Music Review :: Luke Bryan, Crash My Party

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To be honest, I've never really been a huge Luke Bryan fan.  I obviously think he's smoking hot and love when he shakes it on stage, who doesn't? But a fan of his music, not entirely. 

I was shocked (!!!!!!) when Luke won ACM Entertainer of the Year, but then when I thought about it, it's true. He's an entertainer. He puts on good shows more than playing good music. He gives the crowd what they want... his tight jeans, v-neck t-shirts, dark baseball hats, and probably the most essential aspect- his big pearly whites oh and, shaking-that-ass, duhh!  For what it's worth, my sister said that Luke Bryan was her favorite and best concert of the summer.  She had the "Mega Ticket" so she also went to Tim McGraw, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert/ Dierks Bentley, Blake Shelton, and Jason Aldean.  I've never seen Luke perform live, but would like to!  So, okay, Entertainer of the Year it is! -I still think that was a little premature considering he only started headlining at the beginning of the year, but I'll let it go.  Maybe.

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Don't get me wrong, from what I can see, Luke Bryan is a great guy.  He loves his fans, appreciates them and wants to put on a good show for them.  He wants a relationship with his fans and wants to give them what they want.  I respect that.  He has LBTV which highlights what he's up to and his life on tour, which I do catch up on every now and then.  He's respected in the industry.  I just don't care for his music.  (Have his fans listened to his "Spring Break" Album?  Those songs may be fun and appropriate in the moment, but com'onnnnn.  His Sorority Girls song literally makes me cringe.. But I do have to admit, I enjoyed BuzzKill, I'm not sure why, but I think that song's funny).

Anyway, with all of that being said, I had high hopes for Luke's newest album, Crash My Party, which hit stores on Tuesday.   I've been hoping that he'll be able to do more of what he wants to do instead of label personnel chirping in his ear.  I want to see him come into his own.  I want to see if there's something that I'm missing.

I was hooked on Luke's first single & title track off this new album, Crash My Party, after he performed it in April at the ACM Awards, and was excited for the release of the album.

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Why did I like it so much?  Was it because the first time I heard it was while I watched him perform it?  Would I have felt the same way if I heard it for the first time on the radio?  Did he hook me in with his sexy presence on stage? Maybe, but I still like it, even if it is a little cheesy!

With Crash My Party being Luke's fastest rising #1, ever, I knew hoped this album was going to be awesome!  And now, after listening to it repeatedly for the past few days, I'm disappointed.

I don't really know what I wanted or what I expected, but I'm not that impressed.  Most of the songs sound the same to me.  Am I crazy?  There's a good chance.  I really really really wanted to love the album.  I did.  But I just can't see myself getting all giddy and over playing this album like I've done in the past with Jason Aldean, Brantley Gilbert, Zac Brown Band, Lady Antebellum and The Band Perry. (Still can't believe I didn't post about that one!  My bad.  And if you haven't listened to it in its entirety, you're missing out!)

I digress..

But I guess "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", comes to play here.  Luke's had great success in the past few years and is still rising.  He keeps giving people what they want.  I just thought Luke was going to take more risks with this new album.  That we were going to hear him do something he's never done before.  Something different.  But I don't hear that.  Maybe next time.  In the mean time, I'll continue to watch him perform and catch up on LBTV so I can watch him SHAKEDATASS and listen to his oh-so-cute southern drawl.  See, you can't really dislike him!:)

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Oh and according to Billboard, this album has the potential to sell almost half a million copies in it's first week.  The third best debut-week of the year, behind JT and Jay-Z.  So there's that.  Impressive.

The songs worth listening to off this album?

Crash My Party, my favorite track!

Play It Again, best story-telling track, which I got stuck in my head and caught myself singing!

Dirt Road Diaries
couldn't find a great version, but this'll do!

On another note,  I'm so excited for Nashville to be back on!

Have you seen the Season 2 Promo?

IS IT SEPTEMBER 25TH YET?

Have a great weekend! :)