Randy Travis: Storms of Life

When I got into country in the mid-90s, “On the Other Hand”—the lead single from this 1986 LP—was still in regular rotation. Randy Travis has never been my favorite singer, but the more I listened to Storms of Life, the more my respect grew. Not one song feels like filler, and only a few have even one weak line. Randy’s vocals are unaffected and restrained, but he never sounds unemotional. The current crop of male singers on commercial country radio (I almost never hear females there) could learn a lot about feeling and authentic twang from this record. A western swing influence shows up in the fiddles and guitars in “My Heart Cracked,” in the clarinet in “Messin’ with My Mind,” and in the near absence of cymbals. Spartan drumming keeps the stereotypical 1980s gated effects at bay, so the aura is traditional but not dated. Though it’s not a concept album, each song depicts a storm, from the temptations of “On the Other Hand” to the white man’s blues of the title track to the stark chill of “Reasons I Cheat.” MoFi’s atmosphere bests the already-good 2021 remaster, to say nothing of the original.