I have to say that out of everything I've reviewed so far, I was the least familiar with Casey James. I didn't watch Idol the year he was on and I'm kind of grateful I didn't because it gives me the chance to look at him like I would any other artist. I got his CD on iTunes around the time it came out, but never got around to listening to it for who knows what reason. I end up doing that a lot. Exceptions being new releases by my favorite artists. But yeah, this CD came in late March if I remember correctly, but pretty much completely new to me before I listened to it for this review, minus "Let's Don't Call It a Night".
So what did I think?
I think I have an interesting problem as a reviewer in that I've genuinely liked the majority of the things I've reviewed so far. Which is probably a good thing. This is the first debut CD that I've reviewed and that fact makes me happy that I liked it. Why? Because I take it as a sign that the genre is very much alive and healthy. New blood is good for the industry.
Right off the bat, the first thing I like about Casey James is the soulfulness of his voice. It's nice to listen to. So we're off to a good start. The album features different kinds of songs that highlight different aspects of his voice. Sometimes it's lighter and more carefree sounding, sometimes the soul is much more prominent and so on. He seems to have drawn from all kinds of different musical influences, like blues and bluegrass, which I like. The production is pretty good throughout, save for a few weak spots, like a couple of guitar solos that seemed a little too loud to me. That and I found the music a little underwhelming at times for some reason. The playing was very solid, I'll say that.
That said. If I'd heard this and not known it was a debut album, I'd be surprised to find out that it was. I'm not sure if that'll makes sense or not. It feels very polished to me, more like a CD someone might release later in their career. I'm not explaining it well, but it's a good thing. Pretty solid album overall and a nice introduction to who Casey James is as an artist.
Now to look at each song separately.
"The Good Life" If I haven't said it before, I believe that the first song of an album is the most important, particularly on a debut CD. This is the first thing people hear and you want it to be something that grabs your attention and makes you want to listen. And out of all the songs on the album, I think they made the perfect choice in making this the first song. There's a wonderful energy to it that's present the second the song starts and it builds nicely and carries on until the end. I really like the way this song feels.
"Crying On a Suitcase" I went on a bit of a journey while listening to this which was kind of strange if I'm being honest. At first, I didn't like how fast the words of the first verse were coming. It just seemed oddly fast to me, like he was trying to make each word come out as quickly as he could. But then as the song went into the chorus and I figured out what was happening and then it made sense. Basically it's a story about a guy who has messed up his relationship with this woman who is at the airport waiting to leave, crying on her suitcase. And the verses are Casey telling this guy to get it together and get to her before she leaves. So there's a sense of urgency here, which gets conveyed in the quickness of the words in the verses. Meanwhile, I went for not really caring for the pacing to hoping that the guy got there in time. Hence the journey. I can totally picture a video for this in my head while listening. So this song sort of got off to a rough start for me the first time, but won me over. Now I don't mind it and overall, I like this song.
"Let's Don't Call It a Night" This is one of the songs where you really heard the soul in his voice and that's hands down my favorite thing about it. It does remind me of some other songs and there was one I kept thinking of in listening to this. That said being "Just Got Started Loving You" by James Otto. That's a bit of a negative for me since I don't want to think of other specific songs when I listen to something new. The songs feel pretty different which is a good thing. And ultimately I do still like this song so it works out.
"Drive" This song kind of took me by surprise in the best way possible. The lead in caught my attention and then you really start to hear some of that bluegrass influence creep in there and it just starts cooking. I really love the playing in this and I can just imagine how good this would be live. This song has got to be my absolute favorite from this album. It's songs like this that make me want to see an artist in concert and that's a great thing.
"Love the Way You Miss Me" This one is a bit odd for me. I love the lyrics; I think this is one of the better written songs on the album. But musically speaking, I found it a little underwhelming, especially after the last track. It feels like it's missing something and I can't put my finger on it. This is another one I'd be curious to see live because it's be interesting to see if it comes across better. That said, I think this may be Casey's strongest vocal on the album. I really like how he sounds on this. He really sells the lyric and the delivery is spot on.
"Undone" This is another standout for my lyrically. This is a very well crafted song full of great lines like "Undone, like the clouds pouring out a perfect rain/ Undone, like the grace of heaven healing my pain". I find those lines so beautiful, especially the latter part of that. This is really a very sweet song and he gives a great vocal here. Really like the music in this one as well.
"So Sweet" This is a great companion song to the last one I feel. It's about someone who just can't believe that love could be, well, so sweet. It's a beautiful song and another one that shows off Casey's strengths as a singer. I really like this one.
"She's Money" This is another weird one. I like it; it's a nice song, but I felt like it would have benefited from having a little more punch to it. It just seems kind of flat for me if that makes any sense. I don't really know what else to say about this one. I'm just not feeling this one much. Again, not a bad song, but not one of my favorites. And I do like that it kicks things up tempo wise. He does give a nice vocal here though - I think his vocals are the most consistent thing about this album.
"Tough Love" So, it seems I like Casey the best when the songs have a bit of edge to them like one does. Like the last one, I feel like this one could've used some more punch; the energy should've been better. But I really like the lyrics and how it's about how tough love can be when faced with hard times. Tough as in strong and able to face whatever comes up.
"Workin' On It" One word came to mind when this started. That word? Hallelujah. Why? Because musically it feels like someone woke the band up for this one. There's a great energy here and it's very much welcome. This is another of my favorites on this album. I love this one.
"Miss Your Fire" Lyrically, this is one of the strongest cuts on the CD. I really like the words in this, like, for instance "This empty ache, it cuts through me/ Like a piece of glass in my heart". What a lyric there. I'm a little perplexed as to why they chose this one to close out the album with, but it's still a pretty good song.
Yeah, so as you saw I didn't really have a ton to say about these songs, which is unusual for me. But that's okay; good to change things up a bit sometimes. Ultimately I really do like this CD for the most part, even though I've been kind of hard on it. The up-tempo songs are where this one shines. I felt like most of the slower songs fell flat and in listening to this multiple times by now, they sort of bleed into each other a bit for me. In the future, I hope that he think more about subject matter and including songs about different things. I would've liked to see more variety. But yeah, that's just my opinion, as is everything I write. I'd still consider it a pretty good album, a pretty solid debut. I hear a lot of potential here; I believe that he can have a successful career in country music just so long as he continues to grow as an artist. I'd definitely recommend going and checking this album out and seeing what you think. He's worth listening to for that voice along.
Favorite tracks:
The Good Life
Drive
Undone
Workin' On It
So what did I think?
I think I have an interesting problem as a reviewer in that I've genuinely liked the majority of the things I've reviewed so far. Which is probably a good thing. This is the first debut CD that I've reviewed and that fact makes me happy that I liked it. Why? Because I take it as a sign that the genre is very much alive and healthy. New blood is good for the industry.
Right off the bat, the first thing I like about Casey James is the soulfulness of his voice. It's nice to listen to. So we're off to a good start. The album features different kinds of songs that highlight different aspects of his voice. Sometimes it's lighter and more carefree sounding, sometimes the soul is much more prominent and so on. He seems to have drawn from all kinds of different musical influences, like blues and bluegrass, which I like. The production is pretty good throughout, save for a few weak spots, like a couple of guitar solos that seemed a little too loud to me. That and I found the music a little underwhelming at times for some reason. The playing was very solid, I'll say that.
That said. If I'd heard this and not known it was a debut album, I'd be surprised to find out that it was. I'm not sure if that'll makes sense or not. It feels very polished to me, more like a CD someone might release later in their career. I'm not explaining it well, but it's a good thing. Pretty solid album overall and a nice introduction to who Casey James is as an artist.
Now to look at each song separately.
"The Good Life" If I haven't said it before, I believe that the first song of an album is the most important, particularly on a debut CD. This is the first thing people hear and you want it to be something that grabs your attention and makes you want to listen. And out of all the songs on the album, I think they made the perfect choice in making this the first song. There's a wonderful energy to it that's present the second the song starts and it builds nicely and carries on until the end. I really like the way this song feels.
"Crying On a Suitcase" I went on a bit of a journey while listening to this which was kind of strange if I'm being honest. At first, I didn't like how fast the words of the first verse were coming. It just seemed oddly fast to me, like he was trying to make each word come out as quickly as he could. But then as the song went into the chorus and I figured out what was happening and then it made sense. Basically it's a story about a guy who has messed up his relationship with this woman who is at the airport waiting to leave, crying on her suitcase. And the verses are Casey telling this guy to get it together and get to her before she leaves. So there's a sense of urgency here, which gets conveyed in the quickness of the words in the verses. Meanwhile, I went for not really caring for the pacing to hoping that the guy got there in time. Hence the journey. I can totally picture a video for this in my head while listening. So this song sort of got off to a rough start for me the first time, but won me over. Now I don't mind it and overall, I like this song.
"Let's Don't Call It a Night" This is one of the songs where you really heard the soul in his voice and that's hands down my favorite thing about it. It does remind me of some other songs and there was one I kept thinking of in listening to this. That said being "Just Got Started Loving You" by James Otto. That's a bit of a negative for me since I don't want to think of other specific songs when I listen to something new. The songs feel pretty different which is a good thing. And ultimately I do still like this song so it works out.
"Drive" This song kind of took me by surprise in the best way possible. The lead in caught my attention and then you really start to hear some of that bluegrass influence creep in there and it just starts cooking. I really love the playing in this and I can just imagine how good this would be live. This song has got to be my absolute favorite from this album. It's songs like this that make me want to see an artist in concert and that's a great thing.
"Love the Way You Miss Me" This one is a bit odd for me. I love the lyrics; I think this is one of the better written songs on the album. But musically speaking, I found it a little underwhelming, especially after the last track. It feels like it's missing something and I can't put my finger on it. This is another one I'd be curious to see live because it's be interesting to see if it comes across better. That said, I think this may be Casey's strongest vocal on the album. I really like how he sounds on this. He really sells the lyric and the delivery is spot on.
"Undone" This is another standout for my lyrically. This is a very well crafted song full of great lines like "Undone, like the clouds pouring out a perfect rain/ Undone, like the grace of heaven healing my pain". I find those lines so beautiful, especially the latter part of that. This is really a very sweet song and he gives a great vocal here. Really like the music in this one as well.
"So Sweet" This is a great companion song to the last one I feel. It's about someone who just can't believe that love could be, well, so sweet. It's a beautiful song and another one that shows off Casey's strengths as a singer. I really like this one.
"She's Money" This is another weird one. I like it; it's a nice song, but I felt like it would have benefited from having a little more punch to it. It just seems kind of flat for me if that makes any sense. I don't really know what else to say about this one. I'm just not feeling this one much. Again, not a bad song, but not one of my favorites. And I do like that it kicks things up tempo wise. He does give a nice vocal here though - I think his vocals are the most consistent thing about this album.
"Tough Love" So, it seems I like Casey the best when the songs have a bit of edge to them like one does. Like the last one, I feel like this one could've used some more punch; the energy should've been better. But I really like the lyrics and how it's about how tough love can be when faced with hard times. Tough as in strong and able to face whatever comes up.
"Workin' On It" One word came to mind when this started. That word? Hallelujah. Why? Because musically it feels like someone woke the band up for this one. There's a great energy here and it's very much welcome. This is another of my favorites on this album. I love this one.
"Miss Your Fire" Lyrically, this is one of the strongest cuts on the CD. I really like the words in this, like, for instance "This empty ache, it cuts through me/ Like a piece of glass in my heart". What a lyric there. I'm a little perplexed as to why they chose this one to close out the album with, but it's still a pretty good song.
Yeah, so as you saw I didn't really have a ton to say about these songs, which is unusual for me. But that's okay; good to change things up a bit sometimes. Ultimately I really do like this CD for the most part, even though I've been kind of hard on it. The up-tempo songs are where this one shines. I felt like most of the slower songs fell flat and in listening to this multiple times by now, they sort of bleed into each other a bit for me. In the future, I hope that he think more about subject matter and including songs about different things. I would've liked to see more variety. But yeah, that's just my opinion, as is everything I write. I'd still consider it a pretty good album, a pretty solid debut. I hear a lot of potential here; I believe that he can have a successful career in country music just so long as he continues to grow as an artist. I'd definitely recommend going and checking this album out and seeing what you think. He's worth listening to for that voice along.
Favorite tracks:
The Good Life
Drive
Undone
Workin' On It
Thank you for your very nice review of Casey's CD. Casey has played for 13 years in clubs,etc. so he is a seasoned artist even though some are just now hearing his music. I love every song on his CD and as each one plays, that's my fav! :) If you ever get the chance to see him live, please do!! You will be blown away by his energy and passion for music and also his amazing guitar skills! For me, he is a breath of fresh air in the industry with his incredible voice, guitar and song writing! As you can tell, I absolutely love his music and him as the wonderful person he is!! Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the review! I greatly appreciate the effort of reviewing each song separately, and that you took the time to review Casey's album!
ReplyDeleteI would definitely recommend seeing him live. In my opinion he sounds better live then on his album. I think it is very astute of you to notice that there might be something a bit missing from the slower songs, when you really don't know anything about Casey. In my opinion I think what happened was that they smoothed some of the rougher edges and nuances, in Casey's voice, just a bit too much on some of the slower songs.
I recommend that you view these live videos of some of the songs, and see if you agree. (If you have the time).
Crying On A Suitcase
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPBZ2gOZTgo
So Sweet
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb-WPPQ28EY&feature=relmfu
Love the way you miss me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLVFv0bHXq4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hkx7aiP3mPM&feature=relmfu
Drive
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDp4Z_K4J-o
http://vimeo.com/41178916
The guitar solos will always be present as Casey is as much a guitarist as a singer, his guitar playing lies somewhere towards the leagues of Keith Urban. Which makes him great to watch live.
It was a pleasure reading your review.
I'm in awe that everything you said on each song is EXACTLY what I felt and thought! Casey usually makes uptempo songs sound really really great. That's where he can play around with guitar solos and stuff (i'm speaking more on live versions he did). I can tell you after following Casey for a while, that he had better slow songs IMO. Two of which are "Show me a Bridge' and 'Why I'm feeling blue'. But I guess the label went for more radio-friendly, lyrically-easy songs, cos the chance of being played as a new artist is very slim so they have to take minimum risk.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I like that you think it's pretty solid for a debut album. I believe Casey has a lot more up his sleeves so I'm betting the next album will have more variety, themes and complexity.
Casey is a seasoned artist true, however I think he started very young and played around in Texas. So most of us would have never seen or heard him.. Im so happy he chose to take a chance on American Idol... I also love his album... Every song I realy like.. And the last one I miss your fire is out standing.. That song should come out as a single. Why Im feeling Blue is not on the album but a great song.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this review.......