Jason Michael Carroll – “Where I’m From”
Songwriters:Patrick Davis and Joe Leathers.
In a format already oversaturated with songs about celebrating rural roots, “Where I’m From” begins a step behind and never catches up. The chorus treads the same ground as Alan Jackson’s “Where I Come From” and any number of other songs, while the verses concoct a storyline that is not only cliché (a problem that Carroll, with his considerable vocal skills, could likely overcome or at least sufficiently mask) but also improbable and unfocused to the point of distraction–ultimately sinking any possibility of success.
“Where I’m From” begins with the singer/bumpkin feeling out of his element in the first-class section of a plane after receiving an unexpected ticket upgrade. The Armani-clad businessman beside him (who’s on his way back from New York and Rome, since we all know that people only do business in those two cities) asks where he’s from. The singer then inexplicably launches into a list of general observations about rural life, apparently unaware that just naming a location would be a more appropriate response. For his part, the businessman seems to accept this pop-country laundry list as a perfectly reasonable answer to his question.
The song just started and already it’s pushing the limits of credulity.
Skipping ahead to the dramatic conclusion, the businessman reveals that he and the bumpkin aren’t so different after all, as he too sprang from humble roots. The superficial contrast set up at the beginning is discovered to conceal an essential similarity–a twist which would be more surprising if the contrast had been set up more believably in the first place. Anyway, it turns out that every businessman in a nice suit isn’t an effeminate, high-bred jerk. And if you think that’s profound, things only get profounder with the addition of a tangential, undeveloped subplot about a dying brother.
Listening to the song the way it was likely written–from chorus to chorus–it’s tuneful, uninspired, unfailingly safe radio fare. Listening to it with any expectation of wholeness or coherence, it’s worse.
Recording music for commercial appeal is about striking a balance between style and substance; if Carroll manages to stay on the balance beam at all here, it is a credit to the forward momentum provided by his unwavering country baritone. This song does him no favors.
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November 6, 2008 at 10:42 am
HAHAHAHA!! You guys rock as critiquers! You’re brutally honest and that’s why I love coming here.
If any of you were “players” in the music business, the writers of the songs you critique would pack up, go home, and never darken Nashville’s door again.
Can ya’ll start your own label? ;-)
November 6, 2008 at 11:35 am
I just heard this on the radio this morning, and I agree, it’s pretty underwhelming.
November 6, 2008 at 12:25 pm
I can just hear the conversation betweeen the 2 writers of this gem:
Writer 1: I’ve got this song title, “Where I’m From.”
Writer 2: Naaah! It’s too close to Alan Jackson’s “Where I Come From,” and Kenny Chesney’s “Back Where I Come From.”
Writer 1: Wait! Let’s just drop the words “come” and “back,” and turn “I” into the contraction “I’m,” and call it “Where I’m From!” Then it’s not the same song!
Writer 2: Brilliant!!
November 6, 2008 at 12:33 pm
OMG, no way this song is soo good you guys are just jelous! JMC is soo hot and the songwriters are awsome! This song is all about my life and my upbringing so don’t you talk bad about it!! I know Joe (he’s my Myspace friend!) so I’m gonna tell him and he’ll come whoop yer…
November 6, 2008 at 12:46 pm
These comments are much more profound than the song itself – and funny too. Great review, CMW.
November 6, 2008 at 12:47 pm
yeah, my business travels have recently taken me to grand junction, co and to dickinson n.d….i knew i wasnt a real high-falootin’ bidness fella!!
November 6, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Titles still up for grabs:
“The Region from Which I Hail”
“The Area of My Upbringing”
“The Locale in Which I Spent My Formative Years”
“The Crappy Little Nowheresville That I Abandoned for the City of Nashville at the First Opportunity”
November 6, 2008 at 1:07 pm
LOL I liked the last title best!
November 6, 2008 at 2:24 pm
I love this song. If you haven’t heard it live, you haven’t heard anything. The “amazing grace” at the end gives me goose bumps every time, (they do more of it when it’s live), and I’ve heard it live a ton. No matter how similar the title is to other songs, Jason has his own style and makes the song his own.
Also, Chris N. and Plain_Jo might be interested to know that Jason has yet to make the move to Nashville. He still lives in North Carolina with his kids. So scratch that title.
November 6, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Chris N.–that was hilarious.
November 6, 2008 at 3:07 pm
I heard Jason sing this live on the Opry recently and was truly underwhelmed. Jason had a few gems on his debut album (that were never released as radio singles) that are far superior to this song. He should pull a Keith Urban and release “There’s No Good In Goodbye” as his next single rather than this lackluster effort. If Jason keeps releasing singles like this, he will remind me of when I saw B.J. Thomas live and he said he started at the top and has been working his way down ever since……
November 6, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I heard this song a while back on XM, and was not impressed –
November 6, 2008 at 4:01 pm
The music link doesn’t work for me…does any one know why?
November 6, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Chris J,
Probably because it sucks!
November 6, 2008 at 4:22 pm
You need RealPlayer to listen through that link, Chris. It’s free.
November 6, 2008 at 4:39 pm
You mentioned this song smacks of the Alan Jackson tune. I haven’t heard it yet, but the opening scene on the plane sounds like Trace Adkins “Songs About Me.”
Some rock and rap CDs come with warning labels. Mainstream country CDs should come with the universal symbol for recycled on it.
November 6, 2008 at 5:29 pm
OMG!! You all are CRAZY! Jason Michael Carroll is the most talented and best new artist there is!!! I believe that he has a very promising career ahead!!! I will always be there for him because I believe in him!! I love him and his voice!!! He is SOOO talented!!! So I think that people need to rethink their statements…….like a thumbs down?? Are You CRAZY????? You must be……Jason deserves alot more than people give him.
Luvin JMC!!
November 6, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Enough enthusiasm there, E?
This song is very weak, and his last album overall was mediocre. Aside from the Jewel duet, Livin’ Our Love Song, and one other one, I just didn’t like it.
I’ve also wondered why he has gotten more airtime than Chris Young, since they sound basically identical, and Young’s material is better in my opinion.
November 6, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Ya I agree that Chris does sound like him, but I think that Jason is way better!!! I think that most of his songs are great on his cd! I love- Love won’t let me, but as i said I think Jason deserves more than people give him………………………….
November 6, 2008 at 5:37 pm
I have Realplayer already and it says that the requested file can not be found
November 6, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Well I am listening now and I LOVE IT!!! :)
November 6, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Discussing ways to download music that the copyright owners don’t want you to be able to download isn’t appropriate–sorry about that, but we have to take a hard line in that regard.
November 6, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Weird, Chris. Not sure what the RealPlayer issue could be, but here’s a WMA link for anyone having problems with the other: “Where I’m From”
November 6, 2008 at 7:40 pm
This will be a huge song…easy Top 10 could go #1…it’s perfect country radio.
November 7, 2008 at 11:45 pm
I saw JMC sing this on the Martina McBride tour and like most of you was not impressed. I love the first album but I really hope this has some better tracks on it than this one.
November 10, 2008 at 9:55 am
Forgot to say it – fantastic review, CM.
November 11, 2008 at 2:00 pm
hey thanks for the link cmw because i couldnt get it to play either but it worked that way. anyways go check out my cover of this song on youtube.
November 13, 2008 at 11:50 pm
The songwriter is a local guy (and it’s written about the place I am from) and we have heard him perform it himself quite a few times. It comes from the heart. Hope it does well.
November 17, 2008 at 9:48 am
This is a great song! Patrick sang it live Saturday back home in the little small town it was written about. We are all proud and hope that all of you will realize that this comes form the heart,
November 20, 2008 at 12:29 am
i really like this song!!! i guess you just have to be from the kinda place hes talkin about to appreciate it. and i feel sorry for those of you who dont.
December 9, 2008 at 3:07 pm
I would like to hear Jason’s new song, and I would like to see it on the voting page.
December 12, 2008 at 5:29 pm
the song is good bottom line. if your not a dumba** that tries to dig to deep and miss the main points of the song. of course yuppys arent going to appreciate it… oh well dont listen to it. your not a country fan if you cant appreciate this song. if the critics had their own label they wouldnt sell anything because they evidently cant speak for the consumers and id be willing to bet their put their foot in their mouth when the able sales come out.
December 24, 2008 at 2:54 pm
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
say what you want but JMC and the songwriters will rake it in while some people submit critiques….
January 4, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Absolutely terrible review! I spit at its feet, as well as the author. Guaranteed the author is a city slicker who has never experienced life in the heartland where a man’s word really does mean everything. This song hits home for me on so many levels that it is not even funny. To just say a city in the song would totally ruin what it is supposed to mean. He is just showing a little hometown pride! Fire this author, I have read several reviews and none of them are very intelligent to me, just looking to bash someone.
January 4, 2009 at 5:59 pm
I grew up in a town of 435 people in a county where the biggest town was 11,000 and this song doesn’t ring true to me.
January 8, 2009 at 7:57 am
hey hey micheal i will like your music is sound will good is to bottom of my hurt your music has tough me in a different way if i go through hard time i list to your music keep make more music like you did with your frist CD good luck in the future…..
February 15, 2009 at 9:58 am
Jason Michael Carroll and Joe Leathers didn’t write this song – Patrick Davis wrote it and his version is a helluva lot better than Carroll’s.
February 22, 2009 at 9:52 am
I think this song is good…not all country songs are true stories. I think Hason Michael Caroll has a good career ahead of him whether or not this song is a hit or not. But lately it has alot of radio play time.
March 7, 2009 at 8:49 pm
This song is great. Maybe the images of cheerleaders and homecoming queens are stereotypical, but it’s a good song. Maybe it’s also safe radio…but having been a country music fan all of my life, I can tell you that it’s a great song…and I loved it. I love simple lyrics about small country towns because they remind me of my mom and I especially loved the line about giving children grandmother’s maiden names. I guess you do have to be from such a place to understand that it’s perfect and heartfelt and beautiful. Not everything has to be perfect and metaphorical and symbolic. Some stuff is just true and stereotypical.
March 24, 2009 at 8:24 pm
I love this song, cried the first time I heard it because it is so true about small town, you obviously never spent much time growing up in a place like this. I’ve been away for four years and there isn’t a day where I don’t miss something about it. Trust me, not many songs have hit me this hard and the ones that do are usually ones you’ll be hearing on the radio for years.
April 13, 2009 at 2:13 pm
I’m from a small town in the middle of nowhere. The songwriter may or may not be. What do I know? I drive a Chevy. I hate conformist BS John Deere tractors. You don’t have to be from a small town to be a QB dating a homecoming king or go to church late and get stuck sitting up front. I’m sure that happens in Dallas, too. The more I think about it the more I hate this cornpone song.
April 13, 2009 at 2:14 pm
I meant to say QB dating a homecoming queen not king. Although, I’ll loan that unintended nuance to the songwriter.
April 30, 2009 at 10:23 pm
This is a GREAT song from a GREAT CD.
July 20, 2009 at 11:25 pm
I love this song! Every time I hear it, it draws me in and I go looking for it. Jason Michael Carroll didn’t write this song. Songs are usually not written by the one who actually performs them. My hat is off to the writer and Jason Michael Carroll. Great job! Love it! Want to hear more…
July 21, 2009 at 6:42 am
Most of the songs I listen to are written by the person who performs them.
July 21, 2009 at 7:28 am
I love this song also and could care less if he didn’t write it.
If we sat around waiting for songs to be sung by the writer…it may be a very long wait and our playlist would be quite small.
Great song, great artist. I enjoy both cd’s and can’t wait to see his live performances.
January 6, 2010 at 12:03 am
Love this song, love him. I think he is the sexiest man alive. :) Go Jason…
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