Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Still Miss You, September 14, 2008
The cd Cmon is so put together with songs of how my life has been and is today. We lose people out of our life due to death or friendships gone bad and we take things for granted and can lose them at any given time. My favorite song is : I Still Miss You. Highly reccomend this cd. Thanks Keith and job well done.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Anderson's a triple threat , September 4, 2008
I didn't know about Keith Anderson until this summer when the "I Still Miss You" video was released. I liked the song so much, I decided to find out more about country's latest rocket. Here's what I've discovered.
Keith Anderson can do it all. (1) He can write a good country song. (2) He can sing the heck outta a lyric (3) He can handle fame, thanks to his small town upbringing. Plus, he's drop dead gorgeous.
The title cut is a great party starter.
"Break My Heart" is a guy's answer to all the whining girls do when a guy does them wrong. It proves that girls can be pretty mean, too.
"Somebody Needs a Hug" is a Southern boy's answer to a girl's bad day. Gotta love that remedy.
"She Coulda Been Mine" is like the final song in the "Every Time I Hear Your Name" - "I Still Miss You" triology. The love affair is over. She's married to someone else and her little girl breaks his heart all over again.
"Sunday Morning in America" can't help but remind those of us of a certain age of Kris Kristofferson's great song ... a snapshot of what's happening across the country.
"I Still Miss You" takes on new meaning when you learn that Anderson lost his mama this summer.
"Crazy Over You" is a new kind of love song. Not a ballad, but there can be no doubt that the guy is head over heels.
"I Ain't Hurting Nobody But Me" almost didn't make it on the CD, according to Anderson. It didn't sound "rock 'n roll" enough for the label. Good thing he fought for it. It's one of my favorites.
"Lost in This Moment." Wonder how many brides have pciked this one.
"Closest I've Ever Been" tells about a brush with death. Makes you think.
Anderson's the real deal. He's smart. He knows his way around a lyric and he cares about the writing process. He's going to be charting for a long time, which is perfectly okay with his fans ... particularly his female fans ... we're head over heels, too. It doesn't hurt that he's a really nice guy ... warm, funny and quick to laugh at it all, including his cute self.
Enjoy.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
C'MON, Keith.....You Can Do SO Much Better Than This!!, October 2, 2008
I was REALLY waiting for this album. In fact, over the last eighteen months, this was probably one of the three or four albums I was waiting for the most. It's very rare that I buy an album by a new artist on the strength of just one song, but from the first time I saw the video for "Pickin' Wildflowers", well, I knew Keith Anderson was someone to keep an eye on. I picked up THREE CHORD COUNTRY & AMERICAN ROCK & ROLL on it's first day out, instantly falling in love with it: there was something fun and fresh about it, yet varied and nuanced as well. It was, along with Miranda Lambert's KEROSENE, THE debut album of 2005. However, unlike Lambert, who's sophomore album was as strong as her first, Anderson's second offering is a major step backwards. Where to begin? Well, many of Anderson's lead vocals are generic and/or ordinary, lacking the nuances and textures that anchored the first disc. A number of the songs are run-of-the-mill radio fodder, unoriginal at best, silly and immature at their worst, while many of the arrangements are just chaotic and loud (Not all of the blame can be placed on Anderson's broad shoulders...much of it falls into the lap of producer Jeffrey Steele, who has approached much of this album with a "kitchen sink" mentality, resulting in a vibe that is bloated and over the top). Things kick off with the disc's noisy title track. Now, I like a good time as much as the next guy, but singing about partying, "long necks and long legs" is very different when you do it in your 20's (O.K. then) vs. when you do it in your 40's (sort of pathetic). This song might work better live, but here it's just sort of....embarrassing. Slightly better is "Break My Heart." The song has some strong lyrics ("And a big ol' stack of leavin' songs/Just waitin' to be turned back on/And I'll crank them up and sing along/The second that you're gone"), but Anderson's vocal seems to be straining to be heard over the hammering arrangement (a battle that is waged through out much of C'MON!). I wasn't nuts about "Someone Needs A Hug" either, at least not initially, but I have to admit...it's grown on me. I'm still not sure if the pseudo-rock/soul groove is real or faked ~ at times it's almost too "clever" a song, crafted solely to fill that Country radio novelty niche ~ but it IS fun. Still on the fence over this one...but I'll put it in the "Yay" column for now! "She Could Have Been Mine" is the album's first flat-out winner. Everything just comes together....simple, sweet lyrics that tell a great story, a delicate, muted arrangement and a beautiful Don Henley-esque lead vocal (LOVE the killer falsetto!). THIS is the sort of material that builds on the promise of THREE CHORD.....and elevates Anderson out of the generic pack. Sadly, the same can't be said about "Sunday Morning In America", which comes across as calculated and forced (a fact that I'm sure helped contribute to it's less-than-stellar showing as the disc's first single). Sure, the sentiment is nice, and Anderson delivers a strong lead vocal, but every act in Country music today has a slice of Americana song like this, and this one just gets lost in the shuffle. A much stronger single is the album's second one, the poignant "I Still Miss You." Yes, this is a break-up song, but as even Anderson said after the death of his mother earlier this year, it takes on a whole new meaning when thinking about the loss of a loved one. From the powerful lead vocal, sweeping arrangement and thoughtful opening lines ("I've changed the presets in my truck so those old songs don't sneak up"), this is an unabashed hit! "Crazy Over You?" Ummm....not so much. You know a duet and/or cover isn't working when your guest vocalists (or the original) overpowers you and you get lost in the mix. Is this a Keith Anderson cut? A Foster & Lloyd track? Heck, at times this song even sounds like a Dwight Yoakam song! A MAJOR misstep. "I Ain't Hurtin' Nobody But Me" isn't a bad song, it's just....ordinary. Even with a stunning lead vocal, this is filler. It might have worked on a stronger album, but here it just seems below par, not coming anywhere near the promise shown on TCC. That promise finally comes into 100% fruition on the album's last three tracks. "Adaliene" is a brilliant story/song, blessed with a smooth, textured lead vocal, understated, yet strong, arrangement and clever, down-to-earth lyrics ("The first naked lady I ever saw/Was that tattoo on my uncle's arm/On daddy's farm that summer he drove up/And helped us build that barn"). There's an honesty, a real genuiness, to the song that's lacking elsewhere. THIS is the Keith Anderson who bowled me over through out most of THREE CHORD COUNTRY...! An amazing cut! Ditto "Lost In The Moment." Most "wedding" songs are usually hip-deep in the schmaltz factor, but this track has an intimate, hushed beauty to it. Anderson's vocal caresses the lyrics like a thoughtful lover, while the instrumentation is sublime. This song makes me think of snow globes....and Nativity scenes on fireplace mantles....and kalidascopes...I feel like I'm peering into/spying on another, more magical, world. Simply lovely. Things end on a strong note with the assured, nakedly honest confessional of "Closest I've Ever Been." There's a power and an urgency to the cut, but Anderson knows just when to pull back, resulting in a track that takes it to the edge, but never over the top. In many ways, I think this is the track that best sums Anderson up, both as an artist and a man; he's a work in progress. But where does he go from here? How does Keith Anderson develop into the true ARTIST I think he can be, versus the STAR I think a lot of people want him to be? Going back to the basics, plain and simple. Concentrate on songwriting. Don't worry about airplay ~ or at least air TRENDS! ~....or what will work in concert....or the latest production gimmicks. Just trust that gut instinct, that unadorned honesty, that was so evident on the first album. C'MON, Keith.....I know you can do it! (As with all my reviews, I'm giving the disc an extra half a star for including the lyrics).
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