Toby Keith: Honkytonk University : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Toby Keith, like any Nashville pro, follows the trends. First, he sang rowdy hits such as "You Ain't Much Fun." Then, in the late Nineties, when country fans wanted sensitive lover boys, he obliged with "Dream Walkin'." When Bush took over and right-wing meatheads were in, he became Mr. Shock'N' Y'All. (Hell, if Al Qaeda invaded the U.S. of A. tomorrow, Toby Keith would hit the radio next week with "Ridin' My Camel to You.") But with the war in the toilet, Keith sounds lost and confused. Honkytonk University is the most downbeat record he's ever made, with none of his usual humor. Even the yee-haw title track, on which he longs to "get down with my boys in Afghanistan and Baghdad City," is no fun