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This is the only 4 star rating I have ever
given that incessantly gnaws at my critical conscience. This
rating is given pretty much ONLY for the material, but before
an explanation of that, let's recall that old standard and Ac-sent-
chuate the positive!
This debut collection of 10 songs is chock-full
of hit material. "Going The Distance" is a blast. "
Evangeline" is a fun, and well put together, song, but isn't
original enough to make you think it's not some sort of stepchild
of the work of Sammy Kershaw's "Vidalia" and George
Strait's "Adelina." "You Made A Liar Out Of Me"
is a killer lyric expressed in an overall dandy song. "Bingo...Bulls
Eye" is a barnstormer of a club-favorite-waiting-to-happen.
"Unbreak My Heart" isn't a country cover of the Toni
Braxton hit (Thank God!), but instead a very cleverly worded
tale of an offer of love and help from one heart-wounded individual
to another. "Lightning Does The Work" is by far the
album's showstopper, in terms of its stunningly originial lyrics
and thrilling production. ( Love that drumbeat!!) And "Til
I Fell for You" and "I Wonder Where Love Goes"
are both examples of something that is seemingly VERY hard to
execute in the mainstream country world these days... an INTERESTING
ballad, that is moving without venturing into hokeyness.
However, the remaining song here, Mr.Brock's
current rising-to-hit-status single, "Ordinary Life,"
exemplifies all the "buts" inherent in the opening
of this review. From his press material of his touching dedication
to a chorus teacher who implored that Mr. Brock become a singer
lest the world lose out on something momentous, I was expecting
some sort of new country legend in the making. It's not that
he has a BAD voice or anything, it's just so, well, INDISTINCT.
I have heard this nice "Ordinary Life" song on the
radio many times lately, and until I listened to this album I
had no clue who was singing. It could have been one of a billion
interchangeable 20-something males pervading country radio today.
Perhaps this is a calculated choice by his producers, because
this album sure is a mighty pleasure to listen to, and every
song on here could be a top 10 smash. But after many of them
come to that, let's hope Mr. Brock's next effort might mine a
little bit more of his own personality.
Still, as a big plus, this certainly isn't
another one of those pretty boy- debuts with 2 good songs and
8 more that sound like carbon copies of those 2. Let's wish Mr.
Brock all the best with these nifty tunes he's singing, and hope
by the next album we might actually hear a song and go "
Oh, that's Chad Brock" and instead of . . .uh. . .hmm. .
.now who is singing that song again?
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