Sawyer Brown
Drive Me Wild
Curb Records

My hair was feathered the first time I heard Sawyer Brown "Shakin'" over the airwaves.

One of the things I love about today's country music is its lyrical playfulness. An early Sawyer Brown song, "Superman's Daughter," included the line:

"When she fell in love I never would have caught her
If I had only know she was Superman's daughter."

They shore 'nough caught me when I fell and I've been doing my level best to convert the seemingly unconvertible for the past 15 years. Okay, now you know I'm old. Kate Rice was one of my first converts, and when we were roomies, our answering machine asserted (in Mark Miller's sexy voice):

"If I had a nickel
each and every time
you stopped to think about me,
I'd only have a dime."

Singing "Can I Lean on You, Leona" in the dorm showers converted another friend to Sawyer Brownism. It's not catching on as well as Catholicism, but with songs like "800 Pound Jesus" on the new Drive Me Wild CD, it should be taking root soon.

So, why this trip down the lane of my Sawyer Brown memory? Well there's a point here. When I first started listening to these boys from Florida, I just wanted to have fun - an attribute for which they are notorious. When I was young, dumb and in love, I was mesmerized by their soulful ballads. As I've lived a little, experienced a little, and matured a little, they seem to have matured right along with me.

Most of the band's songs are written by members of the group, predominately Miller and Greg "Hobie" Hubbard. The aforementioned "800 Pound Jesus" at first sounds like just another silly song. But whip out that old English Lit. textbook and look up symbolism. The disillusioned guy in the song finds a lonely-looking statue of Jesus at a garage sale. He takes Him home, puts Him at the end of the driveway, and paints Him white with a purple robe. Now don't blink, there's some symbolism: white equals purity, purple equals royalty.

After losing his best girl to his best pal, the guy takes a rope and jumps from a nearby tree, only to fall into the outstretched arms of the concrete Jesus - a perfect picture of salvation. And when he says of Jesus, "He's a bigger man than you or me," he isn't referring to the statue.

One of the last cuts on the album is perfect for this final year of the Millennium. "Soul Searchin'" has such great lines as:

"When we go, what we have we leave behind,
Oh, but who we are will be ours for all time.
I'm goin' soul searchin' to understand what's in my heart that makes me who I am.
I'm goin' soul searchin' 'cause I know that I can be a better man."

Do yourself a favor and start the new Millennium right by picking up this newest release in a long line of great CDs from Sawyer Brown. You'll be dancing and singing along in no time. And if you want a little Christmas in July candy, pick up their Christmas album, Hallelujah, He is Born. It will have you jumping up and shouting on the first beat.

Those deep lyrics really shine on this album, especially with Mark Miller originals like: "Some call me a wise man, but I believe wisdom is knowing what to seek."

If you think it's impossible to find this CD in July, log on to Amazon.com. This album is worth getting Internet access. Heck, it's worth a whole new computer.

-Guyla Greenly Cooper

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