From the moment Chuck Wicks' Starting Now begins, I want to dance. "All I Ever Wanted" is one of those songs that was going to be successful at country radio no matter what, what with a fresh yet comfortable arrangement and production, Rascal Flatts-ish melodies and vocals, and incredible energy. It's also the kind of song every girl wants sung for her, and he paints the picture of a girl I certainly want to be--singing a favorite song to sleep, walking in the meadow in the early spring, twirling in a sundress. She sounds carefree, beautiful, doesn't she? Like she's got no worries in the world. And why? Well, she's wearing Chuck's ring.
I think I'd be okay with that.
The song has got a great feel, a great structure, fantastic lyrics, and is performed impeccably. No album could open more effectively.
What follows, song by song, is a bit of a tossup. Certain songs are a little cliche, the hooks are contrived in some cases, and while the music may be wonderful, the lyrics don't always match up.
However, "Stealing Cinderella," is beautiful, and any daddy or daughter could easily fall in love with it. With "If We Loved," Chuck channels Martina McBride, and a little Jason Sellers, which when you consider that he was a cowriter, makes perfect sense. "When You're Single" has a sexy feel, even if the lyrics don't completely satisfy.
"Starting Now" is another favorite of mine. The lyrics are fine, coherent if not completely original, but the melody and vocal combined with an oh-so-effective arrangement make this track an absolute standout on the album. More than once, this song can stop me in my tracks, or at least cause me to start drumming on my steering wheel. The strings, the genius use of sparse-big-sparse-big texture with simple but HUGE drum fills with just the slightest modification of the previous melody on the chorus immediately following the bridge is enough to make a person jump up and down with the changes. And I do. Ask my family.
The problem is that the song immediately following "Starting Now," "The Easy Part, "is a fantastic song, another of the best on the album, but it's so incredibly similar in style that it's overshadowed. Also, the arrangement is not nearly as cool. Maybe they shouldn't have been on the same album, but I don't think I'd go that far. I think they just should have been RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER. Still, the lyrics on this one actually trump "Starting Now." "The hardest part of leaving is picking up the keys and finding the nerve to start the car..." Wow, right?
Unfortunately, though, this particular problem continues with "What if You Stay," a song just like the first two. It's generally a good song-- the chorus doesn't quite match itself lyrically, but it's a small enough blip on the radar that I could overlook it. ...but I end up overlooking the whole song without realizing it.
"She's Gonna Hurt Somebody" is a welcome stylistic change, and reminds me of something Brooks and Dunn would have picked up on if they'd had the chance, but that's not necessarily a good thing, in my mind. I think B&D need to grow up, and while Chuck's young enough to pull this off, B&D do have the advantage finding the songs in this style that work better than this particular one does. I love the hook, but I feel like the writers could have done more with it. However, the line "he's gonna wake up wondering what train just ran over his heart," is delivered with attitude, and that makes the whole song worth listening to.
"Mine All Mine," is another one of those sexy songs, but the concept, the lyrics? They've been done before. And the hook isn't even that clever. Moving on, please.
"Man of the House" is a good closer-- one of those looks at the life of a military family, and nicely done. Admittedly, though, the best part of this song is knowing that (on repeat, as I always play my CDs), I'm coming back around to "All I Ever Wanted."
I don't listen to a lot of mainstream country anymore, especially when it comes to the new guys, so the fact that I even picked up this album says something. And you know? It was worth it. It would have never lasted me an entire summer the way Jason Mraz's We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. did, but it doesn't have to. In general, if you are a fan of the young mainstream country, I really do think you'll like this album. There's a little something for everyone, and Chuck's got the voice (and the songwriting chops) to pull it all off.
So there it is.
I'm a Chuck Wicks fan, Starting Now.
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