| Keith Urban - Golden Road | |
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Golden Road is Keith Urban's sophomore solo project from Capitol Nashville. His self-titled debut spawned three Top 5 singles, and one No. 1 ("But For The Grace Of God"), and earned him the CMA Horizon Award in 2001, and Top New Male Vocalist ACM Award that same year. Add to that, the instrumental "Rollercoaster" was nominated for a Grammy, and you can safely say that Keith is on his way. With Golden Road, you will notice more personal songs, including his feelings about being in love, his father, and problems with drug addiction.
You can definitely catagorize Keith as a triple threat... he sings, he writes or co-writes much of his music, and is an awesome musician. Plus he produces or co-produces his work. On this album, we get to hear more of Keith's playing. And what a treat it is. While Keith Urban went Gold, I would predict that Golden Road will go Platinum or better. His first album peaked at 17 on the Top Country Albums charts, and I would think that this one will be in the Top 5. Fans are hungry for new music from Keith, and this album is just the thing we've been waiting for, for the past two years.
The debut single, "Somebody Like You" sits at No. 4 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles Chart as I write this review, and is still moving up. The video is wonderful as well, utilizing supermodel Nikki Taylor to play Keith's love interest. The infectous banjo-driven song is just one of the many sure-fire hits on this album.
"Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me" is another upbeat song with a message about riding down the road with the one you love and not a care in the world. The song is another excellent candidate for the top of the charts, with it's message of freedom and driving beat.
"Whenever I Run" is a mid-tempo song about a guy that used to run away when things got too rough, but now he realizes the "Whenever I run, instead of running into the blue, I follow my heart. And there in your arms is where I find the love I need."
"What About Me" is a song Keith co-wrote with Rodney Crowell. It talks about giving and giving, but it seems like if he needs a friend, no one is willing to give back, and he says "What about me? Some days go by that I don't even see. Yeah, I'm doing everything right and I can't break free. Oh, is this the way it's always gonna be? What about me?"
Breakups are always hard, and in the next song "You'll Think Of Me," the girl cheated on him and he's ready to move on. He tells her "Take your records, take your freedom, take your memories I don't need 'em. Take your space and take your reasons, but you'll think of me." I love this song. My favorite line would have to be the next part of the chorus, "And take your cat and leave my sweater, 'cause we have nothing left to weather." Just love this song.
The song "Jeans On" was a pop hit for David Dundas back in the 1970s. It's totally addicting to listen to. The beat is incredible, and I love the little "ch ch" noise Keith makes. Hard to describe, but the song is a total blast to listen to and sing along with.
"You Look Good In My Shirt" tells the story of a couple that had been apart when the girl came back into the guys life and they get reaquainted. Keith sings, "It had been a long time, but later last night, baby, we caught up real fast." It's another mid-tempo song.
The song "You're Not Alone Tonight" is a gorgeous ballad. It talks about being there for someone. I love the chorus, "Call it an angel, call it a muse, and call it karma that you've got comin' to you. What's the difference? What's in a name? What matters most is never ever losin' faith. 'Cause it's gonna be alright. You're not alone tonight."
The song "You Won" is another collaboration with Rodney Crowell. It's a mid-tempo tune and talks about not knowing where you are, and someone rescuing you and making things good again. That's my impression, however reading Keith's bio, he mentions the song being about addiction, so I'm not really sure.
"Song For Dad" is really touching. Keith sings that he sees more of his father in himself as days pass by. My favorite line is, "When somebody says I hope I get to meet your dad, I just smile and say you already have."
Another ballad, co-written by Radney Foster and Darrell Brown, "Raining On Sunday," is a romantic way to pass the time when it rains. He sings, "Pray that it's raining on Sunday. Stormin' like crazy. We'll hide under the covers all afternoon. Baby, whatever comes Monday can take care of itself, 'cause we got better things that we can do, when it's raining on Sunday."
The final track, "You're Not My God," is definitely about drug addiction. I know that Keith had problems like this earlier in his career, and he co-writes this song which tells about how he was so popular when he was on a roll, and the drugs kept him from looking inside himself, and made him believe they were the answer to everything. But now he sings, "You're not my God, and you're not my friend. You're not the one that I will walk with in the end."
Actually, I'm adding this addendum, because I found out from my friend Matt that there is a hidden track, so after "You're Not My God," be sure to let the CD continue to play, because about 2 minutes after that ends, you'll hear the funny "One Chord Song." I heard Keith play this in concert back in August of 2000, and thought it was hilarious, so I was really excited that he actually put it on the album.
If you enjoyed Keith's self-titled debut, you'll love this collection of songs. He has more Top 5 material here, and the album is just something you can put on and totally enjoy at any time. The only thing that is missing is one of his awesome instrumentals, like he had on his previous album, and on his album when he was part of The Ranch. But the music Keith has included here is stuff you can sink your teeth into, stuff that radio will play, and stuff that fans will listen to over and over and over.
Song List:
- Somebody Like You
- Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me
- Whenever I Run
- What About Me
- You'll Think Of Me
- Jeans On
- You Look Good In My Shirt
- You're Not Alone Tonight
- You Won
- Song For Dad
- Raining On Sunday
- You're Not My God
- One Chord Song (hidden track)
Album cover courtesy of Capitol Nashville
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