James Otto

MuzikMafia member James Otto wants to rock, like many of his compatriots pushing the boundaries of country music, but the best moments on his second album come whenever the twang gets turned up and the volume down. Album opener "Ain't Gonna Stop" is straight out of the playbook belonging to his buddies Big & Rich, an example of the growly new party of country that seems to be sung from the crotch.

Despite this urgent desire to sing from the bowels of ones being, Otto dials it back on "Just Got Started Lovin' You," a winding attempt to persuade his lady to call in sick and stay in bed with him that has a similar massaging effect on the listener's feelings. The lyrics aren't great, and despite Otto's dips into the low end of his range, he's no Randy Travis, yet the song effectively mixes fiddle, Nashville guitar, and the kind of celebration of simple pleasures country music does extremely well. "Where Angels Hang Around" may be a fairly sappy ballad about a sick child, but it's also full of delicate arpeggios and skilled tugging at the heartstrings.

Otto’s stuff works far better when he strives for this kind of sincerity than when he tries to goof around or raunch it up, as on "Drink and Dial," a passable, but blah, song about taking away your buddy's cell when he’s had too many. Much superior is "You Don't Act Like My Woman," a wistful break-up tune with a rocking-chair rhythm and pretty melody that uses Otto's abilities to emote well within his vocal range. Not every track that shoots for straightforwardness is successful ("Damn Right," for example, is initially boring, then overdone), but Otto should generally stick within the boundaries of country rather than try to break through them.



—Hillary Brown
04.08.08

Of all the Big & Rich protégés -- and as of 2008 there are too many to count, with only a capo or consigliere of the MuzikMafia being able to keep track -- James Otto initially seems the closest to Kenny and John, as his second album, Sunset Man, kicks off with "Ain't Gonna Stop," the kind of party-pumping anthem that B&R have managed to turn from refreshing raunch to boring BS in just under five years. Otto gamely spits out Big Kenny's mock-macho lyrics -- including the de rigueur referencing to rocking out at an "Ott-to show" -- seemingly happy to be given another shot at the big leagues after having his 2004 debut, Days of Our Lives, sink without a trace, but fortunately for him and the rest of us Sunset Man doesn't dip all that often into MuzikMafia burlesque (toward the end of the album there's "Drink & Dial," a far better and funnier attempt at this blustering boogie). Instead, it quickly settles into a mellow, romantic groove, lingering on love songs. When the tempo does upshift, it's only a modest bump, as when "These Are the Good Ole Days" eases into second gear with its tuneful unhurried nostalgia, which helps give the impression that Otto is a reflective sort, whether he's ruminating on times passed or heartbreak (or on the easy-rolling title track, both). It all adds up to one of the sweeter MuzikMafia-related projects, one that has some genuine warmth and heart, and if it takes a boneheaded Big Kenny shuffle to sell this very endearing record to a wider audience, so be it: James Otto deserves a second chance and a little bit of pandering has never tarnished a good mainstream country album like this anyway. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide