Produced by
Marty Robbins himself,
Today doesn't contain a hint of the macho swagger suggested by the cover photo of the singer in full NASCAR regalia, but that's not to say that it's an album bound together by syrup. "The Chair," a song that peaked at seven on Billboard's Country Singles chart, is overheated death row melodrama told from the perspective of the executed prisoner, while "Late Great Lover" and "Thanks, But No Thanks, Thanks to You" are pieces of hardwood Texas honky tonk where all the grit and grain have been sanded away. Elsewhere, there's a heavy hint of folk borrowed from
Glen Campbell -- "Early Morning Sunshine," the other Top Ten hit here (it topped out at nine), is an exquisite piece of twinkling early-'70s AM-prog, while "Quiet Shadows" could've fit onto an inquisitive record by an MOR singer -- that meshes well with the bent toward ballads. Ultimately, these different strands combine to form a record that's meant for early mornings: it provides quiet comfort. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine