Single Reviews – Page 58 – Country Universe

Single Reviews Round-Up: Rascal Flatts, Toby Keith, Tim McGraw ft. Taylor Swift and Keith Urban, & Kip Moore

April 11, 2013 Tara Seetharam 16

Rascal Flatts, “Changed”

Like “I Won’t Let Go” a few years back, “Changed” is built on a sweeping sentiment, rousing melody and very little else. That’s not an inherently bad thing; despite an ounce of detail about the confessor, “Changed” feels like a confession –it pleads and swells and submits. Add in an earnest and relatively restrained performance, and the song has legs.

Written by Gary LeVox, Wendell Mobley & Neil Thrasher

Grade: B

Single Review: Lee Brice, “I Drive Your Truck”

April 1, 2013 Ben Foster 13

Lee Brice’s current hit is quite possibly the best song he’s yet sent to radio – a compelling meditation on the process of dealing with grief over the loss of a loved one in death.

Single Review: Sheryl Crow, "Easy"

March 28, 2013 Ben Foster 12

It’s not very country, nor does it sound far removed from the music she’s been making for two decades now, but the lead single from Sheryl Crow’s first full-fledged country album gets several things right.

Single Review: Kristen Kelly, "He Loves to Make Me Cry"

March 26, 2013 Ben Foster 11

More noteworthy as a vocal showcase than as a lyrical composition.

Single Review: Pistol Annies, "Hush Hush"

March 21, 2013 Ben Foster 3

On first listen, the Pistol Annies’ new single “Hush Hush” immediately stands out as being their hardest rocking release to date. It sounds more like something one might expect to hear on one of Miranda Lambert’s solo albums than the Annies’ traditional-leaning debut. It seems the Annies are getting a harder radio push this time around – definitely a good thing since country radio has been largely in want of a good girl group for the past ten years.

Single Review: Billy Currington, "Hey Girl"

March 20, 2013 Ben Foster 8

There’s certainly no false advertising going on here, though it would still be easy to guess what we were getting even if the song title didn’t make it so plainly obvious.

Single Review: Gretchen Wilson, "Still Rollin'"

March 13, 2013 Ben Foster 20

“I can’t tell you where I’m bound/ Maybe I’m just spinning round and round…. And there may come a day when I have nothing left to say,” sings Gretchen Wilson on her new single “Still Rollin’.” Such words feel unfortunately indicative of the level of creativity the song displays.

Single Review: Blake Shelton, "Sure Be Cool If You Did"

March 11, 2013 Ben Foster 21

Blake Shelton’s current hit takes a welcome break from the watery nineties rock of “Over” and “God Gave Me You,” instead going for a light R&B groove with a synthesized hand clap. (It’s anybody’s guess when we’ll see the return of the fiddler and steel guitarist who have been seemingly M.I.A. since circa 2009) To the single’s credit, this particular sonic backdrop affords some much-needed breathing room for Shelton’s vocals, the quality of which has generally remained consistent even when the song quality hasn’t.

Single Review: Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison, "9,999,999 Tears"

March 10, 2013 Guest Contributor 3

Written by Henry L. Carrigan, Jr.

On their beautiful new album Cheater’s Game, husband and wife Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison get together for the first time to deliver some moving music, including several covers of now-classic country songs. Among them is the Razzy Bailey-penned “9,999,999 Tears.”

Singles Roundup – Band Edition: ZBB, The Henningsens, The Band Perry, The Steeldrivers, Train

March 9, 2013 Dan Milliken 17

Zac Brown Band, “Jump Right In”

~”The Southern wind sings again an island lullaby!”~ What a fun way to say, “Here’s the token ‘tropical’ single from this ZBB album!” But whatever. It sounds like Mario Party.