I think if we can give Blake Shelton the award for Male Vocalist in 2010, we might as well start thinking about giving it to Billy Currington in 2011. He’s giving Shelton a run for his money in putting out milquetoast material that’s elevated into listenable by a charming vocal performance.
“Let Me Down Easy” is not going to appear in one of those deluxe coffee table books of song lyrics. Coffee napkin, maybe.
But Currington sells it with his vocal well enough to make it go down easy. Sadly, just by singing it well, it puts it a notch above way too much of today’s radio fodder, which often isn’t even sung well.
Anyway, there’s a great Kim Richey tune called “Don’t Let Me Down Easy.” It’s way better.
Written by Marty Dodson, Jennifer Hanson, and Mark Nesler
Grade: C
Listen: Let Me Down Easy
I liked this song on the first listen, but it definitely hasn’t stuck with me. Billy is such a talented vocalist, but he seriously needs to branch out in his material. All he ever gives us these days is love songs and beer-drinking songs.
I do think he’s a great singer, at least in the studio. And I don’t mind this song, but agree with the assessment all the same. I’d honestly be fine if Currington stuck in his lighthearted-dude/romance-novel-love-interest wheelhouse forever, because it works for him; his problem is just finding songs of those types that are actually memorable.
I really liked Billy C’s “People Are Crazy” but nothing since.
I recall Kim Richey singing “Don’t Let Me Down Easy” when she opened for Kathy Mattea at the Westbury Music Fair in ’96. It is way better than the Billy C song but to my knowledge, no one has covered it.
…by now it’s clear that billy currington is a good singer and releases songs that find it easy to climb up the charts. kenny chesney, darius rucker, blake shelton, craig morgan et al belong to same group of fillers of the “today’s country” airwaves.
having found a working recipe for commercial success, it is unlikely that we shall get different/deeper material from him in the near future. he’s most likely never gonna change the world with his songs, but making it sound good for some three minutes, like with this one, ain’t such a bad effort either.
LOVE the Richey song. Made me smile to see reference to it.
I’d honestly be fine if Currington stuck in his lighthearted-dude/romance-novel-love-interest wheelhouse forever, because it works for him; his problem is just finding songs of those types that are actually memorable.
Agree. I think he has the sexiest voice in country music (TMI?) as silly as that sounds, and I’m still hoping he gets better at picking ballads that shine. This little sleeper certainly does not.
Ditto to Dan and Tara.
Tara, I agree. For most singers, I think I would skip past a song about “turnips”, but I really do love Currington’s voice. Him and Josh Turner are the best male newcomers of late, imho.
My Blake Shelton fanaticism almost made me lash out at you for that jab, but then I realized that the songs he released in 2010 are among my least favorites and probably his weakest. So I’ll let it slide.
I guess like everyone has said…the song sounds really good, it’s just….plain.