One of the most self-assured country music debuts ever, Clint KILLIN' TIME is a watershed of the "new country" movement. Featuring five Number One hits, KILLIN' TIME introduced a country rarity: the artist as a whole package. Black could sing like Merle Haggard, write songs like James Taylor, and he was easy on the eyes, too.
But it was Black's songwriting that made KILLIN' TIME a success--he wrote or co-wrote every song, something practically unheard of back in 1989. Even more amazingly, every track's a winner--even a ditty like "Straight From the Factory" sparkles with Black's clever wordplay and enthusiastic delivery. Though he was only 27 when KILLIN' TIME was released, Black's world-weary tone on songs such as "Live & Learn" and the brilliant "Nothing's News" are completely convincing, and hopelessness and heartbreak have rarely been better expressed than in "Nobody's Home" and "Killin' Time." But the freshness of Black's songwriting really shines in "A Better Man." In describing how a busted relationship has left the singer, not an emotional wreck, but a better human being, Black's modern twist on a classic theme kick-started the "new country" sound.
