1. Why Wait
2. Easy (Duet/w Natasha Benningfield)
3. Sunday Afternoon
4. Play
5. Nothing Like This
6. All Night To Get There
7. Red Camaro
8. They Try
9. Summer Young
10. Tonight Tonight
11. I Won’t Let Go

As far as “Love You Out Loud”, that’s a song that I really enjoy of theirs. It takes me back to when two of our best friends were first dating (parallel to when Bill and I started dating) and this song was climbing the charts at the time. It perfectly described how outwardly excited he was to be with her.

True, but the song would sound awkward if it strayed from the upbeat, joyful tone and lyrics if the lines were different.

Those particular lines have always come off as humourous to me, and the joyful production and breezy feel of “Why Wait” has led me to believe those lyrics were meant to come off as nothing more.

The lyrics themselves convey that message as well; he’s saying if you marry me we’ll save your mama the trouble (stress) of a wedding and the father will save money. Wouldn’t the narrator be trying to convince his bride of the postive actions of such a move, rather than the negative?

This time I can’t lie; your response made me laugh out loud. (:

Tara,

Glad I could share that info. I recently read that the guys still had one more album to complete under their Lyric Street contract, so they were originally going to finsh that out on a parent Disney label.
But they weighed the options, and decided they would be better-represented under another Nashvile label.

Personally, I’m thriled they’ve moved on from Lyric Street, but it’s sort of ironic that this change might bring listeners and fans a much-needed change of pace.
Just a random bit of info, thought I’d pass it along.

I think “Love You Out Loud” and “Why Wait are nothing more than enjoyable slices of joyful ear-candy, and I’m willing to settle for that if it’s crafted and sold the right way.

I think the melody of “Love You Out Loud” is a tad suprior to “Why Wait”, but I pefer the latter’s lyrics.

I think both “Love You Out Loud” and Why Wait” are nothing more thga

In any case, I think Gary has always had a knack for selling any type of love song, whether it be a ballad or something upbeat. I know tons of people find his voice to be grating, but I don’t think there’s any denying that he can sell the heck out of a song when given the right material.

I feel like it’s been a good few albums since we’ve heard them actually sound joyful on a recorded track; they definatly sound that way, and I think that’s part of what helps sell the story to the listener.

Also, I can see how the “Some Say” comparison could be somewhat unclear. I think the production is a bit similar (notably the prominate use of the fiddle on both tracks, and both are more in the lighter vein of country-pop sounds). And I also thought the sentiments were a bit similar as well. In “Some Say,” they’re trying to sell the story of a relationship that other people don’t believe will last. In “Why Wait, they’re taking the same sort of chance in a relationship, and some of the lines lead me to think it’s not totally accepted by others in the story in this case either.

Lines like “Why wait another minute for something we shoulda done yesterday,” and “now I love your mama but save us some trouble, and you’re daddy won’t mind if we save him a bundle” tell me that this is a relationship that is defying the typical relationship, and going with an instinct.

Dan,

Thanks for clarifying your point. I can see how a lot of people might find the sentiment of the song to be cheesy, but I think that’s part of its charm, as the case with so many country songs.

If you’re going to sell a song with such a basic sentiment, I think it can be an enjoyable product, if you have a catchy hook, decent lyrics, and the vocalist actually sounds like they’re enjoying singing the song, thus being connected enough to covey that same enjoyment to the listener.

There’s a fine line between pulling off cheesy fare that’s enjoyable to listen to, and simply singing a cheesy song for the sake of doing. In this case, I think they definatly pulled it off, which is something I’ve been unable to say in terms of other recent singles.

No worries. Here’s what I meant: it’s much closer to quality than I think they’ve gotten in a while, but still not quite there for me. I find the song kind of cheesy (“preacher who can hook us up right away”…meh), but the production is a lot more pleasant.

I don’t have a problem with country artists going in a pop direction. I just don’t like it when their records sound too bloated as a result. Never been a big fan of the kitchen sink production approach!

Thanks for that info. I didn’t think that through.

I love “Love You Out Loud,” but I do feel like “Why Wait” has more of a story to it, so I would consider it the stronger cut of the two.

The tone and story of the song is reminiscent of “Some Say” from their debut album…

I enjoy “Love You Out Loud” a tad more than “Why Wait,” but I agree that the latter has a little more of a story to it. I don’t really get the comparison to “Some Say,” but I do love that song.

It will be very interesting to see how Nothing Like This plays out. A throwback album would make me happy.