Pull My Chain

The massive hit “I Wanna Talk About Me” made Toby Keith the spokesman for a new brand of country music, one that was premised on proudly stating what many men think, but few have the gall to say out loud. The song is rude and slightly chauvinistic, but Keith delivers it with just enough humor to make it acceptable. It solidified Toby’s ability to pull off outrageous songs, and transformed a relatively unassuming singer-songwriter into a larger-than-life mouthpiece. There are other songs on Pull My Chain in line with “I Wanna Talk About Me”— the innuendo of the title track, for one — but a bigger part of the album devotes itself not to bravado, but to the pitfalls of love. Keith has always been good at breakup songs and “Yesterday’s Rain” and “I Can’t Take You Anywhere,” underscored by flourishes of R&B organ and horns, are two of his best yet. On the other hand, “You Leave Me Weak” and “Forever Hasn’t Got Here Yet” extol the satisfactions of long-term relationships. Regardless of his burgeoning reputation as a loudmouth, Pull My Chain shows a man who actually wants to talk about much more than himself.