Album Review: Gary Allan – Living Hard

Well Brady, I guess we more or less agree with the record as a whole. I even was about to put a 3.5 star rating onto it but chose the 4 instead for a couple of the truly brilliant tracks.

Nice no b.s. review. I wanted to love this album myself but it just hasn’t happened yet. Gary’s still better than 95% of radio country regardless. I noticed the bad timing of “She’s So California” too.

Good one Brady. I’ve only listed through one time but te CD seemed kind of “light” compared to gary’s other work. More hook laden, less gritty.

Matt: Which tracks did you think were brilliant? There are some great ones, I just want to get your opinion.

Dave S: Thanks.

Ornry & Mean: I think if you forget that you want it to be just like his other material, it’s actually pretty good.

Natalie: That’s a nice summary, and I too miss Smoke Rings In The Dark

Baron: The album wasn’t quite what I expected, but I do like it aside from a couple of tracks. I saw the Rolling Stone review and thought it was terrible and grounded more in rock than country, or even Allan’s personal history. Another cowboy hat? I’d say far from it.

Oh I also think national ‘rock’ mags like Rolling Stone and Blender don’t know what to do with a country record except take potshots at them.

The first time I heard this album I almost cried out of disappointment. What a bunch of mediocre crap. Sorry folks, maybe I should give it some continued listening but I still don’t like the record. After Tough All Over my expectations were very high, but songs like Wrecking Ball and Living Hard are probably the worst he’s ever done. Don’t get me wrong, I do like hard rocking songs, but these two consist entirely of awful rock cliches, Gary sounds like a fool here. I’m also very disappointed by the overall sound of the album, just one big porridge of sound. Compare that to the clearness of Tough All Over which had a few uptempo rocking songs too. Can’t find one song that is as good as the worst on TAO.
I bet in twenty years time looking back this album will be considered his worst.

I have become a recent fan of Gary Allan. In the past I have listened to his music on the radio, but recently with the Watching Airplanes song, made me want to investigate his background. Reading some of his history, the one thing that comes to mind is, “timing has not been on his side”. I believe that Gary is a diamond in the rough, still waiting to go into the superbowl. I feel that his time is nearing, but still has a few lessons to learn. He is not quite comfortable in his own skin, yet. He appears to be the kind of man that he may feel people don’t understand him. Only when you are completely centered, and on steady ground, may timing be right.

Tim: I don’t know that Gary Allan would be flattered to be compared with Kenny and Keith.

Gary has said some very unflattering things about the kind of music that Keith and Kenny make.

“I can’t believe what i just read! I wonder just how country you really are brady V!”

What exactly would make me country, Tim?

“I spent alot of years in the midwest seeing people act all the same, and I’ll tell ya, it sucks, and its boring.”

Generalize much?

“Perfect example, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, and yes last but not least George Strait! They all have one thing in common, they are themselves and have their own style and sound, and look how sucessful they all are (meaning they still make money and contiue to attract new young listeners)thank you! You are evidently part of the mainstream country bull you always see and hear(boring). Gary is a musician just like the others i mentioned early with others like Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney. If you listen to all the people(MUSICIANS!)i have mentioned they all are country with a heavy rock influence!”

Could you explain how Haggard, Willie, Hank, George Strait, and Kenny Chesney are heavily influenced by rock?

This wasn’t even a negative review. If it was, it wouldn’t have been republished on Gary’s own website.

brady v. – first i apologize if you felt i was attacking you personally, which i was not(just the review). I know we all have diffences, but what i meant was contrasting Gary’s past albums, it seams to me that living hard is’t country enough because of it’s rock edge he has brought to the table this time. If you would assume that this is a change, yes it is, but does it mean it’s not for the better, no. I’m just given my view of the matter, which it tells me this album Gary put out does not please 100% of traditional country music listeners. It seams the less twang and more rock intoduced, it begins to freak certain people out(traditional). I respect that, but you need to understand that all the musicians i have mentioned at one time or another put on a rock or blues album or turned up their car radio to a jamming tune. Now as for the rock influence, come on man, give me a break. I’m sure you have heard of Elvis, Buddy Holly, Beatles, etc… As for Gary, Kenny, and Keith comments, how about Led Zepplin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, 38. Special, Gun’s N Rose’s, etc… If someone can’t hear the sounds of influence of rock into their styles, I’ll explain real quick. Each one has takin their style with influence to the extreme by crossing the boundries and norm so they don’t sound the same but show the bird to the mainstream for their sake of staying true to themselves and sane. I’m hearing more positives than negatives about Gary’s new album(living hard)and country music fans being his best yet and not just because of the rock edge, but because blending the two together(country and rock)you feel and hear more raw emotion’s the fans have long been waiting for in country even within their own lives. The messages in this album not only is healing Gary(GOD Bless his Family)but the masses of fans and new ones coming to the radio and shows because of his style of music he plays and it shows on stage every night that he is the real deal and people can hear and see that. In Gary’s own words, i was raised with the west coast bands-i don’t changed for anyone i stay the way i am – i don’t do this for fame, i do this for ME – it soothes my soul and keeps my sanity.

brady v.- Ok, i’ll explain my opinion(just like yours)again.Turning on the radio to a tune does not merely give influance to a certain style, but to say there is none, i really don’t understand how by their styles you can’t see that. You don’t need a loud guitar with pounding drums to notice certain sounds. Back in the day of Elvis, the rock sound was not as heavy as it was progressing through the decades, that is my point about change brought on by influnaces through certain styles especially rock. And yes, blues and rock are the same(even if you can’t hear the difference)because rock and blues where both derived from the influance of country and gospal music. Emotions is what people notice within the different sounds. Now, I’m sure you can listen to a country song from any of the musicians i’ve mentioned and notice the influance of a rocking guitar solo, the thumping of a bluesy bass line, and a chorus of a gospal sound and notice the influance, because i sure can. Now you mentioned Kenny as being mainstream, ya, I would also agree that he is closer to the mainstream than the others, but i think your just looking at the softer side of his music because most of his other songs are country with HIS style of his rock influance being shown without the traditional country sounds being heard(not all his songs). That is my point about being independent in telling the mainstream where to go if they try forcing him out of his comfort zone which is what you can hear through his style(Toby Keith is an example). Now do i have make it sound like you need to be like DAC to be a rebel within country with a rock influance, because if so, my point is only that they are influenced from the times of history of rock they where around in their own times. Now the only reason you would consider Kenny being mainstream is because of his slower songs which more women apprieciate than men. I know you heard of the phrase sex, drugs(beer 4 country), and rock-n-roll, and im sure you have seen Kenny use the horns(reference to rock) in his video’s and shows. And the emotions not needing to be borrowed, they don’t have to be because they are there in all facets of styles through traditional to the edge of the country sounds, and to say country and blues are not the same, you need to understand where the sounds and emotions came from(do a research on them)if you want to make it sound like it’s a color thing. Because you will hear all kinds of different sounds from other countries, but all styles through the history of this country came from gospal and country influance. Now which Hank are you talking about, because Sr. had a little blues edge to his sound but with his own make which put him at his time in the same boat like his son on the edge of mainstream without being traditional, that is why Sr. was also groundbreaking at his time. You can’t be groundbreaking and traditional at the same time, it does not work(because of changed through influence). Now is the 70’s country sound traditionaly the same as the 40’s, no. But you can hear the similarities within the traditional artist and the groundbreakers influence through their styles.

brady – First of all i’m not arguing with you at all. Second i did not mean heavy in the sense of thier music sounds like rock, but the attitude they present is of a rebel feel through their influance, meaning they don’t go the traditional route. Thats the rebel feel and emotion you get from rock and blues. They do not get thier sounds just from traditional country. And you need to do some research on American music history. And last but not least, I’m not arguing with myself, and I’m not arguing with you, just a different point of view with knowledge of facts. I’m sorry your not educated in the realm of music history, thats your problem and i told you i respect your opinion, but facts are facts whether you like them or not. This is what i mean by how country are you(it’s not personal). It seams to me your traditional to the extent you don’t like change, which is what every one of the musicians I mentioned does and did, the crossing of the comfort line that traditionalists do not like because of influance through other styles of music which in rock and blues you get. Gary’s new album is an example of how it grew on you, but at first you seemed to not really understand the way he went and why. Music heals, and thats what every one of musicians i mentioned do and did through thier influance of styles. You mean to tell me when they all picked up a guitar for the first time they never learned or played a rock or yes, even a blues song.

brody – So am I, because i’m sure dot and my employer especially my girlfriend would not like it one bit. Yes I’m a truckdriver and i do understand what your getting at which sounds like a shot at my comments. I hope you don’t think i’m like that because that sounds more like a judgemental attack other than an opinion with they way(and reason?) you put that down and we don’t even know one-another.

brady – A few bad one’s(songs), crazy guitars, a rockfest, that’s what i meant about influances from your reveiw. It just seemed to me you was not apprieciating the full aspect of this album and what it means with it’s rock and country edge.
Who cares if you think it’s not as country to you as his other albums because of the rock edge it has. I know i can listen to his other albums and still hear the rock influance, so why make the comments on your reveiw about a few songs being bad one’s, because i’m sure i pick the one’s you must not like and i’m sure you know which one’s i’m talking about. I have the feeling you must only, and i mean only, listen to country(do ya). And for the traditionalist comment, it’s not about the like of them, it was just about the edge of their music where at least through the lyrics and music written i can hear the influance of other styles of music, not that they are rockers. I’m pretty sure if i mention Garth Brooks as having a rock edge and influance, you’re might just fall off your rocker. I know not everybody likes rock, but at least music(all music)lovers understands what i mean. And what do you mean by traditionalist like those artist, you make it sound like all traditionalist like them. I’m going by what i know and can hear in the music. I talk to traditional country lovers and not all of them like those artists, mainly because of their edge which is nothing but a different style with influences, that’s it. I have a long family history of all kinds of music being played and listen to in my family. My favorite styles are country, rock, blues, and christian. By the way, i do play music myself(Bass and sax), i think i may have a little understanding of this knowledge when it comes to this subject and I’m sorry about how you must feel about the review you gave not being something i agree with. You are a critic right, then you must know a nice comment over a reveiw is not always going to come your way, right!?

brady – You wanna be that way, fine, you sound like a communist. what i noticed about you and your incoherent(big word for a critic) comments is that you had an opinion and gave it, i had an opinion and gave it, is this not what this site is about or just baby talk from you, so what’s the big deal huh! I told you where my comments and knowledge comes from and what do i get from the famous critic who does not like to be second guessed huh!? Nothing but you asking me questions, that’s it. You wanna be a critic, you better be able to take it just as much as you give it. I did not know you specifically wanted me to explain how worthwhile the songs are you dislike, i was talking about the album as a whole(must be one in your head too). I was just making a statement about your displeasure in the album having a rock edge and my opinion of why Gary went that way, and gave examples of others that did the same through their influences, that’s it. And as for insulting, go to Gary’s website and read his Bio on what he thinks about reviews and critics. As for asking about how dare i come here and question your knowledge, there’s really not much to question were there’s nothing to question when it comes to your arrogance. I know you are a part of running this site, but how dare you invite country music listeners to this site and try to force them to listen and agree to the stupidity coming from yourself talking about your knowledge and questioning others. So i don’t agree with ya, so what, your one sad excuse for a critic, to me,it seems that you have a need for controlling people’s comments while throwing out your own inchoherent jiberish, Good day mr.brady

Lol, I don’t have the time or the patience to sort through those novellas that Tim posted. I do find it funny Gary would say anything bad about Keith, since Keith invited him to open for him on his tour last year. Guess Keith didn’t read whatever he said.