In some aspects, Chris Young’s hook-heavy new single may come off as a calculated bid to regain the airplay he unjustly lost from country radio’s tepid response to the excellent but underappreciated “Neon.” Unfortunately, it’s hard to call him out for peddling safe material when I can’t get my toe to stop tapping.
“I Can Take It from There” illustrates how solid song structure and an inspired performance can lift standard country radio fodder from rote to memorable. The magic lies neither in Young’s come-on of “Grab a couple of glasses and a bottle of wine… Baby while you’re at it you might as well let down your hair,” nor in the song’s namedrop of Conway Twitty – both somewhat standard Peach Picker song fare – but in the way Young effortlessly makes the song his own. His energetic performance brings out an organic quality in the song’s pulsing melody, while cheeky-sounding fiddle hooks rip through the song, making “I Can Take It from There” a most delicious nugget of catchiness.
Of course, “I Can Take It from There” might not seem to hold up well against the brilliance of “Neon,” but it’s worth noting that while “Neon” was a piece of country heartbreak poetry, “I Can Take It from There” serves
the purpose of simple escapism. That’s a worthwhile end in itself, and Young tears into “I Can Take It from There” with just enough infectious abandon to make the song soar.
Written by Chris Young, Rhett Akins, and Ben Hayslip
Grade: B+
Listen: I Can Take It from There
Really like this song and hope it does well for Chris Young
Great review. I am very glad to see ‘I Can Take It From There’ getting the praise it deserves. I would like to point out an important typo, however.
I believe Mr. Foster meant to say that “it’s worth NOTING that while ‘Neon’ is a piece of country heartbreak poetry, ‘I Can Take It From There’ serves the purpose of simple escapism.” The copy above says “it’s worth NOTHING”.