Radney Foster: See What You Want To See

Much is made of "alt-country," which has become ever more loosely defined as "country music that isn't a bunch of canned schmaltz." That definition certainly applies to venerable Texas singer-songwriter Radney Foster, but Foster still resides in the margins: His music is too poppy to be alt-country, too country to be pop, and too good to score widespread airplay on contemporary country radio. Foster has had hits (most often with the duo Foster & Lloyd), and there's a place for him on Triple-A stations, but he's far from a household name. It doesn't help that his new album See What You Want To See was pulled at the last minute last fall, its release inexplicably delayed eight months. That might have something to do with the fact that Foster takes commercial risks—his guests here include Hootie & The Blowfish's Darius Rucker and Lilith Fair grad Abra Moore, both of whom will likely scare off country-radio programmers—but what's really impressive is the fact that he takes creative risks, too. No two songs on See What You Want To See tread the same ground. "I've Got A Picture" starts out sounding like The Wallflowers but quickly acquits itself by turning into a great pop-rock song. "Angry Heart" features a Foster vocal worthy of Dwight Yoakam or Richard Buckner. "You Were So Right" spirals into distortion, while "The Lucky Ones" is a winsome late-album highlight. Then there's Foster's duet with Moore: "I'm In" is a sparkling, spectacular pop-country song; if it's not a hit, there's more wrong with country radio than anyone could have imagined. There are a couple of clunkers here—"The Kiss" is a pretty mundane ballad, while "Folding Money" is a funky mission statement that falls flat—but for the most part, See What You Want To See is a left-field triumph.