Album Review: Big & Rich – Between Raising Hell And Amazing Grace

Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace is a mish-mash of mediocre, cliché-ridden, and thematically unrelated songs that, at best, sounds more like a collection of demos than the highly anticipated third album from a duo that has sold over 4 million units.

Weak? No, my friends, “weak” is not the word needed to accurately describe this project.

There is a great deal of irony in the fact that the most commercially successful single of Big & Rich’s career-to-date, “Lost In This Moment,” comes from what may be one of the most disappointing and underachieving records I’ve ever heard.

Weak? Let’s get something straight…this isn’t just weak. It’s a complete disaster. Complete. Disaster.

You may have liked what “Cowboy Stevie Wonder” (John Rich), and his partner, the “Universal Minister of Love” (Big Kenny Alphin), achieved on their first two albums. Or you may have hated their unabashed fusion of country, rock and rap that boiled over into some genre-busting musical gumbo. Either way, it’s hard to deny that the duo’s freshman and sophomore releases were full of energy, freshness, and a cocky, out-to-save-the-world attitude.

It’s hard to find any of those things on Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace; instead, the duo has settled for a collection of average-or-worse songs that have absolutely no logical reason for being on an album together. And it seems as if even the Big & Rich team at Warner Bros. knows this, because instead of designing a track-list that accentuates the album as a whole, the record is split into ‘Side A’ (ballads) and ‘Side B’ (up-tempos). The second half is cleverly introduced by Big Kenny as “Side B! Side B!”

“Lost In This Moment” is not, in itself, a bad song–however, from the first time I heard it, I wondered why Big & Rich, the same group that sang about riding cowboys, love trains, and Deadwood Mountain, would release what is nothing more than a typical wedding song. Where is the duo that gave me my beloved Super Galactic Fan Pack? Where is the duo that had a hidden track on their debut album featuring the line, “green green grass and a rubber Russian bimbo”?

The title track, which is actually the second song on the album even though it appears as track #3 (track #1 is an unintelligible sound clip that, I think, says something about ‘one purpose’), has what is perhaps the longest hook I’ve ever heard–”somewhere between raising hell and amazing grace.” It’s so long you could discard every other lyric in the song and still get the entire story.

On a similar note, you might expect a duo with as many songwriting accolades as Big & Rich to at least attempt something unique in a song titled “Eternity”–surely, two of the most successful songwriters of the decade wouldn’t simply write a song focused around what is one of the most cliché ideas ever. But, you guessed it, they did. They want to love you for eternity. How…inspired. Furthermore, “Eternity” supposedly features R&B star John Legend…although after at least a half-dozen listens, I can’t tell you in what capacity he appears (I assume he’s playing piano).

The other big guest appearance is Wyclef Jean, on the song, “Please Man,” which begs the listener, “please man, don’t call the policeman.” Nice one there, boys.

And so it goes with the rest of the album. If you are able to force yourself to listen to the entire thing, you’ll hear gems such as: “…Just can’t let this old world get us down”; “It’s complicated when love has faded”; and, of course, who could forget, “Callin’ all the cowboys/Don’t be afraid to make some noise.”

My favorite lyric, however, comes from the song “High Five,” where Big Kenny sings, “I just gave the moon a high five.”

Tell me, Big Kenny, is the moon made of as much cheese as this album?

But it gets worse. Much worse. Thanks to Big & Rich, I now have a new “worst cover song ever.” See, when I looked at the track list, and saw the title, “You Shook Me All Night Long,” I got excited, because I assumed that these wild and crazy guys would do something fun, funky, and rockin’ with what is perhaps one of the most loved rock songs of all freakin’ time. But no, they didn’t, and let me tell you–a twangy, silly, countrified cover of an AC/DC classic is not something you want to hear.

There is one truly bright spot on this record–track #4, “Faster Than Angels Fly.” It boasts a smoky, soulful sound, telling the story of “a modern day Romeo and Juliet.” It’s smart, edgy, and contains some genuinely memorable lyrics, including, from the chorus: “Strong as the beads of a rosary/Never too young to die/Some souls only know one speed/Faster than angels fly.” This song is just so good, and it is a shame that the rest of the album doesn’t even come close to the standard it sets.

On the production side, the album is sloppy and seems sparse in places that it shouldn’t. It is also highly Kenny-centric (he’s the dominant vocalist for most of the record), which is not entirely a bad thing–Kenny is a more soulful vocalist than Rich…but he is nowhere near the writer, and one has to wonder if Rich’s ridiculously packed schedule (he’s currently producing Jewel, for example), has taken a toll on his ability to participate in his own duo.

There is one thing that could have saved this album, though. It needs a song featuring Lil’ Jon. (See picture below, from this year’s ACM Awards). Some “WHAT!“, “YEAH!” and “OK!” might have helped inject much-needed life into an otherwise dead effort. And hey–it would have made as much sense as any of the rest of the record.

Recommended Tracks: “Faster Than Angels Fly“; “When The Devil Gets The Best Of Me“.