Caitlin & Will – “Even Now”
George and Tammy, Conway and Loretta, Porter and Dolly and of course, Johnny and June—these are the golden standards by which all country duets or duos should be judged. (Interestingly enough, none of these artists performed exclusively together, nor did they have cute little symbols (“&”, “+”) between their names.)
Duets or duos amplify the personal relationship—a cornerstone of country music. In these bi-vocal numbers, we get both sides of the story, often in a compare and contrast model. It’s great when a solo artist can convey the stark reality of their emotions, but when two artists come together and reveal the rawness of their true feelings about each other, that’s even more enjoyable—when done right.
Enter Caitlin & Will—the winners of CMT’s Can You Duet— with “Even Now” (Casey Beathard/Karyn Rochelle), a radio-friendly song that accurately portrays the feelings of a couple which has split but still yearns for one another.
The lyrics find each party acknowledging their impulsive actions after the break-up and both come to realize that they were simply masking their true feelings. Enough damage has been done to both sides, and they should be “even now” —and after all of that hurt, they still love each other “even now.”
While the concept doesn’t seem all that unique, and the imagery isn’t very vivid, the song succeeds with its understated, regretful tone. Here, the production and performance make the song enjoyable—not the lyrics.
Caitlin & Will tackle this kind of song with true conviction. Aside from Caitlin over-singing her first few lines, the song maintains a certain soft-spoken quality that feels real and tangible. Even the obligatory dramatic guitar solo is done tastefully, not moving into unmitigated territory.
“Even Now” is a perfect introduction statement for Caitlin & Will to make to country radio. Both the song and the artist are radio-ready—sporting commercial viability with just enough edge to make things interesting.
No, Caitlin & Will don’t live up to the golden standard of Jones and Wynette–not yet anyway–but their first effort earns them a solid bronze.
Listen: Caitlin & Will – “Even Now”
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February 3, 2009 at 10:31 am Permalink
I am really glad you gave this one a thumbs up. Caitlin was my favorite singer on Can You Duet from the beginning. And even though I kinda preferred Joey + Rory’s more traditional sound, she and will were still my picks for winners. Especially after their performance of ‘Like We Never Loved At All’. I didn’t really care for the song until I heard those 2 sing it … and man, I was blown away.
Does this mean the song is finally getting shipped to radio? I’ve been waiting since December for that.
February 3, 2009 at 10:32 am Permalink
@J.R.–yes, it’s going to radio.
February 3, 2009 at 11:18 am Permalink
I can understand why these two won “Can You Duet”. Caitlin can sound like a combination of Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert and Will a combo of Tim McGraw and Travis Tritt. Talk about radio freindly voices in today’s mainstream marketplace!
I think this song is okay but falls short of some of their other offerings on their MySpace website. This song doesn’t strike me as being catchy or unique enough to be a sure thing breakout debut hit at radio, but I’ll admit to being completely out of touch with the format these days.
To me Joey + Rory were the real stand outs due to Rory’s songwriting skills. If Caitlin and Will just sing other people’s songs then I’m not really interested, but that’s where the marketplace is these days.
Now the question is how Kacey & Kate Coppola will fare in the radio battle of “Can You Duet” contestants! (lol)
February 3, 2009 at 11:29 am Permalink
I thought Joey & Rory probably should have won Can You Duet, but I wonder if Caitlin or Will would have been given a chance had they not won? I doubt it, which is why I’m glad they got the opportunity and am impressed with this release.
As for whether or not this is a perfect introduction, I’m not sure it has what it takes to break a new act to radio, so it’ll be interesting to see how it fares.
February 3, 2009 at 12:23 pm Permalink
I was ok with these guys winning over Joey + Rory, in the sense that they were more what the judges seemed to be looking for (they did put them together), and they are very talented, of course.
I like this song, and dig the fact that a fast paced, cliche-filled party anthem wasnt picked as the first single from them, as that seems to be mainly the way to go with breaking new acts these days.
Also, thats a really good press photo of them (nothing more, just thought I’d throw that in)…
February 3, 2009 at 12:58 pm Permalink
I like it. I like the song, and I like the way they sing it. I hope it does well.
February 3, 2009 at 2:35 pm Permalink
I bought this song when it first came out..got it from I-tunes. To me this is a wonderful country song and I’m anxious to see what comes next. Good review!
February 3, 2009 at 3:04 pm Permalink
Rick: “Now the question is how Kacey & Kate Coppola will fare in the radio battle of “Can You Duet” contestants!”
They’re taking their time the way Caitlin & Will have been, but I’m sure Kate & Kacey are going to do nicely on the charts, they have great songwriting talent and vocal ability
February 3, 2009 at 4:16 pm Permalink
The Coppollas were BORING!! I did feel a tad sorry for them as they were getting bashed by Judd every week, but I think they will fit the bill as far as the airhead country that Rick bashes so frequently…
February 3, 2009 at 4:25 pm Permalink
I did like their immaturish song that dissed Naomi though. I love the Judds, but I think Mama Judd is kinda nasty under all of those southern niceties.
February 3, 2009 at 4:55 pm Permalink
Wow, I really liked this song. Caitlin’s voice is fantastic. I was wondering where they had gone, because I hadn’t heard anything about them lately.I think they will do well in country music.
February 4, 2009 at 9:52 am Permalink
I’d give this song a thumbs up…very nice production when lyric factors are not included in the mix.
February 9, 2009 at 12:08 pm Permalink
Caitlin & Will were my favorites to win! I love Even Now, and love the additional songs they have on my space! They are a great talent. Can’t wait to hear and see more of this fantastic duo! Will they be hosting or judging the up coming 2009 Can You Duet????
February 10, 2009 at 10:02 pm Permalink
WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!!!! Finally we get our first review on 9513 and THANK GOD ITS A THUMBS UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Will and I really cant tell you guys how much we appreciate how objective and honest you guys are. We fully intend to send ya’ll our new record when we can…like it or not we know you will always be honest. So thanks for that. Its refreshing.
JR…dude, you’ve always stuck with us…I believe you are our friend on myspace…do me a favor…send us your mailing address, we’d like to send you a pic because of how patient and supportive you have been with us!
YES! AS I TYPE we are ON THE RADIO TOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Trying to charm the pants off the radio gateway with our acoustic show. We are in Kansas and are having the time of our lives. Trust me when I say this we are constantly looking around and being thankful for what we’ve been blessed to do. Meeting the radio programmers, music directors and other staff members really has been the highlight because we always love meeting new people, looking them in the eye and essentially slapping our guts, heart and soul in their hands and saying “here ya go!” Its a huge rush and we can hardly wait until what comes next!
Rick, I had the honor of being a writer on both “Dark Horse” and “Address in the Stars” (a song about my Aunt Lisa who passed in 2006 of breast cancer). Will also co-wrote Dark Horse and has a song called “Pay the Bills” which will be released outside of the album. I am a self proclaimed better singer than songwriter and I accept that. There are TONS of amazing songwriters that dont have the best voices but the songs and talents that need to be heard and if I can be that vessel for them, then I couldnt be more honored. I love writing and am constantly trying to improve upon those skills but I hope maybe someday you change your mind about the singer not writing their own songs thing. But for now until then, I (Will is an amazing songwriter and doesnt have to work as hard as I do at this) will do my damndest to make sure to write material worthy for our future albums so we dont lose ya!!!!! (PS if you havent already, DH and AitS is on our myspace if you would like to take a listen!)
Debi, CMT is still having meetings to try to place us in Can you Duet 2, but we have made it completely clear to them that they have our FULL cooperation!!!!! We would love to do the first mentoring session to get the CYD newbies geared up! But we will see!!!!!!!!
Anyway, thank you so so much for reviewing our single Pierce and we cant wait to work with you guys more intimately in the future!!!!!!!!
xoxo Caitlin
February 10, 2009 at 10:20 pm Permalink
Neat.
February 12, 2009 at 5:24 am Permalink
I love this song and I can’t wait for the full album. I have to say that I was rooting for Joey + Rory because I’m from the traditional country crowd, but Caitlin won me over because she was such a class act on the CYD message board. After that, I started really listening to her voice and – WOW!!! – she scored a new fan. I also think Will is precious and I wish them a long and successful career.
February 12, 2009 at 8:05 pm Permalink
Caitlin & Will you are the greatest….looking forward to hearing more of ya…
April 8, 2009 at 10:51 am Permalink
I enjoy your music Caitlin and can’t wait to run into Lori to see her eyes sparkle. Miss the fun old days. Good luck dear> Miss Mary
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