Song & Album Reviews

On previous albums, Colt Ford backed himself into a tight corner, insisting he’s not rap while spitting rap-like messages of country life, love and fun. The singer admits that by aiming to please everyone, he left most feeling a few bites short of a full meal. This isn’t a problem on ‘Declaration of Independence.’

For Love and Theft, it’s addition by subtraction. The loss of a record label and a band member resulted in a project that is tighter and more accessible than anything on the group’s 2009 debut album. The best songs on ‘Love and Theft‘ are those that tell simple stories and those that rely on simple melodies. That’s most of the album.

Country outlaw Shooter Jennings and one-time ‘American Idol’ contestant Bucky Covington make an odd marriage, but on ‘Drinking Side of Country,’ their voices and styles compliment each other like bar stool buddies telling the same story. They may be too similar, in fact, as it’s difficult to tell who’s who during parts of the rowdy rolling cut from Covington’s upcoming album.

On paper, ‘Uncaged’ should not work as an album, let alone a country music album. The new release from Zac Brown Band redefines “something for everybody.” Country, reggae, bedroom R&B… Brown and his ever-growing motley crew stretch the Nashville sound further than any other artist. If they weren’t so talented, this project would fall apart long before the title-track.

With ‘Beer Money,’ the new single from Kip Moore‘s ‘Up All Night’ album, the singer takes aim at the heart of country America. Those who never quite figured out what to do with ‘Somethin’ ‘Bout a Truck’ will quickly find themselves head-bobbing and mumbling along with the catchy chorus of this radio-friendly track.

The most striking scenes of Kenny Chesney‘s ‘Come Over’ video aren’t those of the bikini-clad beauty in the swimming pool or the panoramic shoreline. It’s the singer himself… without a hat on. As it turns out, those images are something of a metaphor for Chesney’s new ‘Welcome to the Fishbowl’ album.

The writing session that led to Kenny Chesney‘s new single was a bit unusual, but once the ‘Come Over’ lyrics started falling into place, the song’s three writers — Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne – all knew they were on the right path to knocking it way out of the park.

There’s a song on Alan Jackson‘s ‘Thirty Miles West’ album that could be the title-track. Actually, ‘Nothin’ Fancy’ could be the title-track for his entire career. This isn’t the best song on the project — one gets lost in the long, sleepy melody — but it’s a message that speaks to why we love this country legend.

Perhaps this was the song Trace Adkins was recording naked? The big man has become quite a sex symbol for women over a certain age, and his new song ‘Them Lips (On Mine)’ is sure to stir their pots. Adkins avoids lyrical euphemisms, but underscores his steamy message with suggestive guitar licks and his trademark growl.

If heartbreak was as much fun as the Zac Brown Band‘s new single ‘The Wind,’ then divorce lawyers would be as common as fry cooks at McDonald’s. The first single from the band’s upcoming ‘Uncaged’ album is as close as the country jamband has ever come to recreating their concerts on the radio.

Every once in awhile, an artist like Miranda Lambert needs to remind the country music community what crazy looks like. All this talk of marriage, babies and puppy dogs could have left some (unwisely) wondering if Nashville’s most explosive firecracker had settled into life as a domestic diva. ‘Fastest Girl in Town’ is Lambert breathing fire again.

Craig Morgan is winning the battle to be country music’s most agriculturally minded singer, but his latest single may leave farmers hiding behind their tractors. The singer has pushed against the cheese boundary before, but with ‘Corn Star’ he joins Trace Adkins (‘Brown Chicken Brown Cow,’ anybody?) in embracing jokes that make eyes roll so hard that the price of Tylenol goes up.