Cledus T. Judd

Cledus T. Judd has opted to release half an album this time out, only six songs running less than 23 minutes. His avowed reasons for such a disc are that it allows his fans to spend less than ten dollars for the CD (of course, they also get less), and, perhaps more significantly, he is able to be more current in his parodies of popular country songs. Or, as he puts it in a press release, "I wanted to get these out while the songs I'm rippin' off are still popular." Like his pop counterpart, Weird Al Yankovic, Judd has become an institution much encouraged by the people whose songs he sends up. Maybe that's because most of his parodies are harmless, such as his take on Toby Keith's "Who's Your Daddy?," "Where's Your Mommy?," which effortlessly becomes a song about a father left at home with an infant and quickly descends into poop jokes. The best satires are the ones that have a little bite. "My Crowd," which takes off from Montgomery Gentry's "My Town," actually has better lyrics than the original, and though it nominally comments on Judd's own redneck audience, it's actually speaking, accurately, about the one Montgomery Gentry deliberately cultivates. Technically, "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Pop" is not current, since it is inspired by Barbara Mandrell's 1981 hit "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool." But it actually comments on contemporary pop crossover attempts in a witty manner, much assisted by an uncredited vocal duet from George Jones. The other numbers might not be so clever, but Judd's batting average is still pretty good on this mini-album. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide