whisperscream's Full Review: Be Here by Keith Urban
I'm pretty diverse when it comes to my musical tastes. Glance through my CD collection and you're bound to find albums by everyone from Shania Twain to Jay-Z with a little Britney, Prince, Michael and Sheryl thrown in for good measure. So when I was willingly coerced to join MattA75'sI'll Show You Mine If You Show Me Yours W/O, I thought it would be a great way to whet my diverse musical appetite, hopefully turning me on to something that's slipped under my radar. When I was informed that my chosen partner was MattBjorke -- our resident country music reviewer --I was relieved at knowing what genre I'd be exposed to but still hesitant about what my final selection would be, heaven forbid I'd have to review a Merle Haggard or Hank Williams Sr. CD. Thankfully, Matt was nice and settled upon Keith Urban's latest release, Be Here.
Now I consider myself to be a casual country music fan, but more of a female country music fan (Shania Twain is *drool*). I'd seen and heard of Keith but all I knew about him was that he was a successful country music singer who, surprisingly, wasn't from the deep South, Nashville, or from America at all. The true kicker about Keith Urban was that he was an Australian country singer who was beating some of Nashville's own at their own game. After 2 successful releases and 5 mil sold, Keith continued full steam ahead, issuing Be Here in late 2004. If the record's sound is any indication of the sound of his last two releases, Keith's slipped under my radar for long enough and I jumped on his bandwagon just in time.
Surprising that I enjoyed the album as much as I did when the three singles released thus far all tickled my ear as nothing more than average. Lead single, Days Go By, sounds like a typical, rock-fueled country jam session, with mandolins, banjos, guitars, and drums colliding at high speeds, actually complementing the song's concept of people basically not spending enough time smelling the roses, Keith included. Second single, You're My Better Half fares a little better from the mellowed-out, up-tempo production staying its course throughout the whole song, with Keith praising the good woman in his life for not standing behind him, instead being by his side. Current single, Making Memories of Us fares the best. It's what every mid-tempo country/pop-rocker should be; genuine, heartfelt, and understated. The mellow swagger of the production, the heartfelt lyricism and Keith's sincere vocal performance actually kick this one up a notch to above-average status.
Aside from the singles, the album does have a few moments that are definitely good but border on average at times. Better Life adheres to the 'mellow verses/rousing chorus' formula and does manage a good job, with the bouncing banjo line injecting a faint, faint, faint hip-hop vibe into the mix. A surprising Richard Marx co-write, the song has a surprisingly straightforward, country-pop/rock sensibility to it that makes its overall effect more memorable in the end. Produced by John Shanks, I Could Fly isn't as catchy as I would've pegged it. It does have a nice, country bounce to it but it doesn't flow as smoothly as I believe it would've liked and the lyricism does seem to be a bit empty. But it's still a good song, just not terribly memorable.
The last two records aren't much to write home about either. Live To Love Another Day benefits from a cavalcade of revving instruments anxious to charge out of the gate at us on the hook. Sadly, they never do and seem to meander for the rest of the song. The concept of shaking off a one-night stand and waiting for love on the next go-round is creative, I'll admit, but I'm sure the idea looked better on paper than it sounds on here. These Are The Days ends the record and starts off as a mid-tempo acoustic guitar number, with Keith reflecting on his current state of life, before evolving into a reprise of sorts of “Days Gone By”, with the lyrics from that song completing this one. If nothing else, an inventive way to end the album, signifying its coming full circle.
In fact, the only up-tempo that manages to crossover to above-average territory is She‘s Gotta Be. The production connects quite well, the stutter-step percussion combining well wit the understated mandolin plucks, sneaky bassline and somber strings. The verses are mellow enough while the hook is energized enough without overextending itself. The self-critiqued lyricism exploiting Keith's inadequacies that drove his woman out the door is a nice touch and ultimately makes this record's execution done in an extremely good yet unassuming manner.
Yet no matter how average any of those above songs are or aren't, they're all still completely worth listening to. In fact, the only true stumble on the record is Keith's interpretation of Elton John's Country Comfort. Elton isn't primarily a country artist so he wrote and recorded this song with the intentions of it being a “country song.” Keith is primarily a country artist so his rendition of the song ends up sounding too country for its own good. I'll admit it does sound nice for a country recording artist to record a song intended to be a country song but in this case, the country sound and feel of the record sounds too intentional and artificial, making for a rather generic pill to swallow.
So with all of the above falling into the general category of “average”, this means that the rest of the record is above such standards. God's Been Good To Me is what I'd guess one would define a “country-gospel” tune and is the album's first true memorable highlight. Benefiting from the spry melody and feel-good production, it's the perfect sunny backdrop for Keith to croon over as he testifies how all the blessings in his life are a direct result of God's good graces.
I've always had such a strong affinity for country music because of the honest lyricism. No matter how corny, cheesy, generic or just plain hokey a concept might be, country songs are always fleshed out with genuine, honest, openhearted lyricism. They always have a story to tell, a message to learn, and an impact to make. The execution might not always be as well as intended but the intentions are always good. That is what makes my three favorites work so well.
Tonight I Wanna Cry is definitely one of the album's most heart wrenching moments. Against somber production (piano, strings, and all), Keith pins his heart to his sleeve and bares his emotions on the line as he expresses just how deeply the pain of a broken relationship affects him -- I'm just drunk enough to let go of my pain/to hell with my pride/let it fall like rain from my eyes/tonight I wanna cry -- inevitably pushing the listener's empathy button a little harder as well. The Hard Way is a mellow tune that excellently depicts two stubborn people in a relationship who resolve to make the relationship work without compromising each other. However, the album's showstopper is easily the future single-to-be, Nobody Drinks Alone.
Confessionals usually make for the best tracks and Keith proves that fact as he draws from the experiences of both his father and himself as he details the effects of alcoholism on a person's life:
You remember whiskey on your daddy's breath so you always stick to wine
And you scared your little brother half to death, you just kept it all inside
You can hear your mama cryin'
Only now, she cries for you and…
Don't you know nobody drinks alone
Every demon, every ghost from your past
And every memory you've held back follows you home
Nobody drinks alone
What's even more impressive is the instrumentation. Once the vocals are done, the instrumental plays on for almost 2:00 and sounds metaphorical for the effect alcoholism has on a person's life. It starts off mellow and harmless, just like the addiction, and slowly swells into a cornucopia of confused instrumentation that seems to drown within itself, depicting how the addiction slowly confuses a person until its consumed them whole and their lovable vice ends up drowning them. Amazing that such a powerful impression is made without saying a word.
Be Here is a great album because it's a very unassuming album. You don't realize just how great the album is until it's run its course. It slowly creeps up on you and then dawns on your brain before you think twice about it. He's a strong vocalist, songwriter, and producer and it seems like he's nowhere near running out of creative steam. He's not the most original but he's definitely got a knack for country music and exploits his talent well without ever overstretching it, which is good. It means he may never live up to his complete potential but you'll never have to worry about his music turning into the sounds of him loving to hear his own voice.
I tip my hat to MattA75 for hosting this W/O, MattBjorke for bringing Keith to my attention and to Keith himself for capturing, and holding, said attention.
Price Listing:
1. Days Go By ($2.00)
2. Better Life ($1.85)
3. Making Memories of Us ($2.15)
4. God's Been Good To Me ($2.50)
5. The Hard Way* ($3.00)
6. You're My Better Half ($2.00)
7. I Could Fly ($1.85)
8. Tonight I Wanna Cry* ($3.00)
9. She's Gotta Be ($2.50)
10. Nobody Drinks Alone* ($3.00)
11. Country Comfort ($.99)
12. Live To Love Another Day ($1.85)
13. These Are The Days ($.99)
Whisperscream's Inflated Dollars & Sense Retail Price: $14.98
Album Worth: $27.78
REAL WORLD CURRENCY CONVERTER:
$10 or less......Avoid at all costs (unless a fan of aural masochism)
$10-15......Best cautiously borrowed from a friend
$15-20......Good enough to score a burned copy of
$20-25......Good download and/or good score from the used bin
$25-30......Worthy of a paid download or a good buy if on sale
$30-35......Worth full retail price
$35-40......Own at all costs
$40+......You don't own this because…
Great Music to Play While: figuring out how Country music is Australia's #1 genre
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.