“Slow down some more, Toby!”
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[4.86]
Ramzi Awn: Toby Keith settles into the second verse of “35 mph Town” like a slow drive into town. Don Henley guitars and echos of “Thelma and Louise” carry his voice with ease, and the hook’s groove is worth the wait.
[7]
Anthony Easton: Toby’s politics have been pretty hard to elucidate–half libertarian, and half conservative Christian. Sounding more like Bocephus than he has historically, and ignoring any crime statistics in the last 30 years, this single is on the far right crank end of his spectrum. The interesting thing is that unlike most of his ilk he doesn’t consider it a problem of the drugs or booze. I like happy partying Toby better than sad, angry Toby, but it seems like you can’t get one without the other.
[4]
Alfred Soto: I haven’t liked a Keith single since “Somewhere Else” and his last good track was a poignant add-on to Drinks After Work, and the ambitious can’t-you-see-this-is-the-land-of-confusion libretto suggests he’s trying. It feels right even when it’s untrue: I don’t know what town Toby lives in doesn’t have kids playin’ football after dark. Because he’s the author of “Beer with My Horses” I braced myself for a tuneful farrago; it turns out that delineating the nameless dread of middle age is the point, three guitar notes at a time. As usual the gleam of sin is the attraction: “I’ve had a backroad buzz or two,” his mama reminds him. He’s probably fan of Eric Church’s “Homeboy” too.
[7]
Micha Cavaseno: Dude, heaven might not help these kids, but putting the insane amount of profits you’ve made from your wet-noodle records just might? Throw some funds into fixing that 35 mph town, get it to 40 or something with a new park or a bowling alley or something. I don’t know what they need, but this song sure wasn’t it, jeez.
[2]
Thomas Inskeep: Good, solid song of the type Keith’s really excelling at on the backside of his hitmaking career, asking what our country’s coming to these days – but not in a reactionary/conservative manner (he’s actually a moderate Democrat). And he sings the hell out of it; he’s never gotten the respect he’s deserving of as a vocalist. This midtempo “statement song” is flopping at country radio and it’s their loss.
[7]
Patrick St. Michel: It’s probably because I’m not surrounded by country music, but it’s refreshing to hear a kids-these-days song emerge from the pile of drinking-in-a-cornfield jams and Drake-worshipping crossover bids. Grumpy rumblings about how kids don’t play football and worship the Lord at all times, courtesy of a guy who can’t decide if he’s your concerned neighbor or the middle-aged guy at the frat party every weekend. Like most rants, it gets boring fast.
[4]
Scott Mildenhall: Outright objectionable sentiments delivered with all the finesse of a potato print. If Toby Keith were British, it sounds like he might well be a UKIP voter, even if using his mother as a proxy. Reviewing this song, then, could be a bit like discussing them with one. When you do, and you’re generally opposed to the BNP in tweed, it would be churlish to shut down the conversation from the outset, or be hostile to any adjustment in your position. That won’t help. But when a mega-rich musician like Toby Keith peddles such pandering guff, though, that will help even less.
[3]