Song Review: Tip it On Back by Dierks Bentley

Before I get to my review, I want to give a shout-out to the Dierks Bentley Congress aka the @dbcongress. They are members of the Dierks Bentley fan club dedicated to supporting and promoting Dierks any and every way possible. They have a blog page, found here, which includes links to their Facebook page and twitter account that you'll find to the right when you click on the link. If you're a Dierks Bentley fan and aren't following them, you really should be. They're pretty much my go for anything Dierks related - articles, interviews and so on. They also keep everyone updated on where his songs are on the charts and post all sorts of links to places to request or vote for his songs. Well worth the follow, I assure you.

Last month they had the opportunity to interview the three gentlemen who wrote "Tip It On Back" - Ross Copperman, Tully Kennedy and Jon Nite. I strongly recommend that you go and read it as it's a very enjoyable read. You can find it here. They asked a lot of interesting questions, some of which you never see anyone ask. So kudos Congress, and to the songwriters as well for being willing to answer their questions. Definitely go check it out.

Now there's just one more thing we need to do before I get to my thoughts on the song. This is going to require some reader participation, so work with me here. I want everyone to clear their minds and stop thinking about all the things you have to do. Stop worrying over the things you can't do anything about and not focus on anything that might be stressing you out. Just let it go.

Need some help? Try this: take a nice, deep breath, hold it for a few seconds and let it out on a big sigh. Repeat as many times as needed. Feel better? Good. Now let's talk about the song.
The reason why I wanted everyone to do the whole take a deep breath and sigh it out thing is because that's what this song is about. If every song had a physical feeling that went along with it than the one for this song would be that sigh. That moment of release. "Tip It On Back" is all about letting go of all the things you're dealing with, at least for a night. My favorite thing about this song is probably that it's so different from anything else out there. It's not a go out and party song, it's not a crying in your beer song - it's a relax and chill out song. And if that means having a few drinks, than have them.

You know what else I really like about this song? They don't specify what the drink is. If you're like me, the first beverage that came to mind when you listened to this was beer. But really, it could be anything. It's more about doing whatever you need to do to feel better for a little while. As the lyrics go, "Feel the sweet release of a Friday night/ For a couple of hours we can run this town/ 'Til it runs dry/ Tip it on back". I also really like this line, "I don't wanna remember what I'm here to forget tonight". Very nicely crafted song.

Musically, "Tip It On Back" has a great groove. It has a kind of easiness to it that you don't really hear. All of the musicians did such a good job with this. It has a nice pulse and energy, but is somehow calming at the same time. Everything fits so well and I love the production as well. Good feel to this one. "Tip It On Back" is the kind of song that I can listen to over and over again and never get tired of it.

As far as the vocal, this song was made for Dierks for sing. If you read the interview I posted in the introduction, you might remember that the songwriters didn't write it with anyone in mind. But they couldn't imagine anyone else singing it and that's exactly how I feel. It's a perfect match. Dierks completely nailed this vocal.

The coolest thing about all of this is that this is the first single that Dierks has released that he didn't have a hand in writing, but you'd never guess it. That's a testament to the strength of the song and the abilities of the songwriters. This was the first cut for Ross, Tully and Jon as a trio of and if this is the kind of song they can write together, I want to see what else they can come up with. Meanwhile, "Tip It On Back" seems to be off to a good start on radio and the just-released video for it is bound to give it a boost. I'd love to see this one go all the way to the top to become Dierks Bentley's 11th #1. Good song.

Thanks, as always, for reading!