Charlie Worsham’s “Rubberband” May Win Him a Wide Audience
There’s nothing I value more than a mainstream country music record that bucks all trends and is truly worth your ear. It goes without saying that the ranks of unknown and under-appreciated artists in the independent and underground realm is where our generation’s true creativity resides, but finding improvement in what the masses are being exposed to is the truest barometer of cultural improvement. Enter Charlie Worsham and his debut album Rubberband that is being lauded by many critics and fans alike as a breath of fresh air for the mainstream radio dial.
The album features traditionalist country favorites Vince Gill and Marty Stuart on a track called “Tools of the Trade,” and the first single “Could It Be” has already seen some moderate chart success. But Charlie Worsham may be benefiting from the same phenomenon that has aided the legacy of Garth Brooks in recent years. As mainstream country music males continue to descend into a malestrom of checklist countryisms and crossover hip-hop forays, everything that isn’t a dirt road rap song all of a sudden begins to sound a whole lot better to our audio palettes.
Rubberband is a very fun album that sucks you right in, with sensible instrumentation, slick production with juicy hooks and choruses, and songs that are easy to relate to. But boiled down it is still a derivative, and just a step above the Rascal Flatts and Keith Urbans of the world on both the country and creativity meters. There’s nothing to be offended by here per se, and hardcore country fans will hate to admit how much they like some of these songs, but Charlie Worsham is no Kellie Pickler. Rubberband is pop country, despite some moments of depth.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean it is more bad than good. I certainly don’t blame folks for being excited about this album, and it has a really warm, innocent feel to it like a country pop record from the 80’s. The fact that an artist on Warner Bros Nashville could sneak an album in the door that doesn’t include a litany of Chevy truck and ice cold beer references, or the appearance of some washed-up rapper, is a victory in itself these days. Wosham co-wrote all the songs on this record, and I’d be lying if I said songs like “Tools of the Trade,” “Rubberband,” or the especially-catchy and potential breakout single “Want Me To” didn’t have me tapping my toes along.
Charlie Worsham resides in the rarely trodden space between mainstream and independent country, and this allows him to be different things to different people. He’s toured with Taylor Swift….and Wade Bowen. He can be catchy without feeling contrived. And this could open up a wide audience for him. And who knows, it also may deliver a slight bit more substance to mainstream radio, or at least, a choice for mainstream fans of a male performer who is not willing to slavishly follow trends.
1 1/4 of 2 guns up.
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August 26, 2013 @ 2:40 pm
I played a show a few months back on the same night Charlie was in town. He came to the bar we were playing after his show and sat in on two songs. He played his single and then wanted to play “Lucille.” That song choice gave me some hope. He was a class act in my opinion.
August 26, 2013 @ 5:19 pm
its kind of hard for me to decide how I feel about it..it is better than a lot of whats out there…but it doesn’t seem all that country…I’m a bit confilcted..
August 26, 2013 @ 5:34 pm
I like it. Its quite catchy and fun. It is more pop than country on some songs but there are still some strong country elements here and there. Overall its a good pop/country album.
August 26, 2013 @ 10:03 pm
I lasted till the 1:13 mark. Trig, you’re getting soft on us!
August 26, 2013 @ 10:56 pm
I’m certainly not recommending “Rubberband” or the song “Want Me To” specifically. That is why I include a grade for every album I review. I simply thought it was an interesting project worth commenting on.
August 27, 2013 @ 5:45 am
I dig it. I’m of the opinion that just because something is Pop, it doesn’t mean it’s bad. He has some unique acoustic riffs in the few videos I just watched.
August 27, 2013 @ 6:08 am
It is a damn sight better than your average male pop country offering.
August 27, 2013 @ 11:27 am
If by any chance you doubt this kid’s “country” street cred….what this video of him killing it on the Opry when he was 12.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tba8JhO9A1M
August 27, 2013 @ 12:52 pm
Gives him slightly more street cred then the video of Hunter Hays singing “Jambalaya” with Hank Jr. when he was 5 years old.
August 27, 2013 @ 12:56 pm
That’s awesome!
August 27, 2013 @ 7:52 pm
I tried to like this album, I really did, but I can’t. Sure, there are a few good songs, but overall it just falls flat for me.
I think it really just shows how far the bar has fallen for a Music Row release to stand out. A few years back we’d probably be decrying this as more pop-country bullshit. Too polished, too mainstream, what have you. In 2013 it’s a breath of fresh air to hear a male artist put out an album that still has a smidgen of traditional elements and no laundry list truck songs.
Every time I hear that a Nashville artist has put out a solid country album I am invariably disappointed. I go into it hoping for something that isn’t there. I’d kill to hear a new album that sounded like circa 2002 Trace Adkins, or any of the turn of the millennium neotraditionalists. That’s all I would like to see out of Music Row. One artist who will say, “Wait a minute, look how far we’ve fallen. They bought it then, I’m sure they’ll buy it now.” God knows I would.
August 30, 2013 @ 7:37 pm
Meh, this kind of music does nothing for me.
Maybe he has talent, but I can’t listen to it long enough for me to judge. I’m curious though, what do you guys think of artists like Conner Christian and Zac Brown. I’m quite new to country music, but I already know I don’t like the Jason Aldeans of the world. To me, Zac and Conner are two guys that don’t quiet fit the “mold” of outlaw country, but they don’t fit with the Aldean pop-country crowd either.
August 31, 2013 @ 1:49 pm
Haven’t personally heard of Connor Christian, but ZBB is fantastic, even though they consider themselves more southern rock than country.