Songwriting legend Radney Foster at Second Street Live!

Editor’s note: Radney Foster will perform at 7:30 p.m., Friday (Oct. 1) at Second Street Live! in downtown Fort Smith. Tickets are $35. Link here for more information about the performance and SSL.

review by Peter Lewis
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Radney Foster broke into the music business in a workmanlike fashion of yesteryear. Like such luminaries as Willie Nelson and Carole King, Foster paid his dues as a session songwriter before breaking out as a recording artist.

It was in his capacity as a Nashville session songwriter in the 1980s that Foster first met Bill Lloyd. The pair would go on to form Foster & Lloyd, a successful country duo. After three albums and nine charted singles, the duo amicably split and Foster embarked on his award winning solo career.

While Foster found success with Bill Lloyd, it was as a solo artist that Foster truly hit his musical stride.

On Del Rio, TX 1959, his initial album for Arista Records as a solo artist, Foster would mine the sounds of his Texan youth. The result was an affecting mix of swingin’ honky-tonk that further cemented Foster has a burgeoning light in the country music world.

Unfortunately for Foster and for music fans across the world, his next few albums didn’t fare as well as his debut. Though his albums continued to feature songs that charted, Foster never quite reached the hallowed popular territory of the songs on Del Rio, TX 1959.

This was not for a lack of talent or effort. His albums continued to feature songs illustrating not only his masterful grasp of the English language, but for the truest essence of country music. The compositions floated in that wispy air, on the cusp of their due prominence.

While his compositions often were under appreciated by consumers, his talents have yet to go unnoticed by his musical brethren. Country superstar Keith Urban scored a top five hit with “I’m In,” while award winning talents such as Dierks Bentley, Gary Allen, Kenny Loggins and Sara Evans have also covered Foster tunes. These musicians are among the plethora that know just how invaluable Foster’s contributions to the country music lexicon are.

Most recently, Foster has created his own label, Devil’s River. This past year saw the release of The Revival, Foster’s first album on the new label. His first release since 2006, The Revival is in some ways “familiar” Foster. It’s a catchy album, delving into that murky borderland between country, rock and pop with appealing aplomb and featuring plenty of sharp turns of phrase.

Later this fall, Foster will enter the studio with Bill Lloyd for the first time in twenty years to record original material for an as yet to be named 2011 Foster & Lloyd release.