Get Your Ass Back Here, Justin Moore
The overall impression is that this album was given a
massive infusion of money in the form of studio time and additional musicians,
making for a slicker, more highly produced sound. Headphones will confirm that
backing vocals lend weight to choruses, and that high-end guitar soloing tips
each song into a complex audio experience.
The other thing any Moore fan will notice is that this album
leans heavily on ballads and girl-friendly songs. Sure, there is a smattering
of good ole boy in there, but it feels very tame compared to the kind of
material Moore was using to identify himself on his first album.
The obvious singles — “Point At You,” “Lettin’ The Night
Roll,” and “One Dirt Road” — are buoyed by a great duet with Miranda Lambert
(“Old Habits”) which sounds like an old country classic. The Inky Jukebox would like to see “This Kind of Town” highlighted.
The Inky Jukebox
went for the Deluxe version (and who wouldn’t?), which features two songs which
ought to be on any non-deluxe version: “Big Ass Headache,” and the Charlie
Daniels duet, “For Some Ol’ Redneck Reason,” but “Field Fulla Hillbillies” is
the weakest Moore song we’ve heard, certainly in terms of its lyricism.
The low point on this album comes in the form of a song
which really should have been an extra — preferably a non-numbered final track.
“I’d Want It To Be Yours” is an ode to luscious buttocks, which is cute, but
only the first couple of times you hear it. Thereafter, it sounds like a
gimmick — something which is not helped by the big production it gets on the
record. When The Inky Jukebox first
heard it, it was delivered by Moore, standing alone with his guitar on a small
stage — and in that setting, it worked. But it’s a throwaway song that sounds
like it takes itself too seriously once all the instruments are added. It’s the
one song that immediately gets the FF treatment when it comes on.
The Inky Jukebox
has a special place for Justin Moore, and has spent a lot of time with this
album, prior to writing this late review. There’s plenty to like about this
record. We’re glad that he is getting the recognition that he deserves — he
certainly works his ass off for it. But there remains a niggling fear that he’ll
get swept up in the mainstream and drown. Justin Moore can sing. He can really,
really sing. This is drowned out with a huge production that feels like every
note has been tweaked in a machine.
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| The Inky Jukebox would like to thank the person who took and posted this photo. |
Scale it back and simplify. Please.
