Record of the Month

I figured I'd do a monthly 'what I'm listening to' kind of thing. This could be viewed as a lame placeholder kind of post. And probably it is. But it's my blog! So there!

Unlike last month, I'm very upbeat by my new music purchase:  the Hurting Kind by John Paul White.

White started seeping stuff out into the market last October, seeing folks were interested in this new stuff. One of which I not only featured here, but also made one of my top 2018 songs.

Since a disk was announced, White started pre-releasing a few tracks a few weeks apart. Each one seemingly better than the last. Not an easy feat.  It was the most anticipated disk (of which I'm aware) for 2019.

White's Americana has crept a bit more into classic country territory here and there. This isn't a huge surprise, as he kind of started playing songs like "Everything That Glitters (is Not Gold)" in his live set.

Hurting starts out with one his strongest songs on the record, if not ever, with "Good Old Days". I've played it countless times already.

One of the pre-releases, "I Wish I Could Write You a Song" leans more country. The song is good, but some of the phrasing, is just great. I kind of light up when I hear how (not necessarily what) he sings, "sounds like it feels like when you dance with me".  I like how the song swells too and it's got an Orbison vibe - intentional or not.

White does more country with "You Lost Me" (great!), "Yesterday's Love" (good, but possibly my least fave song on this disk), "Heart Like a Kite" and to a degree "James".  His duet with LeeAnn Womack, "This Isn't Gonna End Well", is actually good.  While it doesn't rise to the production of Owen Bradley, it has a Bradley-esque quality....or the promise of one.

Love the title cut - as it just different compared to anything on the disk. The closing number, "My Dreams Have All Come True" was my one of my top songs of 2018.

So writing, production, execution are all good. No doubt the Hurting Kind will rank near the top of my 2019 releases. The songs are slightly more upbeat than Beulah and I probably shouldn't compare the two, but the new disk doesn't completely grab me like the last did, but to be fair, I'm not sure anything could.

Mind you, it's only been out two weeks, that might all change in another two.