Once again a major star has decided he wants to PRODUCE and not just sing and play, and once again the results are schizophrenically uneven.

First of all, the title of this album is grandiosely misleading in that I was expecting perhaps just Clint, a guitar, bass and such, since I thought this CD was supposed to be some sort of "Unplugged" deal. Instead he has 40 billion people on this album, he just happens to always be playing acoustic guitar. (Hmmm...yeah...whatever...)

We have a number of INCREDIBLY annoying, bluesy, "jam" tunes that go on forever, and contain so many harmonica riffs that a harmonica maker would be come ill. (Including the grating opening number "Bob Away My Blues") We have some nice tunes that DO recall the good, pure, country of Clint's other work, including the catchy "Hand In The Fire," and the lovely ballads "Where You're Love Won't Go" and "Love She Can't Live Without." We also have inordinate messes of songs that defy genre. New age lyrics collide with barbershop harmony on something called "Galaxy Song." Then there's some Country-Pop, some of which works fine, like the #1 smash Clint sings with his wife "When I Said I Do." But, some of which is downright embarrassing, as in the atrocious "Harmony," sung with Kenny Loggins, unfortunately sounding like a very BAD version of the early 70's Loggins and Messina AM Radio easy listening pablum.

Then, perhaps most odd, are the covers. One works phenomenally, with Clint taking a turn with Waylon himself on Waylon's "Are you Sure Hank Done It This Way?" but changing the name Hank in the chorus and the title to Waylon. (Yes, this is just as odd as it sounds, but somehow it works.) Then Clint covers two of his OWN songs. His jarring redux of his smash ballad "Burn One Down" into a jaunty pop number is attractive enough, but still mighty confusing. But, his heavy-beat-added reinterpretation of his early song "No Time To Kill" is irresistible.

Once again, a star has been given free reign to run all over creation creatively. This is never a BAD thing, but more times than not, the results are confusing, disjointed, or just flat-out weird. As much as I love Clint, I am afraid this album is definitely no exception.