I am not an album reviewer. I read reviewers and I find their three-word song reviews fascinating. It is like every review is designed for Twitter.
“Up-tempo death march.”
“Fun lively experience.”
“Truth about love.”
This is not about reviewing a CD, but some thoughts about what is happening with country music CDs today. It is all good.
Two Lanes of Freedom (Tim McGraw), Based on a True Story (Blake Shelton) and Wheelhouse (Brad Paisley) have all been released in the last three or four weeks.
These are three artists who have been around for a long time, yet today we can honestly say these three CDs are heads and shoulders above what they have done in the past. Some of you may say, “Well, they should be getting better every time.” But there is much more here.
All three guys have done great projects in the past but this time these new CDs are so much better than anything we have heard from other albums.
Tim has already had a No. 1 single off Two Lanes and his current single with Taylor Swift and Keith Urban on guitar is sure to be a No. 1 hit and certain to be a leader in the collaboration category for the CMA and ACM awards. Name Drop alert: I spent a minute with Tim last week in Las Vegas and we talked about this CD. He is more comfortable with his music than he has been in years and that came through. He also has unqualified support from Scott Borchetta at Big Machine and that comes through too.
Don’t downplay the support from the top. Blake has a GREAT friend and fan in John Esposito at Warner Brothers and it is no coincidence Blake’s star took off as Espo came aboard at the WB. Blake also has Scott Hendricks in his corner and that is worth a ton.
That said, it is Blake first, second and third. Another name drop: I was chatting with him a couple of weeks back and told him I believe he has driven the huge growth of the format for the last 18 months. He has been such a star on The Voice that the appeal of country music has spiked.
Blake also has a No. 1 single from this new CD and there should be four or five more off True Story including the current single, “Boys ‘Round Here”, “Country On The Radio” and “Ten Times Crazier.”
I was at a Brad Paisley CD preview the other day in Las Vegas and we got to hear the new CD a few days before it was released. You know Brad is a big video guy so many of the cuts, even before the CD was released, came with videos. We saw the videos along with hearing the music and that gave all of us more insight into what Brad was thinking.
Again, with huge supporters in Gary Overton of Sony and Lesly Tyson at Arista, Brad has the confidence to deliver music from his soul.
Brad has had a hit with “Southern Comfort Zone” and “Beat This Summer” is sure to be a No. 1. Additionally, the video is great.
He is always pushing the envelope with his music but this time he has blown through the envelope with a couple of songs. “Accidental Racist” and “Those Crazy Christians” are sure to get additional attention.
I find it interesting these three CDs all dropped within a month of each other. Three established superstars have delivered albums that could all become classics in the years to come. This is a big deal.
Is it the influx of great new male performers like Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, Jason Aldean, Hunter Hayes and on and on, driving these three to meet the raised bar?
Whatever the reason, we country music fans are the real beneficiaries.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MusicRow.)