Single Review: Brett Eldredge, “Beat of the Music”

Brett Eldredge Beat of the MusicBrett Eldredge caught the critics’ attention with 2010’s heartstring-tugging ballad “Raymond,” and caught radio’s and fans’ attention with his gold-selling number-one single “Don’t Ya,” while a coveted opening slot on Taylor Swift’s Red Tour certainly didn’t hurt. He aims to pull off a successful one-two punch with his latest radio bid, “Beat of the Music,” currently in the Top 40 and climbing.

As suggested by its title, “Beat of the Music” is a light-hearted up-tempo that goes down smooth and easy, with Eldredge’s narrator “falling in love to the beat of the music” and the beaches of Mexico serving as a backdrop. Such may be well-traveled territory for today’s country hits, but “Beat of the Music” transcends its rudimentary lyrical content by creating just the right musical atmosphere. The track begins with a sparse arrangement which builds toward the song’s exuberant chorus. A hand clap section and an inviting melody ensure that toes are quickly set tapping.

In spite of needless digital effect during the chorus, the single also proves an effective showcase of the vocal talents one of country radio’s most distinctive and dynamic male newcomers. Eldredge’s rich baritone bends the notes just night, rendering the song with a flair that makes “Beat of the Music” an effortlessly entertaining listen. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but as a bit of feel-good pop-country fun, “Beat of the Music” gets it right.

Written by Brett Eldredge, Ross Copperman and Heather Morgan

Grade: B

12 Comments

  1. …here’s for some real life experience: i just listend to “beat of the Music”, then checked out quickly “don’t ya” for a brief reminder and wanted to give this one a second spin – but i couldn’t remember its title for what it’s worth.

    guess, the only conclusion from my part then must be: forgettable. either me or this song or perhaps both.

  2. This is musical comfort food, but at least it is made from scratch as opposed to being a three-day old refrigerated leftover form of it or, worse, a TV dinner equivalent of it.

    This has three saving graces of sorts to it. Firstly, it doesn’t overstay its welcome. It is a very short, sweet and succinct cut. Secondly, Eldredge injects a warm, committed vocal without getting in the way of the harmonies. And, finally, the hook sticks very well and has plenty of punch to it without being marred by “loudness wars”.

    I doubt this is going to have any staying power whatsoever after its initial chart run. But I do predict this will successfully ensure Eldredge a second Top Five radio hit.

  3. And while hearing Brett Eldredge honestly only leaves me pining for James Otto to return to the airwaves, I’m nonetheless grateful that we at least have some semblance of a soul-influenced male vocalist on contemporary country radio.

  4. The Eldredge song is a decent effort. I’ll have to check out the “Bring You Back” album since I wouldn’t just buy the single “Beat of the Music”.

    I agree with Noah about more music from James Otto. I saw him about 18 months ago but just got around to buying his first two albums. Both are good listens but overall I like “Sunset Man” better than “Days of Our Lives”.

    Happy Thanksgiving to all.

  5. Great and spot on review I do find myself liking this fluff a lot and will be cheering this on because it’s good fluff.

    @Noah I also agree that Brett is making me miss James Otto and I’m hoping that maybe Brett’s success will open up labels radar to more soulful country sounds, it’d be a good change to the current thrend of limp rock.

    P.s. I miss having you over at PMB, I loved reading your opinions of well everything lol :)

  6. Jordan: I thought “Shake What God Gave Ya” was a highly underrated album that deserved more radio presence, even though I can understand how it was an outlier from the trends at the time. It was an innovative album sonically and the fact Ronnie Milsap was a featured vocalist on its final track immediately earned a plus from me.

    Give the community my kindest regards! I simply felt the forum, as much as I respect many of its contributors there, had become too reactionary. Modern fanfare just eclipsed honest discussion and because I’m not one who kowtows to any given artist regardless, I just felt like I didn’t fit the format there. Times change just like communities change, and that’s all there is to it. But I do appreciate you and much of the rest of that community and will be grateful for all I grew up surrounding music there! =)

  7. I agree with everybody else on this one. Radio fluff but good radio fluff. I’m a big fan of Eldredge’s vocals and he doesn’t seem to rely as much on cliches as other male artists so I like him.

    Check out the song “One Mississippi” from his album. It is excellent, probably my favorite song off a mainstream male artist’s debut album in years.

  8. Six String Richie: I highly disliked “Don’t Ya”. I thought, and still think, the opening line: “Girl, you cut those jeans just right…” is one of the worst opening lines I’ve heard of any song on the format in recent memory.

    Granted it’s not quite as cringe-worthy as “Got Lil Wayne pumpin’ on my iPod…”, “I’ve got that real good fell good stuff, under the seat of my big black jacked-up truck…”, or “Damn pretty girl you’ve gone and done it again, you’ve gone and turned your sexy up to 10…”……….but considering this came out of the mouth of someone who had already offered us something as topically affecting and heartwrenching as “Raymond” (even if overproduced)………it couldn’t help but seem a greater disappointment compared to the aforementioned examples.

    I will say this, though. “Bring You Back” is a disappointing debut, but it could have been a whole lot worse. And I strongly suspect it is hardly Eldredge’s fault either, and more obstructionism on behalf of the label.

    Consider the re-recording of “Signs”, for instance. Or the fact “It Ain’t Gonna Be Love” didn’t even make the track listing. Or that besides “One Mississippi”, many of his stronger cuts like “What Am I Gonna Dream About Now”, “One Way Ticket” and “Shade” that were already floating around didn’t make the final cut and were set aside in favor of inoffensive, faceless filler.

    I’m just hoping as he gains clout with a handful of hits that he can allow those superior tracks to surface in one form or another and demand more creative control.

  9. Noah: I kind of agree with you on “Don’t Ya” as it’s another “I see a pretty girl at the bar” song. But I really liked the melody of the chorus and loved his vocals on the track. It overall was enough for me to consider it a B or B- type song. An overused topic, but one of the better songs on that topic, if you will.

    I also agree that the album isn’t great but it is better than most male debuts right now. I see promise in him since he’s very influenced by Frank Sinatra, which is a cool and unlikely influence for today. My comment mostly was about how much I loved “One Mississippi.” I think that you’re right in that he has little control over his career at this point since it took over a year for Warner Bros to release a follow up to “It Ain’t Gotta Be Love.”

    As a side note, another new male artist I see some promise in is Jon Pardi. Both of his first two singles featured a steel solo! I hope he becomes more popular.

  10. “One Mississippi” is hands down the best song off of “Bring You Back”. No disagreement on it being a standout among male core artists of the format.

    I wasn’t aware of the Frank Sinatra influence on behalf of Brett Eldredge. I’ll have to dwell on that a little bit.

    I’m not sure what to think yet of Joe Pardi overall. I do welcome the generous dose of pedal steel for sure. On the other hand, he has been frustratingly inconsistent as a vocalist on his first two singles. I thought he sounded quite competent on “Missin’ You Crazy”, but with his current single “Up All Night”, his voice really gets on my nerves much like Tyler Hubbard of Florida-Georgia Line does.

  11. To clarify, Eldredge lists Sinatra as a major influence but that doesn’t mean his music sounds like his. Eldredge used to play Sinatra cover shows as a kid, often times at retirement homes. The main influence I think Sinatra has on him is perhaps in his vocal performances.

    I agree with you on Pardi’s vocals. I’ve seen videos of him covering “Guitar Town”, “The Chair” and “Alibis” which shows great taste in music. I think Pardi has better taste than most young male artists but I’ll have to see what his album is like.

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