“Turn it On”
Eli Young Band
Written by Rodney Clawson, Matt Dragstrem, Mike Eli, and James Young
“Turn it On” is the title track from Eli Young Band’s upcoming EP. It has a lot of energy, if not a particularly good hook.
They’re a good enough band that they can squeeze some personality into a bland song, but it’s not enough to overcome the excessively loud chorus and ajust plain uninteresting lyric.
As radio filler goes,”Turn it On” is inoffensive and painless.
Grade: C-
Whatever little respect I had for EYB is now down the drain. I find it both offensive and painful. I thought Rucker’s “Homegrown Honey” had an annoying chorus, but this song takes the cake. Fortunately, I don’t think radio will even find this impressive, even with their low standards.
Can’t argue with this review. I keep waiting for them to put out a great album. It hasn’t happened yet. My favorite EYB song, “War on a Desperate Man” (Mike Eli & Blu Sanders) was never released as a single. It was a ballad.
I absolutely loved ‘Jet Black And Jealous’. I couldn’t play it enough times. So many great songs. The follow up, ‘Life At Best’ was not quite as good but sure had some great songs that gave me hope for continued great music from this band.
But this latest cd ‘10,000 Towns’ was definitely a step in the wrong direction. I just don’t get what they were trying to do here. I forced myself to listen to it three times and realized I was never going to like it. Sure hope they get back on track with their next release.
My favorite EYB song is “When It Rains.” This song has none of that charm.
I liked “When It Rains” except for the last line of the first verse:
“It’s good to see the world in pain when I take a walk outside”
I like that line, because it supports the theme of the song well. He likes when it rains, because it means that he’s not the only one who is unhappy. I think the concept is clever for a song.
It says a lot that a very solid song (if a bit sappy) like “Prayer For The Road” was given no push at radio and was essentially pulled/forgotten for a bland song like this.
Eli Young Band has never been my favorite band, but they have shown much better material and ability than here, where they are completely generic. Hell, “Gotta A Little Drunk Last Night” was more interesting than this song and that is saying something considering the lyrical content of that song was bland as hell.
Easily their worst single to date. This deserves a dreadful D+.
Besides what has already been echoed, what the frick is up with Eli’s vocals in this song? Seriously! He hardly sounds like himself, and I’m entirely convinced his voice was manipulated by excessive studio trickery, or if Frank Liddell or some radio executive instructed him to sing in an entirely new register. At any rate, it simply doesn’t work and got on my nerves rapidly.
The Eli Young Band are in danger of becoming what is basically a cardinal sin among Texas country groups: faceless. I get “Dust” underperformed, but fellas……………YOU’RE. BETTER. THAN. THIS!!! Here’s praying this is the exception rather than the rule for what lies ahead.
Spot on with the review
EYB is capable of so much more than this mindless fodder. The vocals are subpar and I hate the production – D or D+
EYB has been my favorite band for a while now and Mike Eli has some of the best, most distinctive vocals I’ve ever heard. I’ve listened to Level, Jet Black and Jealous, Life At Best, and 10,000 Towns countless times…I’m in love with almost every song (“How Should I Know,” the title track of Life At Best, “A Lot Like Love,” and “Revelations” particularly stand out). However, I’ve been (not so patiently) waiting for them to really make it big onto the country music scene, and I’m not sure if “Turn It On” is the song that’s going to get them there.