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Reviews

Album Review: Kenny Chesney–Songs For The Saints

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Rating: 8/10

*All proceeds from the sale of Songs for the Saints will go to hurricane relief for the people of St. John*

Yes, Kenny Chesney has made a career largely out of setting the island life of his home on St. John to music. There are two sides to this coin, though: the side with carefree anthems like “No Shoes, NO Shirt, NO Problems,” and the side with the beautiful, introspective songs like “Old Blue Chair.” There will always be Chesney detractors and people who just don’t like beach songs, but for this listener, he hasn’t been a problem in the mainstream by any means until recently. with his last couple albums, Chesney has just not really been himself, much of the material just being bland and lacking substance. I wrote a piece in 2017 about mainstream artists I wished would just get back to being themselves as Brad Paisley had done on Love and War. Dierks Bentley did this on The Mountain, while Keith Urban released one of the worst albums I’ve ever heard with Graffiti U and continued to destroy his credibility and legacy. Kenny chesney joins Paisley and Bentley, making a substantive, smart, and introspective album and returning to what made him great in the first place. If you weren’t a fan of Kenny or beach songs before, this record isn’t going to change your mind, but if you’ve been a fan previously and have become disappointed by his recent output, this is a really nice return to form. It’s the album you want from Kenny Chesney and certainly one of the best mainstream releases of 2018 so far.

That introspective side to his style dominates this record. Chesney was shaken after Hurricane Irma devastated St. John in 2017, flying in medical supplies and aiding in the relief effort while he worked on this album. His kinship with the place and people inspired this project; the “saints” are the people of St. John, resilient and faithful to rebuild after the devastation. This record is a story of hope and perseverance, and Chesney’s love for these people and this island is on full display here. You can tell by listening that he is deeply affected, and the resultant songs are wistful and thoughtful rather than fluffy beach fare. As mentioned above, all proceeds from Songs for the Saints will go toward disaster relief for the people of St. John.

It takes a bit for this album to hit its stride. There’s nothing inherently bad on this record, but the only really great moment of the first five tracks is “Pirate song,” a rambling song like so many others, yet focused on sailing the seas rather than life on the road drifting from town to town. “Get along” is admittedly much better here than it was as a single, and I’ll gladly take back my words in context of the album. The whole record has this carefree, relaxed vibe, and the introspection of “Get Along,” though still lightweight compared to some of the rest of these songs, does fit in here rather well. This first half is already an improvement for Chesney, but it’s definitely the weaker half of the project.

It’s at track 6, with the cover of Lord Huron’s “Ends of the Earth,” where the album really hits its sweet spot, going from something decent and fun to something really wonderful. This song captures that rambling, drifting sentiment first introduced in “Pirate song,” and the production really adds something special to it. The song slowly builds throughout, from relaxed and content to determined and intense; that moment when the drums come in at the first chorus is one of my favorite musical moments of 2018. This was an excellent selection for Kenny Chesney to cover.

Kenny’s penchant for selecting great songs continues with “Gulf Moon,” a song written and previously recorded by Texas songwriter John Baumann, whose latest record Proving Grounds was one of the best of 2017, coming in at #10 on my year-end album list. “Gulf Moon” has all the earmarks of a John Baumann tune, rife with description and detail, from the bartender who “works the jar with a discount flirt, a faded Houston Oilers shirt” to describing the night sky as “the black expanse where the stars flicker and planets dance.” If you’re stumbling onto this song as a Chesney fan, please go check out John Baumann. The same is true for Travis Meadows, who co-wrote the album closer, “Better Boat” with Liz Rose. Meadows’ version came on the 2017 record First Cigarette, which reached #13 on the year-end list here. ON Meadows’ album, this song of overcoming adversity and learning to ride the waves in the storms of life reflected the themes of nostalgia and determination permeating that record; on Chesney’s album, with the references to boats and waves and the gentle harmonies of Mindy Smith, (Mindy Smith, by the way, not some mid-level pop star), it becomes a standout and a fitting conclusion to this statement. And you can’t argue with the selection of Jimmy Buffett’s wistful “Trying to reason with Hurricane season” and the decision to feature Buffett on this version.

Even among the lighter songs, there’s substance and depth. “Island Rain” uses the metaphor of that elusive phenomenon, here and gone in five minutes’ time, to illustrate the passing of life’s troubles, all your worry being washed away by the cleansing rain. “Every Heart” compares all of us to islands, shipwrecked and searching out in the wind for life’s answers. There’s a thread of hope and resiliency running through this whole thing that is so uplifting and encouraging.

I don’t think this album is going to create new Kenny Chesney apologists, except maybe those John Baumann fans checking out this recording of “Gulf Moon,” but it is the album to turn back those hesitant Chesney fans who were disappointed by his more recent releases. Similar to Brothers Osborne’s latest album, this record captures the islands and beaches in a way that’s thoughtful and introspective. It’s beachy, yes, but in the way of the locals, not in the way of the tourists who flock to the islands when the weather is right. This is an album of the people who call this place their home, who see the other side of the ocean’s beauty when the storms come and destroy homes and claim lives, and yet still have the courage to rebuild because this place is in their blood. It’s in the heart and soul of Kenny Chesney, and Songs for the Saints is him wearing his heart on his sleeve. This is one of his strongest and most personal records to date.

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Reviews

Single Review: Carrie Underwood’s “Cry Pretty”

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Rating: 8/10

Yes, Carrie Underwood has new music. I think we all knew that if we were living anywhere on the planet this week, so let’s get right to the point.

This song so blatantly flaunts established country radio convention that it becomes necessary to make a list of things it does to fly in the face of that institution.

  • it’s a mid-tempo ballad, not some upbeat summer anthem
  • it contains actual steel guitar
  • it features four female songwriters which must be some sort of unspoken crime in Nashville
  • it actually speaks to the female perspective instead of whatever “Female” thought it was doing
  • there’s actual emotion, but it’s nothing to do with love or anything else stereotypical

And yet, Carrie Underwood has the gall to release this to country radio–not only that, to choose to release it despite the pressure to release her Super Bowl anthem “The Champion” which featured Ludacris instead. That song, despite not being country in the slightest and not being very good in whatever genre it landed beyond its original purpose, probably would have done well in today’s radio environment. Yet she chose this decidedly country pop song and exercised leadership with that decision, more than we can say for many other mainstream country artists.

The song itself starts off with just Carrie and some very faint electric guitar, and credit to her for being very restrained at the beginning and slowly building throughout the song to reflect emotions getting out of hand and becoming uncontrollable. She’s singing about those times when our emotions get the best of us; we can fake it with a”pretty lie” or brush it off with a “pretty smile,” but it’s impossible to “cry pretty.” She asserts that crying is human and all part of being a person and a woman–it could be in response to the way she removed herself from the public to heal after injuring her face, but the details are vague. The vagueness is both a drawback to the song and a thing that will keep it more relatable to a wider audience. This is Carrie Underwood, famous singer, always in the spotlight, actually being vulnerable and making herself an equal with all of us. It’s why this song will work–it shows that she’s really not that different to any of us, and it will speak to people because of that.

And it will most likely get played on country radio as well because it’s Carrie Underwood we’re talking about, and she’s pretty much one of the only women guaranteed to have success in the format. Credit to her for taking advantage of that position and releasing this song, adding her name to the growing number of artists channeling good singles out into the mainstream.

Written by: Carrie Underwood, Lori McKenna, Liz Rose, Hillary Lindsey

Reviews

Single Review: Miranda Lambert’s “Keeper of the Flame”

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Rating: 8/10

Maybe “Vice” was too edgy and serious, and country radio was too afraid to play a song about a woman drinking and having casual sex. I have no idea what the problem with “We Should be Friends” was, but since it wasn’t one of the standouts from The Weight of These Wings for me personally and also didn’t seem to resonate extremely well with the public, I’ll give country radio a pass here. And “Tin Man” was obviously just too good and too country for the format in order to ever have any hope of success, despite its ridiculous sales and award show spikes, because promoting a single with proven sales behind it just makes too much sense.

But if “Keeper of the Flame” can’t manage to do something meaningful at radio, I will be forced to conclude that it’s because Miranda has breasts–because this is a perfect 2018 country radio single, complete with anthemic lyrics, a catchy melody, and your standard rising choruses so common to the format. And oh yeah, it actually has substance and pays tribute to the singers who came before Lambert and the ones who will come after, as she keeps the flame of country music alive. But although it honors tradition lyrically, its production is modern country rock, featuring synthesizers, and in short, not something which should be polarizing to radio. In fact, it’s a song that bridges the gap between the mainstream and independent, the modern and traditional very well, like the way we had all hoped Scotty McCreery might do with his latest album.

This single is an example of how to move country music forward in a respectful manner, and in a practical sense, it’s also the best one Miranda Lambert has chosen from this album. Let’s hope it can make an impact and that her radio career isn’t completely dead at this point because success for this song means success for a song of substance, for a woman artist who deserves to be recognized, and most importantly, for a song that actually sounds like it belongs in the country genre.

Written by: Miranda Lambert, Natalie Hemby, Liz Rose

Reviews

Album Review: Liz Rose–Swimming Alone

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Rating: 6/10

If you listened to the first two Taylor Swift albums–you know, back when she did sound rather country–you’ve heard a Liz Rose song. Liz Rose is most famous for having co-written most of the songs on Swift’s first two albums and helping to make her career, lending the skill of a professional songwriter to stories from a girl over thirty years younger and somehow making the partnership work to perfection. Liz Rose also has a songwriting credit on Little Big Town’s “Girl crush,” as well as many other mainstream hits, always seeming to find that balance between commercial success and critical acclaim. So when news came that she was releasing an album, that couldn’t be taken lightly; rather, it was like hearing about Natalie Hemby, Lori McKenna, and Brandy Clark before her, definitely something to be excited and intrigued about.

The difference? Liz Rose didn’t want to make this record “pitchable.” She didn’t come into it looking for subsequent records or tour dates–in fact, she said that after she wrote the album closer, “My Apology,” she felt like the story had ended, and this might be the only Liz rose record to ever grace our presence. Also, she’s not a performer, though her vocal talent here would counter that notion. Still, you have to come into this record knowing what it is to fully get it; it’s just a little story of Rose’s life told in song, and she just happened to have Nashville connections and a publishing company, so you stumbled upon a copy.

That’s the cool thing about this record. It’s dated, but not in the timeless, throwback way of Colter wall, more like in the way of your mom or aunt or grandma telling their stories about growing up in the 50’s and 60’s. It’s trapped there in that time period, and that’s why it’s crucial to understand where Liz Rose is coming from lest it just be an out-of-date, old-fashioned affair. One of the best songs here is the opener, “Grocery Money,” where Rose tells of her mother’s sacrifice and shares the details about growing up with little but somehow always having enough to get by. You’ll hear in “Five ‘n’ Dime” how she worked with her family at one of these stores, in “Woodstock” that she was pissed off to be too young in 1969 to go, and in “Tulsa” about an adventure with her best friend when she was thirteen and ran away from home to “God knows where, Oklahoma.” You’ll get a sense of her fearlessness and motivation to carve out a career for herself in the songwriting industry, an industry she entered at the age of thirty-seven, when you hear “Swimming Alone” and learn that she’s used to finding her own way. You’ll get a glimpse into her love life with “Letters From Prison,” telling the story of a teenage boyfriend who later sent letters to her office and wanted autographs of country stars to distract him from his “personal hell,” and “Ex-Husbands,” the humorous tale of her marriage history that is the highlight of this record and has the potential to get cut despite Rose writing the album to be “unpitchable.” There are also more touching moments, like the aforementioned “My Apology,” where Liz Rose apologizes to her parents, old lovers, and even herself for her mistakes, and “Yellow Room,” where she’s missing and saying goodbye to her father. all in all, it’s a very personal, very unique reflection of her life, much like a snapshot into the life of a relative or a friend, only told in musical form.

AT the same time, that’s also the thing that holds this record back. It’s very personal and cool, but in many places so much so that it won’t be relatable to many. That’s not what Liz rose was going for here, though; she just wanted to make a record for herself. I think people who grew up in these same times will find much to relate to and to love about this album anyway, and this is why I featured it. Personally, although it’s a really cool album and idea, and although the production makes it much more catchy and less boring than these types of singer-songwriter albums generally are, it doesn’t hold up for me beyond the initial interesting glimpse into the life of Liz Rose. The songs “Grocery Money,” “ex-Husbands,” and “Woodstock” stand out above the others, and as a fan, I would pick them off the record; indeed, that’s almost what I did in order to feature Liz rose and this album. I wanted to enjoy this more, particularly as someone who respects the songwriting of Rose, but at the end of the day, a lot of it just isn’t for me, and that directly speaks to the fact that I can’t really relate to these stories and times. But it’s a record that will be for a lot of people despite, or perhaps even because of, its personal nature. People from Rose’s generation especially will connect to this album, and in light of Liz Rose’s intent with this project, the result was a cool listen if nothing else.

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Commentary

The 49th Annual CMA Award Nominees, With Commentary

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The nominees are in, after
the CMA flipped off the entire genre by allowing Steven Tyler and Kelsea Ballerini to announce them this morning on Good Morning America. Here are the nominees, predictions, and some personal commentary.

Musician of the Year

Sam Bush (mandolin) [yes, apparently mandolins are still in country music somewhere, who knew?]
Jerry Douglas (dobro)
Paul Franklin (steel guitar) [see above comment about mandolin]
Dan Huff (guitar)
Mac McAnally (guitar)
Prediction: Mac McAnally–He has won for the past seven years, and I doubt many artists voting have much of an idea what a “mandolin,” “steel guitar,” or “dobro,” is, so Dan Huff is the only one with a shot of defeating him.
Preference: none

Music Video of the Year

Interestingly, this category is female-dominated…I guess in videos, females are okay.

“Biscuits”–Kacey Musgraves, directed by Marc Klasfeld
“Girl Crush”–Little Big Town, directed by Karla Welch and Matthew Welch
“Girl in a Country Song”–Maddie & Tae, directed by TK McKamy
“Little Red Wagon”–Miranda Lambert, directed by Trey Vanjoy
“Something in the Water”–Carrie Underwood, directed by Raj Kapoor
Prediction: “Girl in a Country Song”
Preference: “Girl in a Country Song”

Event of the Year

Django and Jimmie–Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, Legacy Recordings [excellent]
“Lonely Tonight”–Blake Shelton featuring Ashley Monroe, Warner Bros./Warner Music Nashville [again, good job]
“Raise ’em Up”–Keith Urban featuring Eric Church, Hit Red Records/Capitol Records Nashville [decent]
“Smokin’ and Drinkin'”–Miranda Lambert featuring Little Big Town, RCA Nashville [no]
“Wild Child”–Kenny Chesney with Grace Potter, Blue Chair Records/Columbia Nashville [good]
Prediction: “Lonely Tonight”
Preference: Willie and Merle’s album would be a cool winner, but I’d be fine with “Lonely Tonight” as well.

Vocal Duo of the Year

Brothers Osborne [meh]
Dan + Shay [no]
Florida Georgia Line [God no]
Maddie & Tae [yes]
Thompson Square [no]
Prediction: Florida Georgia Line
Preference: Maddie and Tae
Note: This is FGL’s only nomination…bro country really has taken a hit. Too bad that the Sam Hunt style has come behind it.

Vocal Group of the Year

Lady Antebellum [no]
Little Big Town [meh]
Rascal Flatts [no]
The Band Perry [God no]
Zac Brown Band [not bad]
Prediction: Little Big Town
Preference: Blackberry Smoke? Out of these, I suppose Little Big Town will have to do.

New Artist of the Year

Kelsea Ballerini [no]
Sam Hunt [if he wins, I will never watch the CMA Awards again, I swear to you all]
Maddie & Tae [good]
Thomas Rhett [God no]
Chris Stapleton [shocking and good]
Prediction: Sam Hunt
Preference: Maddie & Tae or Chris Stapleton
Notes: Glad to see Stapleton with a nomination here, but if Sam Hunt wins this, as he undoubtedly will, my days of watching the CMA’s are done indefinitely.

Single of the Year

“American Kids”–Kenny Chesney, produced by Buddy Cannon and Kenny Chesney, Blue Chair Records/Columbia Nashville
“Girl Crush”–Little Big Town, produced by Jay Joyce, Capitol Records Nashville
“I Don’t Dance”–Lee Bryce, produced by Lee Bryce, Curb Records
“Take Your Time”–Sam Hunt, produced by Zach Crowell and Shane McAnally, MCA Nashville
“Talladega”–Eric Church, produced by Arturo Buenahora, EMI Nashville
Prediction: “Girl Crush” or “Take Your Time”
Preference: “Girl Crush”
Note: If “Take Your Time” wins here, while it would be insulting to country in general, at least it would be for commercial success. This is the one award that Sam Hunt could win that wouldn’t make me immediately throw up.

Song of the Year

“American Kids”–Rodney Klawson, Luke Laird, and Shane McAnally [no]
“Girl Crush”–Liz Rose, Lori McKenna, and Hillary Lindsey [ok]
“Like a Cowboy”–Randy Houser and Brice Long [no]
“Like a Wrecking Ball”–Eric Church and Kasey Beathard [hell no]
“Take Your Time”–Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally, and Josh Osborne [for the love of all that is holy]
Prediction: “Girl Crush”
Preference: Out of these, “Girl Crush” hands down. While I like all of them except “Take Your Time”–if that wins, above Sam Hunt rules apply–I could have thrown a rock and hit better Song of the Year nominees. Jason Isbell, Alan Jackson, Kacey Musgraves, Ashley Monroe, shall I go on?

Album of the Year

Old Boots, New Dirt–Jason Aldean, produced by Michael Knox, Broken Bow [no]
Pageant Material–Kacey Musgraves, produced by Kacey Musgraves, Luke Laird, and Shane McAnally, Mercury Nashville [excellent]
Painkiller–Little Big Town, produced by Jay Joyce, Capitol Records Nashville [no]
The Big Revival–Kenny Chesney, produced by Buddy Cannon and Kenny Chesney, Blue Chair Records/Columbia Nashville [no]
Traveller–Chris Stapleton, produced by Dave Cobb and Chris Stapleton, Mercury Nashville [excellent]
Prediction: Painkiller or Pageant Material
Preference: Pageant Material or Traveller
Note: Again, good to see Stapleton with a nomination, as well as Dave Cobb, who produced Jason Isbell and Lindi Ortega’s remarkable albums as well. The CMA might actually get it right here and vote in Pageant Material which would be a great selection, although there are other albums that deserve to be nominated along with it besides these.

Female Vocalist of the Year

Kelsea Ballerini [no]
Miranda Lambert [duh]
Kacey Musgraves [good]
Carrie Underwood [good]
LeeAnn Womack [lol]
Prediction: Miranda Lambert–I’m not an idiot.
Preference: Carrie Underwood
Note: Ashley Monroe should have at least a nomination here, especially if LeeAnn Womack is going to be name-dropped in here to fill a quota.

Male Vocalist of the Year

Dierks Bentley [great job CMA]
Eric Church [ok]
Luke Bryan [at this point, at least Sam Hunt wasn’t here]
Blake Shelton [ok]
Chris Stapleton [interesting]
Prediction: Luke Bryan or Dierks Bentley
Preference: Dierks Bentley–if he won this, I might actually be able to watch the CMA’s again even if Sam Hunt won something.

Entertainer of the Year

Garth Brooks [good]
Luke Bryan [to be expected]
Kenny Chesney [ok]
Eric Church [good]
Miranda Lambert [but she’s 20% of the category, so won’t the viewing audience drop drastically?]
Prediction: Luke Bryan or Garth Brooks
Preference: Garth Brooks