★★★★★
One of Country Music's most-respected artists is Steve Wariner. Blessed with the kind of career all artists strive to have (30 plus years in the business), Steve Wariner returns with his first album with mostly vocal performances since 2005's This Real Life. The Grammy-winner hasn't been idle since then having recorded a couple of mostly guitar/instrumental albums in My Tribute To Chet Atkins and Guitar Laboratory and a very strong instrumental Christmas album, Guitar Christmas...
- www.roughstock.com
2013-09-10
★★★★★
Steve Wariner sometimes calls his studio "Twangri-La," a wry reference to the fictional "Shangri-La" as described in John Hilton's 1933 novel, Lost Horizon. Much like that mystical and harmonious place, Wariner's guitar laboratory is his paradise on earth. This album transports us temporarily to Steve's mythical utopia -- a happy, diverse guitar land where many stylings are heard. The various territories in Twangri-La are Country, Jazz, Swing, Hawaiian, Pop and Rock 'n Roll...
- rootsmusicreport.com
2011-05-11
★★★★★
Steve Wariner has long stated that his idol was Chet Atkins and not only was Wariner lucky enough to get to work with Atkins as a band member but also was signed to RCA Records by him. "Chester," as Steve and those close to the guitar icon called him, produced Steve's first single and then handed the reigns over to another producer and once Wariner had scored a big hit, Atkins fired him from his own road band...
- roughstock.com
2010-12-07
★★★★★
The new Chet Atkins tribute album is brought to you by Steve Wariner, c.g.p. The acronym stands for "certified guitar player," a designation given by Atkins to a select few musicians who he felt made significant contributions to the world of guitar-Wariner was one of only four to receive this honor (the others were Jerry Reed, Tommy Emmanuel, and John Knowles). Atkins, who died in 2001, is one of music's most important figures...
- www.the9513.com
2010-12-07
★★★★★
"What I Didn't Do" puts sins of omission on country's conjugal hit list. "Small Town Girl" concentrates the whole of a genre's nostalgia on one overburdened woman from back home. "The Weekend" takes him off the deep end and he figures better that than nothing. After that, it's pretty generic--but likably generic, which in MOR country is an accomplishment these days.
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-10
★★★★★
Steve Wariner's easy-does-it approach to singing, songwriting, and guitar playing has long proved him a master of understatement, even as it obscured the depth of his talent. On his 18th album Two Teardrops, he continues to shape his persona as the hopeful but dashed romantic, and veers from country lopers to affecting philosophical ruminations. But in serving as his own producer, he fails to get his stronger emotions off the page.
- ew.com
2009-06-12
★★★★★
Despite his recent Country MusicAssociation award (for Vocal Event of the Year, with the NewNashville Cats), Steve Wariner is one of Nashville's least recognizedsuccesses, mostly because his seamless brand of country-pop wears akind of bland gentility. In other words, the majority of Wariner'ssweet-sad songs about lost opportunity forego front-page passion forlittle nuggets of long-term longing...
- ew.com
2009-06-12
★★★★★
By the time of his debut album in 1982, guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist Steve Wariner's sophisticated country-pop sound was already perfected, and it showed by the quality of the material. While the album only contained ten tracks, over half ended up on the country charts: "All Roads Lead to You," "Kansas City Lights," "By Now," "Your Memory," "Don't It Break Your Heart," and "Don't Plan on Sleepin' Tonight...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27
★★★★★
Life's Highway was Steve Wariner's third album for RCA and showed him moving into a more mature musical direction. The best moments here outshine anything Wariner had recorded up to that point, including three hit singles: "She's Crazy for Leaving," "Starting Over Again," and the album's philosophical centerpiece, "Life's Highway." It's odd that someone with Wariner's songwriting stature didn't contribute to any of the album's hits.
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27
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