An ambitious album title like "The Dreamer" conjures up images of poetic lyrics and ethereal musical textures. But Blake Shelton is closer to the ordinary daydreaming variety, because this - his second album - is filled with blue-collar country music that illustrates his dreams using understandably down home and plainspoken vernacular.
Shelton presents himself here as an "Asphalt Cowboy" who dreams of a heaven where he can sing like Elvis and play guitar like B.B. King - instead of appearing as anything particularly mystical. The single "The Baby" has brought Shelton a lot of press and radio air-play of late, but such a weepy balled is an exception to this album's otherwise upbeat musical rule. Best of all is "Playboys Of The Southwestern World," which is a song driven by humorous storytelling and a nice little lyrical nod to Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl." Not far behind it is "My Neck Of The Woods," however, due to its slide guitar-fueled Southern rock that brings out a Travis Tritt-ish side in Shelton. Blake Shelton's music creates a musical place where simple dreams sometimes come true.
