This came out in 2002 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Sometimes, a song can be too good for the writer’s own good.
Such is the case with Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning), the homespun, touching ballad that is the moral, artistic and literal centrepiece of lightweight cowpoke Alan Jackson’s 10th studio disc Drive. Written after Sept. 11 and unveiled on the Country Music Awards (that performance is also included here), Where Were You …, with its eloquently down-to-earth emotion and make-love-not-war message, is the most relevant and moving song Jackson has written. Which puts it miles above the other 11 new tracks on this CD, which consist of novelty twangers like Designated Drinker and typical country-pop ballads like A Little Better Than That. One of these things is not only unlike the others — it’s so much better it makes you expect more from Jackson than he might be able to deliver.
