Review: Lady Antebellum, “American Honey”
When did being able to sing reasonably well cease to be a requirement for country music?
Nashville mythology claims it all comes down to the song, but the singer and the production have always been just as important components in great country records. Generally speaking, country singers have always been able to…sing. Even the ones that weren’t distinctive or sounded like the latest George Strait clone were able to carry a tune.
With all due respect to Lady Antebellum, I’m tired of this nonsense. This song isn’t sung well, and it’s certainly not interesting enough to warrant suffering through the painful mediocrity of the lead vocal. As for the harmonies? Give them all the Vocal Group trophies you want – heck, Rascal Flatts has five of them – it doesn’t change the fact that there’s no discernible difference between this band and a faceless group of backup singers helping a solo artist out in the chorus. The metaphor that the entire song is built around is applied to so many different things as to render it meaningless.
The Zac Brown Band is a welcome fresh addition to country music’s mainstream. While their sound surely cannot be classified as traditional in the true sense of the word, their music sounds authentic and different than what has currently overtaken country music. They’ve got a vibe like nothing else that we’re hearing on the radio, in large part, thanks to their front man, after whom the group is named and the sonically laid back production that accompanies some well crafted songs (“Chicken Fried” notwithstanding). 
One thing that mainstream country music still has in abundance is artists with great voices. Chris Young can easily be counted among such talent, but he is also firmly in the category of artists with quality voices saddled with inferior material.
It’s taken a long time to put words together for this review, mostly because the prospect of Patty Griffin being billed on a mainstream single is too exciting not to cloud critical judgments a little. I mean, seriously – “featuring Patty Griffin.” From the same label that just won Taylor Swift a Female Vocalist award. It’s far too much cool for a body to digest in one sitting. 
It’s no secret that in country music, some expressions of patriotism are more prevalent, and arguably more acceptable, than others. It’s refreshing, then, to see Paisley offer a solid albeit frivolous departure from the conventional with “American Saturday Night,” a proud depiction of America as a nation whose identity is molded by not one, but numerous cultures: