"Walk a little straighter, Daddy, you're swaying side to side, you're footprints make me dizzy no matter how I try, I keep tripin'; and stumblin', If you'd look down here you'd see, walk a little straighter, Daddy--You're leading me" says the chorus from Billy Currington's debut single Walk A Little Straighter. Those words were etched into Currington's mind when he was livin' 'em as a 12 year old boy. He saw his alcoholic father leading himself down a path that he knew he shouldn't go down. Amazing. Now around 30 years old, Billy Currington has lived part of his father's hard life but for vastly different reasons. Currington has worked as a construction worker and other various odd jobs along the way to country music star but it was his job as a personal trainer that led to his first break with Garth Brooks' manager.

On his self-titled debut CD Billy Currington wrote all but one of the eleven tunes and possesses a solid tenor that's somewhat similar to Brad Paisley and Mercury Nashville Records label-mate Mark Wills. The record features the traditional Nashville mixture of up-tempo, mid-tempo and ballads but doesn't feature the recent trend of over-produced tracks. The production by Carson Chamberlain (Mark Wills) is quite subdued and features the right mix of acoustics and electric instruments that a modern country record needs.

I Got A Feelin' is the opening track and it presents the familiar theme of a guy who is in love and knows his girlfriend is feeling the same way about the situation yet he can't say the three words that "begin with an I and end with a U."

That's Just Me would make a wise choice for a single. It's a mid-tempo ballad that shows the traditional mores and values of Currington and is instantly relatable with lyrics like "I prefer the fiddle to the violin, and I tend to think supermodels are too thin...I've never seen a place that I like more than home, when I go to the movies, I don't take the telephone, and I'll buy the gas but you oughtta get the air for free...but that's just me." Sure vocally he sounds REALLY like Wills on this one but the production is a bit more traditional based than Wills latest efforts (Like 19 Somethin').

Off My Rocker is hands down my favorite track on the record. There's a strong fiddle and traditional honky tonk sound to the song that makes it the perfect sing-a-long in the car type of song. The lyrics tell the story of a guy who left his wife home so he could go out with the boys at the bar. "Oh, I musta been off of my rocker, to come in her claimin' that from here on out I'm gonna be the boss, oh, it musta been me the big talker, had a little too much of Johnny Walker, so let's forget about it baby, I musta been off my rocker." Any guy who's been in a relationship long enough will know that truer words have never been spoken which makes me think this will be Currington's biggest hit from this album.

Sure Growin' Up Down There is full of country clichés but the fact is Billy Currington is singing and writing about stuff he knows, he did really grow up in the south. A poor Georgia boy lived a tough life that only enhances his songwriting ability and desire to be successful, qualities which make this song a 3 minute slice of country goodness.

Country hit makers Tony Martin and Mark Nesler wrote Ain't What It Used To Be and, when added with Currington's vocal emphasis, really make the last song on this record a likely hit single. It tells a story of a guy who thinks his whole life is planned out until the NAFTA takes the job away to Mexico thus he loses his girl so the guy leaves "that backwoods town" for better luck somewhere else. Isn't that what we all think when we are from a hard-luck town, that we can go move somewhere else and attain better results? I certainly am living proof of that as is Billy Currington himself.

With eleven good tracks, Billy Currington's self-titled debut is one of the strongest releases in the country genre this year. Sure, it's not ground breaking stuff but it's consistently good music with good beats and melodies. With a bargain price (part of Universal Music Group's new pricing strategy) of 9.98, you could do worse than check out what Billy Currington has to offer.


Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Hanging With Friends

Write a Review