David Nail
I’m a Fire
If he’s a fire, it’s one that doesn’t burn nearly enough. Three albums in, Nail continues to pair great potential with middling results. Despite having better pipes than most of his contemporaries and a knack for finding some genuinely interesting material each time out, his albums as a whole never quite take off.
On I’m a Fire, the tempos rarely leave mid-territory, and there aren’t enough country flourishes throughout to keep the album out of straight-up AC territory. When he connects with a compelling story song like “The Secret” or has the good sense to record a Brandy Clark co-write (“Burnin’ Bed”), he delivers. But until he can do that on more than a handful of tracks, he’ll keep falling short of his considerable potential.
Recommended Tracks: “The Secret”, “Burnin’ Bed”, “When They’re Gone (Lyle County)”
I really, REALLY like his “Sound Of A Million Dreams” album, lots of great tracks on that one. But aside from the tracks you highlighted here (along with “Whatever She’s Got”, which is a huge guilty pleasure), this album does nothing for me. Shame.
I fully agree with this review. He has a great voice, but he falls short of being a great artist so far.
I’m a Nail fan but can’t argue with this review. I liked his first two albums better. Great voice but not so great material here with a few exceptions.
I guess my tastes run differently than the others here but I love this album. My favorite tracks are the title song, When They’re Gone, Easy Love, and of course Whatever She’s Got. I like the toe-tapping songs he provided for this album.
the only track I didn’t care for was the Galveston remake, but it’s still not bad. While I’ll probably never like a Nail song as much as I’m About To Come Alive, I have enjoyed many songs on this cd.
Nail’s biggest problem IMO, is his choice of radio singles. Release songs that will get played on radio so people will get the nice surprise of songs like Sound of a Million Dreams when the purchase the album.
This was easily one of the best mainstream albums of 2014. “The Secret” and “Brand New Day” were both amazing tracks, as was “Burnin’ Bed.”
Have to agree with the review. As great as his last album was, this one is really bland.
I disagree with the review. There are a host of A list artists who are turning out nonsense both on the radio and on their albums. David Nail, alternatively, has a better voice and a better song-selection abilitity than most male country artists out there. I don’t know any album where each single was a hit out of the park. This one has enough superb selections to match his voice and ability, most impressively with Brand New Day as well as with the Little Big Twon duet and The Secret. I look forward to more of David’s output.