*** ½ (out of 4)
Label: Capitol Nashville
The first “must have” country music album of 2010 has been released. It is “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum.
But if you don’t consider yourself a country music fan you will probably enjoy it just as well. There’s something for almost anyone to like in this album; sentiment as sweet as the harmonies that express it, musical influences of George Harrison, Coldplay, and U2, and the production values of Jeff Lynne. No wonder it is the best-selling album in the country this week.
There’s a reason for all this success: they are the kind of country/rock act whose melodies are addictive. They have the kind of sound that is at once familiar and yet still exciting. They also know how to create a cohesive album, and most importantly, they know how to choose a single.
For the record, Lady Antebellum (originally from Augusta, Georgia) is composed of Hillary Scott (vocals), Charles Kelley (vocals), and Dave Haywood (piano and guitar). They just won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by Duo or Group for last year’s hit “I Run to You.” Look for them to clean up next year for their current smash “Need You Now.”
Hillary Scott reminds me of Dixie Chick Natalie Maines. Her voice is not profound, but it has an easy-going quality that is always appealing. The real star of the group is Charles Kelley. If the act ever breaks up, Kelley can count on a successful solo career.
With “Need You Now,” Lady Antebellum has overcome the challenge of the second album. When the first album is a huge hit, it’s not that easy to do something even better. But they have been blessed with just the right collection of songs, and they clearly enjoy singing the heck out of them.
Download these:
1. “Need You Now” – This is the song of the year so far. Okay, so it sounds exactly like the Alan Parsons Project song “Eye in the Sky,” but when a hook is that good, who cares if it is slightly recycled? This song is a booty-call yearning of the highest order. (“It’s a quarter after one, I’m a little drunk, and I need you now…”) The missed phone call makes the heart break, the careless mind admits things best kept to oneself, the world almost makes sense, and musical fireworks fly to the heavens. Yes, once in awhile a song can do all this.
2. “American Honey” – This one about the welcome return to the better ways of life allows the group to shine by featuring their strength as a cohesive musical voice. The song (written by Cary Barlowe, Hillary Lindsey, and the brilliant-in-his-own-right Shane Stevens) doesn’t get bogged down with any literal story. Instead, it finds just the right drum beat to keep things moving, letting the images fly past you like tempting billboards from years ago as you hold your head out of the car window feeling the rightness of the air blowing your hair around on that crazy road trip called life.
3. “Stars Tonight” – Using a heavier rock sound than most of their material, this is the kind of song that always plays better live in concert. If you get the chance to catch one of Lady Antebellum’s upcoming touring dates (with Tim McGraw), you will walk away knowing what I mean.
4. “If I Knew Then” – Give me a tender waltz with a soft country harmony about falling in love any day. Charles Kelley’s lead vocals deliver all the emotional power needed, without having to strain or force a single note. This song could go on and on and on and I’d like it even more.
5. “Ready to Love Again” – This one is about that moment when it is time to pick yourself up and move on. The layers of instrumentation that hold this song up hint at even more exciting musical exploration to come in Lady A’s next album.
Bring it on.
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