Most of us know Charles Kelley as the founding member and one-third of country music trio Lady Antebellum, who formed in 2006 and are signed to Capitol Nashville. Kelley, along with Hilary Scott and Dave Hayward, rose to fame with hit songs “Need You Now”, “American Honey”, and “Love Don’t Live Here”, and became a fan favorite in country music. In 2015, it was announced that the band would be taking a break. Shortly after that, Kelley announced that he would be taking that time to work on a solo project. But have no fear Lady Antebellum fans, Kelley assures us that the band is his priority. On September 28, 2015, he released his debut solo single “The Driver” which features Dierks Bentley and Eric Paslay. “The Driver” received a Grammy nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for this year’s Grammy Awards. The single is a breath of fresh air in a genre that seems to have gone stale with generic mediocrity, and a perfect lead single. Kelley’s solo debut studio album The Driver was released in February.
There was a lot of hype and anticipation for this record. It seems like everyone and their brother are talking about it. After hearing the lead single, “The Driver”, I was hopeful and excited for Kelley’s new solo project. The single gave the record a promising vibe. The Driver happened to be on my Most Anticipated 2016 Albums list. Unfortunately, my anticipation and hope started to wane when I heard “Lonely Girl”. For me, it showed the album going in an undesirable direction. I was hoping that Charles would take his new music in the same direction that “The Driver” goes, and steer away from the mainstream, R&B infused sound. Alas, the majority of the record is influenced by the new “Metro Bro” R&B sound, but luckily, it isn’t as in your face as Sam Hunt’s or Thomas Rhett’s.
The Driver opens with “Your Love”, an 80s contemporary country meets R&B track, featuring an electric guitar and strong drum beat. It’s a bland way to start the record off and unfortunately acts as the theme maker for the album. The song celebrates love, but doesn’t really do it in a fresh way. Sadly it’s just not a strong song. “Dancing Around It”, again, features a Bluesy/R&B production with strong drum beat and a little rhythm. The song seems to serve one purpose, and that is to show off Kelley’s vocal prowess, which is top notch as always. The song has a sort of throwback sound to it, and finds the male narrator talking to a girl who is evidently in a relationship with someone, but the relationship isn’t a good one, so she meets up with the narrator. They go out for a night of romance, even though they are well aware of the consequences and that it isn’t a permanent thing. They prefer to just keep “dancing around” that particular fact, rather than acknowledge it. Unlike “Your Love”, “Dancing Around It” is a pretty good song, not very country, but still pretty good.
“Lonely Girl” was released ahead of the record, and I have to admit, I wasn’t too impressed with it. The song has a throwback, R&B sound to it then bursts into a loud production. It’s another weak song, not necessarily bad, just not really good either. The song doesn’t seem to have much of a purpose. The tempo picks up with “Round In Circles”, which continues the theme of using an R&B influenced sound. The beat is strong and infectious, and sounds like a “slow dance” song you’d play in a club. The song is about a relationship that’s really just a bunch of one night stands. They both know that she’s going to leave again and be with someone else, but they don’t do anything to stop the cycle, so they just keep going around in circles. “Only One Who Gets Me” is a love song Kelley wrote for his wife, which features more of an R&B/Blues flavor. It’s an alright song, again falling a bit on the bland side and one that’s not very country. In the song, Kelley celebrates his the one who loves him, the only person who truly understands and gets him, fixes him when he’s broken, someone who feels like home to him.
Sadly, the record is in danger of being bland and boring for the most part, but there is a saving grace. That saving grace comes in the form of “The Driver”, “Southern Accents”, “Wish You Were Here”, and “Leaving Nashville”. I had the opportunity to review “The Driver” when it was released as a single, and I absolutely loved it. I was pleasantly surprised at the stripped down, acoustic production, with no mainstream Pop or R&B. The song is the story of the life of a touring artist, told through the voices of Kelley, Dierks Bentley, and Eric Paslay. The three unique voices bring the single to a whole new level and give the song a feel of camaraderie and adds character to the song. “The Driver” is definitely the standout on this record, second only to “Leaving Nashville”.
As I said above, “Leaving Nashville” is THE standout on this record. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that “Leaving Nashville” is the standout release of the year so far, and could be a huge Song of the Year contender if it were released as a single, and I hope it is at some point. “Leaving Nashville” and “The Driver” complement each other nicely, with “The Driver” telling the story of a touring artist’s road life, and “Leaving Nashville” coming from a different angle, telling the story of a struggling songwriter.
“Leaving Nashville” features a stripped down production as well, this time featuring a piano front and center. The song tells the all too well known story of the other end of the entertainment spectrum: the struggling to make ends meet side. With poignant, raw, and very honest lines like “One day you’re the kind and the next you’re not”, “you got a cut so the check’s coming/ if it ain’t a single it don’t mean nothing”, and “Oh and you’re friends of friends with country stars/yeah they’re buying homes, and here you are/ you’re two months from living in your car”. Ultimately, like so many people that move to Nashville with a dream, the narrator resolves that he “ain’t never leaving Nashville”, no matter how hard it gets. It’s truly an incredible song.
There are two more collaborations on this record, and they are both the other two standouts. The Tom Petty cover, “Southern Accents” is absolutely beautiful. Kelley duets with Stevie Nicks on the song, as they breathe fresh life into the classic all the while keeping the integrity of the original intact. I have to say, this is my second favorite cover of this song, second only to Johnny Cash’s cover. Stevie Nicks iconic, unique voice adds character and a uniqueness to this song. Kelley teams up with Miranda Lambert on “I Wish You Were Here”, a contemporary country sounding track. Miranda can harmonize with anyone; she just has that voice that seems to go well with everyone. She’s an excellent harmonizer, something that I think a lot of people don’t give her credit for. Both voices blend beautifully together, as they spin a tale of someone being on the road and missing someone, either at home or someone who left. They find themselves wishing that “you were here, sleeping on my shoulder/ breathing in my air.”
The stripped back, softer, quieter songs win out and end up shining brightest on this record. They prove that you don’t need the “in sound” or loud productions to make great music. If only the whole record had gone more in the same direction, it would have been so much better. As a whole, the record is still worth a listen and even a buy, to get the standouts mentioned above. It also serves to prove that Charles Kelley has a lot of potential as a solo artist. I just hope that he gets rid of the R&B sounds and goes more country.
Originally posted here.
