Album Review – Josh Turner’s “Deep South”
Before we even listen to a peep of the music from this new album from Josh Turner, it already serves as an incredible illustration of the sheer incompetence and creative immorality that so often grips elements of Nashville’s Music Row.
Deep South, and ostensibly in its present form, was ready for release two years ago, or longer. On November 3rd of 2014, Josh held a private event for select press and industry personnel at the SoundCheck rehearsal space in Nashville to preview this record. An original release date on March 31st, 2015 was sent through metadata channels to retailers and distributors (and later pulled back). And appreciate that even at that time—two years ago—Josh Turner’s sixth album seemed like it was the product of endless delays. His last record Punching Bag was released all the way back in June of 2012.
What changed with the record in those two years? If we’re to believe the reporting, not much. The first single from the record, “Lay Low,” was released way back on September of 2014, and that made the cut for the new record. Songs Josh Turner previewed at the album party held 2 1/2 years ago like “Wonder” and “Where The Girls Are” also made the track list. What didn’t? Probably what would have been the only true traditional country song on the record called “Bench Seat” that was written by the 91-year-old Country Music Hall of Famer Mac Wiseman.
So why was a major mainstream country music artist handcuffed for two to three years by his label, MCA Nashville, just to have the same album eventually released? We can only guess, but it’s very likely that lawyers, mediators, and maybe even courts were involved behind-the-scenes, when publicly everyone put on smiling faces and acted like everything was rosy, even though Turner did let his frustration slip upon occasion.
But maybe Turner should consider himself lucky as a more traditionally-oriented mainstream country star signed to MCA Nashville. Remember Gary Allan? His career track over the last few years mirrors Josh Turner’s, but he’s not celebrating an album release. His last MCA Nashville effort was likely shelved or scrapped altogether. You would be blown away how often this happens. Joey Feek recorded an album in 2002 called Strong Enough to Cry for Sony that never saw the light of day. It was announced recently that the album will finally be released in 2017—you know, some 15 years after being finished, and now that Joey Feek is dead and they can profit off her passing.
Like country music Outlaw Tompall Glaser said back in the 70’s while he was running a renegade studio just off of Music Row, “If a guy can’t offer up a good, decent alternative, he should shut the fuck up. But if he’s got a good, decent alternative, all he’s got to do is keep doing it, and pretty soon the whole fucking industry will be doing it, because there are too few people in this town that know what the fuck to do. Because they don’t love it; they’re doing it for the fucking salary.”
And that’s what you get with the situation plaguing MCA Nashville’s Gary Allan, the situation with David Nail who was recently dropped from MCA Nashville, and Josh Turner who nobody will be surprised if MCA Nashville drops soon. The industry mismanages these artists’ careers, they release the wrong singles, misinterpret the market, and then ultimately blame the artists and shove them to the curb to save their own skins. It’s all because many of the people populating the offices of Music Row don’t really care about the music, it’s just a job to them. Even the ones that do show up with passion get worn down and spit out eventually if they refuse to not become a cog in the cold-hearted and creatively-vacant Music Row wheel.
But what of the music on Josh Turner’s Deep South after the incessant delays leading up to this final, triumphant release? Unfortunately, it wasn’t much worth the wait, or the rancor many Turner fans expended trying to win this release. One of the few true traditionalists of contemporary country, Josh Turner and his deep baritone and bass voice were one of the respites on the radio dial for a decade. But realize that the last time Josh Turner released a record, the term “Bro-Country” hadn’t even been coined yet. President Obama was still in his 1st term. So much has changed in country music.
Deep South feels like it was recorded in response to the Bro-Country craze still rolling with full steam in 2014 when much, if not all of this record was cut. No major label was going to release a traditional country album during that mayhem, and this is likely where the seeds of the conflict between Josh Turner and MCA Nashville were planted.
Josh Turner is saying all the right things about this album—how he wanted to just blow off steam and do something fun for a change. This is the company line whenever any artist known more for their traditional or substantive style of country music ostensibly sells out, whether it’s under their own volition or due to the forced slavitude of their label.
Whatever the forces at play behind the scenes that led to Deep South—and they’re likely gag ordered by a court or lawyers, or will never be spoken about in public because never is a discouraging word uttered publicly on Music Row—Deep South just isn’t that great of a record. It’s just one song after another affirming the Southern lifestyle through list after list of Southern identifiers, and a curious slew of songs about girls, more songs about girls, and even more songs about girls from a guy who’s been married for going on 15 years and is pushing 40.
It might be a stretch to call Deep South Bro-Country, or to assign it the misogyny and objectification that the worst of Bro-Country implies. But it skirts very near there. It’s like Bro-Country lite, which means you don’t get what you want from Josh Turner as a dedicated fan aside from maybe a few fleeting moments in audience with his rich baritone, while the album doesn’t have nearly enough roided-out machismo to be commercially viable in today’s mainstream post-Bro marketplace, especially since the material is stale by two years to start. It’s kind of the worst of both worlds, which is what you get when a label, producer, and possibly the artist are scared of their own shadows, and don’t know which way to leap.
And though it would be easy to slander MCA Nashville and Music Row for all of the faults of Deep South, the simple fact is Josh Turner’s name is listed four times as a sole songwriter in the track list, including for some of the offenders of the album like the opening “Deep South” and it’s line about “screaming down a back road like we don’t care.” Turner also solo wrote the lame “Beach Bums.” Some of the better tracks, like the pretty decent “Never Had A Reason” were written by others.
When first listening to the record, I surmised perhaps Josh Turner was able to compromise on this record by saying he’d sing whatever song they gave him as long as they spared him the electronic beats and contemporary production. Because despite all the Deep South flaws, it doesn’t slip into hip-hop mode, or feature screaming arena rock guitars a la Brantley Gilbert. But the liner notes refuted that theory, and though the music may be organic, there is not much fiddle or steel guitar, and Josh Turner’s otherwise greatest asset—his voice—is so over-modulated with Auto-tune or whatever treatment they used on it, it takes all of the life and soul out of the few fleeting moments of goodness this record affords.
Deep South isn’t terrible, it’s just not Josh Turner. If Florida Georgia Line released a record like this, we would praise them for turning a page, even if it was still more awful than good. But this is Josh Turner. This album is so clearly pandering. And making the whole experience worse is the realization that if Josh Turner sat down to make a record today, perhaps with the success of Chris Stapleton, William Michael Morgan, singles from Tim McGraw and others, he could be a part of this more traditional resurgence that may not be taking over the mainstream, but is at least restoring a little balance.
Instead though, we get an outdated, outmoded, delivered past the expiration date Josh Turner Bro-Country lite experiment with lagging singles that will likely get him dropped and will result in yet another great country music career bungled by Music Row.
When will country music learn?
March 13, 2017 @ 10:30 am
Trigger, I have to agree with you on much of what you said. On the second track, there was a line that literally made me say “What the fuck is this?” I was very disappointed in this record
March 13, 2017 @ 10:39 am
This is frustrating. Waited a long time for this, and it is pretty blah. Here’s hoping he can soon get some freedom back and do what he prefers and what us fans prefer.
March 13, 2017 @ 10:40 am
Yep. I was very disappointed when I listened to it. Completely underwhelmed. I just don’t understand the fascination with that percussive “underbeat” (don’t know any other way to describe it) that pervades music like this. In straight bro-country, it’s a sampler, but here, it’s a banjo, or electronically-treated drums with hand claps, etc. What’s wrong with a drummer keeping the beat with a real life honest to god kit? Just don’t get it.
“Way Out West,” on the other hand…yowza. So good.
March 13, 2017 @ 12:07 pm
I’m glad you got and enjoy “Way Out West.” Your comment on Trig’s review last week made me laugh so hard!
March 13, 2017 @ 12:22 pm
Yes, that underbeat permeates the opening tracks of this record, and is almost like an admission these songs have nothing without a catchy beat.
March 13, 2017 @ 10:43 am
This isn’t my favorite album of Josh but let’s not forget the context surrounding it. I am just glad that Josh didn’t succumb and sell out his sound.
And let’s be honest, Josh is a very consistent artist. You know what you are going to get with each album.
March 13, 2017 @ 12:24 pm
This isn’t a terrible album, it’s just not a good one in my opinion. I can see how some would find a few fun, catchy songs here and be fine with it. He skirts right over the line of being downright offensive.
March 20, 2017 @ 7:44 am
Agreed.
I liked it but I felt disappointed at times but I remembered what it could have been and I was OK with it.
But this should not have taken five years.
March 13, 2017 @ 10:44 am
I am still mad that “Bench Seat” wasn’t included. It was a fun twist on the truck song.
March 13, 2017 @ 10:45 am
I was very much looking forward to this album, and it was such a disappointment. “It’s like Bro-Country lite, which means you don’t get what you want from Josh Turner as a dedicated fan aside from maybe a few fleeting moments in audience with his rich baritone….” That sums it up nicely.
March 13, 2017 @ 10:46 am
I heard Beach Bums in the car yesterday (formulaic, although I’ve heard worse offenders). We were listening to my wife’s pop country station. He was being interviewed, too. Man, what a voice. I even marveled at it when was talking. Pure tone.
March 13, 2017 @ 10:56 am
Trigger,
Your last two paragraphs greatly depress me more than the review. I understand why people think that “Deep South” isn’t a great record. This Yankee does appreciate the constant Southern theme. I have Josh’s book and he mentions writing “Hawaiian Girl” a long time ago.
Josh would have been a star in the 1990’s. Unfortunately, his career was killed by Bro-Country and mismanagement. If only, he released “Whatcha Reckon” instead of “Find Me a Baby.”
March 13, 2017 @ 10:56 am
What we need is for turner to such his record and release the music he wants to.
His voice makes the album tolerable. There is a few josh turner songs, the rest mca songs
March 13, 2017 @ 10:58 am
I use to like Josh, Haven’t heard new music from him in a while. Did not care too much for this new album, like his older stuff much better.
March 13, 2017 @ 11:03 am
I bought the album cause I had free Amazon credit and was pretty disappointed. I had bought his previous albums and they Your Man and Everything is Fine were good, he slipped on Haywire (I hated the “All Over Me” song) and Punching Bag was a complete wash. This album did nothing for me. One listen thru and I don’t think I’ll listen to it again. Nothing really stands out on this album. Very disappointed
March 14, 2017 @ 6:58 am
“Punching Bag” wasn’t a complete loss. “Cold Shoulder” and “Pallbearer” were both damn fine songs!
March 13, 2017 @ 11:20 am
Love that Tompall quote.
March 13, 2017 @ 11:23 am
Disappointing album.
The voice, the songs, the instrumentation…pure Nashville (and not in good way).
An independent label might be the better place for Josh Turner. He is wasting his voice on sub-par material.
My #1 Country Track: Ray Scott – “Livin’ This Way”
March 20, 2017 @ 7:46 am
It would better for Josh Turner’s career but a loss for traditional country on Music Row.
March 13, 2017 @ 11:32 am
2 really good songs (‘Never Had A Reason’ & Hawaii Girl) & 2 pretty good songs (Southern Drawl & One Like Mine) after a 5-yr delay? Sad!
Meanwhile Sunny Sweeney (dropped from BMLG) has released a stunning 100% pure country album. By far, her best & most focused album to date. She’s already gotta be a contender for 2017 SCM album of the year.
March 13, 2017 @ 1:00 pm
I probably would’ve got more into the Hawaiian song if it wasn’t for the fact that I had just listened to an entire album that was “girls” this and “girls” that. It’s a decent song, but sonically it stuck out on this record, and the idea has been done before.
March 16, 2017 @ 11:17 pm
The only song I really liked was “Hawaiian Girl” and I completely agree about Sunny Sweeney’s album. It is excellent!
March 13, 2017 @ 11:33 am
This is pop country at its worse. Don’t support MCA Nashville, don’t support the artist or the label, this is total garbage. Go buy some JP Harris, Nikki Lane, Whitney Rose or Whitey Morgan.
March 13, 2017 @ 11:41 am
The problem is that these guys aren’t writers. They have nothing to say. Mannequins.
Nashville, at this point, many of us aren’t even mad anymore. When you trot out this kind of slop, we just point and laugh.
On the other hand, one good thing about bro country is that it doesn’t lecture, scold, strike sanctimonious postures, and meander around.
March 13, 2017 @ 12:23 pm
wow I am shocked about the feedback, and I was planning to buy Josh turner cd this week.
March 13, 2017 @ 12:28 pm
Well, this sucks. I love Josh Turner’s voice.
Hopefully, now that he’s finally got this crap out of his system, they’ll let him record a country album this time.
March 13, 2017 @ 5:01 pm
Lester:
hey, it’s Fuzzy. Haven’t heard from you in a long time. I haven’t been on here much lately. got bogged down in the grind of my internship and had a few rough months topped off by the worst Christmas ever.
Anyway I don’t know what I was thinking about but you popped into my mind and I thought I’d check in… this seems to be the most recent comment hopefully you can read it.
I miss our conversations and would love your input about stuff I’m thinking about.
Since I’m hardly ever on SCM anymore just shoot me an email RedwallSteev@musician.org and introduce yourself and we can keep in touch
same goes for you tezca since I couldn’t find a recent comment of yours.
Cheers Les.
March 13, 2017 @ 12:46 pm
Listened to it and was disappointed. Only songs I liked were Lay Low which has been out for years and Wonder which is a great song but will sadly never be released as a single.
March 13, 2017 @ 1:11 pm
A million dollar voice singing ten dollar songs….what a shame.
March 13, 2017 @ 1:43 pm
Marc, that comment really is on target. Josh has a golden voice, a truly beautiful thing akin to say…Don Williams, rich and baritone with a touch of southern twang. He’s in elite vocal territory for sure. But so wasted on this tripe. For cryin out loud, he could be a modern day Ray Price but apparently the Music Row machine cannot understand how to market him. Hopefully he does it right next album.
March 13, 2017 @ 2:55 pm
He seriously stuck with that Lisa Frank, 12 year old girl album cover?
March 13, 2017 @ 3:22 pm
What a shock, a Josh Turner album that generally falls flat on its face?
Sorry, but Josh falls in the same territory as Joe Nichols for me. Guys who have a great voice, talk a good game about wanting to record great music, then go out and record totally mediocre material (at best).
Josh seems like a decent dude, but I don’t think I have ever listened to a Josh Turner album and been wowed. Best the guy can seem to do is 1 or 2 songs per album that reach above complete mediocrity.
March 13, 2017 @ 3:54 pm
Unfortunately, I am in general agreement with the review. I was expecting a 4/10 score based on the lack of anything really offensive, but I can’t be surprised to see it as a 3/10. Despite the disappointment, I will still buy the album because I believe he can and will make good music if given the chance. I also am attracted much more by the sound than the lyrics, so I can put up with more of the southern lists because the music is unoffensive. I also enjoy the back half of this album, especially “Never Had a Reason” and “Lay Low”.
The review refutes my original theory. On first listen, it sounded to me like the first half of the record was new material he was forced to do while the second half was more what I am used to and like from Josh (with the Hawaiian song thrown in as essentially a new bonus track). However, you note that some of those songs from the first half were included in the originally planned release, so again that theory doesn’t hold much water.
March 13, 2017 @ 4:16 pm
maybe we expect too much from Turner’s taste
and/or intelligence
March 20, 2017 @ 7:39 am
This was a compromise album.
March 13, 2017 @ 4:17 pm
I love the two singles, even if “Hometown Girl” is out of character. This “Where the Girls Are” isn’t terrible, and I actually really like the electric guitar line underneath the chorus. I think artists could play with that a little bit more.
March 13, 2017 @ 6:18 pm
Really interesting article by Phyllis Stark in today’s Billboard Country Update about all the country ‘girl’ songs and other issues with the dominance of pop country songs on mainstream radio. Some of these PDs show what the real problem is in my opinion. Shocking lack of perspective.
March 13, 2017 @ 6:19 pm
That album cover is epic. Reminds me of New Kids on the Block poster
March 13, 2017 @ 7:33 pm
I don’t consider him a sellout. mca is a sellout.
March 13, 2017 @ 8:02 pm
I went to Josh’s album release concert here last night. It was sold out and the venue in question has had groupd like Dwight Yoakam, Cody Jinks/Whitey, Flaming Lips, etc. About 55 percent of the audience were women of all ages, young to old. Josh’s voice live is great and his band was tight, he’s a pretty good performer. His problem, as the night wore on, was the same-ness of his material. Formulaic you might say. The new album material mixed right in well and the audience seemed to like “Beach Bums” about like they’d enjoy a Buffet or Chesney song. Josh has a great fiddle player is his live band and there was pedal steel and real live banjo at times. Josh said it has been 5 years since his last record (this is his “Chinese Democracy” I gather), times have changed, his label went through a merger, he tried a new producer, and admitted they re-did this album a lot, with the last song recorded in December. I will give him credit, he towed the company line even if he was politely pissed about it and gave it all he had. If he got dropped by his label, I don’t think that would be bad. He clearly is very talented and away from the big labels, it would be great to see what he could really do. Remind you of anyone else you know?
March 14, 2017 @ 12:59 am
Easton Corbin , Joe Nichols , Gary Allen ….now Josh Turner . These four guys were , arguably , the last bastion of substance-driven material offered up in a fairly traditional manner …..until the last outings by all of them . One by one they’ve caved and traded their integrity for radio success which is eluding them . Each one of these guys had a handle on something unique in an otherwise homogenized mainstream country soundscape . Josh Turner could record great songs with just that voice and an acoustic guitar and be guaranteed an appreciative and respectful following …as could any of the others I’ve mentioned above . WHY don’t these guys STOP playing the game Nashville is writing ALL the rules for and play by their own rules ? These four and others , of course , are THE REAL DEAL when it comes to delivering real country songs and have proven it in the past by their performances and their song choices . There is no way on this earth that these artists can look you in the eye and say ” I LOVE my new record ” when we already know what they’d rather be singing , writing and recording . Such a shame .
March 20, 2017 @ 7:40 am
Maybe all of those artists think that they can better fight the good fight on Music Row.
March 14, 2017 @ 2:40 am
Great review.
This is a really disappointing album. It seems so contrived, ‘Deep South’ just doesn’t feel like an authentic Josh Turner album. I wonder is he truly happy with this project?
There are a couple of listenable songs on the album, but certainly not at the standard you’d expect from Josh Turner. He should stick to what he does best – more traditional-leaning Country Music.
His previous cuts like ‘Cold Shoulder’ should be the kind of music we get from him. I feel it’s what he does best.
March 14, 2017 @ 4:38 am
Nothing good ever came out of a committee.
On the plus side, Mo Pitney’s CD is for sale at Wal-Mart! How cool is that!!
March 14, 2017 @ 5:56 am
A young kid I like a lot is a guitarist named James Lill. He has a *fantastic* new video up about why all country music sounds the same. This is pretty close to a mic drop explanation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFrJ3mD0Zto
March 14, 2017 @ 8:32 am
Not sure if you are a writer ..or a pro player , Corncaster …but yeah ….we all know this groove thing became a running joke 2-3 years ago . When we pitch , this ‘ sound ‘ is always the reference . Its mind-numbingly boring at this point and yup ….EVERYTHING sounds exactly the same ….chord structure , groove , arrangements instrumentally , tempo and , of course , lyrics ……not to mention the similarity in the vocal sounds with the exception of a Josh Turner . Just incredibly unadventurous , uninspiring and unnecessary with so many options available on all counts .
And to think that all of these ” artists” are all ” OK ” with sounding the same as each other is even more bewildering.
March 14, 2017 @ 9:06 am
ha — put Al Anderson in charge of A&R, that’ll shake the place up
Nashville is bursting the old suspenders with world-class players and writers, but the output is … underwhelming
I get that people need to eat, it’s a gravy train, etc. maybe the problem in the end is that the buying public just *wants* to keep it simple
art is always a hard sell — I’ve got artist friends, and they’re alive because they’ve learned to hustle
March 14, 2017 @ 6:50 am
I guess I was so happy to have new Josh Turner music that I didn’t hate this album as much as everyone else did. I loved ‘Lay Low’ so I was glad there were some other songs that fell into that style of song.
‘One Like Mine’ is my favorite song on the album and I love the message in the lyrics and how he celebrates how special his woman is. ‘Never Had A Reason’ is also an amazing song – a very sweet celebration of how much better his life is now that he’s found that special someone in his life.
While there are some songs that are forgettable, I don’t regret buying the cd. I’m much happier with Josh’s new music than I was with the last Easton Corbin album I bought. I am hoping that Josh is able to go back to recording his old style of music one day, but this cd isn’t awful by any means.
March 14, 2017 @ 8:28 am
This isn’t a terrible album. I can understand how some would find value in it, especially in the songs you listed.
March 14, 2017 @ 9:00 am
Appreciate that, Trigger. I understand everyone’s frustration. This isn’t exactly the Josh Turner album I wanted either, but as you said, I can find some redeeming value in some of the better songs.
I think expectations are usually higher for artists we feel carry the banner (so to speak) for traditional country songs and sounds. As I said above, I was very disappointed in Easton Corbin’s latest cd because he absolutely gave over to Bro Country. Not sure if he went willingly or had no choice.
I grew up loving Kenny Rogers, Crystal Gayle, Anne Murray, and Ronnie Milsap so the Middle Of The Road sound never bothered me. But at least those artists could and did record some amazing country sounding songs along with the MOR songs. And their songs were mixed in with Haggard, Twitty, Scaggs, and Strait on the radio. Not like today where it all sounds like rock and rap with real country no where in site.
March 14, 2017 @ 9:39 am
I completely agree with what you’re saying. This is a much better effort than Easton Corbin’s latest album. The only song on Easton’s album that I genuinely enjoyed was “Wild Women and Whiskey”, while “Are You With Me” was decent and “Like a Song” was bland but still okay. This is far from horrible (have you heard Sam Hunt’s Body Like a Back Road? Holy hopping sheep shit 🙁 .) but it could use some improvement. Personally, I really enjoyed “Never Had a Reason” and “Lay Low” myself. I also enjoyed hearing fiddle, mandolin, and steel guitar on a mainstream album. Fiddle and steel makes my heart happy 🙂 . This is nowhere near as good as the latest efforts from Jon Pardi and William Michael Morgan (if you haven’t already, please, please, please go check out these two albums (California Sunrise and Vinyl, they are fantastic), but it belongs nowhere near the shit pile that is Sam Hunt and Chris Lane.
March 14, 2017 @ 10:13 am
Thanks, Amanda. I’ll definitely check out Jon Pardi and William Michael Morgan. Always looking for great new music.
March 14, 2017 @ 9:18 am
This is quite disappointing, but it’s far from the worst music I’ve heard. Josh has a fabulous voice, arguably one of the best in country music. Some of the lyrics need a little (okay, a lot) of work, but the production is fairly good. I love fiddle and steel, and I’ve missed hearing it on radio. However, I don’t see Josh ever topping “Long Black Train”. That was one hell of a song.
March 14, 2017 @ 10:56 am
Best song on this album is “Hawaiian Girl.” Because hukilau. Who doesn’t like hukilau?
UP WITH HUKILAU
DOWN WITH NASHVILLE POP
March 14, 2017 @ 10:58 am
What is with the Miami Vice SoCal vibe to the font choice and design?
March 14, 2017 @ 11:36 am
Yeah, I don’t know, as some have pointed out, they incorporated parts of the South Carolina flag, and Turner is from South Carolina. But still.
March 14, 2017 @ 1:26 pm
there’s no accounting for taste. I hear he’s a good guy, which makes it all worse.
March 14, 2017 @ 2:16 pm
Exactly what i thought would happen. Never did like this guy and he’s just gettin worse.
March 15, 2017 @ 5:03 am
I loved that special he did with Randy Travis awhile ago. Guy had so much potential and that voice of his is such generational talent. I expected he would release an album like this sooner or later. Favourite songs of his are probably “Would You Go With Me” or “As Fast As I Could”.
March 15, 2017 @ 5:55 am
I love As Fast As I Could! Glad to see someone else that is a fan of that song.
March 15, 2017 @ 11:40 pm
Trigger, you are being way too harsh here. This album had to be restructured to compete with how much commercial country music has changed over the past few years. The album is still clearly Josh Turner, and not a sell out moment like Dierks Bentley’s “Black”( that most people wouldn’t even know that was Dierks if they played his older music back to back with the new album). I think this is a great album from Josh and I like it better than his older music. There is a slight modern twist to it… I think it sounds fresh and not out of place for Josh, but it sounds very much like real country music….not generic pop country or the ever so popular generic arena rock guitars used in most modern country songs. Most of the music on Deep South sounds like country in the mid 2000’s era, if not some late 90’s in there. There is nothing ‘pop country’ about this album aside of “Hometown Girl” which was clearly marketed for country radio to get airplay and attention to this new album. I feel sorry for all you guys that think this is a disappointing album….you are lucky that Josh kept the real country sound and didn’t switch to full blown pop country….be thankful!
March 15, 2017 @ 11:56 pm
I agree this isn’t a Dierks Bentley “Black” moment. It’s not a terrible album. He did keep from going full-blown pop like you said. Ultimately it was the lack of any quality lyricism on this record that hurt it for me personally. Just one or two songs with some real deep lyrics, like David Nail’s album for example, would have made a big difference in my opinion.
March 17, 2017 @ 7:20 am
” I feel sorry for all you guys that think this is a disappointing album….you are lucky”
My, how the condescension drips — even if you didn’t mean it to. How about this: how much more effort would it have taken, really, to dig a little deeper and tackle subjects a little bigger than, oh, say this:
“Friday night, gonna pick you up
Where it goes from there, it doesn’t matter much
‘Cause it’s all about you
Yeah, it’s all about you”
When I read that, I went “what in the hell?” And I ain’t alone. Tell him to knock it off.
March 18, 2017 @ 9:13 pm
This album feels like a tale of two records to me: The first half ranges from disappointing to downright awful, but from “Never Had A Reason” onward, it actually sounds pretty good. I’d buy tracks 7-11 as an EP, but I can’t see myself buying the whole thing.
I really feel for Turner. He had a shot at becoming the next Randy Travis, but he got caught between the rise of Bro-Country and the fall of MCA Records, and he’ll likely wind up as just another forgotten artist. What a shame.
March 20, 2017 @ 7:42 am
Yup.
If he came up in the 90’s, he would have been a superstar.
Bro-Country all but killed his career.
March 20, 2017 @ 7:49 am
My theory is that Josh releases a lot of radio friendly songs, despite his deep appreciation of country music, because he understands the need for traditional artists to be heard on the radio and since he (and Nichols) at best, are the last “big” names remaining.
Unfortunately, traditional sound, regardless of the lyrics being happy or sad, struggles on the radio.
March 20, 2017 @ 5:52 pm
Stop it! I saw Josh Turner a few years ago and he was amazing.
So why the fuck are you giving this great album a shitty review!
March 21, 2017 @ 8:19 am
Ha ha!! You do understand the concept of a review, don’t you? It’s one person’s opinion. I also saw Turner a few years back and thought he was good. Doesn’t stop this album being not-so-good!
March 21, 2017 @ 7:50 am
Update: Deep South debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Country Album chart this week. I’m very happy about that.
May 7, 2017 @ 5:30 pm
To give this album 3/10 is a little unfair. When you compare it to what is currently being released this is not a bad album at all. A 5/10 or 6/10 is probably more accurate. Not the best Turner record ever but still better than 80%-90% of the “Country” out their today.
May 12, 2017 @ 12:31 am
just saw this was out in the new sam hunt comments section.
noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo even josh turner
you could tell just from the album cover