Single Reviews – Page 89 – Country Universe

Single Review: Joey+Rory (feat. Zac Brown Band), “This Song’s for You”

July 18, 2010 Leeann Ward 26

I’ve written it before, but full disclosure requires me to reiterate my biased stance toward Joey+Rory. Their debut album with Sugar Hill Records was organic and delightful. They were my first and only (so far) interview for Country Universe.

Anyone who is aware of the down-to-earth couple can instinctively assume that they were genuine and gracious and made the experience one of the highlights of my Country Universe tenure. Therefore, I will not feign detachment regarding the trajectory of their career. I simply want them to succeed and I make no apology for my steadfast position on the matter.

Single Review: Kenny Chesney, “The Boys of Fall”

July 17, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 11

Chesney’s made a career out of nostalgia trips like this one. Here, he’s reminiscing for the glory of being on the high school football team. He’s been down this road before, more times than I can count at this point.

But I dare say this one’s just a little different. Chesney sounds older, much older. Not wiser, mind you. Just older.

Single Review: Danny Gokey, “I Will Not Say Goodbye”

July 13, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 30

There’s the core of a good song idea here. Really. And he’s singing from the heart, clearly addressing this song to his late wife. It’s hard not to feel guilty criticizing this record.

But I’m gonna have to do it anyway. If I didn’t already know Gokey’s back story, I’d think he was just trying to imitate Rascal Flatts. Listen to the chorus, which he sings like it’s a carbon copy of the verse from “What Matters Most.” In that hit, it was “I’m not a-fraid to cry, every now, and again, even though, with going on, with you gone, still upsets me.” In this song, it’s “I will laugh, I will cry, shake my fist, at the sky, I will not say goodbye.”

Single Review: Reba McEntire, “Turn On the Radio”

July 7, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 79

How to review this new Reba McEntire single?

I could…

A. Write something short and not particularly clever:

Turn off the radio!

B. Moan that this is a record beneath the talents of a future/should already be present Country Music Hall of Famer:

Why is the great voice that brought us “You Lie” and “Somebody Should Leave” singing this?

Single Review: Jerrod Niemann, “Lover, Lover”

July 5, 2010 Dan Milliken 15

Country music legend tells of a certain powerful, polarizing breed of radio single, said to have been spun together out of pure cane sugar by Aphrodite herself (or her Southern Baptist counterpart, April-Jean the Angel. Depends who you ask.) The single appears only sporadically, sometimes waiting years to fully reemerge – but when it comes, it walks loudly and carries a big, hooked stick.

It’s been known to travel under many names: “Ooo, Turn It Up!”; “I’m Getting Kind Of Sick Of This Song”; “Oh God, AGAIN?”. All of them worthy monikers, to be sure. But for the purposes of this review, we’ll keep things straightforward and call it the “Shameless Pop Ditty.”

Single Review: Joe Nichols, “The Shape I’m In”

July 3, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 6

I remember thinking when I first heard Sara Evans sing “Cheatin'” that it was the best record Reba McEntire hadn’t recorded in a long time.

Listening to the new Joe Nichols single “The Shape I’m In”, I’m thinking the same thing about George Strait.

Perhaps it’s just because “The Breath You Take” is still a fresh disappointment in my mind, but I can’t help thinking Strait would’ve knocked “The Shape I’m In” out of the park.

That being said, Nichols does a good job himself, in a vocal performance that is so inspired by Strait it might as well be an homage.

Single Review: George Strait, “The Breath You Take”

July 3, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 20

Sometimes a song has such a big impact that it becomes one of those inspirational signs that people hang in their homes:

Single Review: Miranda Lambert, “Only Prettier”

June 26, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 50

One of my favorite tracks from Lambert’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was her spin on Gillian Welch’s “Dry Town.” I’m happy to report that her new single, “Only Prettier”, has a twangy guitar hook that’s nearly identical to the one that underscored that album track.

But wow, is the arrangement surrounding it more ambitious. Lambert’s quickly built a reputation as being a progressive artist, so it’s easier for her to get a free pass on a record that sounds like a misguided attempt to remix a country song for mainstream rock radio. The thrashing guitars drown out the steel guitar and come close to overshadowing a great vocal performance from Lambert.

Single Review: Carrie Underwood, “Undo It”

June 5, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 53

Much like no pop star has ever been able to learn all of the right lessons from Madonna, no country star has yet to learn all of the right lessons from Shania Twain.

But darn if Carrie Underwood isn’t getting close. “Undo It” is short, sweet, and undeniably catchy. “Undo It” features both “We Will Rock You” drum riffs and twangy fiddle, as if those two things together are as natural as peanut butter and chocolate.

It even has a chorus of “Na Na Na’s” so infectious that somewhere in the world, Steam is reflexively adding, “Hey Hey, Goodbye.”

Single Review: Trace Adkins, “This Ain’t No Love Song”

June 5, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 8

Trace Adkins has been around for a long time, perhaps even been counted out once or twice along the way. He’s had a handful of big singles that have brought back some forward momentum when his career has started to lull.

But even when he has faltered, it usually hasn’t been because of a lack of good material or good vocal performances. But therein lies the rub: his material and vocal performances are usually good, not great.