Little Big Town’s recently released A Place to Land is simply refreshing to listen to especially after reviewingthe Eagles‘ stale Long Road Out of Eden. Don Henley and Glenn Frey should pop this CD in their home stereos to get some pointers on how pop-country should be done. Even as the originators of the Southern Cali/Country-Rock sound, Henley and Frey weren’t able to come up with an Eagles knock-off as good as LBT’s “That’s Where I’ll Be”. Little Big Town with the help of producer Wayne Kirkpatrick have crafted a delightfully strong set of songs that go above and beyond what some may quickly label as derivative of the Southern California sound (Fleetwood Mac, Crosby, Still and Nash and the Eagles). the “derivative” argument doesn’t really hold water here especially when most popular music is derivative to some degree. the album opener “Fine Line” does indeed come dangerously close to being a rip-off of Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way” but with its unique sounding verses and excellent musicianship throughout, it’s more of a tribute to Fleetwood Mac than anything else. the band and Kirkpatrick expertly keep the arrangements interesting and varied throughout the album making each song distinct and memorable. and on top of the stellar musicianship and production work, LBT offers some sweet sounding harmonies throughout the record. at certain points on the album, the way their vocals blend with each other, end up giving me goose bumps. it’s that good! A Place to Land is simply one of the best albums I’ve heard so far this year.
personal favorites include: Fine Line, I’m With the Band, Fury and Only What You Make of It.
Listen to the audio of “Fine Line”:
TrackList: 1 Fine Line 4:01
2 I’m with the Band 4:24
3 That’s Where I’ll Be 4:51
4 Evangeline 4:33
5 Vapor 4:13
6 Novocaine 4:10
7 Only What You Make of It 5:09
8 A Place to Land 3:12
9 Firebird Fly 3:15
10 To Know Love 4:17
11 Lonely Enough 4:22
12 Fury 4:26
I love the theme of your blog. Thanks for wanting to stay at mine! I’m always on the lookout for good music recommendations, too. Maybe you can help me out with that.:)
FrankJ on 02 Feb 2008 at 7:56 pm #
Man I m getting old! You have captured my interest and I know many late baby boomers will agree.
nat on 02 Feb 2008 at 9:28 pm #
I got this cd free as a promo at work and I was kind of skeptical, but I LOVE IT!!!
Nice post.
Janet on 04 Feb 2008 at 5:00 pm #
I love the theme of your blog. Thanks for wanting to stay at mine! I’m always on the lookout for good music recommendations, too. Maybe you can help me out with that.:)