“I Believe”
Diamond Rio
Written by Skip Ewing and Donny Kees
Billboard
#1 (2 weeks)
May 31 – June 7, 2003
Most days I can’t be bothered with the “Is this country?” debate.
It seems to be fought on grounds of identity more than musicality these days, so it’s never interested me less. Because more than anything else, it’s been the combination of fiddle, steel guitar, a great voice, and compelling songwriting that made me a country fan for life. The more elements of the four that are present, the better.
Now Diamond Rio shows up with at least two of those things most of the time. They’ve got a great deer for material and they always sound great singing. In fact, Marty Roe has rarely sounded as effective as a lead singer as he does on this record. It’s clear he means every word he says, and he’s working with a heartbreaking lyric that is well timed for the post-9/11 landscape.
Unfortunately, they go with a sleek, contemporary Christian production here that feels too antiseptic for the vulnerable vocal performance, and Bluegrass-tinged harmonies that it supports. This comes off as music made by and made for the already saved.
If this had a bit more twang to really lean into the undercurrent of grief, it would be a more powerful record.
“I Believe” gets a B.
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It’s not a bad song and it’s a pretty good performance but like so much from this time frame it’s just ok. A good listen but nothing I would purchase or put on a playlist. I give it a “B-“.
I liked this song better when it was called “You’re Gone”. That said, I still like this one a lot. I found the line about believing in ghosts a bit weird relative to the other lyrics, but neither its gloss nor one slightly off line threw me out of the song. Even second-tier Diamond Rio is still a cut above most other of their contemporaries, and the harmonies still get me good on this one.
I’m still a bit bummed that some of their more creative tracks in this timespan — “Stuff”, “That’s Just That”, and “Can’t You Tell” — all bombed. The latter, a shockingly well-done attempt to be the Mavericks for one song, didn’t even end up on an album!
I still cut Diamond Rio a ton of slack on their more CCM-y tracks because I remember what a fucking disaster “God Only Cries” was. I still can’t even figure out what they were trying to say with that song. Hands down their worst, and my least-favorite single of 2006.
My purist tendencies notwithstanding, I like this song a whole lot and always have. As I have noted before, I am just incurably sentimental, especially now, with a wife and children of my own.
I would also not put it on a playlist — but only because it leaves me a blubbering mess every time I hear it (and when I see the video), and that’s just embarrassing. ;)
I’m about as far from an expert on musical production as anybody alive and couldn’t identify pedal steel or dobro on a record even if held at gunpoint. With that in mind, nothing about this song’s arrangement has ever jumped out at me as unusually slick compared to anything else on the radio at the time or even compared to other songs from Diamond Rio’s discography for that matter. I just lose myself into the strong message and vocal performance that was so definitive of 2000s era Diamond Rio and their impressive ability to remain relevant for so long amidst a fast-changing business. This song doesn’t move me to the same degree as “One More Day” but I still really enjoy it.
As I said, I had no exposure to CMT during my small-town newspaper writing days so I hadn’t seen this video until today. It’s powerful in its own right but I’m never a fan when the video diverges from the actual storyline of the song.
Grade: B+
…interesting in a wider historical context of the time back then, well sung and as universally acceptable produced as it was intended to come across most likely. still, it leaves me as interested as episode 527 of “chicago fire” or anything else with inescapable and inevitably foreseeable outcome.
Marty Roe’s lead vocals, the high harmonies, and the elegant musicianship were staples of Diamond Rio’s output. This song is beautiful both in sound and spirit.
I always felt a bit embarrassed that I was such a big fan of the band at the time. I own all their albums. They felt like “dad country.” Is it fair to say Diamond Rio was consistently accessible and reliable, and occasionally excellent, but seldom exceptional?
…almost certainly “exceptional” is too high a bar in a diamond rio context, mr. saros. the beatles, the beach boys, the rolling stones, the eagles, nirvana and then some are exceptional bands. bto wouldn’t be one either for that matter, although close. quite excellent, however, diamond rio have been any day. i saw them in concert some seven or eight years ago and they sounded and performed really great still. the setlist was either hits or songs i would have hoped for. time just flew by as breezily as norma jean riley did back in the day. actually, the most embarrassing moments in connection with diamond rio were most likely, when we sometimes went into a high pitched “then again…” when a trade didn’t exactly work out. that was in the city of london for all places and it was us lot and not them causing some relievingly awkward moments, actually.
I largely agree with Saro’s comments; however, unlike some performers, there are a number of really interesting album cuts that never made it as single releases. While never one of my favorite acts, I never felt cheated by any of their albums.