Customer Reviews

This Is It

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Being a huge Jack Ingram fan for years, I was afraid his first major release would be too "nashville made." Thankfully, Jack delivered another "real" Jack Ingram cd. He deserves his place with the major acts in country music because he paid his dues and held his ground-never sacrificing his style for what is being played on radio. Fortunately, radio has gotten a taste of him over the past year and this cd will most definately deliver more hits. Lips of An Angel is the surprise hit of the year. No doubt, the rock group, Hinder, is proud of Jack's version-especially since they are benefitting from the royalties.
It's hard to pick the standouts on this cd-they are all outstanding.
Noteworthy are: Measure of a Man, Hold On-w/ Sheryl Crow, All I can Do and the sweet-Ava Adelle (inspired by the namesake-his daughter).
If you have never bought a Jack Ingram cd-buy this one. Then, go back and add the rest to your collection.

With Keith Urban good looks and John Mellencamp's heartland, heartfelt vocal sound, Jack Ingram has been on the cusp of country stardom for a while now waiting to explode his way out of the Texas scene like The Dixie Chicks and Pat Green (finally) have done. And with his new CD "This Is It" he's got the dynamite to blow him up big time.

He can handle all tempos - up, mid and down - will confidence and sincerity and displays an uncanny ability to choose the right songs whether it's "Love You" with it's hot video, the touching song about finding love "Ava Adele," the story of reconciliation between father and son when the son becomes a father "Measure Of A Man," the optimistic denial of "Maybe She'll Get Lonely" or the winning country cover of Hinder's rock hit "Lips Of An Angel."

And that's just part of goodies here as Jack Ingram makes the move from the Lone Star State straight into the country mainstream with "Wherever You Are," the uptempo scorcher "Easy As 1-2-3 (Part II) and the plain brilliant "Hold On" which certainly sounds like a hit to me.

Lately I've been accused of being a record company shill when I give a 5 star rating and I honestly tried to find fault with this CD but only one song got less than an "A" rating and that one was an "A-minus." That's how strong "This Is It" is.

I know you're going out to pick up the new Tim McGraw this week so do yourself a favor and take home the Jack Ingram while you're at it. He gives every indication that he can become the megastar Tim already is. Definitely not a pretty boy in a cowboy hat you can't distinguish from 100 others, Jack Ingram IS the real deal.

Jack Ingram's first studio "radio-friendly" release, THIS IS IT, is rather surprising. Not the fact that it ever got released (Ingram is finally a radio star), but that it is actually good.

You see, Ingram has always been one of the best artists on the scene. It's just that he wasn't playing the big-leagues. He's that guy with the hidden talent who always gets picked over in gym class, until he reveals how truly talented he is. THIS IS IT's first three singles were good--even Ingram's atrocious rendition of "Lips of an Angel" is catchy as hell--but they weren't "Jack Ingram." Hell, the talented songwriter didn't even write them. It was a pure delight, then, to open up the CD booklet and discover that Ingram wrote or co-wrote six of the tracks. Elsewhere, Ingram relies on other writers (namely Radney Foster, Trent Summar, and Todd Snider), while adding his own touch to the songs that ALMOST makes them his own.

The overall effect is thus: a CD that is slightly disappointing to Ingram's legion of long-time followers, but an album that isn't a complete and total sell-out. "Lips of an Angel" aside, this is an album that Ingram might have written/recorded a few years ago, with maybe a more rock-induced sound. His barroom vocals sound slightly out of place here, but there's no denying the fact that THIS IS IT is Jack Ingram's introduction to stardom.

I love this album and would buy it for my husbands truck as well for him to listen too.

I enjoy Jack's music since it is not the usual stuff coming out of Nashville. This is a good sample of his music. He is a great entertainer also.

I finally put this cd in the player and I have to say that it is enjoyable from start to finish. It is upbeat and a good one to work to or to drive down the road with. He repeats a couple of his hit songs (Love You, Wherever You Are) from his previous cd, but that's ok... they don't seem out of place at all. I hope more people give this cd a chance and give Ingram the push he needs to move up in the country scene.

A great collection of songs. Easy to listen to and sing along with--great mix of melodies and lyrics.

Prime Cuts: Easy as One, Two, Three (Part II), Ava Adele, Whenever You Are

After years of loitering along the fringes of country music, Ingram has finally broke in with his number 1 smash "Whenever You Are." To up the ante on the barometer of hip, Ingram has ushered the advent of this CD with the unlikely cover of rock act Hinder's "Lips of an Angel." Thus far, success has been effulgent as "Lips" is lighting its way up the upper echelon of the Billboard country charts. Produced by Jeremy Stover, Doug Lancio and Ingram, this disc steers along the path paved by "Wherever You Are" which means that most of these 12 cuts have been recorded with an eye for becoming darlings of radio. However, before purists who have followed Ingram's career bark at Ingram's viable shrewdness, not everything have been sacrificed at the altar of commercialism. Truth be told, "This is It" does indeed have a more polished savvy sheen to it, but this is not to say there is a dearth of the raw emotional investiture Ingram always brings to his songs. Further, Ingram's commercial success has no way been caliginous towards his twinkle for Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle and Robert Earl Keen's type of Americana that rock with a venturesome abandon and drenched the soul like vintage liquor.

Destined to be a hit is the Radney Foster-Gorde Sampson opener, a stately rock number with a Bon Jovi-anthemic beat. "Measure of a Man" chronicles a coming of age story starting with a boy leaving home at 15. Without being told that "Lips of an Angel" was first recorded by rock act Hinder, it might easily sound like an Ingram original. A brooding bluesy ballad calling to mind Gary Allan's "Life Ain't Always Beautiful," "Lips of an Angel" describes with vivid details the feelings of a man on the verge of cheating on his girl. If such moral graft has left a bitter aftertaste, "Hold On" which features Sheryl Crowe on backing vocals has a more censurable disposition about the tenacity of love over circumstances. While the driving-guitars and barrier-smashing drums on Todd Snider's "Easy as One, Two, Three" is sonically infectious.

However, the album's highlights are in the contemplative moments. To prove that the triumph of a song resides not in its lyrical density but the sincerity of the words, "Ava Adele" is the bona fide example. With the simplest of words, this gentle guitar-driven lullaby is Ingram's love song to his daughter. Giving it depth and grit, Ingram's gravelly vocals brings out a magical quality to this heart-wrenching ballad. "Ava Adele" could easily be Ingram's magnum opus. While the mid-tempo "Maybe She'll Get Lonely" finds Ingram in Tim-McGraw territory as he holds to the sliver of hope that his departed paramour may return to him if she gets lonely. And as an added bonus, two of Ingram's previous hits the propulsive "Wherever You Are" and the more rockish "Love You" give this collection added heft.

Indeed Ingram has taken a step in the right direction by making his music appeal to a large spectrum of people vis-à-vis country radio without completely selling out. However, as a whole, Ingram has yet to reach the lofty heights he's capable of attaining. There are still pockets on this disc that still borders on the filler side (e.g., "All I Can Do" and "Make a Wish"). So, let us hope that Ingram is not serious about this album title: for this CD is definitely hopeful, but there is still some distance from reaching "it."

Prime Cuts: Easy as One, Two, Three (Part II), Ava Adele, Whenever You Are

After years of loitering along the fringes of country music, Ingram has finally broke in with his number 1 smash "Whenever You Are." To up the ante on the barometer of hip, Ingram has ushered the advent of this CD with the unlikely cover of rock act Hinder's "Lips of an Angel." Thus far, success has been effulgent as "Lips" is lighting its way up the upper echelon of the Billboard country charts. Produced by Jeremy Stover, Doug Lancio and Ingram, this disc steers along the path paved by "Wherever You Are" which means that most of these 12 cuts have been recorded with an eye for becoming darlings of radio. However, before purists who have followed Ingram's career bark at Ingram's viable shrewdness, not everything have been sacrificed at the altar of commercialism. Truth be told, "This is It" does indeed have a more polished savvy sheen to it, but this is not to say there is a dearth of the raw emotional investiture Ingram always brings to his songs. Further, Ingram's commercial success has no way been caliginous towards his twinkle for Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle and Robert Earl Keen's type of Americana that rock with a venturesome abandon and drenched the soul like vintage liquor.

Destined to be a hit is the Radney Foster-Gorde Sampson opener, a stately rock number with a Bon Jovi-anthemic beat. "Measure of a Man" chronicles a coming of age story starting with a boy leaving home at 15. Without being told that "Lips of an Angel" was first recorded by rock act Hinder, it might easily sound like an Ingram original. A brooding bluesy ballad calling to mind Gary Allan's "Life Ain't Always Beautiful," "Lips of an Angel" describes with vivid details the feelings of a man on the verge of cheating on his girl. If such moral graft has left a bitter aftertaste, "Hold On" which features Sheryl Crowe on backing vocals has a more censurable disposition about the tenacity of love over circumstances. While the driving-guitars and barrier-smashing drums on Todd Snider's "Easy as One, Two, Three" is sonically infectious.

However, the album's highlights are in the contemplative moments. To prove that the triumph of a song resides not in its lyrical density but the sincerity of the words, "Ava Adele" is the bona fide example. With the simplest of words, this gentle guitar-driven lullaby is Ingram's love song to his daughter. Giving it depth and grit, Ingram's gravelly vocals brings out a magical quality to this heart-wrenching ballad. "Ava Adele" could easily be Ingram's magnum opus. While the mid-tempo "Maybe She'll Get Lonely" finds Ingram in Tim-McGraw territory as he holds to the sliver of hope that his departed paramour may return to him if she gets lonely. And as an added bonus, two of Ingram's previous hits the propulsive "Wherever You Are" and the more rockish "Love You" give this collection added heft.

Indeed Ingram has taken a step in the right direction by making his music appeal to a large spectrum of people vis-à-vis country radio without completely selling out. However, as a whole, Ingram has yet to reach the lofty heights he's capable of attaining. There are still pockets on this disc that still borders on the filler side (e.g., "All I Can Do" and "Make a Wish"). So, let us hope that Ingram is not serious about this album title: for this CD is definitely hopeful, but there is still some distance from reaching "it."

This is a fantastic album!!!

It has Jack's first #1 single, "Wherever You Are" the single mix of "Love You" and the newest single "Lips Of An Angel." And let's not forget Sheryl Crow sings backing vocals on one of the songs which is very cool.

I worked on this album for close to two years. I don't usually get too excited about these kind of things but this one is special. The last time I worked on an album this solid was about ten years ago. Knowing how good it was all of us who worked on it put in extra effort for Jack. The musicians all played brilliantly, Jeremy produced the crap out of it, the songs are all amazing and I'm extremely proud of my mixes (I had nothing to do with the last song).

I would love to be able to give copies to all of you but if I did we'd never get that platinum sales award. So order yourself a copy or two (because downloading music is for amateurs). Play it for your friends, pets and house plants. Recent scientific studies have indicated this album may actually increase your life span by 32 seconds. Just think of what you can do with that time... have one last chance to enjoy a refreshing beverage, wave your fist in anger at a politician, curse the youth of the day for being so youthful, listen to over half of The Minute Waltz... The possibilities are endless so listen loud and listen often.