After listening to the first half of Gary Allan’s new album, Living Hard, I decided I’d do some market research. I had honestly never heard of Gary, but seeing that his record was on MCA Nashville I knew he was probably in good company. And it turns out that I was right. Other artists on the label include George Strait, Vince Gill and Julie Roberts just to name a few. Also, since this was the week the new album came out I was convinced that it should be displayed prominently at the local Wal-Mart. So, since I needed dog food and shampoo anyway, I hopped in the car and drove to the home of low prices and was right on the money again! Sitting a-top the shelf of new releases was Living Hard. What’s my point? Well, this album is pretty much filled with hooks a plenty featuring anathematic choruses, sugary lyrics and pristine production that used to be reserved for pop radio until Mutt Lange and Shania Twain got it on. (Shania’s on MCA Nashville as well.) I’m not knocking Gary in particular because I can say that there are a number of songs on this album that are a ton better than most of the pop country I’ve heard in the past few years, (Although I’ll admit that ain’t much…) but this stuff usually doesn’t cut it with me. And it certainly didn’t come across as “edgy†as some of his press materials may have suggested about his previous albums.
The opening track and current single, “Watching Airplanes†is clever with a chorus that will be stuck in my head for days. How clever? Well, its almost a country version of Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated†with the lyrics, “I’m just sitting out here watching airplanesâ€Â replacing Lavingne’s “Why’d you have to go and make things so complicated.â€Â A pretty nifty trick from writers Jim Beavers and Jonathan Singleton who will be laughing all the way to the bank with this one.Â
Track two, “We Touched the Sun,†is my favorite from the record and will probably even make it to my I-Pod for a few weeks sandwiched in between Foo Fighters and Genesis alphabetically. (Why Apple uses first names to alphabetize I do not know.) It features a fuzzed out guitar throughout and is basically 3 choruses, a verse and an ending, bunking the normal Nashville formula. I’d love to hear this one hit the radio and become a hit.Â
The pedal steel on “She’s So California†played by Dan Dugmore (a Nashville studio musician who’s been playing on records since the 70s) is excellent, although the lyrics are a bit hokey. If any of the songs do have a good message its “Like It’s A Bad Thing†with the lines, “I don’t know about you but I was put here to live and love/So what if I don’t do it like everybody else does,†that actually made a cynic like me stop and think. But then there are lines such as, “Rolling like the Stones, start looking like Dylan†on the title track that tells the long hard road of a “rowdy musician†that make me cringe. (Oasis’ “Rock N Roll Star†is a much, much better song about “rowdy musicians†by the way.)Â
Saying all of the above, I can still see why people like this music. It’s catchy, sounds good and is easy to sing along with. (Duh, that’s why it’s pop music.) Hell, even I can tolerate this over most metal or hip-hop. But, I’ll stick with Chris Knight, Steve Earle and Ryan Adams for my “edgy†country music…whatever that is.Â
About the author: Producer, Engineer, Musician and all around music enthusiast.