(Warner Bros., 1994)
by Sandra L. Toney
Not since the super group, Alabama, hit the country circuit has a country music group harmonized so well together, produced hit after hit on the record charts, and only promised to get better in the future. The band made up of Tim Rushlow, Del Gray, Brady Seals, Dwayne O'Brien, Duane Propes, and Porter Howell have completed this difficult task, however, as the popular group, Little Texas.
Their third album, Kick A Little, is a collection of hit songs that could all take a spot on the country charts. Most albums will exhibit perhaps one or two "maybe" songs (i.e., songs not that great but needed to fill up the album), but not Kick A Little! Out of the ten singles on the release, I can't pick a favorite nor can I pick a least-favorite. Every song that the group picked to include on this album is perfect for the unique harmonizing and soft country rock style that Little Texas renders with unsurpassed grace and skill.
The six-member group, Little Texas, became "big-time" literally after their second album, Big Time (Warner Bros., 1993), produced three number one singles, "What Might Have Been," "God Blessed Texas," and "My Love," and earned them Vocal Group of the Year honors at the 1994 Academy of Country Music Awards.
Kick A Little's first single, the title song, "Kick A Little," is a song with a whole lot of attitude as such lyrics as this suggest, "You've got to kick a little and cause a stir/Sometimes you got to make some noise to be heard/If anybody ever tries to hold you back/Yeah you got to kick a little and be tough . . ." This song did well on the country charts and could be followed up by any of the remaining songs on this album.
The rowdy final selection, "Red Neck Like Me" (written by Jay Booker), is the only song on this record NOT written or co- written by one or more Little Texas members. It tells the tale of how little it takes to please a redneck, "I don't need no Porsche car/No pumped-up music or a whacked-out bar/No ghost- white chicky dressed up like a bad black dream . . . It don't take much to please a redneck like me."
Only two of the selections on Kick A Little could be considered true ballads: "Southern Grace" tells of falling in love with a Carolina woman and how no other woman can ever compare to a woman with "southern grace." The sentimental, "Inside," relates how wrong it is to judge people and things without actually seeing "inside."
Finally, as the hits continue for this award-winning group, it appears that their number one song from Big Time is actually coming to pass: "God Blessed Texas," may indeed be correct but, as their radiant careers continue to grow and prosper, God blessed LittleTexas might sound even better!
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