Waylon Jennings once said, according to his son Terry : “You don’t bash the things you hate. You support the things you love“. I think Waylon’s wise thought summarizes perfectly what Rich O’Toole is telling us with his last song, “Peter and Paul“.
Houston artist is well known for his excellent songwriting, in the great Texan tradition. Listen again to the awesome “God and George Strait“, a beautiful and personal song released two years ago, and you’ll be able to check all his talent for writing songs that go straight to our heart. He’s also known for his outspokenness and his sincerity. Together with his amazing voice and innate talent for singing, it explains why this independent artist has such a success in his home State of Texas… and far beyond.
With “Peter and Paul“, Rich O’Toole tells us about this “Whole crazy world“, in which “People and politicians lost their minds“. He says “Respectin’ others will take you far” and wisely suggests: “So, take your time for yourself, put your ego on the shelf and drop the hate before you fall into the spell […] We need be kind and spread the love around”.
“Peter and Paul” is a catchy song, perfectly written, with this cool mix of Red Dirt Texas country and rock that is the hallmark of the Houston singer. It also perfectly expresses his thoughts about the turmoil of this world. Thoughts that Rich O’Toole also shares on social media. Just have a look at his Twitter account, where he recently posted : “Most people hate and are jealous because they’re not happy in their current situation or career. Once you find happiness in what you do you will no longer feel jealous or hate in your heart“. I couldn’t agree more with that!
If you love “Peter and Paul“, you should also listen to “Mississippi Baby” and “Texas Queen“, two other excellent singles of Rich O’Toole, released last year. An excellent music video of “Texas Queen” was also recently released, on March 25th. This video was shot during the amazing performance of the singer at the Houston rodeo this year. Check it out thanks to the link below.
Let’s end this review with another wise advice of Rich O’Toole, that the singer posted on Twitter last month: “Let people do what they love to do. They don’t need your opinion. Live and let live“.
Happy Easter y’all! Joyeuse Pâques!
Nicolas Davelu
Country Music France 