Gary Allan – “Watching Airplanes”
Gary Allan clearly stands in the stead of Bakersfield heroes like Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Dwight Yoakam, so it’s appropriate that he record a modern day “Silver Wings.” The difference is that in this song, the dejected ex doesn’t know which plane his departing lover is on, so instead of longing after one pair of “Silver Wings,” he’s stuck “Watching Airplanes.”
I think that the lyric fails Allan here. It lacks the mournful simplicity of a song like “Silver Wings” yet still leaves little to the imagination. The chorus is strong and possesses that trademark “tear your heart out” quality, but the redundant verses struggle to create some kind of context that is never really developed. The writers should have stopped before the disastrous verse two, an amalgam of fluffy cheatin’ song sound bytes that robs the song’s potential. Ultimately, this song is not as good as it should be.
Allan’s vocal sounds caught in between the two approaches exemplified by the verses and the chorus. Still, it’s nearly flawless given the circumstances, and the chorus is a darn good Bakersfield weeper. Allan’s honky tonk style is unlike anything else on radio and I applaud an artist willing to release an unadulterated sad song instead of the happy slice-of-life ditties that currently dominate the charts. Those two realities are sufficient to earn a hesitant thumbs-up from me.
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Trackback URI for this postJuly 24, 2007
[...] asking about his newest single, that would be “Watching Airplanes” which Matt reviewed for The 9513. – [...]
September 5, 2007
[...] Rings In The Dark for a handful of songs. The audience was graced with two performances of “Watching Airplanes” while the film crew took footage for the music video. In between songs Allan told an excited [...]
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July 12, 2007 at 9:17 pm Permalink
I think the lyrics are great…or maybe it’s because Gary sings the song and i’m blinded by the lyrics. I think you can feel the pain in the song when he’s singing it. I saw him sing it live and it left me speechless.
July 17, 2007 at 12:32 pm Permalink
I can see where Matt’s coming from. I just heard the song yesterday and fell in love with it. Well, it’s hard not to when Gary Allan is your favorite singer. I understand what Matt’s getting at with the lyrics, but I also believe Jenna has a point. This song would be excellent to sing live. You can really touch people and get them to feel it. Espeically with the swagger of Gary’s voice. I think it’s a good song. And if you think about it, some songs that really don’t have much behind them have made it high on the music charts.
July 17, 2007 at 1:36 pm Permalink
this one gets two thumbs up. great vocal performance, i think. gary allan is highly underrated.
July 18, 2007 at 9:35 am Permalink
There’s a couple of corny lyrics, but I liked is vocal performance as well. To me, Gary Allan is the Tim Duncan of country music–underrated and underappreciated, but I think it adds to their appeal.
July 20, 2007 at 3:09 pm Permalink
I actually believe the song has lots of meaning, especially in Gary’s life. I first heard him perfrom this song back in May in Atlanta, and fell in love with it immediately. I think this song will end up being a bug hit for Gary. It’s lighter in mood than most of his recent recordings, but he still stays true to his unique blend of California cool, honkytonk, slight rock, and traditional country. Absolutely wonderful!
July 20, 2007 at 3:55 pm Permalink
My favorite bug hit is “The Fly” by U2.
July 22, 2007 at 5:08 pm Permalink
Brody i agree on you with on gary allan maybe being underrated but tim duncan is deffiantly not underrated lol it was because of him why they keep winning championships and everyone in the world knows that
July 23, 2007 at 7:16 am Permalink
Oh excuse me Chris N. I guess you didn’t realize I meant to type “big hit”. It’s quite human for some of us to make mistakes….anyway,
I would agree the Gary is somewhat underrated, but it’s not like it’s from a lack of fans. I think he’s underrated becuase he stays true to his sound, and doesn’t jump on the commercial bandwagon so many other stars have.
July 23, 2007 at 8:34 am Permalink
Just funnin’ ya. I’m due to make my next mistake … oh, any second now.
July 23, 2007 at 8:58 am Permalink
Mike – I think outside of the San Antonio fan base he’s vastly underrated.
Chris – For the record, I thought it was funny.
July 24, 2007 at 11:14 am Permalink
I thought it was funny too. Don’t want you guys to think I’m an angry psycho… :)
For as long as Gary has been on the radio, I’m still amazed at how many people don’t know who he is, and I’m referring to people who claim they listen to nothing but country.
July 27, 2007 at 11:51 pm Permalink
gary can bust out the lyrics to the song, but the original one from the grove is the best version, the sound of the song makes me think that it would be more rock than country though
July 31, 2007 at 3:25 pm Permalink
I love it! Awesome lyrics! I am a huge fan of Gary Allan.
August 2, 2007 at 8:46 am Permalink
To Jeff A: I think that’s the sheer genius of Gary Allan. He could just as easily be a rocker as he can be a coutry singer. I think he made the right choice in genres though. He has a tendency to share his feelings in his music. You find country music listeners are more atuned to feelings of the singer than say those who listen to today’s rock, or even rap and r&b. Country music has proven to be a wonderful outlet for Gary, one where he can show his sensitive side, yet also be able to rock out as well.
December 11, 2007 at 4:24 pm Permalink
Everytime I here Watching Airplanes I wanna cry. His voice and those lyrics we’re made for each other..they just fit. The fact that this song can make someone feel so powerful makes it pretty enjoyable and it’s easy to relate to. It’s by far one of his best songs.
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