It's been a while since I dipped into the Suggestion Box for a review, and so we'll bounce over to JenInTosa for a little Eli Young Band. These guys have been together since 2000 and are based out of Denton, Texas. The name comes from the founders Mike Eli and James Young and when they first met each other while attending the University of North Texas. They dropped their first album in 2002 - it didn't see much play, and their second in 2005, which opened a few doors for them. They opened a few shows for Miranda Lambert, which started to really get the word out. After getting some exposure on the country music cable stations, their shows started catching fire and tickets started flying out the sales window. One incredibly interesting story is, Mike Eli was selected to sing the 'Star Spangled Banner' for an NFL game between the Broncos and Chiefs back in 2010. While singing the track, he was booed by most of the fans in attendance. He was going to try to sing it again, but he forgot most of the words. Not sure if it was nerves or what, but I also can't seem to find any information about how great these guys are live or anything either. Who knows. 'Life At Best' is their fourth studio recording, and it dropped just a couple months ago. It's spawned one Top 10 country charts single in 'Crazy Girl' - but not much fanfare otherwise. This album feels very contemporary country to me. And not only that, the whole thing sounds very flat. Eli's vocal seems to have very little range, and almost comes across as monotone to me after I get to about track 10. The 14 tracks blend into seemingly one big track that's very similarly paced and pitched. I know the strain on country music is to now appeal to the pop crowd, but I don't see any of the songs on here making top rotation in pop stations. It's not anything to write home about lyrically either - which kind of just makes for a long, drawn out hybrid album.
TRACK LISTING:
1. Even If It Breaks Your Heart
2. Crazy Girl
3. Every Other Memory
4. On My Way
5. Skeletons
6. I Love You
7. The Fight
8. My Old Man's Son
9. Recover
10. The Falling
11. War on a Desperate Man
12. Say Goodnight
13. How Quickly You Forget
14. Life at Best
Listen To Samples
Top 3 Tracks:
1. Even If It Breaks Your Heart
2. Every Other Memory
3. Crazy Girl
FINAL RATING:
1.75 out of 5 stars
Dang, after that review I don't know if I wanna check out the samples, though I know for the sake of it being music I more than likely will.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of these guys so it's definitely worth a try :)
It's always worth checking something out if you think you'll like it. I know there are a few albums out there that I'm not a huge fan of, but you enjoy. This could be one.
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard of them before either. Although - not being a huge country music follower, I suppose it's not super surprising.
Glad to see you're back commenting - been a while!
No doubt B, I'm definitely here. I appreciate the reviews you offer :)
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated!
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