Now, onto Part Two.
"Sweet Annie" - Zac Brown Band
Number One on Country Airplay Chart
One of my favorite releases from ZBB, I really liked this song. It had a great melody, and, in my opinion, Brown's vocals were the strongest I'd heard them since "Colder Weather." A great offering from a band that really works hard to keep their music as rooted in country as possible.
5/5
Number One on Country Airplay Chart
Not the strongest offering from an artist who I usually feel is one of the best contemporary country offers in the mainstream, this song also wasn't awful. Yes, it drifted into some bro-country territory, but Nail doesn't make it a habit. Nail is just so much better than this song. I'm willing to cut him some slack though as long as this doesn't become a regular thing. And judging from the rest of his I'm a Fire Album, it won't be.
3/5
“When She Says Baby” – Jason Aldean
Number One on Country Airplay Chart
I’m honestly still not 100% sure how I feel about this song. It was definitely one of the better singles off of Aldean’s Night Train album, but considering other singles included “Take a Little Ride,” “The Only Way I Know,” and “1994,” there isn’t exactly a high bar to get over. I would say that like some other songs on this list, this one could have been a lot worse, but there still wasn’t much to it.
2.5/5
“Compass” – Lady Antebellum
Number One on Country Airplay Chart
It was better than a lot of their Golden album, but it definitely marked a point where you could tell that this group was going almost exclusively pop. Content-wise, there as material there, but this was not country music.
2.5/5
“Helluva Life” – Frankie Ballard
Number One on Country Airplay Chart
I’m going to be honest and say that I only heard this song in full a couple of times. I don’t really remember it, too much. I was never impressed by it. It was pretty thin, lyrically, but as I recall, the production was at least toned back. I’m not interested enough in it to go listen to it again, but the fact that it’s so unmemorable to me can’t be a good sign.
2/5
“I Hold On” – Dierks Bentley
Number One on Country Airplay Chart
This was a song where Bentley shines. Much better than his follow-up “Drunk On a Plane,” this song finds Bentley singing about holding onto the things from his past that have made him who he is…not in a typical “I’m from a small town” vein, but a truck that he rode in with his father or the guitar that gave him his start.
4.5/5
“Doin’ What She Likes” – Blake Shelton
Number One on Country Airplay Chart
Once Blake got past his “Boys ‘Round Here” atrocity, there was some strong material on Based On a True Story…” Granted, this wasn’t the strongest song; there were better options for a single, but it wasn’t an unbearable song to listen to. It was more of a take-it-or-leave-it song. It will largely end up forgotten because there was nothing particularly good or offensive about it.
3/5
“Drink to That All Night” – Jerrod Niemann
Number One on Country Airplay Chart
Well, it was better than “Donkey.” Other than that…
0.5/5
“Give Me Back My Hometown” – Eric Church
Number One on Country Airplay Chart
I actually really liked Church’s The Outsiders, and this song was a prime-cut off of the album. It was probably also the best produced song on the album. Very scaled back, strong instrumentation and musicianship. And Chruch’s vocals were at their strongest.
4.5/5
“Get Me Some of That” – Thomas Rhett
Number One on Country Airplay Chart
I think all that needs to be said is that Rhett appeared on my list of Top 10 Douchebags in country music for a reason. I’m sure Rhett thought this song was absolutely great, but truthfully, it was painful to listen to.
0/5
“Beat of the Music” – Brett Elredge
Number One on Country Airplay Chart
Once again, we have a lackluster song from an artist who has shown in the past he’s capable of much better (e.g. “Raymond”). This was hardly the worst song of the year, lyrically or instrumentally, but it was also one I’d hardly miss if I never hear it again.
2.5/5
“Lettin’ the Night Roll” – Justin Moore
Number One on Country Airplay Chart
Honestly, you’d need a click-counter to count all of the clichés in this song. As soon as Moore starts singing, the clichés are coming fast and furious and you have to fight to keep up. And that’s all this song is. Literally, it’s a string of clichés. Nothing else. There’s a somewhat catchy beat, but that doesn’t mean the song is good.
0.5/5
Check back soon for Part Three!