George Strait
Twang
CD ($13.98)
Amazon B002FZL96M
For his 38th album, the Academy of Country Music’s recently bestowed Artist of the Decade remains true to his time-tested formula of tuneful trad country, jaunty honky-tonk and easy-on-the-ears laments, all served up with a trademark twist of Texas trail dust. But look closer for some delightful surprises. Son Bubba (George Jr.) penned the gritty Old West ballad “Arkansas Dave,” Strait sounds like he’s having a blast with Delbert McClinton’s “Same Kind of Crazy,” and he closes things out with a south-of-the-border mariachi number—sung in Spanish! And he still makes it all sound so doggone easy.
—Neil Pond, American Profile
Ghostbusters (Blu-ray edition)
DVD ($28.95)
Amazon B00164GDD2
The door to the underworld opens up (in New York, where else?) and all sorts of ectoplasmic hoodoo spills into—and onto—the Big Apple. Who you gonna call? Celebrate the 25th anniversary of a comedy classic with this bonus-packed Blu-ray, which features commentary, deleted scenes, a making-of doc from 1984, a look at its special effects and interviews with cast members Bill Murray, Dan Akyroyd and Sigourney Weaver.
—Neil Pond, American Profile
Our Boys
By Joe Drape
Hardcover, 265 pages ($25)
Amazon 0805088903
This chronicle of the high school football team in tiny Smith Center, Kan., is a rousing, feel-good tale of players, coaches and community that rallied together for a nail-biting 2008 championship season that seemed almost like the script for a Hollywood movie. If you’re weary of all the “bad news” making headlines these days, immerse yourself in this uplifting portrait of a small town and its people, all pulling together to continue an amazing four-year victory streak—and teach their “boys” what it means to be winners both on and off the field.
—Neil Pond, American Profile
