Josh Gracin – “We Weren’t Crazy”

Josh Gracin just keeps coming back. One of Country Music’s underrated male vocalists, Gracin has delivered a consistent string of solid up-tempos, including “Favorite State of Mind” and “I Keep Coming Back”–both of which managed a feeble crawl up the charts, eventually landing, disappointingly, at #19 and #28 respectively.

It’s hard–if not impossible–to say why certain singles fail to gain traction. You have to have the right song, sung by the right artist, delivered to the right audience at precisely the right time. But even when all that happens, even when the publicity, promotion, and marketing machines are all firing at full capacity, and the planets are in perfect alignment, and you’re staring at a sure-fire, can’t-miss, breakout hit, who’s to say that the record won’t flop anyway?

So I can’t tell you why Gracin’s recent singles have underperformed. But what I can tell you is that artists who continually knock at the door are usually (eventually) let in. In that sense, Gracin reminds me of a young Kenny Chesney, who failed to break the top-ten with five of his first ten singles, but who managed enough success and showed enough staying power to warrant continued releases.

Co-penned by Gracin with Bobby Pinson and Tony Lopacinski, “We Weren’t Crazy,” from the upcoming album All About Y’all, delivers tempo and features an infectious chorus that, I’ll admit, had me singing along by the second listen.

The traditionalists will hammer this, labeling it nothing more than pop-Country froth; admittedly, the writing isn’t brilliant or groundbreaking. But what the song does it does well, and for that it deserves a thumbs up.