Prior to 2006's
My Life,
Ronnie Milsap had not made an album of new material for a major label in years. The last was
True Believer, recorded for Liberty in 1993, which followed
Back to the Grindstone, his parting of ways with RCA Records, by two years. Over that decade-and-a-half,
Milsap wasn't exactly inactive -- he continued to play shows and record, including re-recording his biggest songs for Capitol in 1996, and a collection of standards in 2004, but
My Life qualifies as a genuine comeback, as it finds
Milsap returning to RCA and recording songs that are not only new, but addresses American life in the early 2000s. This, of course, is most explicit on "A Day in the Life of America," a chronicling of mundane everyday events that borders on the depressing, but
My Life finds
Milsap reminiscing about his life in a manner appropriate only for a singer in his sixties. This provides
My Life with slightly nostalgic undertones at times, but the album never feels melancholy: it's as bright and tuneful and relaxed as the best of his early-'80s crossover albums. In fact, if it wasn't for
Keith Stegall's crisp, thoroughly modern production, it would be easy to mistake
My Life as an unearthed lost album from
Milsap's early-'80s peak, and that's what makes it such a good comeback: song for song, this stays true to
Milsap's strengths as a country-pop hitmaker, yet recasts it in a manner that's fresh without pandering to the charts. If he doesn't make another record,
My Life will stand as a worthy coda to his career, but hopefully, this excellent album will be the start of a third act in a career that's been quite remarkable.
–
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi