Clint Black’s forte has always been the love song. There are few performers as comfortable with the generous, openhearted writing style of a good love song, and Black's always been able to operate within the grand romantic arrangements of classic country balladry. The 2007 album The Love Songs collects many of his best, but rather than simply re-release them, Black chose to re-record them. By revisiting the old material, he creates a consistency in the album that makes it feel like a concert performance. More importantly, it lets an older Black reconnect with the sentiment of his earlier songs. After years of marriage with Lisa Hartman Black (who appears on two tracks), Black’s views on the enduring nature of love have certainly deepened, and he brings newfound wisdom to these current renditions. What makes the album worth hearing is the particular patience and consideration that Black brings to his delivery of “Easy for Me to Say,” “That Something in My Life," and Jim Croce’s “I’ll Have to Say I Love You in a Song.”