| Wave on Wave - Pat Green | |
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Reviewed by Jennifer Webb
Pat Green might be a father-to-be but currently his "baby" is his latest album called Wave on Wave. As with all of his albums, he wrote or co-wrote many of the songs and those he did not he selected the perfect songs to record. Thirteen tracks are to be devoured and listened to in settings ranging from a bar to a truck and I bet you will want to go hear Pat live after listening to this one.
The upbeat tune, "A Guy Like Me" kicks off the album with a special kind of Pat Green energy as he sings about how he feels like noone would want to date a man who does not think highly of himself. The chorus reveals just how much he wants to get away from things sometimes: "Put me on a cool river. Take my pain from me. Fly me high on a big blue sky well, there's no one here just me."
"Poetry" is a popular tune already playing on certain Texas radio stations during fan request hours. Written by Walt Wilkins and Davis Raines, throughout the song Pat alternates between singing and speaking his lines. The man feels so wonderful that he notices everything beautiful around him, like his baby's smile or even the clouds in the sky. Though there were some muddy spots along the way there is always more to things than meets the eye.
Many people are looking for a one of a kind love, and once you find it, many years later you will sit back and realize that even though you know a person has helped you, you never quite realized how much more there was to things, as illustrated in "Wave on Wave." That one special person can give you a new life and be your strongest supporter, just trust in them and lean on them when you need to.
While many songs are about a girl breaking up with a guy, "Run" is about a guy that finally got to make the final choice after gaining some faith and deciding to run and be free instead of being tied down to things. To celebrate he says that he is "one of those guys" that goes out and drinks until he is wasted.
A song that really stands out on the album is "Elvis," not only because of the sound but because of all the guest stars too - Willie Nelson, Ray Benson, Waylon Payne, and Trish Murphy. The various stars take their turns singing from a perspective of themselves being Elvis. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of many things that could be found at Graceland including a television in the kitchen, a black stretch Cadillac, the jungle room, hundreds or gold records, among other things.
Nice, slow, and haunting are three words that could sum up "Barricades," which has a special guest star - Ray Wylie Hubbard. If they both had a chance to be the devil they would do all they could to spook everyone in town, even little children. The poor preachers are not spared because the Devil would make them jump out of their skin. Their plans are revealed throughout lines like the following: "If I was the devil, I'd gather up all your dreams and drop them to the bottom of a black lagoon."
If you already like Pat Green, then you will love this album and if you are just getting interested in him it is no wonder because I think this album might be the one to launch Pat into the national spotlight. The material is incredible and Pat's singing ain't so bad either - a definite thumbs up to Wave on Wave.
Song List:
Album cover, used with permission of Universal Records.
