Back in October, Shane McAnally did something on the quiet that I didn’t expect: he released an album. The Music Row songwriter famous for helping to launch Kacey Musgraves as well as contributing to pretty much every superstar’s album in the past year or two, partnered with Spotify to unleash demo versions of well-known hits in addition to those that have yet to be discovered. Alongside this, he also released 41 separate tracks exclusively to Spotify in which he discussed hits both on the new record and those missed out (such as ‘Mama’s Broken Heart’). It is a fascinating collection that only came to my attention about a week ago when I saw a couple of tweets about it – apparently, few other people knew either. I decided to change that.
With a huskier, smokier voice than some of his contemporaries, and with a more mature tone than he sported on his 2000 self-titled record, fifteen years has been kind to Shane McAnally. Although it’s often clear his natural songwriting style skews more country pop than Kacey Musgraves country (he has his commercial party anthem moments across the radio’s slew of artists), the tracks picked for this album represent by far some of his best cuts over the past couple of years. Including help from co-writers on ‘Downtown’ (Natalie Hemby, made famous by Lady Antebellum), ‘Smokin’ And Drinkin’’ (Natalie Hemby, made famous by Miranda Lambert), and ‘Say You Do’ (Matthew Ramsey, made famous by Dierks Bentley), Shane seems to recognize where a song wouldn’t suit him or someone else does it better on lead (he always seems to be around on backing vocals). These tracks are all the original demos made to pitch to artists, so the lead vocalist is usually chosen out of the team of writers based on appropriate gender and the strongest singer, or maybe the person whose brainchild it was. That explains clear omissions on songs like ‘Mama’s Broken Heart’ (recorded with Kacey Musgraves on lead) and ‘Chainsaw’.
In addition to such hits as Kenny Chesney’s ‘Somewhere With You’, Jake Owen’s ‘Alone With You’, Chris Young’s ‘Neon’, Randy Rogers Band’s hilarious ‘Fuzzy’ and David Nail’s ‘Burning Bed’, we are also treated to a few tracks that don’t seem to have been cut by other artists, or at least not in the mainstream arena. ‘Riding In Cars’ is a particularly sweet offering mourning a lost lover who now runs, wanderlust, set against an acoustically-grounded, alt. pop/adult contemporary backdrop. ‘Santa Monica’, too, sets a melancholically romantic filter over the memories of a summer love, laid-back vibes providing the soundtrack to a sun-drenched Californian coast. It’s very clear that as a songwriter for himself, Shane feels most comfortable somewhere between Jason Mraz and Matt Wertz, and ‘Fool Around’ particularly recalls the latter. He’s more west coast alt. pop than Nashville country at heart, but these days when the face of mainstream country is constantly changing, he seems to fit right in. And accepting this fact doesn’t detract whatsoever from the fact that he’s capable of writing some quality country material that bears in mind the genre’s roots.
The only point where this album takes a dip is when it reaches the demo of ‘Smokin’ And Drinkin’’, led by Natalie Hemby and harmonized by Shane and co-writer Luke Laird, a trio that is behind a whole load of recent country hits. The track is very well-written and I personally love Miranda Lambert and Little Big Town’s dreamy rendition, but the demo is particularly rough, seemingly created with a cheap mixing desk that produces a rather stiff electronic sound. Mostly the issue is the effects employed on the vocals through the verses especially, that works on a bigger budget but comes across bitty in this version. What’s also interesting is just how similar the demos are to what became the final product from the artists that cut the songs. On ‘Smokin’ And Drinkin’’ especially I assumed the progressive production was Miranda Lambert’s idea, but it turns out it was heavily present on the demo all along. The same can be said for the majority of the other hits on this record, highlighting just how much the songwriters often bring to the tracks, beyond the basic penning of the melody and lyrics.
That aside, however, this is an extremely enjoyable album that showcases Shane McAnally at his finest while allowing some airtime for his more-than-worthy collaborators. It’s fantastic to finally hear Shane in this vocal role again, and I sincerely hope he takes the opportunity to release more tracks that never got cut during the coming year. In an age where the internet allows songwriters to be appreciated and get their music out in new ways, it’s a crime that it took this long for Shane to add his two cents to the circle. Still, I’m sure glad it’s here now.
