Jason Aldean--"Night Train"

Jason Aldean's fifth studio album, "Night Train" should sit comfortably with his fans.

The songs on "Night Train" are a mix of what Aldean is best known for, rockin' honky-tonk, ballads, and yes, even a bit of rap.  It's as though he's taken what's successful on his first four CD's and mashed them together to make "Night Train".

Granted, fifteen songs on a CD is a great deal; however, when most of those songs are basically the same as earlier ones, what's the point?

Even Aldean's first single,  "Take A Little Ride", seems to be playing it safe.  There's nothing about the song that really makes it stand out from other tunes on "Night Train", or any of Aldean's previous efforts.   Whether it's the label, the producer, or Aldean himself, it seems that no one is willing to stray too far outside the box and try something new.  Yes, there are a couple stand outs on "Night Train"; even if they still fall within safe perimeters.

For instance, "The Only Way I Know" is your basic Aldean tune. Combine it with other artists, (in this case Luke Bryan and Eric Church), and that "basic" song gets a new feel and vibe.  What really stands out on "The Only Way I Know" is how the three distinct and diverse voices of Aldean, Bryan and Church all blend together so well, without overshadowing one another.  Definitely a song worth considering as a single.

Another standout is "Black Tears".  The song is a haunting ballad about a woman who works at a strip club, and would rather not be there.  What makes this song shine brighter than the rest is not only Aldean's delivery, but the way the song was written as well.  Songwriters say they try to tell the same stories in different ways.  "Black Tears" certainly is a new take on an old subject; and the writers should be proud of the job they've done.

Probably the catchiest tune on "Night Train" is "1994".  If you're not really paying attention, this song can blend in with the rest of the tunes on the CD.  Really listen though, and you'll see why it's so catchy.  "1994" is basically written about country singer, Joe Diffie.  Not only is Diffie mentioned by name, so are several of his hits, like "John Deere Green" and "Pick Up Man".  Though probably not worthy of being a radio single, "1994" still will put a smile on most peoples' faces; especially those familiar with Joe Diffie.

If you've liked Jason Aldean's music in the past, and want more of the same, "Night Train" will meet your standards.  If you're looking for more than the same old, same old however, save some money and just buy the downloads of the stand out songs from this CD.

BMI Songwriter's Showcase @ the Bing Lounge-9-26-12

Taking a good look at the above photo, can you name all three men shown?  If not, don't feel bad; even the most diehard country fans don't always recognize songwriters.  Most likely, you recognized singer/songwriter Luke Bryan, but probably not the other two, right?

As can be expected, Bryan is recognizable mainly because he's a singer as well; having had several hits on the country charts. The others though are the "behind the scenes" people.  The ones that make it possible for singers to do the job they do.  Unless a singer is also a songwriter, they're dependent on others for the material they perform.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012, the Bing Lounge had a "BMI Songwriter's Showcase" featuring Bryan, as well as songwriters, Dallas Davidson and Jeff Stevens.

Like everyone else, I knew who Bryan was, and I knew of Davidson, though I'd never heard of Stevens. Throughout the evening of stories and singing though, it became obvious that though I didn't know his name, I did know the hits Stevens has written for others. The same was true of Davidson.

The three have been friends for years, with Bryan and Davidson going back as far as their school days.  In addtion to songwriting, Stevens is a producer for Bryan.

Each took turns singing songs they'd written or co-written, telling how each came to be. In between songs and stories there was a lot of joking around and interaction with the audience.

For this post I'll list each person individually, starting with Luke Bryan.

As stated earlier, Luke Bryan is the most recognizable of the three songwriters showcased that evening.  He was the foundation of the show, playing some of his hits as well as joining in with Davidson and Stevens at times.  You could tell that Bryan was having a great time playing, telling stories and interacting with the audience.  Not only is he a great singer, he's a really funny, nice guy also.

Dallas Davidson is best known as one of the "Georgia Peach Pickers".  The Peach Pickers are songwriters Davidson, Rhett Akins and Ben Hayslip, who write together on a regular basis, and have had several hits together as well as separately.

Davidson is also the first winner of the  "ACM Songwriter of the Year" award; winning the title in 2011.

Fans of Lady Antebellum, Montgomery Gentry, or Trace Adkins have heard  at least some of Davidson's tunes:  "Just A Kiss",  "Where I Come From", and Honky-Tonk Badonkadonk", respectively, to name a few.

Davidson performed each of those songs, as well as this hit he wrote for Jake Owen.

Jeff Stevens is a name I hadn't heard until the Bing Lounge Showcase.

Though his name wasn't familiar to me, it was obvious immediately that Stevens' songwriting talent was.  The first song Stevens performed that evening was one he wrote for Tim McGraw;  "Back When".
Like with Bryan and Davidson, it was fun not only to hear the songwriter sing what he'd written, but tell how the song came to life in the first place.

Tim McGraw isn't the only country artist Stevens has had hits with though.  He's had at least two with the king of country, George Strait; "Carried Away", and one of my favorite Strait hits, "Carrying Your Love With Me."

   
One song Luke Bryan and Dallas Davidson performed together hasn't ever been recorded.  The song is called "Buddies", and judging from the audience reaction, I'm pretty sure it could be a hit if it was recorded.

Once the showcase was done, all three men stayed to sign autographs and have photos taken with anyone wanting to do so.  Just like on stage, the three joked around, shook hands, and spoke to each person, in addition to signing and posing for photos.

This is the second songwriter showcase KUPL has hosted in the Bing Lounge; and as fun as they both have been, I hope they have more in the future.

Ole' Boys, Directions & Living

 (Today's word will be in red, and bold.)


I've heard Craig Morgan's current single, "This Ole' Boy", a lot over the past couple of months or so; it's a great song and I like it a lot.


It got me to thinking about another version I like also; by Joe Nichols. While Morgan has the single on radio in 2012, Nichols' CD, "It's All Good" was released in November, 2011, with "Good Ole' Boy" as one of the tracks.

Of course, this isn't the first time more than one artist has had a song out at the same time.  Billy Currington had a hit with the song "Good Directions".

The song was written by then newcomer, Luke Bryan, who also included the song on his debut CD.

 A while back, LeAnn Rimes was supposed to sing, "How Do I Live", from the movie, "Con Air".  However, after it was recorded, Disney decided they wanted Trisha Yearwood to do the song instead. The result was, LeAnn's version of the song was released to pop stations, while Trisha's went to country radio.

Throughout history songs have been recorded, and rerecorded by countless artists.  These are just a few samples of this, narrowing it down to songs that were also recorded around the same time.  I'm sure there will be more in the future.

I Don't Get It

Honestly, I really don’t know how CMA, (or any award for that matter), nominations are done. I know they’re voted on, etc; beyond that though, I don’t know anything about it. Because of that, maybe I really shouldn’t say anything; though that’s never stopped me before.

With that said: I don’t get how Luke Bryan, Eric Church, and even Chris Young can STILL be nominated for “New Artist”. How many times has this been for Luke now? I like Luke, and Chris, (not so big on Eric), but really? If it’s just because they need to “round out” the list, I’d think there are plenty of new artists that could have been nominated.

What about Craig Campbell? He’s had two big songs out this year.

How about James Wesley? He's had "Jacksonhole", "Real" and "Didn't I".

Heck, even the LoCash Cowboys had a couple of good songs on the air.

I’d also throw the Eli Young Band into the mix; though I think “Crazy Girl” came out after the time frame for nominations.

Maybe their hits haven’t been as big, but they’re still newer artists than Luke, Eric, or Chris. To me, any of these acts, (or others I haven’t thought of at the moment), are deserving of nominations; whereas Luke Bryan, Eric Church and Chris Young are a few YEARS past the “new artist” stage. Again, this is just my opinion.

I totally agree with The Band Perry, and Thompson Square being nominated for "New Artist"; and I think the Band Perry has the win.

Since it seems obvious the Band Perry will win, would it really matter who else is nominated? Or do you think it’s because the Band Perry seems so obvious that they threw in the other three as a distraction?

As I said at the beginning of this blog, I just don’t get it. So I wanted to throw this out to see what others think.