John Mellencamp
Review: Keith Urban, “‘Til Summer Comes Around”
Urban’s recent output has been upbeat and bright, so it’s a sucker punch to hear him in full melancholic mode again. But like John Mellencamp once sang, “It hurts so good.”
“‘Til Summer Comes Around” is a sadly beautiful tale about a man who lives in a summer town and falls in love with a girl who’ll be leaving at the end of the season. Using the emptiness of “everything is closing down” as a backdrop, Urban’s heartbreak becomes one with the town. Just as the carnival rides are shut down and have to wait out the fall, winter, and spring, so does Urban have to wait for his love that promises to come back.
The 201 Greatest Singles of the Decade, Part 5: #120-#101
The 201 Greatest Singles of the Decade, Part 5: #120-#101
#120
“Tonight I Wanna Cry”
Keith Urban
2005
Peak: #2
A chillingly frank portrait of loneliness, awkward reference to “All By Myself” notwithstanding. Few mainstream vocalists today could pull off something this intense. – Dan Milliken
#119
“Portland, Oregon”
Loretta Lynn with Jack White
2004
Peak: Did not chart
If you can take a healthy dose of dirty rock ‘n’ roll in your country, this is one of the coolest-sounding records of the decade, a classic one-night-stand duet. That it’s a very cross-generational pairing singing it would be creepy if not for the goofy smiles shining through Lynn’s and White’s performances. – DM
