Charlie Robison

Given that it’s been 11 years since his rock-solid major-label debut, Life of the Party, and five since his last outing — the very good Good Times — it’s easy, on first pass, to mistake Beautiful Day as the best record Charlie Robison’s ever made. Frankly, it’s a three-way tie, though Beautiful Day does stand out as the best work he’s ever done without Lloyd Maines at the helm (Robison produced this one himself). It’s also his most overtly personal, or at least ostensibly so; conceived in the midst of his split from wife Emily of the Dixie Chicks, this is, by Robison’s own admission, his “divorce record.” But although the double-sided theme of separation and starting over runs strong all the way through, the fact that four of the 10 songs here are covers makes the record’s confessional spirit seem a tad disingenuous. That said, though, the Keith Gattis-penned “Down Again” still packs a hell of an emotional wallop, and Robison delivers it with as much conviction as he does Bruce Springsteen’s “Racing in the Street.” Robison’s originals, like the unabashedly Tom Petty-ish title track, are strong, too, but ultimately it’s his ultra-confident production — rife with inspired flourishes like the Eastern drone that opens “Yellow Blues” and the seamless fusing of “If the Rain Don’t Stop” and “Middle of the Night” into a mini-suite — that really makes Day shine. And having top-notch players like Charlie Sexton, Rich Brotherton and Bukka Allen along for the ride doesn’t hurt, either.