Jerry Jeff Walker - Contrary to Ordinary

All Music Guide

1978's Contrary to Ordinary was the beginning of a shift in Jerry Jeff Walker's music that would forever take him away from the simple songwriting and production style that had created such a magical run of albums from 1970-1977. It would also be his last album for MCA. Does that mean this isn't a fine recording? Hardly. In fact, it might be the last of his consistent records, but it brings huge production into his material as well as his deep love of the Caribbean, as evidenced by the opener, "Tryin' to Hold the Wind up With a Sail," with its faux-calypso rhythms and synthed steel-drum sounds. "Saturday Night Special" has Walker working with a fretless bass player and covering the Lee Clayton tune with a full horn section and funky backbeat. But it works like a mother; the Jerry Lee Lewis-meets-Albert Ammons boogie-woogie of "Suckin' a Big Bottle of Gin" doesn't. But there is a true classic here -- Walker's reading of Rodney Crowell's "Til I Gain Control Again" closes side one, and it...'s one of the finest versions of the song ever cut. Walker is totally believable as a character who is just barely hanging on to life by a thread because of his brokenness and being ravaged by love. The title cut is a Walker anthem and here it comes off purely and without artifice. Ultimately, this is a fine album, but it feels unsure of itself and very self-conscious. The songs don't feel linked thematically as they did on previous records. But it holds up well over time, unlike a lot of other albums from the period. - Thom Jurek, All Music Guide Read more Less