Coming Home

Lonestar

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 13, 2005)
• Original Release Date: September 13, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Bna Entertainment
• ASIN: B000AA3066
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #85,572 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Lonestar lead singer Richie McDonald is the Conway Twitty of his generation. He knows what women want--as lovers, wives, and mothers. And since he's also the band's principal songwriter, he means to give it to them. That--and the major success of 1999's "Amazed"--is how Lonestar became the sappiest band in country-pop, building a repertoire of over-the-top ballads filled with romantic fantasies (the slowhand husband who takes his time making love, the devoted father who wilts at the sight of a sippy cup), all shot straight to the heart on the arrow of McDonald's emotional tenor. Though Coming Home, the group's eighth album, features a new producer (Justin Niebank), the formula hasn't really changed. "I Am a Man," "I'll Die Tryin'," "I Never Needed You," and "I Just Want to Love You" all trade in fevered desire of one sort or another, even if Sara Evans couldn't possibly sound more disinterested in McDonald on "I Never Needed You." But Niebank also tries to break it up a bit, although he doesn't push the band to get particularly original, or take the tempo out of the mid-zone. "You're Like Comin' Home" is really less about finding refuge in a woman's arms than about capturing Keith Urban's catchy and sophisticated brand of ear candy, while "What's Wrong With That," another declaration of fatherly bliss, sounds suspiciously like a rewrite of Tim McGraw's "Something Like That." "Little Town" and "Two Bottles of Beer" mine two current songwriting stereotypes--the virtues of small-town America, and the tiresome Jimmy Buffett fixation. "Wild," a contrived song about a curvaceous babe who saves it all for her man, feeds into typical male fantasies, not female. And "When I Go Home Again" gets down with the hoedown sound, just to remind you that this is supposed to be country music. Lonestar will never be raw and unvarnished in the style of so many other singer-songwriters from Texas. But what's missing is a song that dares to not play it safe, or even one that sounds as if it hadn't been written by committee. If Lonestar ever wants to bring things back to reality, the follow up to Coming Home will be Moving Out. Remember when hillbillies sang the blues? --Alanna Nash

Product Description
Lonestar's new album, Coming Home, finds them digging deep for new dimensions in their music, cutting loose with a new attitude of fun and pushing their performances into fresh new country-rockin' territory. Hooking up with a hot new producer, Justin Neibank, the band enthusiastically discovered a new level of musical creativity that spurred them forward to edgier, more passionate and more energized performances than they'd ever given in the studio before.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Coming Home IS Like Coming Home, October 17, 2005

By	Ladyhawk "Bobbi -Ladyhawk" (USA/ New Zealand) - See all my reviews

I always enjoy Lonestar with their down-home morals and uplifting songs. I've never missed a concert whenever they are within driving distance.
Just watching them, one can see how much they enjoy thier work. Listening to them, one can tell how much they love their families. Where else can you find that combination, in such a dynamic group?
This Cd is the best ever. Delivering, once again, the very best of Lonestar!
They are a group for All ages, which is evident when you see the crowds at their concerts.
Lonestar is what True Entertainers are all about.
Not since Neil Diamond started have we seen a group This Good!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lonestar's greatest album!!!, December 29, 2005

A Kid's Review

Lonestar, coming home, is one of their greatest albums! The greatest songs on the album are: "You're Like Comin' Home", and "What's Wrong With That". I have always been a Lonestar fan, and I always collect their newest albums through the years. Lonestar's band and voices's were incredibly great on this album! Once again they had another sucsessful CD! So if you're looking for a great CD, buy Lonestar, Coming Home!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of their best!, September 13, 2005

By	DanD - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Lonestar's last album, LET'S BE US AGAIN, was a charged pop-country effort that left little to the imagination, fueled mainly by vocalist Richie McDonald's incredible singing. COMING HOME finds the band broadening out; they're still the pop-country group that contemporary radio listeners know them as (their first-two albums all but forgotten), but this time the songs are well-crafed, well-performed, and mostly un-cliched.

Okay, I'll get the 3 duds out of the way first: "I'll Die Tryin'" is another powerhouse ballad in the vein of "Amazed;" if that's your cup of tea, go for it; otherwise, it's pretty typical fare. The lyrics in "Wild" play out so true to form that you can sing along even if you've never heard the tune before; and "I Just Want To Love You," while better than the two afore-mentioned duds, still lacks any true resemblence of heart and passion.

Now for the rest of the album. The opener and first single, "You're Like Comin' Home," is a picturesque romp that you just can't help but listen to and sing along. "I Am a Man" is not as cliched as one would think, and is one of McDonald's best performances on the album; "Two Bottles of Beer," "Noise," and "What's Wrong With That" are some good-time fun songs that are truly enjoyable. And Sara Evans's harmonies on "I Never Needed You" make the song even better than it would've been originally. The album ends with the quirky, country stomper "When I Go Home Again."

There ya go. Overall, COMING HOME is one of Lonestar's best efforts; certainly, their best since LONELY GRILL. But that's only for those of you who go back that far. For the newer fans, just know that this is one of the best releases of 2005, and that these four guys have the talent and experience to make some great (modern) country music.