Luke Bryan - Tailgates & Tanlines
2011, Capitol Records
2011, Capitol Records
Leesburg,Georgia native Luke Bryan is a rising star in the country music world. With three top-ten albums and 6 top-tencountry singles in four years (including to #1 hits), Bryan is living theNashville dream. His latest album, Tailgates Tanlines, debuted at #1 on the U.S. Country charts and #2 on theBillboard album chart.
Tailgates & Tanlines opens with "Country Girl (Shake It For Me)", acatchy country/rock anthem that's likely to be a live favorite. Bryan showsreal pop sensibility here, and his backing band is top notch. "KissTomorrow Goodbye" is a solid, middle of the road country number aboutsaying goodbye to a purely physical relationship in the only appropriatefashion. "Drunk On You" is a radio friendly love song that would makefor a great summer single. "Too Damn Young" recalls young love withgreat simple poetry and reminiscences of a time when a single kiss meant everything.
"You Don't Know Jack"explores the depth of hopelessness that can lead a man with everything to loseto the bottle and to the streets. Bryan offers an interesting perspective,bringing a sort of nobility to those often viewed as untouchables. "HarvestTime" is a solid country anthem paying tribute to small time farmers andthe work they do to feed the world. The high point of the album is"Muckalee Creek Water", a number about getting away from it all,backwoods style. Bryan opens up his vocal range here a bit with pleasantresults, and the song is catchy enough and raw enough to stick in your mind.Bryan works his way to "I Knew You That Way", a reminiscent love songthat avoids melancholy by the narrowest of margins. It's an honest look at whatwas and what is; well written and from the heart.
Luke Bryan shows flashes of insightand contemplative rural poetry on Tailgates & Tanlines, and has somegood old fashion country fun along the way too. Bryan's sound is modern andradio friendly, but there's enough depth here to make his songs interesting.Vocally, Luke Bryan is a solid performer who can hold his own among the CMTcrowd, and Tailgates & Tanlines should solidify his status as aheadline country artist.
Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)
Learn more about Luke Bryan at www.lukebryan.com or www.myspace.com/lukebryan. Tailgates& Tanlines is available from Amazon.com as a CD or Download. The album is also available via iTunes.