Look Who's Blue dates from Don Gibson's '70s tenure with Hickory Records, a time which saw him make something of a comeback. He had recently rejoined The Grand Old Opry and become sober, and his recordings were consequently of consistently high quality. This album is no exception and finds Gibson effectively maintaining his pop instincts while, for the most part, returning to a straight country format. There aren't a lot of surprises here — just quality songs (written by Gibson, Eddy Raven, Lorrie Morgan, and others), expertly sung and played. Truly the king of the crossover country singers, Gibson makes it all sound so easy. Whereas followers like Ronnie Milsap and Kenny Rogers are pop or country singers depending on the particular song being sung, Don Gibson has a voice that sounds inherently stone-cold country, but is just smooth and unaffected enough to appeal to a wider audience. At times sounding like a subtler combination of George Jones and country-era Jerry Lee Lewis, he attacks each song on the album with sincerity and flawless phrasing throughout. As always, the joys of Don Gibson come from repeated listenings — his artistry, like that of Waylon Jennings, is of the kind that speaks not just to drunken nights and hung-over mornings, but to a deeper existential loneliness only fully comprehended in quieter moments. Not surprisingly, the only misstep here is the one pure pop song, the Burt Bacharach standard "Any Day Now," which was later an international smash for Milsap. While Gibson's performance is beautifully and darkly bitter, the Nashville session cats (Grady Martin, Buddy Emmons) are unusually stilted, which causes the song to stick out like a sore thumb among the other, more relaxed tracks.

DON GIBSON
LOOK WHO'S BLUE
(RCA Victor LSP-2184)
April/1960
Produced by Chet Atkins
Recorded 1959, RCA Victor Studio, Nashville

Hank Garland, Chet Atkins, Harold Bradley - guitar
Bob Moore - bass
Buddy Harman - drums
Floyd Cramer - piano
The Anita Kerr Singers (Anita Kerr, Dottie Dillard, Louis Nunley, Bill Wright) - vocals

1.
MY HANDS ARE TIED
(Vic McAlpin - Roy Drusky) « © '60 Johnny Bienstock Music, BMI »
Well my hands're tied yeah my hands're tied
Baby tonight I like to hold you tight oh but my hands're tied
Well my hands're tied yeah my hands're tied
Like a well puppy duck it's just my luck and my hands're tied
When you call my name I go insane
Oh a date with you would be a dream come true but my hands're tied
[ piano - guitar ] Well my hands're tied yeah my hands're tied
Baby tonight I like to hold you tight oh but my hands're tied
When you call my name I go insane
Oh a date with you would be a dream come true but my hands're tied
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