Single Review: Phil Vassar - Fall Crazy

Phil Vassar has written for some very big names in country music over the years. He’s without doubt a very talented songwriter. Personally, I’ve always found his albums a little hit and miss. Some of the songs don’t always resonate with me quite as well as others. However, this all changed with last year’s ‘American Soul’ album, which is chock full of fabulous songs. And, of course, he's fabulous live!

This new track, ‘Fall Crazy’is from Phil’s new UK album release ‘Look Back Forward’, which appears to be largely composed of tracks from ‘American Soul’ (which never got a CD release over here, although it’s available on ITunes) and is obviously released to go along with the UK tour which is happening in April. It’s another great song, but like much of the ‘American Soul’ album, has a very ‘soft-rock’ feel rather than an overtly country one. This manifests in the production, which, once it kicks in properly, favours big chunky rock guitar chords and solo, rather than delicate acoustics, mandolin, etc. However, the overall lyrical feel and melodies are also very ‘soft rock’. Now, that sort of thing totally floats my boat, as it’s the sort of music I’ve spent most of my life listening to and was my way into Country in the 1990s via artists like Little Texas and Blackhawk. Trouble is, it can be a bit ‘marmite’: you either love it or hate it. 

Lyrically, it’s just a typical pop-rock style love song. There’s no specific story here or anything to relate it to the usual country themes of small towns, trucks, beer, cheatin’, etc. Although, having said that, most of us have been in the situation where we are massively attracted to someone and simply want to jump in and ‘fall crazy’, so I suppose to that end it has some kind of believability. There’s certainly a big hookline to hang onto and you do find yourself singing along from the off, as it has very warm and familiar melodic themes and chord progressions.  

So, overall, it’s not breaking any new ground. It is very generic in its lyrics and melodies and it has more of a rock than a country feel, but still I do really like it! It’s an easy, comfortable listen and a pretty instant grab. Whether or not it will have a lasting impression I’ve yet to determine. It’s definitely my kinda music. If you like Phil Vassar’s music, especially the ‘American Soul’ album, I’d recommend that you give it a shot and see what you think.

Unfortunately, it's not on Youtube yet, so all I can do is link you here:

Welcome to 'My Kinda Country'

Welcome to my new blog, ‘My Kinda Country’. Why am I doing this? Well, I love country music and I enjoy writing so it seemed natural to combine those two things together.

Why ‘My Kinda Country?’ Well, country music is a broad church these days – broader than it’s ever been and I have my views about it much like anyone else into the genre. So the things I’ll write on here will be my perspectives: you won’t all agree with all of them and I don’t expect you to. I just hope that I am able to write in a way that prompts thought, debate and discussion rather than outrage, argument and misery!

So, to start us all off, a few initial thoughts.

Last Sunday my band, Americana (www.americana.org.uk) was playing at a country weekender. 

We were a last minute addition to the bill, which, aside from us and a few solo acts/duos playing with backing tapes, was essentially all real old-school country – no drumkits, traditional music from the 40s, 50s, etc. The audience obviously matched that kind of vibe, and to be fair, it was a big crowd. It was really interesting and great fun playing for them. We went down well! We apparently had more line dancers than any other act of the weekend (apart from the disco) and afterwards a few commented that we were ‘a breath of fresh air’ amongst the admittedly excellent old-school acts. Most people stayed and, judging by the increasingly loud applause, were generally won over by our set, while a handful of others (a very small minority) apparently left because we ‘aren’t country’ or they ‘didn’t like the drums’, etc. Now, I should point out here that we tailored our hour-long set so that it was largely 90s classics, with a few current tracks thrown in, so we weren’t really pushing the boundaries, but it was interesting (and not at all  unexpected) to hear the range of views. Ultimately, the key question seems to be, were we ‘their kinda country?’ For some, yes we very much were, for others no, we certainly weren’t. And that’s pretty much where the idea for this blog came from.

Unsurprisingly, I have my own views about what is or isn’t my kinda country. I came to this music from being a fan of classic rock and AOR in the 80s, so I have always liked my country with a pop-rock vibe. I’m not overly fond of most very traditional early stuff, although thanks to my late Mum, I do enjoy a bit of Jim Reeves and Don Williams, plus a bit of Johnny Cash. But overall, my kinda country is acts like Little Big Town, Sugarland, Keith Urban, etc. It also isn’t acts that are heavily influenced by hip-hop/rap, by modern R&B pop or EDM, although there are always exceptions. However, I do think I know a great song when I hear it - a song that combines a killer hook with cool lyrics and great instrumentation, where an emotional response of some kind is created immediately by the song. Even if I don’t like a song, I can often see past that. I’m gonna work hard to ensure that it’s this kind of approach that you’ll see when you read any reviews, etc, that I might post.

First up, either later today or over the weekend, will be a review of the new Phil Vassar single ahead of his UK tour in April…