|
Blake Shelton -
Pure BS
By: George
Peden, CSO Staff Journalist
 Move
beyond the tongue-firmly-in cheek title of Blake Shelton’s
latest, Pure BS, and you’ll hear anything but
something to laugh at. The singer/songwriter from Oklahoma has
delivered more of the pure and less of the BS, on
this his fourth album. Soaked in heartache, love, loss and hard
drinking, the artist whose debut 2001 single, “Austin”, stayed
top of Billboard charts for an envied 5 weeks has arrived with a
real deal album.
Offering three
penned tunes to the album, Shelton pushes his comfort zone by
bringing not one but three producers to the effort. Bobby
Braddock, a long-time Shelton collaborator, having worked on the
first three albums, Brent Rowan and Paul Worley has each had a
hand at the production desk, shaping and sharpening the needed
sound. A sound Shelton has been saying is something to push newer
boundaries.
And it works.
The album is moody.
It’s etched with reflection and troubled times, revved along the
journey with a couple of standout toe-tappers. “The Last Country
Song”, featuring John Anderson and George Jones, rounds out the
album with a tale of rural repossession against a traditional
music backdrop. “The More I Drink”, a David Lee Murphy
co-write with Chris DuBois and Dave Turnbull, is comedic country,
telling of a guy who, when primed, is an all-dancing,
karaoke-loving party animal.
But it’s when
Shelton digs deep, pulls in, and lets the emotion flow the album
takes its direction. “Don’t Make Me”, with its already radio
interest, shows the way. The leaving-the-love-behind tale of
a guy torn between a push and a tug is powerful and pure. More of
the same comes with “I Don’t Care” – heart aching and
hurting country with a closing twist. “It Ain’t Easy Being
Me”, a remembered Chris Knight tune, receives a favorable rework
here, complete with its dark introspection and tortured honesty,
making it a coveted clone on the album. A Shelton co-write
(Michael Kosser and Rachael Proctor) “I Have Been Lonely”
mirrors the mood, while a tune Billy Ray Cyrus included on his Time
Flies album, “She Don’t Love Me (She Don’t Hate Me)”,
is a telling observation of a chance meeting with a former flame,
only to see by her attitude and new beau she’s moved on – a
far cry from the door slamming of her departure that showed
anything but a carefree exit.
Blake Shelton
doesn’t need a hat to show he’s country. His voice does that.
The songs here prove the fact. If you want your twang with
edge, feeling and tempered with a style that’s new country, all
peppered with a tad of traditional, this one’s for you.
And friends,
that’s no BS. It’s pure Blake Shelton.
The album’s out now
on Warner Bros.
Click on the CD cover to order yours!
|
Related
Links:
Official Website
MySpace
Did
you like this album? did you hate it? Submit
a "Real People Review"
RPR
Rules
Real
People Reviews
|
