Album review: Dirt Road Communion by Chase Rice

Well, here's another album by someone who I'm really not terribly familiar with or at least wasn't before I did this review. I was looking on his site and he's done all kinds of things - you may recognize him from Survivor. He seems like a pretty interesting guy actually and I'm not going to get more into it, but if you're interested in learning more about him check out his website http://chaserice.com/ and see for yourself. The strange thing about him is that I honestly can't remember where I first heard of him. I've never watched Survivor so it definitely wasn't there; I want to say I saw someone talking about him on Facebook and then decided to look him up.

This review is going to be a pretty long once as there's a total of 17 songs on this, if you count the hidden track, which I did. So it'll be pretty long after the cut just so you know. Lot of songs and I had a lot to say. My general opinion? I really enjoyed this album and I feel like Chase Rice is going to be one to watch. This was an indie project and honestly, if I hadn't known that I never would've guessed. The album is very well done and features some very nice playing and production. Every now and then there'll be an artist who comes along and pretty much instantly makes me believe that they are destined for some big things. Before it's happened with people like Jason Aldean, Eric Church, Dierks Bentley and Luke Bryan. And now it's happened with Chase Rice. I have a feeling about this one and so it'll be interesting to see what happens. I definitely recommend checking him and this album out and seeing what you think.

All right, so there's the short version. Like I said, it's very long after the break. Maybe you've come to expect that from me, but I really felt a need to warn everyone about that beforehand. Feel up to it?

“Dirt Road Communion” So we get off to a pretty rocking start with this song and it’s a great way to kick things off. This has a great beat and overall feel to it; this is one of those songs that has a distinctive pulse to it. I love songs like that because they just kind of grab you. If you like artists like Jake Owen or Jason Aldean, I’m sure you’ll like this song. It reminds me of something either of them would put out and as a fan of both of them, this is very promising to me. The thing about this is that it reminds me of them without sounding like any of their songs. It’s in the same vein, but has a bit of uniqueness to it at the same time. Good song and an early favorite.

“How She Rolls” Chase Rice is proving himself to be an interesting one as he manages to makes me think of so many other artists while having something about him that’s just a little different. I really like that. This one is a bit more relaxed that the first, but still has a nice energy to it.

“The Little Things” Three songs; three different feels and tempos. This is the first slow song of the album and it’s about how his girl is happy with the little things, that’s all she needs. I don’t know what it is, but I really enjoy his delivery for this. Good vocal on here too. The music just sort of chugs along nicely from start to finish. The only thing about this is it always seems to end before I think it will. That’s not a criticism, exactly, just a comment. I just don’t expect it to end when it does. But I like it.

“Pbjs & Pbrs” Talk about being intrigued by a song title. This is also a good example of what an interesting title can do for a song. This is one of those songs about looking back on your life and the way you grew up and all that and thinking that there isn’t anything you’d change. It’s not a new idea, but the title alone makes it stand out. I’ve listened to a lot of songs like this and the titles tend to be more generic and that’s fine. But for a new artist, different is good. The song itself does a good job of sounding familiar, but not too familiar. It’s a good song and, again, a great energy to it.

“Whoa” This song seems made to be performed live, I just imagine an audience singing along with the whoa’s. I can see this one being a little polarizing – the more traditional fans won’t care for it, but my guess is anyone who enjoys a little rock and rap in their country will. It’s not one of my favorites, but I don’t mind it. I don’t get an urge to skip over it listening to it. It fits in on the album very well.

“Room 205” Well. I’ve been reviewing a bunch of albums lately and it’s occurred to me that with all the songs I’ve been listening to, there haven’t been any songs involving murder. Or where murder is heavily implied. Until now. This probably says something disturbing about me, but I do enjoy a good killing song. I don’t know. There’s something intriguing about these kinds of songs when they’re done right. And this one is done right. This has got to be my favorite track on this album. There’s such a darkness to it that’s apparent from the first few notes, you just get a feeling that something bad is coming. There’s a very ominous feel to the music and I love how stripped down it is when he starts singing. What’s interesting about this song is that it’s from the perspective of a hotel room, a room that’s seen a lot of things happen in it. A lot of bad things. This is a very well-crafted song. I love the music, the build to the chorus and he gives a great delivery here. Great song.

“Pop a Top Off (Good Time On)” I’ll be honest and admit that I don’t really like the way that this starts off, musically speaking. It really picks up around the chorus for me; I like the feel of it a lot. Nice energy – and that’s in regards to the music and his voice itself. This is another one that’s meant to be done live.  

“Shades of Green” I love the set up for this one, lyrically speaking. It starts off talking about a guy getting up and turning on CNN and commenting on how it’s all about the green to those people on the TV, it’s all about the money to them. But that’s not our narrator’s shade of green; rather his are things like the color of his tractor, pine trees, the clover and his girl’s eye color – those are his shades of green. I like this one and I find his delivery very enjoyable here. He does these kinds of songs really well. Probably one of my favorite songs on here.

“You Ain’t Livin’ Yet” This one begins with our narrator talking to some guy who is talking about how our narrator needs to get out of his small town and see the world, and until he does that he’s not really living. And our narrator flips it around on him and declares if he’s never experienced all the great things there are to experience out in the country than he’s the one who isn’t living. Another great example of a song that feels familiar in a different way. There’s a lot of songs out there like this, but I’d consider this to be one of the better ones. I just really like it.

“Country Boy’s Kryptonite” Perhaps the most interesting opening on this one, I don’t know what it is, but I like it. This song is pretty much about what you’d expect it to be about based on the title – all of his weaknesses as a good ole country boy. His girl, Bud light and so on. I’m kind of lukewarm on this one. I don’t dislike it, but it’s not a favorite. Maybe one of the weaker songs on the album which is ironic given what it’s about. But not a bad song.

“Every Song I Sing” This is one of the standout songs on the CD for me. I love how stripped down it is for one. If there’d been more to it musically, it would lose the sense of intimacy it has to it. This is a beautiful lyric paired with a wonderful delivery. This has been a very strong album up until this point and songs like this and “Room 205” make me feel like there could be big things in Chase’s future in country music. There’s something very special about this song. Beautiful.

“Only a Country Girl” Basically a song about how awesome he thinks country girls are. This is one of my least favorite songs on the album and it’s not that it’s a bad song; it just feels very generic to me. Nice playing, nice vocal, but nothing special. It’s still not one I’d necessarily skip over; it’s just one of the weaker ones for me.

“I Like Drinking, ‘Cause It’s Fun” Well, this is fairly straightforward isn’t it? Why does he like drinking? It’s fun. Okay then. Some of the talking parts in the beginning amuse me. This, as you might imagine, is not exactly a complicated song. It’s a lot more stripped down and relaxed than you might expect from the title. This is not one of my favorites, but I get a kick out of it. This is one I like a bit more on each listen – I caught myself singing along this last time listening to it and I’m not even much of a drinker, so that’s gotta count for something. It makes me smile.

“Shakin’ the Wheels” This one kicks things up a bit, another one that I bet is really good live. I really like the sound the musicians are putting out here and think it has a nice energy to it that could definitely be built on when done live. Lot of potential there.

“Jack Daniels & Jesus” Bit of a mood and tempo change here to say the least. I do enjoy his more up-tempo stuff, but I think it’s the songs like this where he shines. I’ve been very impressed with the way he delivers a song and this is yet another great delivery. I usually love songs like this and I do really like this one. Wonderfully crafted song full of some really strong lyrics. Some examples, “I’ve opened more bottles than I ever have my Bible/ This dirt road communion sure won’t lead me to revival/ Between the black label and the letters in red/ I’ve felt what livin’ is and what it’s like to live dead”. That’s some good writing right there. I love how he got the words dirt road communion in there which is an interesting throw back to the first song which of course is the album title as well. These lyrics are so honest and raw. Some more for you, “I’ve seen the light, I’ve seen the darkness/ Only God knows where my heart is/ I’ve got my strength and Lord knows I’ve got my weakness/ Ooh I’m lost between Jack Daniels and Jesus”. Fantastic song.

“Happy Hour (Worktape)” This one was a bit unexpected to be honest. I have no idea what I was expecting, but not this. It’s just him and an acoustic guitar and is a song about how he’s doing everything the same he used to, everything is still the same as it’s always been – expect without her. Very nicely written song and again, a great delivery. I know I keep saying that, but he keeps doing them and I love it. Probably his strongest vocal of the whole album.

“Kiss My Ass” Hidden track, like all hidden tracks this one is tagged onto the end of “Happy Hour (Worktape)”, but not listed on the album. Hence the term hidden track. Now that I’ve explained the obvious, I will say that this song is available for purchase on iTunes by itself. So let’s see, in the last song, he was all sad and missed this girl and well, she’s back. And she wants to sit with him and ignoring the song title for a second, do you think that he wants her back? That would be a negative. A very empathic negative, as the title suggests. This song tickles me and I think it’s because of the way he does it. She’s the reason he’s drinking in the first place so of course he doesn’t want her to sit there. I get a kick out of this.

Favorite tracks:

"Dirt Road Communion"

"Room 205"

"Shades of Green"

"Every Song I Sing"

"Jack Daniels and Jesus"

"Happy Hour"