Rating: 7/10
Although I loved and still love Brooks & Dunn, I have been less than impressed with Ronnie Dunn’s solo career up to this point. He recently signed with Nash Icon, a venture between Big Machine and Cumulus Media seeking to further the careers of older artists who are being left behind by mainstream country radio. This is a cause he has spoken often about, even releasing his last album independently after becoming disenchanted with Nashville politics. “Ain’t No Trucks in Texas” is the first we’ve heard from him since he signed with Nash Icon.
There is an electronic beat, but the instrumentation is definitely better than most of the crap on the radio being passed off as country. The song itself is a heartbreak song which reminds me of the 2015 version of George Strait’s “Oceanfront Property.” Basically, the premise can be summed up in this line: “There ain’t no trucks in Texas, and I ain’t missin’ you.” Ronnie Dunn lists off a lot of impossible things throughout the song. Not missing this girl is like not having football in the South, the blues in Memphis, etc. (My personal favorite is “they don’t get high in Colorado.”) Having said that, the list of stuff is pretty relatable and does paint some pretty nice pictures. A comparison to “Oceanfront Property” is not necessarily a bad thing; while “Oceanfront Property” was better, the majority of today’s radio audience will not know that song, and so “Ain’t no Trucks in Texas” will make that kind of impact.
Overall, this is better than most of Ronnie Dunn’s previous solo stuff. It’s a decent song with some substantial lyrics that actually get people thinking beyond some night in a field or club. It feels relatable to today’s radio listeners without compromising the lyrics, and without entirely compromising the sound. Not an awesome song, but definitely not bad.
There is no YouTube video for this yet, but you can access it on Apple Music or Spotify.