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Charlie Allen - Charlie Allen | |
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Reviewed by Matt Bjorke
Charlie Allen grew up in Bristol, Tennessee and loved Country music since he was a child. Learning the piano and guitar at an early age, Charlie set himself on a path to become an artist. Fast-forward to 1997 and Charlie had honed his songwriting and singing in the bars long enough to sign a publishing deal and become the first artist on Parc Records, Inc. What took six years to make has finally arrived in the form of Charlie's self titled album containing 12 songs.
The record opens up with a fine mid-tempo ballad that has done mildly well at radio. "Better Said Than Done" was written by Charlie with Earl Thomas Conley and his producer Nelson Larkin. There's a heavy dose of steel guitar and countrified guitar licks to satisfy the most fickle of country fans. The lyrics basically say that you should watch what you say.
Charlie co-wrote "Once In A While" with Ron Reynolds and their mid-tempoed ballad has a beautiful melody and sincere lyrics about the way it feels to break up from what seemed like a good relationship. Charlie's vocal style is a cross between Aaron Tippin and tenor vocalists like Collin Raye.
While "Gettin' Nowhere Fast" is full of cliché’s that relate to living in the country, it's a fun up-tempo number that has a great guitar solo and Charlie sings it as if he's lived it. This would be a great song to see live.
With its beautiful Spanish-inspired melody, "You Wouldn't Know Love" is a lyrically dark song about the way a guy gives all he's got to a relationship only to see that relationship fall apart. It actually has a similar style to Tracy Byrd's "Just Let Me Be In Love" and that Spanish guitar is haunting and beautiful at the same time.
"As If" is a tender ballad that tells a story of a man who realizes what he gave up but only after he left the "love of his life." It's a song that plenty of men have lived through and no doubt the melody of the song, with plenty of crying steel guitar in the background, only adds to the emotional impact of the song.
"Thanks To You" is another ballad only instead of regret, this one is one of those songs that could be played at any wedding. It tells a story of how that special woman changes his life and makes everything better. Hopefully radio will give a song like this a chance; both the song and Charlie deserve the opportunity.
Written with Nelson Larkin, and the duo behind "I Swear," Gary Baker and Frank Meyers, "No More Tears" is a lyrical gem about being able to break free from a bad relationship only to find solace in the arms of a friend. The friendship becomes a relationship in the song and the melody fits the lyrics well.
With twelve sturdy songs Charlie Allen is a dynamic vocal talent that has produced a quality debut album that might be a little hard to find but is worth seeking out, especially if you like late 1980's early 1990's country music, for this album's sound fits well within the albums from that time.
Song List:
Audio clips courtesy of Barnes & Noble.
Album cover, used with permission of Parc Records.
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