Album Review: Josh Turner - Everything is Fine
Country artists take note: Josh Turner and producer Frank Rogers have just issued an audio textbook in Contemporary Album Production. And I’m assigning it as required listening. There will be a test.
Turner’s third studio album manages to avoid the tragically over-textured sound that plagues most of its contemporaries, and it proves that yes, Virginia, there are acoustic instruments in modern country music after all.
Everything is Fine is a series of smartly sparse tracks which showcases perfectly placed musical hooks and exquisite melodic construction throughout. And whereas many of today’s “albums” are little more than seemingly random assortments of same-sounding songs that bleed together into a stream of hypnotic boringness, Everything Is Fine is very much an album in the sense that its individual elements are distinctive and memorable on their own, while still fitting a broader artistic vision and context.
That context, which Turner dubs “South Carolina low country” on the album’s closing track, is a charming and warm aesthetic that, despite it’s sometimes less than sophisticated lyrical approach (see: “Trailerhood”), feels authentic, natural, and comfortable.
What’s even more impressive about this latest effort from Hannah, South Carolina’s favorite son, however, is that the typically conservative artist has taken a fair share of unexpected musical risks. Yes, the record has a tendency to dissolve into Turner’s usual pining over his wife, family, and Jesus, but it also finds him stretching vocally on “Nowhere Fast,” a duet with R&B artist Anthony Hamilton that shines as the album’s highlight and one of the finest cross-genre collaborations in a very long time. (Sorry, Jamie Foxx.)
Elsewhere, “Another Try,” featuring fellow Belmont University graduate Trisha Yearwood, is a surprisingly progressive deviation from Turner’s generally upbeat radio persona, and the quasi-Americana narrative “The Longer The Waiting (The Sweeter The Kiss),” is nothing if not stunning.
Still, this album isn’t perfect. The title track is a frustratingly cliché laundry list of typical country motifs (wife, family, truck, dog, church, the river, the moonlight, good job, etc), and songs like “Soulmate” and “Baby, I Go Crazy” consistently settle for easy, predictable rhymes.
But it’s difficult (and unfair) to fault an album for not being deep or poetic when it neither tries to be nor needs to be–and there are enough excellent lyrical moments here to offset the sometimes marginal material.
Everything Is Fine might not be the kind of record that launches Turner into global superstardom–it is a humble record; at times a deceptively simple record; and it is a record that is strongly laced with traditional undertones. At the same time, however, it is a record that shows considerable growth over his previous two releases, and, in this critic’s opinion, it is a record that far exceeds expectations.
Recommended Tracks: “Nowhere Fast“, “Another Try“, “The Longer The Waiting (The Sweeter The Kiss)“.
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Trackback URI for this postNovember 5, 2007
[...] Josh Turner - Everything Is Fine Everything Is Fine might not be the kind of record that launches Turner into global superstardom–it is a humble record; at times a deceptively simple record; and it is a record that is strongly laced with traditional undertones. At the same time, however, it is a record that shows considerable growth over his previous two releases, and, in this critic’s opinion, it is a record that far exceeds expectations. — Jim Malec [...]
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November 4, 2007 at 10:49 am Permalink
Josh does spread his wings a bit on this album. I didn’t think that “Another Try” would turn out as well as it did. However, the album still more or less adheres to the formula of his first two releases. It’s not a bad formula, and Turner and Frank Rogers have basically perfected it with this release. I still think that Turner’s interpretive abilities are very narrow and it’s only because he knows his limits that it hasn’t been rudely exposed.
November 4, 2007 at 11:26 am Permalink
Other than “Firecracker” which really is a fun song, what other songs do you think will do well on radio?
I’m guessing that “Another Try” will be released eventually and could be a huge hit.
This isn’t a very radio-friendly album, so it will be interesting to see how it does.
November 4, 2007 at 12:54 pm Permalink
Great review, Jim. I was thoroughly impressed by this album, and I hope it does well for Josh. I liked both duets as well, especially the one with Yearwood.
I don’t know, though. “Still Feels Good” is a far better album as a whole. Nothing can surpass the lyrical masterpiece “Bob That Head.” (sarcasm)
November 4, 2007 at 4:09 pm Permalink
Pierce–
I actually think this has some material that stands a chance at radio…but predicting singles is near impossible. Here’s what my short list would look like:
- “Everything Is Fine” — Yes, it’s pure fluff, but the average radio listener likes fluff.
- “Another Try” — If this comes as a third or fourth single, I think it would be smart. As a follow-up to “Firecracker”, however, I think it would come off as too much of a deviation.
- “So Not My Baby” — This follows the formula that has brought Turner to this point in his career, and has a solid hook.
Dave S– Thanks, and I think I completely missed the mark in my Still Feels Good review ;-)
November 4, 2007 at 5:26 pm Permalink
It wasn’t that I didn’t like the album, I just didn’t think it had the standout tracks that were present on his previous albums. As a concept, though, I agree with your review. Even though Turner’s interpretive ability seems to be limited, as Matt pointed out, I think he has more potential than what is showcased on this album. I would have given it a lower rating, but good review nonetheless.
November 4, 2007 at 6:13 pm Permalink
Brady–
I gave it as high a rating as I did because, given the context of Turner’s career, I don’t think he could have made a better record.
And my personal opinion is that an album does not exist in a vacuum–what makes a Josh Turner record a 4.5 is different than what makes a Dixie Chicks album a 4.5.
I know that some critics disagree with that methodology, but if we’re not willing to scale our metrics to a degree of subjectivity, our final ratings will fail to reflect the context of the artist and what he/she/they were trying to accomplish.
November 4, 2007 at 7:47 pm Permalink
As usual, I’m a full week behind The 9513 - I’ve just finally posted a Carrie Underwood album review - but I think that you’ve written a great piece on this album with some keen observations.
Regarding the star system, I think that each reviewer uses it a little bit differently. For me, it’s absolute and doesn’t vary from artist to artist, and that’s apparent if you read a lot of my album reviews. I think what’s cool about The 9513 is that there’s more than one regular writer, so when you’re reading reviews, you get a sense of each writer’s individual tastes, and how close they are to your own. If your tastes are more like Jim Malec or Matt C, for example, you’re more likely to pay attention to 4.5 stars from that writer.
November 15, 2007 at 10:01 pm Permalink
After owning Josh’s previous two CDs and not being super impressed with the song selection, I can now officially state that this is my favorite release from Turner thus far.
That being said, he still has to work on his choice of recordings. He is evolving as an artist and finding out what works and what doesn’t. Firecracker won’t hit #1 and I’m 100% sure that none of the other songs will either.
“Another Try” will probably be the next single, which is very well written and sung beautifully, but a top five single? Imagine hearing that inbetween the pop-infused garbage a majority of artists are throwing out there today. “So Not My Baby” I believe has the best chance of making this a hit CD. “Baby I Go Crazy” could also be radio friendly.
I hope to God that I am wrong but Josh’s radio success because I would love nothing more than to hear more of his voice on the radio, but changing the minds of these “country music” loving people is going to be harder than selling more albums than Garth Brooks.
November 16, 2007 at 1:45 am Permalink
I have a feature on my show Tuesday nights called “Double-L’s Taste Test Tuesday”. I give my listeners a “taste” of the latest CD in stores that day. Sometimes, I run a week or three behind, but this week, I ran with “Everything Is Fine”. Other than “Soulmate” which I’m sure I should’ve found romantic but just got bored (sorry Josh & John Anderson!) with, I really love this record. My FAVE track and the tune I hope to come out next on radio is “So Not My Baby”. I LOVE the hook in this song and think everyone’ll be singing along immediately, which is what I want in radio, what Josh wants in fans and what the labels want in $$$! But beyond and and all of that, let’s hear it for “Nowhere Fast” which turned out REALLY well with a cool mesh of similar yet strikingly different rich voices and a cool Celtic-sounding “The Longer The Waiting”. All in all, Josh is doing a great job of melding “current pop-country” with the classic, more traditional sound that I love. I’ve got two thumbs, and they’re both goin’ up for this one.
November 24, 2007 at 7:43 am Permalink
What about “One Woman Man”? I love that song! Makes me want to get up and dance!
December 6, 2007 at 7:58 pm Permalink
My roommate and I decided that you should make a Christmas CD. You need to sing the song Baby it’s Cold Outside!
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