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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Allan's "Pain" Has Never Been Better, March 9, 2010
This review is from: Get Off on the Pain (Audio CD)
Prime Cuts: Today, When You Give Yourself Away, We Fly By Night
When Allan sings, "I'm not an easy man to understand," he's telling the truth. Allan is a curly character: beneath his aloof Californian surfer veneer is a vulnerable heart that pulsates with sensitivity. And just like all his albums, Allan vacillates between these two character traits throughout these songs here again. On some of the tracks he puts his foot to the pedal rocking like these is no tomorrow. Yet, on the quieter moments he casts aside his machismo for some heart -to-heart confabulations. Such an approach has continued to garner respect from Allan's male fans while adding much to flourish the romantic fantasies of his female aficionados. As with his other records, Mark Wright is again at the knobs and he's to be thanked for such a quality record without an ounce of filler at all. As far as the backings are concerned, this is your typical contemporary country record--slick and polished augmented by some occasional fiddling and steel guitar riffs.
Allan seems to be at his best when he delves into his soul-searching moment. Lead single "Today" sits comfortably with Gary-Allan's classics such as "Watching Airplanes" and "Tough Little Boys." Performed with shovels of emotions, Allan sings of a man not giving up on his girl until the day of her wedding. Except that she's marrying another man. Prepare a box of Kleenex when Allan sings: "Today is the happiest day of her life/I should be happy for her/So tell me, why are these tears in my eyes?" Though nothing quite comes close to this Titanic of a ballad, "When You Give Yourself Away" comes close. Few men are willing to admit the vulnerability of committing to a relationship, Allan tells it in such a moving way without sounding whimsical. A soothing Keith Urban-like ballad with deft shades of 60s pop, "We Fly By Night" is a homily about not allowing the busy activities of life to rob the joys of our relationships. "She Gets Me," harkens back to country music way back in the 90s, where sensitive love ballads over a gorgeous melodies abound.
Allan does let his swaggering side emerge with the album's title cut "Get Off on the Pain." It's a forgettable busy barnburner with screeching guitars turned up to the max. Thank God producer Mark Wright had the sense to turn down the mix on the bluesy "I Think I've Had Enough" - a coming-of-age confession of a man seeing the futility of a rambling lifestyle. Allan is one who doesn't just sing about songs plastered with rosy glee, "Kiss Me When I'm Down" is a realistic portrayal of a dysfunctional relationship. A mid-tempo narrative "Kiss Me When I'm Down" that tells of the protagonist's obsession with his girl that he's even willing to be abused by her in order to keep her. It's a realistic slice of life that makes the song so intriguing.
As it's the current trend now with most country records, it's often tail end with an inspirational tune. At times such songs can be pretty obligatory but not with Allan. The opening line of "No Regrets" is arresting enough for mandatory listening: "Scarecrows and devils are the only things out this late." "No Regrets" is tell-it-all confession of a life well-spent despite its detours that is so perfect for Allan's rugged delivery. In short,"Get Off on the Pain" scores again with spades of heart tugging moments, honest confessions, and some rowdy party kickers too.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Country Rocker delivers his best art to date ..., March 9, 2010
This review is from: Get Off on the Pain (Audio CD)
So much great art is born of pain, NO REGRETS made me cry and is truly reflective and insightful. WE FLY BY NIGHT will appeal to all of us with that youthful night time party persona while managing real life. The women will swoon over the image of "When you pull me down on the couch and slowly slide off my boots" and like all Allan music there is enough country for the die hard fan and enough rocker here to keep both entertained. Who doesn't need a song like ALONG THE WAY? a great shot of I am sorry and humility. His subject matter is always timeless and as a result my bet is he will have staying power in an industry that otherwise thrives on "flash in the pan" "made" artists. He is a triple threat in that he sings, plays and writes add that to country meets rocker and he will be around for a good long time. Great record, his best work to date! Can't wait to see him again this April in Biloxi, MS!
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Superb country originals and passable Nashville stock, March 12, 2010
This review is from: Get Off on the Pain (Audio CD)
Allan hit his stride with 1999's Smoke Rings in the Dark, and recorded a series of albums that retained his California twang even as Nashville dug in its fingers. His eighth album still offers some edgy and forceful vocals, but starts out with several tunes whose arrangements of piano, organ, strings and studio drums resound with Nashville's overbearing contemporary country-rock sound. Allan's relegated his superior original material to the album's second-half, opening the album with songs from Music City pros whose work leaves a more calculated impression. The productions on the first few cuts overwhelms Allan's earthiness, and even the sprightly "That Ain't Gonna Fly" sounds more like a studio band attempting to rock than a country band actually rocking.
But the mainstream sound fades away when the album reaches Allan's original material at track six. The intimate details of "We Fly by Night," co-written with Jamie O'Hara and Odie Blackmon, are given a stately tempo that allows Allan to consider the lyrics and add an echo of Roy Orbison's drama. Or maybe it's an echo of Raul Malo, as Dan Dugmore's steel and gentle notes of vibraphone give this track a compelling sophistication. Allan writes poetically of opening up to opportunities, begging for forgiveness and finding oneself, and the emotion with which he sings his own words is a world away from what he's able to muster for the album's stock Nashville compositions. Perhaps his label didn't trust that Allan's originals were radio-ready, but his songs are deeper and feel as if they're born of personal experience rather than someone else's songwriting appointment.
Thos who liked See If I Care might skip lightly through the first five tracks, as the album's second half is a twangy and soulful gem worth the wait. The deluxe CD edition adds four bonus cuts: the newly recorded "Long Summer Days," and live versions of "Right Where I Need to Be," "Best I Ever Had," and "Watching Airplanes" that were recorded in front of an enthusiastic audience. The disc (which also unlocks on-line video content) is delivered in a digipack with a 16-panel booklet that includes lyrics to the album's core ten tracks. Allan is effective in playing both the country mainstream and its rootsier edges, which may leave some fans enjoying one half of this disc more than the other. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]
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