Newcomer Brantley Gilbert’s Halfway to Haven release is as much a southern rock tome as a country album; but it works. With this southern flavor, Gilbert delivers an album full of music and lyrics that have a real sense of soul; that have depth; that have sentimentality but with an edge…slightly more edge than most country music that is being released today. From beginning to end we are along for a journey in an old pickup through the back country roads of the south where the roads are dirt and gravel, the heat and humidity cause the sweat to pour out of you as the sun comes up over the hills. Where Friday nights are spent in the stadium and Saturday’s are spent by the water where the bonfire blazes with a life full of passion and energy. The possibilities are endless. Life is damn good and you want it no other way!

From the up tempo, hard-charging, take no prisoners songs where boys will be boys to the raw, pour salt-in-the-wound devastating emotion of a life and love snuffed out in the blink of an eye, this album brings with it the trademark of all southern style albums before it; brutal honesty. Looking in the mirror is never easy but with Halfway to Heaven, Brantley Gilbert gives us permission to look into that mirror, accept what we see, and apologize to no one for the reflection that stares back. For that reflection has made us…wholly…the men and women that we are today. 

Track #1 – Hell on Wheels – sets the tone for the outlaw, southern life that runs throughout the record. “So man you think you wanna run whiskey…” evokes the days when the good ‘ol boys were running “shine” down the back roads throughout the south; the preface to what NASCAR is today. 

Track #2 – Bendin’ the Rules & Breakin the Law – reminds me of Hey Jealousy by the Gin Blossoms, but I digress. Ah, yes the rebellious teenager awakens from its slumber…”the closest thing to hell she’s ever raised…” by recounting all the things we did in our youth that we shouldn’t necessarily regret. ”…made mistakes that paved the way for the man I am today…” Everyday is a new day and we all get the opportunity to learn and grow from the haunts of our past. 

Track #3 – Back in the Day – memories of an innocent time…”a hand full of rocks and daddy’s pine ladder” where all that mattered was the freedom granted from a car…”butterflies in the backseat…” and the girl that you loved…”she was my dashboard drummer…four letters in a heart carved in a pine…” stir the romantic longing we all had inside of us at one time or another. Where did all that romance go? We need it more today than ever before. 

Track #4 – My Kinda Crazy – is pure unconditional love for the woman of your dreams…”…that’s my baby and she’s my kind of crazy.” This man knows his woman isn’t perfect; he does not want her to b, knows how to love his woman and makes no apologies or excuses for it. ”But I hear ‘wake up sleepy head and I open my eyes and its all worth the while.” A reminder that we should all love passionately; love forever and never, ever apologize for that love! 

Track #5 – Kick it in the Sticks – The most raucous track on the record and an autobiographical look at what it means to live, love and grow up in the south. “So, we hangout by the bonfire we’re just some good ‘ol boys havin a dang good time.” Sets the scene where the rules are…there are no rules; “we’ re crankin’ up AC/DC, Hank, Skynrd and George ‘Straight’.” Where everyone is invited and everyone is welcome “…with the hippies and the hicks, jocks and bikers…” Come on in, sit a spell and we’ll show you how we do it in the south. On a personal note to the editor of the liner notes, misspelling the King of Country Music’s name is a sacrilege. Strait. You’re welcome. Don’t let it happen again.  

Track #6 – Halfway to Heaven – title track and an inside look at the event that changed Brantley Gilbert’s life; a near fatal car accident. “There’s a live oak tree you can still see off ‘ol 129. You can see the scar it’s missin’ bark where it stopped my truck that night.” He recalls that instance where life hangs in the balance; “hanging on by a thread, wonderin’ which one’s your last breath” with no idea how it would end. Life doesn’t promise us anything, especially second chances…“You live your life a better man when you’ve been halfway to heaven.” Cherish your life and those in your life; it will not be here forever. I expect this to be the next single released. 

Track #7 – Saving Amy – Is my favorite track on the record; pure, raw and cutting emotion from start to finish. It continues the life is too precious to take for granted theme from the previous track. This story evokes every emotion of loss and grief. Told from a man looking down from heaven, it’s about two people whose love has been promised forever…”since that night I proposed; when I promised her forever.” Until the unthinkable happens; one life is snuffed out in the blink of an eye. When one is left holding onto the memories and the hope of a promised future, the pain is immeasurable and has no peer to ANY physical ailment known to man. “I’ve watched her losin’ her mind…screamin’ out my name.” it is his selflessness, his unconditional love for her that should make us all sit up and take notice; “Oh but God I know I can’t but you can’t let her live this way it’s too late for saving me but there’s still hope for saving Amy.” One of the people in this world that I love the most has always believed that death is not the end of life; the spirit lives on and remembers forever. May all of us and the ones we love believe in that spirit. 

Track #8 – Country Must be Country Wide – is the first release and tells us to leave judgment to the small and trite amongst us lest shame will pour down upon you and your small-mindedness…”I grew up south of the Mason Dixon…an ol boy pulled up with a license plate from Ohio I thought oh good lord he’s lost. From his wranglers to his boots he reminded me of Chris LeDoux…” The other picture this evokes is that we; you, me all of us are in this together. Let’s depend on each other to provide for each other when help is needed. “We weren’t raised to take, we were raised to give the shirt off our back to anyone in need.” Love thy neighbor. See Joplin, Missouri. See also, Alabama. 

Track #9 – Take it Outside – is on its surface just exactly that; a couple of ol’ boys being stupid in a bar…probably over a woman…and they take their endeavors outside to “prove” their manhood. “If you think you’re man enough, you really wanna knuckle up…” However, reading between the lines, one interpretation can be about man standing up for principles and what is right. “Let’s have some respect…it’s man to man, toe to toe.” Bar fights are cheap and tawdry; “fighting” over principle is an entirely different matter; it is steadfast and true. 

Track #10 – Them Boys – is all about respect…”Them boys don’t know one thing about life…” and the know-it-all attitudes of “young uns” today. “Out ridin’ like they own this town, that racket turned all the way up.” Oh. Wait a minute. Didn’t they say the same things about us back in the day? “…lookin back on the times we shared, from rock ‘n roll to these rockin chairs, the same ones our granddads sat in…about how much trouble we were in.” Yes, Virginia we have all evolved into our parents in some form. It is hell getting old! 

Track #11 – Fall Into Me – Fear and patience rear their heads in this ballad about finding a love too good to be true. “A whisper away from changin’ everything…girl, I’m weak in the knees…” It also requires both of us to follow our hearts; a recipe for success in all things “Let our kiss count the moments and our hearts set the pace…” we also learn that unconditional love is just that; without limits or boundaries. “Love ain’t a race, there’s no finish line.” True love endures all things and may we all find that one, single person that we can share that love for a lifetime…or the remainder of a lifetime. 

Track #12 – More Than Miles – What would you sacrifice to achieve your dreams? “…before her memory hits the brakes.” Can you put yourself and your dreams above your love of another soul; the other part of YOUR soul? “I think I just realized how much I need her…I can’t put my dreams before her.” All of us hopeless romantic types believe that above all else, love conquers all. Never quit on love. It’s reward is immeasurable. 

Track #13 – You Don’t Know Her Like I Do – Your friends can talk until they are blue in the face but when you lose real love, they have no ability to convince you otherwise…”It stops hurtin’, she ain’t worth it.” They have no idea; they haven’t walked in your shoes and felt and experienced what you have. “That girls my best friend, there’s no way you’re gonna help me, she’s the only one who can.” Friends…acquaintances…come and go. Your “best friend” never leaves your side…”through thick and thin”… and is a priceless and revered treasure. I would like to see this released as a single as well, however, I believe the record label will want the more compelling story line that comes from the title track. 

Track #14 – Hell On An Angel – Someone has come along in our lives that has reached down and pulled us from the bottom of the muddy, murky water we were wallowing in. “Yeah but I got a blessin, sent down from heaven, baby you’re my savin grace.” They’ve been able to show us the truth and beauty that we cannot see in ourselves…”to this heart I’ve kept long guarded…” and they have the uncanny ability to illustrate how to re-frame our own image.”…a dirty old hound dog, learning’ new tricks like cuddlin’ up.” They are truly sent by God above and are angels on earth. 

In some ways Halfway to Heaven has some of the same sounds as other country records, however, taken as a whole, it does contain something different. I believe it is a sound of true appreciation, excitement, love and passion for the second chance at a real, genuine and more fulfilling life emitting from a man who, for all intents and purposes, should not be alive. Maybe it is the second chance sound that gives us the cutting edge to the lyrics. Maybe it is the second chance sound that resonates in the timbre (husky…raspy…masculine) of Gilbert’s voice. Whatever the difference, do yourself a favor and listen to this record. You may not get a second chance.

RODNEY ATKINS INTERVIEW

Roger and Laurie talk to Rodney Atkins right after he gets pulled over by the Tennessee Highway Patrol!!

RODNEY ATKINS INTERVIEW

Roger and Laurie talk to Rodney Atkins right after he gets pulled over by the Tennessee Highway Patrol!!

CMA’s, ACM’s and the coveted Grammy award line the bookshelves of this talented trio who first hit the scene approximately five years ago with their debut hit “Love Don’t Live Here.” Btw, if you are a lover of words and lyrics like I am, that single contained one of the best lyrics since Bernie Taupin wrote “I can’t light, no more of your darkness…” for Elton John many years ago. “…and you don’t haunt my dreams…” was a lyric that solidified this group in the country music world as both writers and performers who have the uncanny ability to write equally as well from the male and female perspective; often times in the same verse of the same song. This androgynous style suits the world of country music like a well worn pair of cowboy boots.

Lady Antebellum has released their third studio album with “Own the Night.” Is the album earth-shattering? No. Is the album terribly creative? Not really. Is the album fluff? Not in the least. There is depth and meaning in all of the tracks and is as solid an effort as has been released this year in country music. With a hand in writing ten of the albums twelve tracks, this is what you come to expect from the trio of Dave Haywood, Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley; lush ballads of love gone astray for a myriad of reasons; love found along the road of life when it was least expected and mid and up tempo numbers where the night time is the foundation for some of the simple joys in life. An acquaintance of mine is wont to say that only the best things happen when the moon rises and the stars come out to play. As a self-prescribed night owl, with crime and the evil inside man’s heart aside, I am certainly one to agree with that statement. From the sounds of this album, Lady A not only agrees but jumps in with both feet and shouts it from the mountaintop for all to hear!

I must say that I do have a couple of issues with this album; annoying little pet peeves of mine, if you will. First, can you please include the lyrics in the liner notes? Why would a record label…especially a label as lucrative and large as Capitol Records Nashville…purposely NOT include the lyrics to their artists’ music? As a lover of words, I like to see the words on paper to fully enjoy the listening process. Besides, I am also a bit deaf in one ear (too many years with headphones on in the studio) and it helps me make out the words I cannot hear in the presentation of the song itself. Yes. Call me selfish but who does NOT want to see the lyrics?

Second, and I have noticed this on many albums being released these days, watch the production aspects of the music versus the singing. As a performer, I understand the delicate balance between the vocals and the music; however, not being able to hear the singers over the music defeats the purpose of singing and is a disservice to the listener who needs to hear every word in order to connect with the ebb and flow of the lyrical emotion being presented. This over-production (for lack of a better term) is especially noticeable on this record because these three singers instruments are of a more light and lyrical timbre than the edgier and fully resonating style.

Some will say this is not a country album but more of the homogenized pop sound that pervades the country radio airwaves today. They may be correct in that assertion, however, the one thing country music has always had at its core is the story; and every track on this album tells a story just like every country album that has come before this one. That being said, to a true music lover labeling does nothing more than eliminate the opportunity for music to be heard and enjoyed in its simplest sense. Let us get away from the labels of what music is or what music is not and just get back to enjoying the music for its pure pleasure.

The title track, “We Owned the Night,” leads off this album and sets the tone and theme of the night time that resonates throughout the album. The memory of a unique lover…”She was the purest beauty but not the common kind…” is forever entrenched in the heart and mind of our young man “…not knowing in that moment we’d never speak again, but it was perfect, I will never forget” who will never forget the woman of his dreams and the magical gifts of the nights they spent together.

Track #2, “Just a Kiss,” the lead off single, flew to the #1 spot on the charts in a very short time. In this story (based upon actual events with regards to Charles meeting his now wife) our protagonist desires only the purest form of thought, word and deed in relation to the woman who holds his heart in her hands. “I don’t want to mess this thing up, I don’t want to push too far…no I don’t want to say goodnight, I know its time to leave but you’ll be in my dreams…” Who wants to screw up what could possibly be the one and only shot at honest, true and unadulterated love that will last a lifetime?

Track #3, “Dancin’ Away with my Heart” is all about first love; it’s idealism, it’s innocence, it’s memories…”oh you headed out to college at the end of that summer when we lost touch…” it’s wonder; “…I can’t help but wonder if you ever miss me…”

Track #4, “Friday Night,” give s us the analogy of the work week in relation to the one we adore. Don’t ever think of me as a Monday…”I don’t wanna be your Monday morning heading back to work…” but rather the fun loving, good times of a Friday night spent together. “I wanna be your Friday night sweet ride…I wanna set you free, I wanna take you high…” With every thought of “the one” a smile and a tremendous sense of warmth envelope you like being held in a set of strong, safe arms and shoulders. This track gives an entirely new meaning to TGIF!

Track #5, “When You Were Mine,” provides us with a look inside the world of one-sided love. The kind of love that flows freely and purely from one person but the return of that love is suspect at best. It leaves one with a feeling of being used and taken for granted. “Here, with me, I thought we’d be, stronger than the past, better than the ones before how did I fool myself into thinking we had it all.” Love is most assuredly blind.

Track #6, “Cold As Stone,” gives us the quintessential breakup song from the age old cliché “it’s not you; it’s me. “She said she needed to feel the sun on her face, talk it out with herself, try to get things straight.” This song plays to anyone who has ever curled up in the fetal position…”but all I know is I don’t wanna breathe…” after the door has been slammed shut on the love that you thought you shared; “Yeah, it’s gonna take forever to get over you.” We all want to be that stone that just lies there without emotion…”I wish I was as cold as stone, then I wouldn’t feel a thing…or feel so all alone…” until someone comes along, stumbles over that stone and realizes the true beauty of the stone lying in their path. The surprising interlude at the end of this number is well worth the wait.

Track #7, “Singing Me Home” has the best melody on the record and its message is one of love…”Oh my sweet love keep singing me home…” and companionship…”the sunshine shining through the windshield got a hand on her leg the other on the wheel…”in its most simplest form.

Track #8, “Wanted You More,” incorporates the lush sound of strings to expand on the theme of one-sided love, however, in this instance that love was returned for awhile and for whatever reason…”I kept waiting for a reason and a call that never came…” the hopes, dreams and plans made together all changed. For those of us who wear our heart on our sleeve, this is a reminder of how vulnerable we are…”my heart was open, exposed and hoping for you to lay it on the line…” to those who do not understand the magical and fulfilling feelings that come with that vulnerability. In the end, the one who wants it more than the other…”I guess I wanted you more and looking back now, I’m sure I wanted you more…” will most certainly fall prey to the folly of the other.

Track #9, “As You Turn Away,” uses a melodic piano and gorgeous strings to tell the story of a <gasp> personal goodbye…”standing face to face, wrapped in your embrace, don’t wanna let go but you’re already gone…this is our goodbye…” as opposed to the sub-human methods we employ today; voicemail, email or worse yet, texting. Whatever happened to courage in our world? Putting the “genie back in the bottle”…”no we can’t be friends cause I couldn’t take seeing you and knowing where we’ve been…”isn’t going to work either. What is the point? We do not need or want another “friend.” Simply put, man is not meant to be alone. We seek and desire commitment, love, passion, intimacy, and companionship with one, single person more than anyone else in the world.

Track #10, “Love I’ve Found In You,” is the song every guy wants his buddies…”well, I bet my buddies are out on the town tonight…”to hear so he doesn’t have to tell them that she fulfills his needs (get your mind out of the gutter) on a higher plane more than they ever could. A real man embraces it…“Wearin’ my old sweatshirt and your favorite pair of jeans, barefoot on the couch curled up next to me, oh I got everything I’ve ever needed” …and readily admits it…”some people search the whole world over just to find a love that’s even half as true as the love I’ve found in you.”

Track #11, “Somewhere Love Remains,” embraces the idea that love conquers all…”I know through all this pain somehow, somewhere love remains…” no matter how much instant gratification abounds in the world. In all things, especially relationships, actions speak louder than words; “…More than just a line…you told me but you never really showed me…” and there are three things that MUST be present in every relationship; love, trust and respect; “…trust takes time to tear down those fences and love remains that’s stronger than ever before so don’t (quit) and walk out that door.” The hopeless romantic in us all knows that true, real and honest love, much like honesty, works every time it is tried!

Track #12, “Heart Of The World,” illustrates from both the male and female voice; a feat Lady A has perfected…“You’ll never not be my girl…I’ll never not be your girl.”…that love is strong and can withstand all challenges it faces. We are also rewarded with a richness and depth in their writing abilities that equals that of their minor hit “Hello World” from their last album. “If fall is the soul of the engine…forgiveness the road to redemption…if grease is the soul of the kitchen…faith can still beat the odds…” In the end, love is the heart of the world and we owe it to ourselves to make every second count because we never know when that heart will stop beating.

Love is a central theme in most country albums. In this case, love the new Lady A record and “Own the Night” with them; whether at home with a roaring fire, a glass of wine, wrapped up in the arms of the one you love or in the car on the way to a lovers only getaway destination while holding hands or sensually touching each other all along the way. No matter the circumstance, you will never go wrong with the night time, music and true love!

BRANTLEY GILBERT INTERV

BRANTLEY GILBERT INTERV

Is it possible for George Strait to ever do anything wrong as a country music artist? Is it even within the realm of possibility that he could do ANYTHING that would alienate his fan base, his peers or industry executives? Yeah. I think not either; there is not a chance of that happening in this lifetime and with the release of his 39^th studio album, “Here For a Good Time,” George Strait continues to reign as the “King of Country Music”…and that crown has not been tarnished nor is it going anywhere anytime soon.

 Like a fine wine, Mr. Strait has aged so very well with time…and I do not mean just on the eyes ladies. Yes, he is still dashingly handsome as ever; who would NOT want their daughter to walk through the door with him to meet the family? His voice has lost nothing in his 30+ year career; unmistakable, expressive, rich, vibrant, lyrical and joyous in its timbre. From his first single (“Unwound”) back in 1981 to his latest single, “Here for a Good Time,” there is no doubt that the full-bodied flavor of his music continues to be poured at the finest establishments all over the country.

 Being in his position at the top of country music royalty, Mr. Strait has the privilege of being able to pick and choose who he will work with when it comes to songwriting and song selection. His stable of writer’s include the absolute best names in the music business from Nashville and across the world of music. However, with the release of his last couple of albums, there has been a slow change in his songwriting process and selection; the introduction of his son, Bubba, into the mix. Whatever the reason for this inclusion, the change is positive, significant and forward-moving as the lyrics and subject matter have plunged to a depth that seems to be, on the surface, different from what we have come to know from Mr. Strait. Keeping it in the family, so to speak, has provided a deeper and more insightful look at the world through their writing together and his uncanny ability to make lyrics jump off the page of sheet music they are written upon.

Track #1, “Love’s Gonna Make it Alright,” is the true hopeless romantic answer to the world’s ills; no obstacle is insurmountable as long as we are together and our love provides the foundation for the solution. (“…watch the sun come up behind our bedroom door”) screams romance and the truth that love does indeed conquer all.

Track #2, “Drinkin’ Man” puts us in the shoes of a man looking deeper into the mirror of his life than ever before. In that reflection he (and many along with him) re-lives his epic battle with the bottle. (“When you’re fourteen and drunk by 10am…”) should stop every parent dead in their tracks and require them to give more thought to what is really happening in their children’s lives; it could be foreshadowing of things to come.

Track #3, “Shame on Me” is a very simple song at its core; most times the simplest turns out to be the best. It takes the old cliché, (“fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me”) and provides us with the devastating reminder of how lying and deceit take their toll on the human condition until finally giving up is the only choice left in the hopper.

Track #4, “Poison” gives us the juxtaposition of poison as both pleasure and pain (sour mash is the pleasure n this instance) (“My first sip made me gag and I thought I was gonna blow beets.”) and a woman’s purported love and affection; the pain. (“Anything can bring you pleasure, even pain…”) A story of how we mask the truth that surrounds us with the illusion of what we invent or rationalize in our mind. It is every man and woman’s dilemma; do I follow my head or my heart? The truth is there is no right answer to that question; attention must be paid to both.

Track #5, the aforementioned “Here for a Good Time,” is an upbeat and memorable number about living life to its fullest extent, everyday, without excuse and enjoying each and every day as if it is our last. Let’s drop the pretense and the façade (“To hell with the red wine, pour me some moonshine…”) and live, love and laugh. Life is far too short to do otherwise.

Track #6, “House Across the Bay” not only paints the picture of the loneliness and isolation that comes as the result of a breakup (“Gone are the days when I’d wake up with her warm body next to mine…”) but also of the search for understanding (“They say things happen for a reason but I can’t find one good reason…”) and an attempt to make the illogical, logical.

Track #7, “Lone Star Blues” is an ode to escapism, living life on the edge doing what we want to do, when we want to do it rather than what we should do in order to survive. (“Well I gassed my truck and packed my clothes, turned in my key and hit the road…”) tells us that there may be more to life than a husband/wife, a house, a yard with a white picket fence, the average 2.3 kids and a dog.

Track #8, “A Showman’s Life” bursts the bubble on what we laymen think we know about show business; the fame, the fortune, the glory. However, when the rubber meets the road as the bus rolls down the lonely two-lane highways of west <insertstatenamehere> at two in the morning headed to the next gig, nothing could be farther from the truth; (“No mention of the wear and tear on an old honky tonkers heart…”) Mr. Strait, known for his duet prowess with the women of country music; Reba and LeeAnn come to mind quickly, does not disappoint on this number as he enlists none other than Faith Hill to add authenticity and a sense of two “old souls” swapping stories on the track.

Track #9, “Three Nails and a Cross” takes us down the road of trials and tribulations to redemption and forgiveness. (“Three nails and a cross equal forgiveness…I’ve made a big mistake, can you help me out?”) Country music has never had an issue of featuring God and religion in their songs; this track is no exception to that rule. However, I believe there to be a deeper level of societal concern here that may not have been as prevalent on his earlier records; (“She was sittin’ on a bed crying crocodiles, sixteen ain’t a good age to be pregnant.”) I do not know if Mr. Strait would have tackled this issue in years past on one of his records. To know his audience has changed and that there are real problems like this within his audience displays tremendous insight, growth as both an artist and as a human being.

Track #10, “Blue Marlin Blues” is a fun number about the glory days of just fishing. However, if you read between the lines I think you can see it is more about a tale of change that hits all of us…no matter how much we try to avoid that change there is always going to be someone bigger and badder than us in the world. (“I had one swimmin’ right behind my bait…I picked up my rod I put in free spool thinking I’ll shake these blue marlin blues…he came out of the water spit the bait right back at me and disappeared back into the sea.”) The only constant in life is change.

Track #11, “I’ll Always Remember You” is his way of telling the fans thank you for all the years spent together. He never expected it to last, is sure glad it did and has no timetable as to when it will end. That, my music friends, is a damn good thing!