| Billy Ray Cyrus - Time Flies | |
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Reviewed by Kathy Coleman
Billy Ray Cyrus has been on a rocky road for a long time. When he made his much bally-hoo'd debut ten years ago, he shattered sales records and charts with the much-maligned song everyone loved to hate, "Achy Breaky Heart," the song which gave Billy Ray a bad name with every camp of country music, from Traditionalists who blamed him for starting the line dance craze to the poptry radio he helped make. But Billy Ray never took it to heart. He continued to make the music he liked to make and slowly, but surely, won over those Traditionalists by showing them that although his first big hit was one of those fluky pop things, what he really sang was good, honest, straightforward country music. Poptry radio hasn't touched him since, which is a shame, because Billy Ray Cyrus can flat-out sing a song.
With his newest release, Billy Ray returns to that soothing style of real country music he does so well. His whiskey-smooth velvet deep tenor caresses lyrics at some times with the tenderness of a lover, at others with the gentle affection of a father. He can belt out rockabilly like Elvis, and he can deliver Countrypolitan crooning with as much style as Don Williams.
The bulk of his newest disc, Time Flies, is comprised of songs which have provided a soundtrack to Billy Ray's successful PAX series, Doc. Fans who have been clamoring to get these songs will be delighted to hear the title track, "Nobody," and the series theme, "Stand Still." The disc also includes a number of songs which Billy Ray has been performing in concert that fans have been asking him to record. Also included is a passionate and beautiful acoustic re-recording of what is probably his best song ever, "Some Gave All."
The first single from the CD, "Back To Memphis," is a timely offering, the story of a simple soldier in the Middle East conflict -- a song which may ruffle some feathers about "jumping on the band wagon," but the song is also touching and heartfelt, and I doubt it was meant as anything more than a look at the real tragedy of war, the family left behind to mourn. As with "Some Gave All," Billy Ray is simply speaking from his heart.
Songs which are as strong as "Bread Alone," "Without You," and "Nobody" are balanced by fun, bouncy songs like "I Luv Ya." And while Billy Ray himself pens a number of the songs presented here, he also selects some excellent tracks from a good stable of writers, including the amazing "She Don't Love Me (She Don't Hate Me)," a song about the powerful connection of those two emotions, and what it's like when both are really gone.
Billy Ray Cyrus has fought long and hard for well-deserved critical recognition and obviously continues to hope to return to the radio which banished him so long ago. But on the whole, Time Flies is an album for his fans, who have stood by him with the fierce loyalty of English bulldogs. Billy Ray's fans don't need radio to validate their hero, and from the sounds of it, Billy Ray really appreciates them. It's a good disc, it's strong, and it's got some tremendously excellent songs on it; even newcomers to Billy Ray's music will like it, and those who don't really remember the Achy Breaky days may even love it. For myself, I hope I hear "Back To Memphis" on the radio. Billy Ray (and his fans) deserves it.
Song List:
- What Else Is There
- Bread Alone
- The Way It Is
- She Don't Love Me (She Don't Hate Me)
- Time Flies
- I Luv Ya
- I Still Believe
- Without You
- Hard To Leave
- Nobody
- Tell Me
- Close To Gone
- Stand Still
- Back To Memphis
- Some Gave All (acoustic version)
Album cover, used with permission of Sony Nashville
