation.
In his record-label bio, Miller suggests that he finally got the chance to record an album without being creatively shackled. Maybe so, or maybe he just needed to get his butt kicked by Music Row to prod him to stop being so polite and put more passion into his work. Whatever the reason, Platinum suggests he’s no longer setting his sights on the top of the charts. Instead, he aims straight for the gut with a force that’s much harder to brush off.