Adam Gregory – “What It Takes”

Wow! It took five songwriters to create this bonafide piece of crap!

So I guess I’m an idiot for liking this then? Oh well…

Well, it’s not the first time i would’ve been called Crazy and it won’t be the last. And for the record, I don’t think this is a great song but rather a decent song but a good song.

So I am a puppet? whatever…

well, perhaps I worded that wrong. And there is an interview up and I do have his albums but I wouldn’t exactly say I’m historically a fan. I had a friend with the same name which is the reason I got the albums. They’re OK for what they were, nothing more nothing less (which even he admitted to).

And just because the song is a ‘pathetic attempt at a song’ in yours and a few other people’s eyes doesn’t make it “by all acounts.”

Not A great song by any means, the lyrics are particually painful but Adam does at least sound good on it. If he got some really great material he would do really amazing work, in my opinion.

Well, I ventured over to read Matt’s interview — during which Adam stated:
Adam: I wrote it with Kyle Jacobs, Lee Brice and Joe Leathers and basically it’s about a guy who wants to do everything and anything he can to be the man he can be with the girl he’s with.

Did Adam forget that Greg Crowe was in the room also? :-)

As for the song. I do remember hearing it on the radio (probably because it’s been played so much) – but I dont remember too much about it. ‘Nuff said?

Lee,

The way I have understood it, the phrase “written by committee” means that a song is written by songwriters who were cultivated in Nashville and have such a proven track record with hits that the song could be crap but it will still get cut and released as a single. If anybody knows otherwise, please correct me.

Adam: I wrote it with Kyle Jacobs, Lee Brice and Joe Leathers and basically it’s about a guy who wants to do everything and anything he can to be the man he can be with the girl he’s with.

What a girl. And a tiresome, boring cliche that’s been around for the past 10 centuries or so. Next!

Basically it’s about a guy who wants to do everything and anything he can to be the man he can be with the girl he’s with.

I think perhaps Adam should have enlisted a few co-writers to help him answer interview questions.

First of all, thank you Jim. Of all the crappy songs that I hear from country radio and country television this one is right at the top. I think that the song is such an insult to listeners that it points to a fact that should scare even the average country music listener: The record labels think that they can push crap because they think we are too stupid to know the difference between this song and ” He Stopped Loving Her Today”.

They also think that in some ways Adam Gregory’s looks, voice, and “natural” charm will win us over. WRONG! His desire to be more famous than talented is so raw,that he,like Jimmy Wayne, Jason Aldean, Jake Owen, and Luke Bryan, looks almost too foolish. Like someone pulled him off the football field and said boy I can make you a country star. And his want to be famous blinded him to the fact that his talent was limited to looking good in a video.

Some have argued here that the entire music market is fragmenting into an ever increasing number of “niche markets”. I disagree with that premise in the mainstream country realm where I think its becoming all about artist/idol worship from dedicated but musically non-discerning fans. Adam Gregory is a perfect case in point because as a “pretty boy” he will attract a cadre of loyal female fans who think his music is good just because they think he is so cute. Chuck Wicks is on this bandwagon as well although he has shown more musical talent than Adam, for whatever that is worth.

Although my favorite term for the current Top 40 market is “AirHead Country”, I think a more accurate description is “Tiger Beat Country” or maybe “People Country” or “US Country”. The female fan base country radio has cultivated is far more interested in the artists as individual personalities rather than their musical talent or consistency. If a male artist looks good enough and sings sappy sentimental songs about a wedding or girl growing up and life’s big events, he’s in! Top 40 country radio has become the musical equivalent of a teeny bopper fan magazine and popularity of songs like this are the end result. The targeted demographic audience Top 40 country radio has carved out just doesn’t have very good taste in country music as they seem to prefer rock and pop music dreck instead…

This isn’t much different than rascal flatt’s “take me there” another awful song

Thanks PaulaW. It sure beats getting a RickSmack!

Kim, I was wondering if anyone would take me up on my comment about Adam vs. Chuck. I agree that neither makes music that is particularly compelling, or even interesting for that matter. Who knows, maybe Chuck hooked up with Julianne Hough to see if being a contestant on “Dancing With The Stars” could help him sell albums! Hmm..

Bill – Well said! I’ve been an AG fan for several years now and have observed his terrific growth as an artist. It wouldn’t surprise me if these people hadn’t seen a live show by Adam and are basing their opinion on the release of one single… Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean other people don’t enjoy it. I’m tired of the negativity as well. I’m signing out and going to find me a more positive country music blog…

Sic ‘em Jim! I think your review of this was just about perfect. But I’m not sure how it got you so revved up, when it just put me to sleep. This song has been written so many times, by so many uninspired writers looking to cash in and/or get laid, that it doesn’t do anything but make me shake my head and look away. Kudos for hating it and your rallying cry against this kind of trite trash. I think the guy has a better than average voice, but nobody could carry this tune.

Matt: The first step is admitting you have a problem….The second is to admit the existance of a higher power. In this case, Dale Watson.

I feel so stupid, but could someone please explain what Jim meant by the opening line of his review about the 180 country radio stations being responsible for the rise of a hit song?

Thank you!

Doug, Jim was referring to the stations reporting to one or more of the big charts – Billboard and/or maybe R&R.

It’s appropriate, I believe, that this review is directed toward radio. Gregory’s performance is superb, but the quality of the lyric isn’t.

Unfortunately we’re at a point now where everyone involved is complicit in this dance: the songwriters can’t possibly believe this is their greatest achievement, radio won’t complain because the song doesn’t stand out in any way, and the (ahem) artist is going down the only road available now that will get him the sort of success he desires.

Question for Frozenphan …. Yes, listeners request this ’stuff’ … but, if exposed to something other than this stuff (which you seem to be allowed to do at least a little bit) will they not begin to request ‘other stuff’? I mean, they (at least the younger listeners) dont know what to request because they have no clue what is really available. If for one full day you were allowed to play whatever you wanted to – and you played some ‘real music’ – would the listeners begin to alter their requests?

(I’m not trying to be a smart-alek here; I’m seriously trying to find out the answer to this ‘mindless’ dilemma we call corportate radio.)

I am with Frozenphan here. I have talked to a bunch DJ’s in the DFW area and people are calling and requesting this stuff. To a large extent, that is why programmers like many of the songs that many of us see as insipid and generic. That blame falls on the poor taste of the individual calling in the request. How the hell was “According to Jim” on the air for so long and “Arrested Development” only on for a couple of years? The lame one had high ratings and the smart and unique show didnt. It’s a sad scenario, but not an overly difficult one to asses even though there are many parties that shoulder the blame.

I’d like to note that Canada is cold.

I reiterate my point that a large percentage of Top 40 country radio listeners are dedicated female fans that care far more about supporting their favorite artists than they do about the music those artists make. Radio requests nowadays have mostly become fans voting in a popularity contest, and they will call to request the latest single from their fave whether its a good song or not! This doesn’t make them idiots, just non-discerning as far as the music goes. The overall quality of the music mainstream country radio plays will continue to deteriorate as long as this fangirl/fanboy mentality dominates the listening audience and request lines.

“The notion that it’s the listener’s fault (or preference) is way too simplistic.”

I agree, it’s clearly a combination of corporate interests as well as the undeniably mediocre tastes of the listening public.

There was a Clear Channel station in dallas that tried to go with Alt-Country, Outlaw Country mixed with Classic Rock. It was great for a couple of months and due to low ratings and in turn, low ad revenue, they went back to an all-classic rock format. People were fed Ryan Bingham, Old 97’s, 1100 Springs, Bottle Rockets, Drive by Truckers,Chris Knight, Stoney LaRue and Robert Earl Keen on a daily basis for months from one of the strongest signals in Texas, and the public that called them clamored for only more Skynyrd or Allman Brothers (not knocking those acts, but there was a choice and they made it)…

The problem has many layers, but “the listener”, as broad as that term is, must be pointed to as the main culprit.

Rascal Flatts sells out 25,000 seat arenas everywhere they go. That isnt about radio requests or the public being told what to listen to by corporations, that is 25,000 people actually liking that band of clowns enough to spend money to go see them, that obviously has some spill over into the radio-programming issue….

Not really, the more they play Sugarland’s “All I Want to Do”, the more I hate it

“i agree country radio is going to shit.”

I’ve been hearing this for nearly 40 years. Just sayin’…

“I’ve been hearing this for nearly 40 years. Just sayin’…”

what exactly are you just saying Jon? And Chris N. too for that matter? Are you guys saying that Country Music is as good as it ever was? That the current crop of talent is as good as the classic artists? That country radio today plays music that’s just as great as the hits of yesteryear?

Well, Ben, what I said was that I’ve been hearing that country radio is going to shit for about 40 years now. Which is a true statement of fact. And which is not in fact a statement about country music, although I’ve pretty much been hearing that for 40 years, too. Which means that it was being said about the country music of 40 years ago (and 30 and 20 and 10) that today is being held up as great.

But I think that while the country music landscape looks different than it did back in (take your pick), the differences are less profound and inalterable than many people seem to think. There’s always been a lot of bad country radio, and there’s always been a lot of bad country music – less at some times, more at others, at least in my opinion. There have always been pop-leaning artists, there have always been stylistically conservative artists, there have been rock-leaning artists for those 40 years (and another 15 or so before they began), there have always been folks pushing the envelope in a variety of directions and so on. Sometimes different trends are stronger than others, but these proportions and tendencies have never stayed fixed for very long.

And while I know it’s not popular to say so around here, I think quality is a pretty subjective thing, so I tend to look at it more in terms of the relative strength or weakness of country music that I like, rather than country music that’s good. I tend to like more artists from days gone by than current ones, but that goes back to the 20s and 30s, not just the 50s and 60s or 80s and 90s or whatever. For my taste, some of the “classic” artists from those eras that get swooned over are a lot less enjoyable than some from even earlier. Norman Blake tells me that when he heard Hank Williams on the Opry – and remember, Blake is old enough to have done that as a child – he wasn’t much impressed; he preferred Roy Acuff, Uncle Dave Macon, the Fruit Jar Drinkers, Bill Monroe, and “didn’t care for” Williams modern, uptown sound. Similarly, Joe Wilson, I think, tells the story of riding around in his uncle’s car in 1949 and hearing him bemoan the newfangled sound of the Stanley Brothers, which he thought was helping to ruin country music. It may not be all relative, but in my view a lot more is than isn’t.

Furthermore, while relative strength may change, I’ve never felt that I wasn’t able to fill up as much listening time as I wanted to with music I liked. If you have to dig a little deeper to find it at some times, well, that’s getting easier and easier to do, isn’t it? Isn’t that what all this newfangled internet stuff is supposed to be about? If you don’t like what you hear on country radio, don’t listen, and spend your time getting your music elsewhere. Us bluegrass people got used to that a long time ago – back in the golden yesteryear of the 60s, in fact ;-) – and it’s about time more folks got used to doing that, too. Country radio is what it is, and it’s an increasingly small part of the country music scene.

In my opinion, anyone who really wants to compare what country radio is like today with yesteryear needs to spend some time poring over the historical chart books and, if you’re not old enough to remember the songs you’re seeing listed, doing your best to listen to them. I guarantee it’ll be an eye opener.

KGSR fits a crapload of good songs on their station.

Sorry for the double post, but I’m just amazed at the number of “defensive” type posts that thumbs-down reviews elicit from slobbering fanboiz/girlz. There are some acts that I’m passionate about, but I just don’t understand how anyone can be so blindly devoted to anyone or anything. “But he’s such a nice guy, this is such a nice song blah blah blah, yakkidy smakkkidy” doesn’t hold weight. There’s a thing called constructive criticism, you know, and it’s not always positive. I think the fanboiz/girlz are the ones who need to wake up as much as the PD’s do.

Also, Why can’t people understand that hating an artist’s song is NOT the same as hating the artist? I didn’t care much for “More Like Her”. Does that mean I hate Miranda Lambert? Heck no. It just means I didn’t care much for “More Like Her”.

My opinion on this song? Lyrically, it’s a rewrite of “Take Me There” only maybe even a little shallower. But it does sound great; it has a more interesting melody and a nuanced vocal performance, and it’s not overproduced or anything. Judging entirely from his US single releases, I get the sense that Adam has a strong voice but is a little lacking in the lyric department.

I dunno. I have yet to be as bummed out by the current state of country radio these days as I was for the first half of the ’90s. Particularly with respect to women’s voices. For better or worse (and I agree that it’s often worse), they don’t seem to be quite so interchangeable now as they did fifteen years ago.

God, I agree. Jim Malec in his fantasy land with his silly wishin’ after ‘good’ songs, that are ‘well written’ and all that other hokum. What does he think this is? Narnia? Middle Earth? Get a clue, Jimbo!

I would have expected more out of Lee Brice. I don’t know how the rest of you feel about his stuff, but I loved “Happy Endings,” and to an extent “She Ain’t Right.”

Wow, I didn’t think Gregory’s song was THAT bad. It’s kind of like a Harlequin Romance. You read it and you forget….. Not a lasting song. But, I do like his voice and would like to hear him on the radio again.

I don’t know what makes a good country song, but I do know what I like. Right now I’m listening to Randy Houser’s “Anything Goes” on my local radio. There’s a song with a good melody, clever lyric, and a big soul.

It’s fun to read 9513 blogs and be able to provide comments on all different kinds of country music.

Hello….who are you to write such a HORRIBLE article. What the hell is THE9513.COM…what a loser website! Are you some writer that can’t make it Nashville so you bash other writers/artists! You and your website are a JOKE!! I suppose you are a fan of Darius “I can’t make it my own format/genre so I went Country” Rucker! This website SUCKS….and so does your review of the song Jim Malec, It is quite obvious you can’t make it at a real website or publication!

It is pretty clear that Kris is either (a) totally clueless or (b) a shill for Adam Gregory. In either case his/her/its opinion is of no consequence

As I found out that most people that leave comments on Jim Malec’s song reviews work for this website…LOL!! THIS WEBSITE AND ITS EMPLOYEES SUCK!!! LOSERS THAT CAN’T GET JOBS IN NASHVILLE OR LOCAL COUNTRY STATIONS!! It is obvious that people that work on this website have NOT had any country/music/genre jobs prior to starting to this blog website, as that is all it is!
Keep bashing, as this website will be closed within 6 months.

I agree with Jim. The lyrics, when you read them, basically mean this: “I want to know everything about you so I can take advantage of you”. That message alone is pretty depraved, and Adam does sound pretty depraved in this song.

This is coming from a Canadian in Edmonton; Adam’s old stomping ground. I hate to say this, Adam-lovers, but his latest album is focused purely on elevating his stature as an artist, and has nothing to do with craft.