Down Home in the Country is supposedly
George Hamilton IV's bow to traditional country music after years of making teen idol pop and light country-folk, but in reality, the album is no different from his '60s recordings. In a few cases it is exactly what he was doing in the '60s: "The Little Grave" is a re-recording of a song he originally cut in 1963, while "If You Don't Know I Ain't Gonna Tell You" and "I've Got a Secret" are his third recordings of those songs! The
Kris Kristofferson staples "Me & Bobby McGee" and "Sunday Morning Coming Down" are far from traditional, and "Everything Is Beautiful" (performed here as a duet with
Skeeter Davis) was a number one pop hit for
Ray Stevens. In short, the traditional country billing is complete bunk -- as is the promise of anything new. That isn't to say the album is worthless;
Hamilton's performances are good even if his repertoire is uninteresting, but
Down Home in the Country is one of his least substantial efforts.