“My Eyes”
Blake Shelton featuring Gwen Sebastian
Written by Andrew Dorff, Tommy Lee James, and Josh Osborne
Is a play on words really that romantic? I can imagine being asked, “If I said you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me?” getting an icebreaking laugh, for sure.
But “my eyes are the only thing I don’t want to take off of you” isn’t half as clever, and it’s following a pushy repetition of “Come a little closer” – three times, mind you.
For me, the only logical answer a woman should have to that is, “I’m gonna go with ‘no.’ Move back a little further, move back a little further, move back a little further. My mace is the only thing you’re getting a taste of tonight, buddy.”
Grade: C-
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLWDF4DFbF0
Blake singing this when Gwen would be like Faith Hill singing “Let’s Make Love” with Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, or George Strait. Miranda Lambert should’ve provided the female harmony vocal. Period, end of discussion. Blake and Gwen could’ve found plenty of platonic songs to sing together. Leave this to a man and his wife.
Kevin, I always love when you take an angle like this in your reviews. You’ve afforded me the chance to view the lyrical content of this song in a new light, one I now agree with thanks in part to your reasoning. Would I have thought “My Eyes” creepy on my own? No. But now that you mention it … This is why you’re one of the best single review writers in the business.
I regret the choice you often make to only give thorough reviews to artists you view as legitimate. I realize that most people who write to an audience for a living are writing more for themselves, but seriously? Who is this review supposed to help?
I’ve never noticed a correlation between length of review and my feelings toward an artist, though it’s an interesting one. I’ve certainly written longer reviews but artists I like less than Shelton and shorter reviews about ones I like more. (Even a one-word one for Trisha Yearwood back in the day: “Flawless.”)
You piqued my curiosity. My general rules are that I only write a review if I have something to say, and I only say what I have to say. I’ve said a lot over ten years. Maybe I’m just running short on things to say!
But in the case of this particular review and the direction it went in, adding more content would’ve distracted from the main point I was making, and would be mostly repeating things I’ve already said in previous reviews of Shelton’s singles.
I’d have to write something else entirely to pull off a longer review, and it wouldn’t capture my genuine reaction to the song. Might look more professional and have a higher word count, but it wouldn’t be consistent with what I write and why.
I like your last paragraph with the reference to mace. It made me think of Tammy Cochran’s “He Really Thinks He’s Got It”, which she wrote with Gary Harrison. It has a line “I’ll bet you’ve tasted pepper spray a time or two.”
I guess i shouldn’t be surprised that “My Eyes” is #2 on the media base top 40 for the week of 6/30.
Hahaha! Good one, Kevin! You were nice enough not to beat the drum of how this is yet another boring/bland song from Blake as well. So, I’ll do it for you.
The only remotely positive point I’ll give this song is that the acoustic instrumentation reminds me of Jack Johnson from the “In-Between Dreams” era. And as far as easy listening, mellow albums are concerned, I still enjoy that album to this day.
My praise comes to an abrupt conclusion there, though. Shelton’s vocals sound dispassionate and stuck on autopilot. I can’t even hear Gwen Sebastian in the mix, in fact. It’s obviously not a duet to begin with, but when I can’t even hear Gwen I can’t even consider this a feature. And while I wouldn’t necessarily say the lyrics are cringe-worthy……….the fact that we don’t get any indication the narrator is addressing someone who is already a love interest, or whether this is another TMI pick-up song nonetheless raises some considerable questions regarding etiquette. Had the writers been even the slightest less lazy and tied up that contextual loose end, then the lyrics wouldn’t even be a real issue.
Yeah, C- sounds about right. The production is nice, but this will be quickly forgotten and the lethargic performance doesn’t help matters.
You know, it seems like people have automatically discredited the song becaus it’s Blake Shelton. Imagine if Dierks Bentley or Josh Turner sang it. I think most would be talking about how unique it sounds compared to the rest of country radio, and would be holding it up as an example of not following the trends. Instead, it’s Blake, so it automatically sucks. I’m not saying I’m a fan of him by any means, but it’s with noting that his last three songs (Mine Would Be You, Doin What She Likes, and now My Eyes), have all been decent offerings that are decidedly not bro (not that it makes up for Boys Round Here, but still).
And fwiw, I never even considered this song as being a pickup line. It would be such an idiotic, creepy thing to say that it never crossed my mind. But then, there’ve been some pretty pathetic pickup lines in country songs lately.
I can hear Brett Eldredge doing this song at least halfway convincingly, but I really don’t think it’s possible to completely salvage a hook like that.
If Josh Turner sang this song, it would sound country and not make the top 40 because the radio has abandoned Turner’s traditional sound.
I agree with you on the uniqueness point, which just illustrates the sad state of current country music.
It’s supposed to be a pick up line? Gross.
I haven’t really listened that closely to the lyrics, but it always sounded like he was talking to his girlfriend on a night out, which made the song much less creepy.
I’m not bashing the song because it’s Blake Shelton. I’m bashing this song because it’s a worse-than-mediocre song that happens to be sung by Blake Shelton: much like his last small handful of singles reviewed here.
Zac,
there are two types of reviews: one is designed to help (other) customers with their buying choices, it’s the kind you will find on Amazon, Yelp or Rotten Tomatoes. The other type of review, while also useful in that regard, primarily serves another purpose altogether: to comment on a particular product – usually a product of some type of creative endeavor like a movie or a book or even a song – to evaluate and critique its creative aspects, its place within a particular artist’s body of work and within its genre, thus making also some type of statement about the genre. This review is of the latter type.
Great observation, Bulbul! I appreciate your insight! =)
I think what we’ve been witnessing increasingly as of late, thanks to the digital age, is the intensifying of the feedback loop between artists and their fans. And I won’t deny there are some artists I follow more than others or there are artists I like that tend to pander or appeal to the ideals and lifestyles of their core audience more than others.
My only concern with this is that, when ANYONE offers a perspective or opinion that doesn’t run in sync with the opinions of one’s fans, who subsume to their favorite artists in question and also often emulate or mirror their lifestyles, fashion sense, political opinions, etc………………the fans will get overly defensive and then go so far as to call that person a “hater” even if it’s the faintest iota of criticism nestled in-between praise otherwise, or even go so far as to assassinate the character of the critic/reviewer.
My purpose in reviewing music, as I feel fairly confident is also the case with the featured reviewers of this site, is not to assassinate the character of the artists………….but to point out why I feel the product in question has a lot to contribute or, otherwise, is disposable and clinically designed for none other than instantly gratifying commercial returns and to trump all artistic integrity in place of stone cold commerce. And I do believe commerce has a place in everyday life and I do like my mindless, insubstantial head-bobber here and there…………….so all I ask, then, is that a balance is maintained between what passes as art, and what passes as commerce, on the radio………..and moreover shamelessly commercial efforts at least have a speck of effort and appeal behind them.
I concede this is just my opinion, but Blake Shelton’s efforts have been largely disposable this go-round. Obviously he’s making a killing off of his five #1s this album cycle, and the highest sales of any album of his career. I’m not denying the potent short-term impact he is having.
But let’s be honest here: Do you genuinely expect to hear #1 songs like “Over”, “Doin’ What She Likes” and his current chart-topper regularly as recurrents on the radio even three years from now? Do you still expect casual music fans to still be chatting five years down the line along the lines of “Oh yeah, I remember that “Based On A True Story…” album. Man, those were the days!” and such? I wouldn’t bet on it. Because, in terms of a broader cultural impact, it’s just not going to have remotely the same resonance as hundreds of other definitive albums that are regarded both as commercial and critical successes. On paper, it may be remembered as one of only several country albums that produced five #1 hits………….but my bet is “Boys ‘Round Here” is the only one of those #1 hits you can expect to still hear fairly regularly on corporate radio only because it was also a huge digital hit as well and had crossover appeal.
Blake’s been releasing alot of questionable material lately, but I actually like this one. It’s something about the pendulous, swaying back and forth melody – almost retro vibe to it that I dig. And I like Gwen’s voice on it. It’s cute and likeable, if not knock-me-down great.
…being too bro may harm your memory! did blake shelton or any of his entourage not realise that this song sounds like “who are you when i’m not looking” all over again. i seem to remember that “who are you when…” got a higher grade than “my eyes”. then again, my brain might also be a victim of an overdose of bro culture.