Ah, Album of the Year. One of the biggest awards of the night, second only to Entertainer in my opinion. My choice for Album was an easy one. Another category where I was able to make my pick right away.
Without further ago, here are the nominees for Album of the Year:
Chief, Eric Church
Four the Record, Miranda Lambert
Home, Dierks Bentley
Own the Night, Lady Antebellum
tailgates and tanlines, Luke Bryan
And my choice for Album of the Year?
Chief, Eric Church. No question.
What do I think of the other nominees?
Starting off with what I'm sure many will consider one of the favorites for this award, Miranda Lambert's Four the Record. This album has gotten a whole lot of praise from critics, fans and other artists alike. But in all honestly, I'm just not feeling this one. I think Miranda is a lot better than this album. In fact, I know she is. I loved Kerosene, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Revolution. This album was a bit of a disappointment and one that makes me wonder what we'll see from her in the future. I'm not saying it's a bad album, I just don't think this is Album of the Year worthy. I kind of feel like Miranda is to this category what Kenny Chesney is to Entertainer. It seems like they both keep getting nominated because people think they should be. But that's not a good enough reason to nominate someone. It's just not. That said, she definitely has a shot at winning. Not going to deny that.
Home. I love that this album got nominated because it's so strong, but I hate that it had to go up against Chief. Dierks Bentley doesn't get anywhere near the attention he should and I'd be pretty stunned if he walked away the winner in this category. But it's one of the best albums in the group and perhaps the best he's ever put out. This nomination was very well deserved. If nothing else, I hope that his sales spike after all this. Right now I just don't think enough people are familiar with it, but it's great to see him get a nod at least.
I'm going to lead off by saying that I like Lady Antebellum. They have a few songs I absolutely love and they seem like cool people. But that said, I think that Own the Night is their weakest album to date. I find it forgettable. There's a couple of songs I like, but I couldn't tell you anything about the others. Their last two singles, "Dancin' Away with my Heart" and "Wanted You More" were interchangeable for me. They're better than this. It did manage to win Best Country Album at the Grammy's and they've had a great touring year, so I'd say they have a shot. But just like Four the Record, I don't think this is Album of the Year worthy.
tailgates and tanlines. I was pleasantly surprised that this got nominated and I can't help but feel like people are underestimating Luke's odds. This is a great album, one that's given us "Country Girl (Shake It for Me)", "I Don't Want This Night to End", "Drunk on You" and his latest single "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye". And the thing about it is that as good as all of those songs are, there's really not a bad song on the album. It's a very solid album from start to finish. My favorite song is probably "You Don't Know Jack" and I'd strongly everyone to look it up. Luke's is so popular right now and I love that it's paying off in the form of some well deserved nominations. Among other things. I don't know if he'll win it or not, but I think he has a chance.
So that's everyone else. Now let's talk about Chief.
To call this a monster of an album would be an understatement. From the opening guitar riff of "Creepin" to the last notes of "Over When Its Over", there is not a weak spot to be found. It's rock solid from start to finish. I would be remiss to talk about Chief and not give the musicians their props. There is some fantastic playing on this album and they cover a lot of ground, musically. I urge everyone to really pay attention to the music when listening. I find something new to appreciate every time I listen, a solo or a transition that I didn't notice previously. There's a wonderful energy to the entire album too and it's coming from everyone involved. I also have to give credit to producer Jay Joyce, as the production is spot on.
And then of course, there's Eric himself. This is a guy who knows exactly what he wants to say and how he wants to say it. I think part of Eric's charm is that he does things his way, without much regard to what other people think. I think artists get in trouble when they try too hard to be what someone else wants them to be. The only person Eric is trying to be is himself and that seems to be working pretty well for him these days.
One of my favorite things about Chief is that each song has its own distinct identity; there's not really any two songs that sound the same to me. There's the infectious "Drink In My Hand" which is one of my favorite songs to see performed live. Period. There's "Homeboy" and what a song that is. The best lines being "You can't hold back the hands of time/ Mama's goin' gray and so is Daddy's mind/ I wish you'd come on back and make it all right/ Before they're called home, boy". Such a strong lyric. And a couple of tracks before that there's "Like Jesus Does" which is a very sweet song about how his woman loves him like Jesus does, even with all his faults. Keep in mind that this album also features "Creepin'" and "Springsteen". There's just so much diversity on Chief and yet, the album works beautifully as a cohesive project. It has a very nice flow to it that I appreciate.
Yeah, there is no doubt in my mind that Chief should win. I'd consider this among the best albums I own. I think it's that good. It's strong musically and lyrically and it's one that somehow manages to sound better with time. I feel like this one is really Eric's to lose. I do think most of the other nominees still have a chance as you never know how the voters are going to vote. But this is the one to beat.
That wraps up my thoughts on Album of the Year. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be able to get all the other categories done. Thanks so much for reading!
Without further ago, here are the nominees for Album of the Year:
Chief, Eric Church
Four the Record, Miranda Lambert
Home, Dierks Bentley
Own the Night, Lady Antebellum
tailgates and tanlines, Luke Bryan
And my choice for Album of the Year?
Chief, Eric Church. No question.
What do I think of the other nominees?
Starting off with what I'm sure many will consider one of the favorites for this award, Miranda Lambert's Four the Record. This album has gotten a whole lot of praise from critics, fans and other artists alike. But in all honestly, I'm just not feeling this one. I think Miranda is a lot better than this album. In fact, I know she is. I loved Kerosene, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Revolution. This album was a bit of a disappointment and one that makes me wonder what we'll see from her in the future. I'm not saying it's a bad album, I just don't think this is Album of the Year worthy. I kind of feel like Miranda is to this category what Kenny Chesney is to Entertainer. It seems like they both keep getting nominated because people think they should be. But that's not a good enough reason to nominate someone. It's just not. That said, she definitely has a shot at winning. Not going to deny that.
Home. I love that this album got nominated because it's so strong, but I hate that it had to go up against Chief. Dierks Bentley doesn't get anywhere near the attention he should and I'd be pretty stunned if he walked away the winner in this category. But it's one of the best albums in the group and perhaps the best he's ever put out. This nomination was very well deserved. If nothing else, I hope that his sales spike after all this. Right now I just don't think enough people are familiar with it, but it's great to see him get a nod at least.
I'm going to lead off by saying that I like Lady Antebellum. They have a few songs I absolutely love and they seem like cool people. But that said, I think that Own the Night is their weakest album to date. I find it forgettable. There's a couple of songs I like, but I couldn't tell you anything about the others. Their last two singles, "Dancin' Away with my Heart" and "Wanted You More" were interchangeable for me. They're better than this. It did manage to win Best Country Album at the Grammy's and they've had a great touring year, so I'd say they have a shot. But just like Four the Record, I don't think this is Album of the Year worthy.
tailgates and tanlines. I was pleasantly surprised that this got nominated and I can't help but feel like people are underestimating Luke's odds. This is a great album, one that's given us "Country Girl (Shake It for Me)", "I Don't Want This Night to End", "Drunk on You" and his latest single "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye". And the thing about it is that as good as all of those songs are, there's really not a bad song on the album. It's a very solid album from start to finish. My favorite song is probably "You Don't Know Jack" and I'd strongly everyone to look it up. Luke's is so popular right now and I love that it's paying off in the form of some well deserved nominations. Among other things. I don't know if he'll win it or not, but I think he has a chance.
So that's everyone else. Now let's talk about Chief.
To call this a monster of an album would be an understatement. From the opening guitar riff of "Creepin" to the last notes of "Over When Its Over", there is not a weak spot to be found. It's rock solid from start to finish. I would be remiss to talk about Chief and not give the musicians their props. There is some fantastic playing on this album and they cover a lot of ground, musically. I urge everyone to really pay attention to the music when listening. I find something new to appreciate every time I listen, a solo or a transition that I didn't notice previously. There's a wonderful energy to the entire album too and it's coming from everyone involved. I also have to give credit to producer Jay Joyce, as the production is spot on.
And then of course, there's Eric himself. This is a guy who knows exactly what he wants to say and how he wants to say it. I think part of Eric's charm is that he does things his way, without much regard to what other people think. I think artists get in trouble when they try too hard to be what someone else wants them to be. The only person Eric is trying to be is himself and that seems to be working pretty well for him these days.
One of my favorite things about Chief is that each song has its own distinct identity; there's not really any two songs that sound the same to me. There's the infectious "Drink In My Hand" which is one of my favorite songs to see performed live. Period. There's "Homeboy" and what a song that is. The best lines being "You can't hold back the hands of time/ Mama's goin' gray and so is Daddy's mind/ I wish you'd come on back and make it all right/ Before they're called home, boy". Such a strong lyric. And a couple of tracks before that there's "Like Jesus Does" which is a very sweet song about how his woman loves him like Jesus does, even with all his faults. Keep in mind that this album also features "Creepin'" and "Springsteen". There's just so much diversity on Chief and yet, the album works beautifully as a cohesive project. It has a very nice flow to it that I appreciate.
Yeah, there is no doubt in my mind that Chief should win. I'd consider this among the best albums I own. I think it's that good. It's strong musically and lyrically and it's one that somehow manages to sound better with time. I feel like this one is really Eric's to lose. I do think most of the other nominees still have a chance as you never know how the voters are going to vote. But this is the one to beat.
That wraps up my thoughts on Album of the Year. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be able to get all the other categories done. Thanks so much for reading!
Comments
Post a Comment