Released: Mar 26, 2010
Genre: Country, Singer-Songwriter, Alternative Rock
Label: Average Joe's Entertainment
Number Of Tracks: 12
This is a very solid country album. There are no let downs on this album. No filler tracks. It's full on.
Halfway To Heaven
Reviewed by:
Battman1993, on september 15, 2011 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Sound: I'm here to review the best new artist in country music. His name? Brantley Gilbert. Oddly, I discovered BG through another country artist from Georgia: Jason Aldean. JA used two of BG's songs (My Kinda Party & Dirt Road Anthem) on his latest album My Kind Party. While Jason Aldean WAS my favorite country solo artist, Brantley Gilbert has knocked him off my throne. But enough about that. Brantley Gilbert's debut album Halfway to Heaven simply ROCKS. It's actually more southern rock than country. From the rockin' opener Hell On Wheels, to the radio-country of Back In The Day, BG covers a wide variety of styles. There's quite a few songs with an almost hard-rock guitar tone, like Kick It In The Sticks, and one song called Take It Outside that reminds me of hard-rock heroes Disturbed (oddly, I don't know why). TIO is the closest thing I've ever heard to metal in country. In the mid-point of HTH are two gems: Halfway To Heaven and Saving Amy. The title track is a standard modern country fare, while Saving Amy almost has an 80's power-ballad style to it. It's the best song on the entire album. I'd reccomend picking up the deluxe edition of HTH since it comes with 3 new songs. // 9
Lyrics and Singing: First off, before you freak out on me for giving this section a nine, "read" me out. Brantley wrote/co-wrote EVERY song on this album. Therefore, it's truly about him. The opening song Hell On Wheels is a story about BG's grandfather, who ran moonshine. Kick It In The Sticks & Country Must Be Country Wide are chest-beating anthem that rep the country lifestyle. There are three songs that stunned me though. The title track describes a car accident Brantley got into as a teen in which he wrapped his truck around a tree while driving drunk. The next track Saving Amy is were his lyrics really shine. Lyrically Brantley seems to imagine his significant other's life without him if he had died in the accident. It's beautiful and sincere. On one of the bonus tracks, You Don't Know Her Like I Do, Brantley flips the script of Saving Amy to make him the one grieving the girl. His voice is actually better than you would initially think. Whether he sings in a ragged, southern-rock tone or the clean emotional tone displayed on Saving Amy, it's great. // 9
Impression: Yes, I gave a country music album a NINE! I was raised on country music before gravitating to rock and metal, but I still love country music. It's too bad that pop-country posers like Keith Urban and Brad Paisley have given country a bad name. If you look hard enough, you can find original and unique country singers. Brantley Gilbert is one of those. Simply put, if you like country music and have not picked up Halfway To Heaven, go get it. NOW. I COMMAND you! // 9
Halfway To Heaven
Reviewed by:
BwareDWare94, on may 24, 2011 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Sound: This site needs a dose of good country in the reviews section. I'm taking it as a personal challenge. If I was to define Brantley Gilbert's sound, I'd say his music is a mix of traditional country and alternative rock. Songs such as "Kick It In The Sticks" and "Take It Outside" are ass kicking rock numbers. In contrast, tracks like "Halfway To Heaven" and "Saving Amy" are based in modern traditional country. At the end of the day, Gilbert creates his own sound with his unique voice and compositional prowess. Like Eric Church and Josh Thompson, Gilbert writes or co-writes every song on this album. It creates an honest and heart-felt vibe. Songs like "Halfway To Heaven" and "Saving Amy" come across as truly emotional numbers, and I believe that's because Brantley wrote or co-wrote each song. That's tough to find in country music. // 9
Lyrics and Singing: Gilbert has a tendency to get cheesy at times with his lyrics, but his songs are chock full of wonderful lines. As a singer, he's more talented than he initially appears to be. When one listens closely, they realize that he has more vocal ability than a first impression would imply. His lyrics always match the composition. There are no awkward moments on this record, and for a singer-songwriter, that's an accomplishment. Gilbert clearly understands how song structure works. // 8
Impression: This is a very solid country album. It's not the best I've bought in the last year, but it easily moved its way into second place when I listened through the album twice today. The simple fact that Gilbert writes his songs should be appreciated. It is, by this fan. Highlight tracks include "Saving Amy", "Halfway To Heaven", "Kick It In The Sticks", and "My Kind Of Crazy". There are no let downs on this album. No filler tracks. It's full on, a-s-kicking country music. Songwriters need more attention. You won't regret it if you give it to this talented young country artist. // 9
Yeah, I notice some grammatical errors I meant to fix, but I must not have. Either way, this is cleaner than 98% of the reviews on the site, so I don't mind posting them.
Also, if you're a Jamey Johnson fan, this comes in second to The Guitar Song. I'll be writing reviews for all of Jamey's albums very soon. I also intend to post reviews for Eric Church's albums. I have on posted for Josh Thompson's Way Out Here.
No its not that, its just.. there's no one around.
Although I guess I shouldn't complain, I used to do regular shit.. but I lost the will to review since hearing the 3 most ridiculous symphonic albums in the universe in the space of a month. Might just see whats getting released soon..
Ah, I see. You do good reviews, so keep writing them. If you're like me, they take less than 5 minutes. That, and they're readable, which is rarely the case on this site.
It's a shame Jason Aldean have to use My Kind of Party as his single(MKOP was on Gilbert's first CD). I think Gilbert deserves more recognition.
For sure. Aldean doesn't write a whole lot, and I'm not sure he even co-wrote a song on his latest album, so this is the kind of thing he gets to do. Just pick the best songs he can find.
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