Gary Allan Finds His Big Sellout Moment with “Hangover Tonight”
Gary Allan. Gary freaking Allan. I never thought I’d see the day that he would be one to turn to the dark side, but here we are. Yeah, I know, you can point to signs and signifiers throughout his career that illustrated Gary Allan as less than the ideal male country star, but in a greater measure you could point to the songs and moments that made him out to be one of the final remaining good guys in mainstream music that kept it mostly real, and did things his way without compromise. Until now of course.
What a contrast compared to where Gary’s mindset was in September of 2013 when he sat down with Larry King and read mainstream country its rights.
I also feel like we lost our genre,” Gary said in part. “I don’t feel like I make music for a genre anymore, and I did, you know, 15 years ago. But I think since the Clear Channel’s and the Cumulus’s and the big companies bought up all the chains, now it’s about a demographic. You know, so they’ve kind of sliced everything up, feeding it to the public in demographics.”
Gary continued, “You used to be able to turn on the radio and you knew instantly it was the country station just by listening to it, and now you’ve got to leave it there for a second to figure it out…to me, country music is still Monday through Friday, and pop’s about what happens on the weekends.”
Well Gary Allan just released a weekend song if there ever was one. This is why Sam Hunt has been so damaging to country music. Just like Bro-Country did before it, the big success of something preordains that any artist with an upcoming release must follow along until everyone is chasing the same stupid trend. This EDM /R&B business, it’s now reached Gary Allan. Gary freaking Allan.
A writeup in this weeks Billboard Country Update by Tom Roland spells out just what sinister lengths were gone through to bring Gary Allan’s “Hangover Tonight” to life. It’s like the account of constructing a country music Frankenstein: Six songwriters were required, including Chris Stapleton—who despite all his excellent solo work, never ceases to let you down by the unfortunate songwriting gang bangs he ends up being involved in. The track of course wasn’t Gary’s idea, but the idea of producer Greg Droman to attempt to piggy back off the success of Thomas Rhett’s R&B-influenced #1 single “Make Me Wanna.” Gary is quoted as saying, “This is like the fourth or fifth time I’ve had to reinvent myself,” which doesn’t seem necessary for someone simply being original.
Then Gary says, “I remember my daughter walking in and going, ‘I’ve never ever been in the room when you’re writing and there wasn’t instruments everywhere.'” Gary later talks about recording the song in the studio and says, “At one point, I had like over 100 inputs, and we crashed the board a couple of times.” Then the author Tom Roland chimes in with, “The original intent was to use the human tracks exclusively, but as Droman (the producer) started combing through the material during mixing, some of the programmed parts were irresistible.”
This is the sausage making of a modern-day “country” music track, and the results speak for themselves.
This is Gary Allan’s big sellout moment ladies and gentlemen. No pretenses, no qualifiers, just come out and act like you’re into what Sam Hunt and Thomas Rhett are into at the ripe age 47. This is even a bigger sellout moment than Tim McGraw with “Truck Yeah” and Jerrod Niemann with “Drink To That All Night” because you half expected those moves from those knuckleheads. But Gary Allan? The tatted up, “Get Off on the Pain” guy? What, does he have a boat to pay off?
“Hangover Tonight” is terrible. And I don’t know how many videos from these mainstream males I’ve seen—lyric videos or otherwise—that show a line of shot glasses getting filled with whiskey. It’s nearly every damn video. All of them. The foundation of everything in male country music right now is a row of shot glasses.
Once again I ask, where is the CMA in all of this? Where is Billboard‘s chart editors questioning the efficacy of taking R&B songs and charting them in the country genre? Just this week Billboard ran a story about how Zac Brown’s new single “Heavy Is The Head” with Chris Cornell has been designated to the rock chart. Why? Because it is a rock song. Let Gary Allan and “Hangover Tonight” try to hang with the folks over on the R&B/Hip-Hop charts where it belongs, and watch them laugh his cracker ass right off the page. Gary Allan, Thomas Rhett, Sam Hunt, and Jason Aldean’s “Burnin’ It Down” would get their asses handed to them over in the R&B world because it’s not only bad country, it’s worse R&B.
“Hangover Tonight” has no business in country music, and the powers that be need to enact some major scene and quality control in what can fly the country music flag before the entire genre implodes from being completely unable to define its own borders.
Two guns way down.
– – – – – – – – – – –
Oh, and “you gonna pick up that butt
March 13, 2015 @ 9:27 am
This hurts the most out of any sellout in the history of country music, in my opinion. If there was one thing you could always count on, it was Gary Allan being original as hell. He’s released some of the best and most consistent albums over the past twenty years or so. I couldn’t believe it when I heard this song for the first time. It’s really the opposite of everything Allan’s ever stood for. We can only hope this is simply the worst cut on his new album cause it doesn’t get much worse than this. Why, Gary?
March 13, 2015 @ 9:36 am
What makes me most angry when a song like this gets released is all those fans of someone like Gary Allan who’ve been with him for 20 years, and now have to get their hearts broken and seriously question their loyal fandom. It really is heart wrenching. Is doing that to your fans worth the money?
March 13, 2015 @ 9:54 am
No it’s not worth it all. Smoke rings in the dark that meant a lot to me…this is just sad man.
March 23, 2015 @ 8:52 am
See, this is what bothered me most about Montgomery Gentry’s switch from somewhat redundant but nonetheless reliable small town songs to turds like “Titty’s Beer” and “Headlights.” Given that hindsight is 20/20, I regret laying into you and everyone else that criticized them for that first song. Knowing that they’re willing to bend with the tide actually caused me to like them quite a bit less. It’s even hard to enjoy their older music that actually IS country because it comes across as insincere. The thought that the music would sound differently if trends were the same back then as they are now keeps me from embracing it the same way I once did.
As for fans, I think some artists start seeing fans AS money, as opposed to people that have connected and invested some parts of their lives into the art. Plus, there’s always a section of fans that love everything the artist puts out. For whatever reason, comments along the lines of “it sound more like their older material” have become commonplace in circles I frequent. Speaking of MG, there were many fans on their Facebook saying the same thing about the utter bro-garbage of “Headlights.” Just what the hell does mock rapping, hip hop beats and partying have to do with Montgomery Gentry’s older material? Not much, I can tell you.
March 15, 2015 @ 11:22 am
Gary Allen you are the man ;Just stay Gary Allen !! Don;t change !!
June 26, 2015 @ 8:58 pm
As a songwriter I really couldnt come up with one impressive song that Gary Allan WROTE. Hes just a performer, dont get that confused with an artist. I encourage you guys to investigate his standout singles. Some examples.. It aint the whisky , Today, Best i ever had, The one, Life aint always beautiful, watching airplanes, man to man, nothing on but the radio, smoke rings in the dark.. Guess what? He wrote NONE of them. I could go on for paragraphs including every song thats had some success he only ‘co wrote’….. Wake up people, the days of Johnny Cash are over, at least in the commercial scene. If you want great music thats honest and real do a little googling and stay off the radio.
October 6, 2015 @ 11:14 am
While I would never say Gary is prolific with his songwriting (he doesn’t really write a lot) he has written plenty of Great songs on his latest albums. ” I Just Got Back From Hell” “Putting Memories Away”, “Putting My Misery on Display”, “Yesterday’s Rain”, “Learning How To Bend”, “We Touched The Sun”, “No Regrets”, “Along the Way” “She Gets Me”, “No Damn Good” and “Me Without You” are all songs that standout on his albums that have him labeled as a co writer. “I Just Got Back From Hell” is a song so personally dark that I would call it a classic.
March 13, 2015 @ 9:29 am
I’m just going to hope that he’s releasing this horrible drech in some sort of underhanded back-door attempt at destroying the mountain Sam Hunt has created. Maybe, in trying to save his genre, he’s stinking the place up so damned bad that people have to RUN from this.
It’s Bad. It’s really really really bad. And when he talks about it, it’s not like he’s saying it’s genius … I read in his statements an underlying contempt for the process and what the song has become.
Seriously, is the awful dumbness of this song actually pure genius on the part of Gary? Lord, I hope so.
March 13, 2015 @ 9:35 am
Sad to see artists conceding and selling out to the whims of trendiness. Even more sad to think it took SIX people to write this unfortunate song. Is it just me or are others of you tired of hearing “girl” repeated over and over by all these mainstream male artists. “Hey girl” – do you really talk to your woman that way? My wife would straighten me out real quick on that one. Or is it a real thing with the 20-something crowd? I’m just tired of it one way or the other.
March 13, 2015 @ 3:45 pm
I think they’re imitating hip hop / R&B jargon.
Turn on an R&B station anytime in the last ten years and you’ll hear something along the lines of: “Ooh girl, you make me feel so good…” or conversely, “Hey girl, why the hell you doin’ this to me?”
And so on.
March 16, 2015 @ 12:10 pm
I think you mean “Turn on any radio station anytime in the last sixty years and you”™ll probably hear something along the lines of: ‘Ooh girl, you make me feel so good”¦’ or conversely, ‘Hey girl, why the hell you doin”™ this to me?'”
Those two sentiments are the driving force of at least half of 20th century American songs.
March 13, 2015 @ 9:38 am
Made it halfway through this dog turd. Can’t take it. Do you think country radio will really play this? its not good R&B, EDM, pop OR Country. Its just not good
March 13, 2015 @ 10:25 am
I really have no idea what to think the success of this song could be. There’s a big financial push behind it, so that means it will see some traction at radio.
March 13, 2015 @ 9:47 am
He was never the countriest of sounds, but a few of his old songs are great. This is a shitty way to go out though.
March 13, 2015 @ 9:59 am
I was never crazy about Gary Allan’s music, but I always respected his stand on country music. The Turks just took Belgrade to use a historical metaphor.
If Josh Turner ever sells out, that would devastate my heart.
If George and Alan ever sell out, bury country music under the old apple tree.
March 13, 2015 @ 2:43 pm
I’ve never liked him either. No surprise he’s a hypocrite. Reminds me of Garth Brooks.
I’m a big Josh Turner fan, I don’t think he will ever sell out. George and Alan? Nah, never gonna happen. “I Got A Car” was George’s closest thing to selling out, but it was still a true country song through and through.
March 13, 2015 @ 4:29 pm
This time I agree with you this time. I can’t stand that creep Garth brooks, and Gary Allan I don’t know what I’m going to say. Josh Turner will not change and George and Alan will be a true country singers.
March 13, 2015 @ 11:38 pm
I wouldn’t call Garth a “creep”, but he definitely is an extremely arrogant, very cocky, incredibly selfish, careless, fckin peckerhead
March 14, 2015 @ 9:53 am
I’m eagerly awaiting Josh’s new album, but at the same time I would be lying if I wasn’t concerned about a change, but everything (admittedly limited info) I have read from him points to staying the same. I believe Josh will keep the line because of this fact: Josh has never sung about the cliché beer and trucks songs. He is his own niche of sweet love songs. He doesn’t need to change his sound because his songs are drastically different from the majority of current country singers.
October 6, 2015 @ 11:21 am
Honestly I have been extremely disappointed in Josh Turner, especially his last two albums. He has the best voice that was practically screaming for hard core country. He never really followed that path. His albums a traditional grounding ( maybe not his latest record) but he is not a very good songwriter. Look at the songs he has co-written (outside of “Long Black Train” and they are usually the worst songs on the album. “Everything Is Fine” record however I love and think it’s a fantastic record. I wish he would stick to hard country but you have to record songs that the radio will play.
March 13, 2015 @ 10:01 am
He’s had some good songs, but he’s released a lot of crap, too. I can’t imagine Gary Allan being the type of artist that could inspire hard-core fanhood.
March 13, 2015 @ 6:55 pm
Gary Has always been one of my favorites, I dig most of his music, even the weirder stuff. He definitely doesn’t seem overly enthusiastic about this song, and I don’t honestly think its all that awful, if he’d released it to a different format, instead of country radio, i might think it was interesting.
March 14, 2015 @ 1:54 pm
Tell that to all the Highway Junkies out there!
March 13, 2015 @ 10:03 am
At least, he didn’t rhyme whiskey with frisky.
Dear Hank, there is a hashtag in the video.
March 13, 2015 @ 10:09 am
As bad as the song and video are, the hashtag was what offended me most…
March 13, 2015 @ 10:13 am
I feel like crying. Smoke Rings in the Dark was one of my favorite songs ever.
March 13, 2015 @ 10:17 am
Two things:
1. The song is even worse than I expected after reading that review.
2. That review is classic. Lots of 2015 left, but I don’t know that you will top that one this year. Well done.
March 13, 2015 @ 10:19 am
Is this any different from what we saw in the 80’s and 90’s? Take Alabama’s “The Closer You Get” (#38 on Billboard Hot 100) for example. Its a timeless classic but I’m sure people were looking at Alabama like WTF. I use this song only as an example because of all the extra sound crap they added to it, it still 200x better than this GA song any day. Now I’m not sticking up for Gary Allen or this song, its pure garbage but Nashville and Mainstream will always do what they feel is the next big thing. Look what happened after Urban Cowboy. The record companies are trying to figure out what to do after Bro-Country. I for one don’t pay much attention to things like this. Mainstream artist have to meet their quotas and at the end of the day, its what the boss man (record company) says. Mainstream will always have their handful of artist that go against the grain, but at the end of the day, these artist have to record a pile of shit to feed the machine. I’m sure Gary Allan will play this song on his current tour because the boss said so, but he’ll move on from this song and put it away in his archive. Lets hope so
March 13, 2015 @ 10:28 am
The thing about this song is Gary Allan has spent 20 years putting together a track record of not being a trend chaser. Of course there’s always been sellout moments in country music and there always will be. But when it comes from an artist you have respect for, it makes it that much more nauseating.
March 13, 2015 @ 11:00 am
I completely agree. It’s guys like him that we have been able to count on to keep the torch burning. Lets hope this was a moment of bad judgment or some really good drugs on his part to allow him to be able to record this.
March 13, 2015 @ 10:41 am
after reading your review I expected Usher to be on the track. To me, it sounds like something John Mellencamp would have used in the 80’s… What’s that song? Jack and Diane? Cherry Bomb? Not country, for sure. I’ve never been a big Gary Allan guy, I’ve only really got into “Nothin’ on but the radio.” But yes, he’s talked a big game. And now this. 💩🔥. But, I’ve heard worse, Jason Aldean. Not sticking up for it, just calling it what it is to me. Have to say though, man I love your pissed off, irritated reviews.
March 13, 2015 @ 10:41 am
Sad . Yet another Strawgrasper trying to hang on to some small place in the new pantheon of country-less ‘country’ music . Ronnie Dunn ( done ?-Kiss You There ) , Reba ( whatever the hell her new single is called ) McGraw ( Truck Yeah ..as mentioned ) …they are the shameless founding members and sadly ….each one of these artists are amazingly talented and the LAST people that need to be members of any trend-chasing music club .The LAST . Allan’s tune is not my least favourite song vying for chart attention…but hell …that is saying nothing these days . Here’s a guy with , arguably , one of the most unique , emotion-filled voices in any genre , a guy who could have carved out a successful career TOTALLY on his own terms because of that and his commitment to finding some top tier material and he seems to be taking the easy way out .
“Strawgraspers” . Let’s pray they don’t start a band or the name will be written on ball caps everywhere. Shit .
March 17, 2015 @ 5:37 pm
“Reba ( whatever the hell her new single is called )” lol. I thought I was the only one…
March 13, 2015 @ 10:55 am
Certainly a sell out moment, as this type of song seems to be exactly what he seemed to speaking about with respect to losing “our genre.”
The melody of this song remains me of John Mellencamp’s Cherry Bomb, which isn’t a bad song. Of course, that one had an organic sound to it and the lyrics weren’t disposable. Oh, and the genre that it was being marketed to matched the song.
March 13, 2015 @ 11:12 am
If this doesn’t become a big hit I’ll forgive Gary. If it goes #1 and he continues down this trail, that will hurt quite a lot.
March 13, 2015 @ 11:15 am
Wow, that Billboard article was interesting. What a soul-crushing process.
One of my favorite Gary Allan songs is “Songs about Rain” (in tandem with the cool black-and-white video). When you think of the great songs he references in that one, and then think about the fact that he’s now fighting the execrable Thomas Rhett for the right to record something, it is truly sad.
March 13, 2015 @ 11:26 am
Really? Loyal Gary fans heartbroken and questioning their fandom? Obviously you don’t know the loyal fans that I know, and no I’m not questioning my loyalty to him over this one song. In my opinion, anyone who turns their back on him because of one song doesn’t deserve to be called loyal.
I will grant that the version of this song that we are hearing on the radio has its faults, and it does not rank as one of his best songs. But to compare it to crap like “Truck Yeah” and Sam Hunt is almost as insulting as if you had equated “Hangover Tonight” with “1994” and FGL!
I was fortunate that the first two times I heard this song were live in Oklahoma last month. Stripped of Chris Stapleton’s of gender-bending backgrounds and all the Music Row drossy gloss sound mix-ins, it sounds far more like a great Gary song when it’s just Gary’s vocals and his band. I was surprised and troubled the first few times I heard the studio version because the live version had been so much better, but it is certainly growing on me the more I listen to it.
No it’s not in the same league of his last single “It Ain’t the Whiskey”, but guess what? Gary took a chance on his career to push for “Whiskey” against his record label’s wishes otherwise, promoted it like mad with next to NO support from his label’s parent company, fans loved it with a passion, critics rightly lauded it –but it was not a success at radio. So unfortunately now his label has more say on this next single because as much as we rail against money ahead of artistry, they need to make money.
Also, if you had heard the other new songs Gary has been performing in concerts in the last 3 months, you wouldn’t be so quick to trash Gary as a “sellout” over this first single. Gary has plenty more of the songs we have been drawn to love over his career coming on this next album. I see no need to panic that Gary had gone total sellout and abandon following his music over one less than stellar single.I’m choosing to celebrate my birthday this weekend by going to both of his Texas concerts because there isn’t anyone else who makes me happier with their music than Gary does.
Quite often I agree with you in your reviews, but this time I’m turned off by how harsh and judgemental you and some of the comments were than I am by this song. I stand by the Highway Junkie motto that even the rare bad Gary Allan song is still better than much of the “best” we hear on so-called ‘country’ radio nowadays.
March 13, 2015 @ 11:41 am
Well if what you say is true that he plays a different version live then that is an even more troubling indictment because he is almost admitting that the radio version is a complete sellout. If he thinks the radio version is good enough to expose to many more casual fans then why won’t he play it live?
That is if true a very damning and cynical move.
March 13, 2015 @ 12:16 pm
Look, I’m not promoting the idea that all loyal Gary Allan fans should now turn their backs on him. I did respond to a comment from someone who has this sentiment, and I can understand it after hearing this song, and having been listening to Gary’s music for years. But you’re right, a loyal fan is one who is willing to be there through good and bad times. The question is if this is just one song, if we’re going to get a whole album like this, and what happens next. If Gary puts out an excellent song next, then we should all open our hearts and allow ourselves to enjoy it, and not let what we think about “Hangover Tonight” affect that. At the same time, when an artist releases a song like this, it’s bound to test the loyalty of some listeners, and Gary even had to know this going in.
March 13, 2015 @ 12:55 pm
This notion is one that really bothers me. People are really quick to pre-judge unreleased albums based solely on the first single. The same is happening with Ashley Monroe and Kacey Musgraves after their new singles weren’t what people were hoping for. Granted, neither of those reactions are nearly as negative as for Gary, but it’s still the same basic thing that people are condemning an artist or an upcoming album just because of one song.
March 13, 2015 @ 1:19 pm
But the fact of the matter is that many times more people will hear a radio single than will ever here an entire album so most of the time that is how the album will be judged. There have been numerous occasions on this site where people have pointed out that much reviled performers like Jason Aldean and Brantley Gilbert have some good album cuts but in the end for most people that doesn’t matter because they will be remembered by the singles. Plus it’s the singles which set the trends whether good or bad so that is why they matter so much more than some really good album cut. It’s just a fact of life.
March 13, 2015 @ 1:21 pm
Another song that fits in this R&B direction that everyone hated was Tim McGraw’s “Lookin’ For That Girl.” It didn’t crack the Top 15 so people forget about it. Everyone was concerned about Tim McGraw’s new direction, but in the end his album was one of the better released in the mainstream last year and his new single has critics raving. I certainly don’t plan to write of Gary’s career because of one song. But I also can’t act like I like this song simply because of what he’s done in the past.
March 13, 2015 @ 1:33 pm
I really wonder sometimes with some of these acts that are little longer in the tooth if while recording a new album they don’t get pressured by some label guy who was working in the pop music department until five minutes ago to chase the latest trend. It’s the ‘I don’t hear a single’ cliché that has been around forever.
I really believe that the instinct to stay relevant whether for financial reasons or just ego is really hard to buck at times and it makes some susceptible to chasing trends.
March 14, 2015 @ 2:46 pm
My words exactly Mary, Gary is my all-time favorite artist and your bit on “It Ain’t The Whiskey” is so true.
And for the record Trigger, one of Gary’s upcoming album co-writes (as presented to us by Windmills Country) is a song called “Sorrow” written solely by Gary. Here’s the others:
http://windmillsmusic.tumblr.com/post/88966204528/gary-allan-upcoming-album-cuts-cowrites
Hmm, “I Wish You Loved Me”? Wasn’t that on Jim freakin’ Lauderdale’s latest album? Every sellout would cut a Jim Lauderdale tune. Sorry Trigger but when your review talks more about how Gary is going to sell out than the actual fucking song I have to say something.
March 14, 2015 @ 3:41 pm
Let’s tap the brakes just a little bit Zack. I never said I expect his album to suck or to be a sellout album. I have no idea what to expect from his album. I kept my ire exclusively on this song.
March 15, 2015 @ 8:13 pm
Trigger- I’m sorry replying so late and also for my immature comment. There was no need for it and I hope you can forgive it. I guess I just lashed out because, as ibstated above Gary is my favorite, and hearing this song was kind of hard for me to swallow as not only it is totally left of field for him, it also just simply isn’t good. As I give this more listens I start to give In to that sentiment. I stand by position that Gary will NOT continue down this route though, even he is too smart for that. Anyway, I’m sorry for direcring my anger towards you, it was unneccesary. Been a fan of yours for a while and I will continue to be, take care
– Zack
March 16, 2015 @ 12:31 am
No need to apologize Zack. You’re sticking up for an artist you believe in, and I totally respect that. Trust me when I say that Gary’s next album is going to get a very in-depth and objective review here because of this song and the review I posted for it. And as I always do, I hope I am entertained and that he proves to us all this single was simply a way to create renewed attention for his carrer, and the real Gary hasn’t gone anywhere.
March 14, 2015 @ 4:13 pm
I’m a big Gary fan and I won’t turn my back, but this is a huge disappointment. The review is spot on.
March 13, 2015 @ 11:34 am
What happened to artists integrity? did he choose to make this or is it some nightmare forced on us by labels…ugh of all artists to sell out i never thought it would be Gary Allen. who’s next?
March 13, 2015 @ 1:09 pm
I am a HUGE Gary Allan fan–seen him live more times than I can count and have been a fan since his very first single. I don’t like his new song but that won’t stop me from buying his cd if it ever comes out. I think this song was pushed by the label. Gary said over & over that another song would be the first single and then we got this. He also said over & over that the record was done and then he ended up doing it again. A long time fan favorite “Long Year” was promised to finally be included on a cd but it didn’t make the cut. I suspect that this song was pushed solely by the label. Labels are all about making money and Gary is under contract to do that if he wants to keep making records. He pushed for the release of It Ain’t the Whiskey which is a great song and it got zero radio play. If Gary has to put out a song like this every now and then so he can keep making records and keep touring I’m willing to put up with it.
March 13, 2015 @ 1:37 pm
In the information from the Billboard article about how the song came about linked above, it was the idea of producer Greg Droman to record and release this. The song has six songwriters. I think this was totally the work of the industry to create a smash first single for Gary’s album. Ultimately it’s Gary’s name on the song, but this has all the earmarks of an industry-generated single.
March 13, 2015 @ 7:16 pm
Gary Allan just release one bad song then his next single might be good just like Tim McGraw “Looking for that girl” #15 then his next 2 went #1 which were good song and his new song barstools is a good one. Gary might hit top 20 but he’ll come back to release a country song Mr. Trigger.
March 14, 2015 @ 12:07 am
I apologize if i came across harsh, I’ve been a long time Gary Allen fan though i have not had the chance to see him in concert, not a lot of acts seem to hit central California, but i am just tired of seeing the musicians i grew up listening to release terrible songs that don’t belong in country music. I love Gary’s music. This song just pushed me over the edge. And hi Trigger! First time poster on this site, long time reader.
March 14, 2015 @ 7:36 am
Thanks for reading Jay.
March 13, 2015 @ 11:37 am
“Smoke Rings in the Dark” is one of my favorite songs. Then he goes and does this… His success seems to be on-again-off-again. He’s hoping to cash out on the EDM trend, even though he knows it’s not country. Same with Brad Paisley. I think his songs “She’s Everything” and “Remind Me” with Carrie Underwood are examples of how to mix country and rock successfully. I have yet to hear one successful mixture of country and anything else. He knows what country is, he just knows he’s lost relevance so he’s trying to get it back, and it’s not working so well for him. I hate that these stupid trends are turning some of my favorite artists into sell outs.
March 13, 2015 @ 11:45 am
This in some ways reminds me of Mark Chesnutt recording a cover of the Aerosmith power ballad ‘I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing’ near the end of his run and it went to number one but in many ways it telegraphed the end of his relevance.
Sometimes you can almost see these guys with there fingers slipping off the railing as they get closer to falling to there mainstream deaths.
March 13, 2015 @ 1:19 pm
Excellent point about Mark Chesnutt. I was so pissed about that at the time, that I actually wrote a letter to his fan club about it. They wrote me back with a BS answer, about how he didn’t want to be pigeonholed as only a traditional Country singer.
March 13, 2015 @ 1:41 pm
Yeah, but Mark Chesnutt has also been a big champion for traditional country music over many years, it wasn’t a terrible song to begin with, and the end result was still a country-sounding song. I’m not saying it wasn’t a bad decision, but I think this is worse.
March 13, 2015 @ 1:50 pm
I’m a huge Mark Chesnutt fan I think ‘Too Cold At Home’ is a classic so I’m not attacking him really more just that I think that is an example of a performer making a desperate move to stay in the game.
Hell if anything that song reflected more poorly on Aerosmith from a musical standpoint.
March 13, 2015 @ 2:12 pm
And now I see Steven Tyler is signing to Big Machine and is going to release a country album.
So there’s that.
March 13, 2015 @ 4:35 pm
I like mark Chesnutt song too but I hated his version of “I Don’t want to miss a thing” because it don’t sound like him on one of his other songs.
March 14, 2015 @ 11:11 am
Mark Chesnutt is one my top 5 favorites of the modern era. I love Mark Chesnutt, but it really tore me up when he recorded that song. Interestingly, it was his last hoorah, he hasn’t had a significant single since.
March 13, 2015 @ 11:52 am
Maybe I’m biased because I’m a huge Gary fan, but I’m genuinely surprised how negative the response to this song has been not just here but on other country blogs. It’s certainly far from his strongest material and the chorus is too loud, but I’m stunned that so many people hate it so much and consider it a sell out. He’s been leaning more toward rock and R&B for a decade now since Tough All Over. It’s not like this is something totally out of left field for him.
March 13, 2015 @ 12:10 pm
As was spelled out in the Billboard article about how the song came about linked above, this was not some natural progression on the part of Gary Allan, this was producer Greg Droman trying to emulate the success of Thomas Rhett”™s R&B-influenced #1 single “Make Me Wanna.” Gary himself said in the article that it was part of a “reinvention.” I do think it was out of left field from him.
March 13, 2015 @ 12:39 pm
People like you come and go. Six months from now, you will not be remembered.
So, you do not like Gary’s music…you are but one.
I have been a fan of Gary’s for 18 years. So, yes, I have saw and heard many changes. Change is a part of life. So no, Gary is not doing his music like he did years ago but he is in a competitive business. You know “if you’re going to run with the big dogs, you’ve got to get off of the porch”…this is what Gary is doing.
None of us remain the same, not personally and not in our careers. How boring would we be? The same applies to Gary.
If you do not like his new music…then do not listen. You are not being forced to, but be assured, there are plenty of us that will listen to it.
We love Gary and his music!
March 13, 2015 @ 1:07 pm
“People like you come and go. Six months from now, you will not be remembered.”
Huh? This website has been around for eight years. You may not remember me in six months, but there’s no plans to mothball operations. I’m a critic. It is my job to offer my opinion which is what I did. My job requires me to pay attention to music I may not like.
“So, you do not like Gary”™s music”¦you are but one.”
Actually, there’s a dozen-plus self-described Gary Allan fans right here on this website who agreed with me, and if anything, I’m bringing up the caboose in giving the negative opinion on this song when it comes to the world wide internet. And I never said that I do not like Gary Allan’s music. In fact I said the contrary. What I don’t like is this song. If Gary Allan and his peeps want to turn a blind eye to the concerns about this song, that’s their business, but my opinions were offered in a manner to meant to let folks know what people are feeling to hopefully result in better music, and better decisions being made by artists.
In September 2013, Gary called out Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift for releasing songs that didn’t belong in country, and I championed that sentiment. What a hypocrite I would be if I didn’t point out when Gary does the same thing.
“Right now Gary Allan is proving that you can still have mainstream appeal, but write sincere, heartfelt songs.”
https://savingcountrymusic.com/40th-annual-willie-nelsons-4th-of-july-picnic-live-blog
I love Gary and his music too. That is why I put forth the effort to voice concern.
March 13, 2015 @ 1:33 pm
Renee I’m with you all the way.
March 13, 2015 @ 7:15 pm
Big Gary Allan fan right here. I own most of his albums and have seen him live twice. He’s one of my favorite mainstream acts by far. This song blows. Being a fan doesn’t mean blindly supporting everything they do, it’s caring enough to call them out on their mistakes. I’ll reserve my judgement on the album until I hear it, but judging by this song alone, he looks like a sellout. As a fan, I want him to be better than that. Take off the blinders.
March 15, 2015 @ 8:09 am
I love Gary Allan.
But I’m not so blind in my devotion that I can’t see that his career has been on the decline for years. His last single with any significant level of success was in 2012, and that was his first top ten since 2007.
So in spite of how you feel about it, it appears that Gary Allan is in fact being forgotten by the public at large. In fact my daughter, who listens to country radio constantly, just saw this and asked me who Gary Allan is.
Being a fan myself, I’d like to think this is something he signed on for before realizing what it was all about and will withhold judgment until I hear more of his new music. But the realist in me understands that this may be an attempt to regain some level of commercial relevance.
March 13, 2015 @ 12:46 pm
Oh good lord. Gary you get this one. I guess I owe it to you for some great albums in the past. But just this one, please don’t make this a thing.
March 13, 2015 @ 1:01 pm
Well, this is unfortunate. I was a fan of Gary Allen back when he first came out but I haven’t followed him much in recent years. I never thought he would stoop so low.
March 13, 2015 @ 1:02 pm
Once again, I disagree with the review. I don’t think that this is a good song, but it does not deserve “two guns way down”.
The music is a very soothing type of soft rock and not extremely different from classic country. It is definitely well above the hard rock and rap sound that defines bro-country. I agree with Jack Williams’s note about the similarities between this and Mellencamp’s “Cherry Bomb” (one of my favorite songs of the 80s and a song that I am proud to own).
The lyrics, while mundane, are less offensive than most bro-country. At least it talks about “feelings” rather than body parts.
March 13, 2015 @ 1:32 pm
I respect your difference in opinion Eric, but why are we using Bro-Country as our measurement base? Doing that, everything can be graded higher. Instead I think it is more fair to rate this song against Gary Allan’s previous output, and the current output of his peers.
March 13, 2015 @ 1:36 pm
Two steps back, one step forward. Three steps back, one step forward. In the end we keep falling further back.
Relativism is a lousy way to rate music.
March 13, 2015 @ 1:23 pm
What do you expect from a Huntington Beach, California city boy?
I’m sick, but not a bit surprised. He hasn’t released a Country single in over 15 years.
March 13, 2015 @ 1:45 pm
David Allan Coe is a Yankee from Akron, Ohio. Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, and Dwight Yoakum are also from California.
March 13, 2015 @ 4:02 pm
Just for the record, Yoakam was born in Kentucky, and raised in Columbus, Ohio.
March 13, 2015 @ 7:11 pm
Let’s not compare the labor camps, orchards, cotton fields, and oil wells of the depression era San Joaquin Valley, to the surf boards, pristine beaches, and suburban mansions of Huntington Beach.
March 14, 2015 @ 1:18 am
On the one hand, I agree with you that Huntington Beach is not culturally country at all. Having lived in California for roughly the last 7 years, I can attest to the fact that the Central Valley is drastically different in culture from coastal California. In many ways, the Central Valley feels like the Midwest with a tinge of the South, rather than “authentic” California.
On the other hand, one does not need to be from a culturally country place in order to have a deep appreciation for the musical genre. For example, I grew up in the Seattle area and have never lived in a rural area or anywhere near the South, but I still love classic country. Also, as Trigger has pointed out, several underground country stars come from the Upper Midwest.
March 14, 2015 @ 6:40 am
Haggard is originally from Oklahoma and Owens is from Phoenix.
March 15, 2015 @ 3:54 pm
Buck Owens was from Sherman, TX not Phoenix. And Haggard is from California, he just a big hit with a song about being from Oklahoma.
March 16, 2015 @ 6:43 am
Coe is from Akron, but he certainly wasn’t and isn’t a “Yankee.” I don’t know what you imagine Akron to be, but its not Yankee-land. Its a burned out old mill town whose best years were seven decades ago. Detroit is big enough to garner national attention, but, places like Akron, Toledo, New Castle, PA, Youngstown, Sharon, PA, etc. are worse-off.
March 13, 2015 @ 2:09 pm
Another dumb uninformed comment
March 13, 2015 @ 7:20 pm
“Another”?
I’ve never said anything dumb or uninformed on this website.
Everything I said in this comment was 100% accurate.
Why don’t you tell me why you like Gary Allan, instead of acting like a petulant butthole simply because what I said makes you uncomfortable?
March 14, 2015 @ 1:41 am
Clint. I’ve never met you, and I probably never ever will, but I can honestly say from the bottom of my heart, I’m so happy that we will never meet. Yes this is a terrible song, but aside from that, you are probably the most negative person I have ever encountered in my 10 beautiful years of interest experience. Thank you for this experience.
March 14, 2015 @ 11:04 am
Hi J,
Due to your typos, I’m not clear on what it is you’re thanking me for.
I was a Gary Allan fan before you even knew who he was. I stopped liking him around 2000.
As usual, seemingly nobody on this website full of supposed intellectuals, is able to figure out my point, before getting pissed and attacking me personally.
March 14, 2015 @ 1:43 am
Also if you’d like to know why people are Gary Allan fans
https://youtu.be/lYdXesvlGyU
March 15, 2015 @ 8:23 pm
Smoke rings in the dark is one of my favorite Gary Allan songs too it should been a #1 hit.
March 14, 2015 @ 1:52 am
Here’s a song of his from about a year and a half ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3Xr67jp1Fo
March 13, 2015 @ 1:45 pm
I don’t know what’s more disturbing; that the intro sounds like a 70’s porn soundtrack, or the American flag curtain on the photo booth…
March 13, 2015 @ 1:47 pm
Et tu, Gary? This song is just like Nothing on But the Radio except that it sucks.
March 13, 2015 @ 2:15 pm
I like Gary Allen a pretty good bit. I also like the fact that he had the balls to call out Carrie and Taylor. He has been through serious shit in the past ten years. This song is nothing more than a push from the label. This song is bad, but I can name 20 great Gary Allen songs. Strait, Conway, Alabama, ect. have all had songs that do nothing more than service mainstream country radio. If you want to hear some good GA, check out “See if I Care” and “Tough All Over” albums. Almost every track is great on both. “Good as New” and “Pieces” are pretty good from his last album. You can’t blame him for trying. I mean “It aint the Whiskey” did not burn up the charts. It has slow climb and died. I
March 13, 2015 @ 2:49 pm
W.T.F.!! This is really bad. I’m crossing my fingers that when the next album is out this turd gets omitted….and that the rest of the album stays away from this territory. I still like his music and if this is the direction he chooses to go, well I’ve still got everything prior to this to listen to and enjoy.
March 13, 2015 @ 3:02 pm
Is SCM suffering from “get off my porch syndrome” ? I mean, I have long accepted the fact I’d have to sort through a few Taylor Swift, Eric Church, and bro-country articles now and again, but this month it feels SCM has abandoned its mission. If SCM was a TV show, I’d say it jumped the shark.
So much great new music this month (Houndmouth, Gill Landry. The Lowest Pair, the Bob Wills tribute), but every time I check in on SCM, it’s Gary Allan, Scott Borchetta, Cole Swindell, Sam Hunt, FGL…. The articles, comments, and debate is all sounding the same.dc
I made an oath 2 years ago: When I get someone’s ears for 5 minutes, I would use it to accentuate what’s good in country music and not just reinforce what’s wrong with it, which everyone is already aware of (everyone knows the are listening to shit, but it’s convenient). But, if I could turn someone on to Sturgill Simpson, Otis Gibbs, or Hank III, then I’m doing my part.
March 13, 2015 @ 3:18 pm
Just lost all my fucking respect!! Its like a bad dream, take a listen back to his cover of Wine Me Up, I thought ran deep in this cats blood.
March 13, 2015 @ 3:31 pm
I’m a Gary Allan fan, but lets be honest. His music has always been more of the pop-country vein. The difference is that it was good pop-country. Listening to this track after the review, I was expecting the worst. Perhaps thats why I just don’t think its that bad. Sure, the songwriting lacks any depth whatsoever, but this, to me, still sounds more like an R&B tinged country song as opposed to the typical pseudo-hip-hop-southern-rock-edm-pop mish-muck that dominates so-called country radio these days.
It sounds like the obligatory honky-tonk party song that’s had to be on every country album since 1990. I think I’ll reserve judgement until I hear more tracks from the album.
March 13, 2015 @ 4:06 pm
2015 is shaping to be the Year of the Underwhelming Lead Single From A Critical Darling! =(
First we had Ashley Monroe release an underwhelming and mediocre (though not bad by any means) return single with “On To Something Good”. Now Gary Allan has released the worst single of his career. And shortly after, the Eli Young Band (which, admittedly, were never at the same critical heights of the other artists I’m mentioning, but I’m mentioning because they’re often lauded as a successful example of a genuine Texas country band achieving mainstream success that used to have much better quality) have sold out cold hard with “Turn It On”, while Kacey Musgraves has released a very underwhelming and middling “Biscuits”.
*
“Hangover Tonight” is just beyond depressing listening to.
Firstly, the song’s title is NOT clever. It’s as though the writers were thinking: “Hahaha, hang……over! Hahaha, get it! Like………I don’t have a hangover but I want to, y’know, hang……over! Let’s write a song where a guy has a hangover but he also wants to hang over with a chick!” -__-
So this song tries to be more clever than it really is, but all it’s about is the narrator having an erection over a hottie at a bar he wants to take home to have sex with. That’s it. It’s that simple. It’s not a drinking song, it’s a bro-country hook-up song.
*
This is basically a poor man’s “Just Got Started Lovin’ You”, or even a poor man’s version of his own prior hit “Nothin’ On But The Radio”. But here’s why Otto’s song continues to hold up as a ubiquitous modern classic on country radio: in spite of the commercially accessible and middle-of-the-road production, Otto provided a committed soulful vocal that made it stand out at the time and ever since and, moreover, Otto doesn’t come across as smug in his delivery. It’s clear they’re already a couple in the song and there is some nuanced longing reflected in the lyrics where he explains why he feels they need to spend more time making love………………which is easy to relate to.
In contrast, Allan just comes across as self-centered and kind of possessive in the lyrics, and his delivery. He doesn’t even take her feelings into consideration. He just wants to bone her.
And, lo and behold, yet again……………we get another case of equating the need to consume a lot of alcohol with getting in the mood for sex. More often than not, it’s not a pleasant mix. Consensual communication is much more likely to be impaired when you’re inebriated. That obsessive conflating can’t help but always bother me as a sex-positive educator.
*
Finally, what’s most confusing about this whole debacle, to my ears, is why Allan felt so desperate to cut this?
I mean, “Set You Free” marked a commercial rebound for him after netting some of his lowest career sales and airplay with “Get Off On The Pain”. The lead single, “Every Storm (Runs Out Of Rain)” is the best-selling single of his entire career, and one of only four singles to go #1 on the singles chart. Granted the follow-ups didn’t do as well, but the album itself sold quite well for an artist of his caliber in this day in age.
I just don’t get why someone like Allan felt that this was remotely necessary after rebounding with his last release. I certainly don’t see Josh Turner (and hopefully he never will) capitulating, who continues to hold true to his assured style of soulful, pleasant, bluegrass-infused Adult Contemporary country sound with lyrics that remain true to the romantic romeo archetype.
*
This whole episode flusters and depresses me.
And I have to add that, on his YouTube channel, he has a promotional video for the single up that features a taxi cab driver who is changing stations and then dials up one playing “Hangover Tonight”……………..and the taxi cab driver says: “I like this song!”
It’s a somewhat cryptic video, but I am praying this isn’t indicative of him intending to completely scrap and abandon all that has made him a critical favorite for years and completely reinvent himselfjust to cash it on instantly gratifying radio trends. =(
March 13, 2015 @ 4:33 pm
Why Gary Allan Why did you sing a song like this garbage of the song. You complained about Carrie and Taylor is pop I guess you are one too. I really like your other songs. You need to quit and be a true country singer don’t be another Sam Hunt but be yourself.
March 13, 2015 @ 4:39 pm
I’m 22 years old and I was so excited to see him in concert in a couple months but idk if I can take the risk and listen to him sing this song 🙁 brantley and Gary were my all time favorites now they mean dirt to me!
March 13, 2015 @ 4:43 pm
Hey Trigger,
How about Eli young’s new song and that song is terrible 2 guns down for me even Gary Allan’s new song “hangover tonight” 2 guns down also. Michael ray “Kiss me in the Morning” 2 guns down.
March 13, 2015 @ 6:02 pm
Yes, I’ve been posting song reviews left and right and I’m still behind. Tis the season to release really bad songs.
March 13, 2015 @ 5:25 pm
God that hashtag in the lyrics is the icing on the cake. Disgusting poppy bullshit.
March 13, 2015 @ 6:16 pm
I’ve been a Gary Allan fan since his first album and the guy has produced done of the damn well best country that’s been played on mainstream radio in the past 15-20 years. Smoke Rings In The Dark still gives me chills to this day, but he laid a goose egg with this one. I’m by no means turning my back on him because I stil choose to believe that this is label strong arming, but that label better watch it it they’ll fldrive away an extremely loyal fan base.
March 13, 2015 @ 6:51 pm
I do Like “Smoke rings in the dark” but this song is my least favorite.
top 3
Smoke rings in the dark
man to Man
Nothing to the radio
right where I need to be
bottom 3 or 2
hangover tonight
today
March 13, 2015 @ 6:25 pm
I’m not a fan of Gary Allan, so as soon as I heard this song, it just sounded like every other song he’s put out.
March 14, 2015 @ 2:01 pm
I’m with you…I’ve never understood the appeal. All of his popular songs sound so bland to me. This song solidifies my dis-like.
March 13, 2015 @ 7:55 pm
Gary Allan is country except hangover tonight but Garth brooks new cd and 2 singles 2 guns all the way down.
March 13, 2015 @ 10:21 pm
If y’all don’t mind I’m gonna treat this as a hallucination and once his new CD comes I’m deleting the track from my hard drive.
March 13, 2015 @ 11:25 pm
This should help fill the giant void of generic drinking songs. What’s that music, pop and disco? Pissco?
March 14, 2015 @ 3:09 am
Your point about R&B are also why they don’t just market it as pop because they would get their asses kicked by the women dominating pop. I seriously think that is reasoning behind staying in counrty when they are making EDM ESPECIALLY in Sam Hunts case. And since country radio is ignoring women it basically lets the men run wild and free over the genre. They are all too chicken shit to go pop.
March 15, 2015 @ 10:01 am
Now that is a real interesting point of view , Bear. Some inventive rationalizing which holds as much water as any other reasons I can see for what the hell is happening out there in the not-so-wild- west . “Girl pop” is WAY more interesting , fresh , clever and entertaining than just about anything going on .And most of them can actually SING …now THERE’S a concept !
March 14, 2015 @ 9:50 am
Gary like Tim McGraw before him, is an aging artist with families and bills to pay like anybody. At a certain point it becomes a job and not about the music. Just trying to do whatever they can to stay on the radio and keep people coming to their shows to keep the money coming in as career musicians. Start for the love of the music but end up chasing the money. Gary knows this song is a pile of dog shit, but if it goes to number 1 I guess its worth it.
March 15, 2015 @ 10:05 am
Good points …but the REAL issue is not THIS song . The real issue is that radio is dictating to much more talented , creative artists with proven records in that regard just what they need to do to get airplay . Radio has lowered the common listener denominator so far that they can actually tell these creative artists just how much to water down their product if they want radio’s help to sell any of it
March 22, 2015 @ 9:11 am
I would probably believe that comment if you had left Tim McGraw out. His family was never hurting for money when he sold out with Truck Yeah. The guy reportedly makes close to 30 million a year. He could afford to make good country music yet chose to put out songs like Truck Yeah, Lookin for That Girl, and Southern Girl.
March 14, 2015 @ 12:28 pm
Definitely not a country song.
But I have been a fan of him and his music for a long time, and I’ll still be even after this.
It’s “Gary freaking Allan”, after all : ) and I have no doubt he’ll be back to his more true-self sometime soon.
March 14, 2015 @ 1:09 pm
Is this one of the most commented-on posts in SCM history? It sure seems like it. It sort of proves that many of us were right about him years ago. I said it on FB (I think) that I hope he makes an assload of money, buys what his heart desires, and never makes another song like this.
March 14, 2015 @ 1:16 pm
The Blake Shelton “Old Farts & Jackasses” article has nearly 600 comments:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/blake-shelton-calls-classic-country-fans-old-farts-jackasses
The FGL “Anything Goes” review is nearing 500:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/florida-georgia-lines-anything-goes-is-the-worst-album-in-the-history-of-country-music
There’s probably a good 25-30 articles now with 200-300 comments. So this one has a ways to go to set a record. But I think it speaks to the polarization of this song that so many feel the need to voice their opinion.
March 14, 2015 @ 2:46 pm
There isn’t that big a following for him of Highway Junkies.
March 14, 2015 @ 3:07 pm
Well i hope this will be the worst thing about his new album.
March 14, 2015 @ 3:50 pm
I feel the same here
March 14, 2015 @ 4:21 pm
this song is pure garbage. I would put Hangover tonight in the dumpster and be transferred in a city dump. or flush down the toilet to be in a sewer.
March 14, 2015 @ 5:00 pm
Country radio doesn’t play Country so sounds like Gary had no choice if he wanted to stay in the game.
March 14, 2015 @ 5:46 pm
That’s kind of what I was thinking.. loyal fans listening to your old stuff isn’t helping to pay today’s bills.
March 14, 2015 @ 11:47 pm
While it would have been nice for him to stick to his guns, and not sell out, he still has to make a living. It’s not like he has ever been one of the biggest stars, so he needs the money I am sure.
March 15, 2015 @ 7:46 am
No, Gary Allan is not on the top tier of musicians, but I’m sure he’s doing very, very fine. “Need” is a very strong word when it comes to the type of money he’s made over the years. 99% of musicians make a living off on much less than what Gary Allan has seen in his career. Not saying he doesn’t have a right to make money, but let’s not make him out like he’s hard up.
March 15, 2015 @ 6:27 am
All I can say is WOW. Never thought I’d see the day where Gary Allan folded to label pressure to release a shit of a song. No way this is totally his idea but as other have made the point, he hasn’t had that many hits, #1 at least so he can’t work off his hits like the before mentioned Mark Chesnutt can and cruise into older life still drawing a crowd.
March 15, 2015 @ 9:19 am
Gary’s best songs have been written by others. He’s tried to co-write most of his material for the last couple of albums and it’s just not great. Stapleton is a great singer but as a writer he’s one of the biggest whores on music row… remember “hey batter, batter SWING”, “drink a beer”, “Something To Do With My Hands”? Jesse Frasure is a song plugger at a Major independent music row publishing company who moonlights as a DJ beat-maker stuck in 1999. Cary Barlowe co-wrote the Florida Georgia Line classic “Sun Daze”.
March 15, 2015 @ 4:34 pm
Man, this is so disappointing,Gary was one of the few good guys left.
March 16, 2015 @ 4:58 am
I think these older acts reach a point where their label expects a higher return on their investment than hey have been getting. The label would rather move on to a younger act that they can pay less. So the older act feels the pressure to produce, and they bring out the ‘big guns’ to do the job.
Sometimes they pick the wrong guns.
March 16, 2015 @ 10:15 am
Man, this one hurts. I’ve been a big fan of his stuff since the beginning, when I was back in high school in the 90’s. I loved most of his stuff. But this, this makes me sad. Even when he had crappy songs, they were decent. But this tragedy? What is this?
March 16, 2015 @ 4:54 pm
There’s another messageboard on voy called Gary Allan Girlfriend, if you do a search online . Mary Katherine is discussed there.
March 19, 2015 @ 6:55 pm
Maybe it wasn’t a label decision…maybe he was just high. No secret round town.
March 21, 2015 @ 2:07 pm
I would like to think that Gary,Tim and whomever else you can name, need to start thinking about getting to the point in their careers where they can go the route of Rodney Crowell, Emmylou, Rosanne Cash, Lucinda Williams and Marty Stuart.
These are folks that realized their commercial success had peaked or perhaps their labels chose not to renew their contracts. They’ve become independent artists doing stuff they want to do. Perhaps their careers are less lucrative but they have loyal fans and critics love them.
They find new ways to do their music..they team up (Rodney & Em), get more rootsy or go the singer/songwriter route (Rosie). They will be making music…their own music!
Once-popular artists no longer have to fade away and pray that someone will remember them. It can’t be easy on a musicians ego but it’s something to think about. Personally I see folks like Miranda and Dierks doing this, particularly Miranda as she really is a red dirt girl at heart. Dierks has it in him as I think he did a fine job with Up On The Ridge.
March 21, 2015 @ 10:49 pm
Some people are all like “This song is not that great” but they are missing the point: Gary Allan even said that his newer stuff sounded way different than his older songs. In the music business, Gary Allan is simply staying relevant. I must admit, I will never forget how I felt last year when “Bartender” came out by Lady Antebellum.
By the way, Bartender made me feel like I just gave birth to another child. Hangover Tonight may be that painful and proud feeling all over again.
March 22, 2015 @ 7:17 am
I think you’re “missing the point” “lady a” was never country and never will be they are a wannabe pop act like all the rest it seems you’ve drunk the Kool aid too
To see what real country is YouTube merle haggard buck Owens Johnny Cash David Allan Coe Jeannie Seely tammy wynette sammi Smith George Jones Loretta Lynn and Patti loveless then you come on here and try to tell me “lady a” is country lol
March 22, 2015 @ 11:19 am
I’ve listened to the kinds of country from the Bakersfield Sound with Merle Haggard through Buck Owens, old timer hits through Jones, Twitty, and Loretta, and some of them Bobby Wills hits from Old San Antone remember? Lady Antebellum always served a spot for my pop lovers country side. Dave Haywood, The guy in the group that isn’t a main vocalist, can do a sick banjo play at the band’s concerts. They even covered some of the traditional country and pop acts from Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton with a tad touch of Ol’ George Jones and Ray Price.
But as for Hangover Tonight by Gary Allan, it is something different that brings great emotion to me. No less.
March 23, 2015 @ 3:49 am
“Bobby wills”? Lol are you attempting to refer to Bob wills? Lol … And… Uh… He wasn’t from San Antonio these guffaws show exactly how much you really don’t know about true country music
…. And for you to say the sophomoric idiotic pop ditty hangaound tonight touches you is completely ludicrous lol i think we can all see what you’re working with here lol
March 23, 2015 @ 3:56 am
… And I also don’t give a crap what your pop weirdos lady a covers anybody can play covers it’s the new releases all these great pretenders are releasing that upsets me… And what they’re doing to the history and traditions of real country music these pop artistsgonewrong ought to be ashamed of themselves
March 23, 2015 @ 4:09 am
BTW Kenny Rogers was really never very country he’s what your hero Gary referred to as a pop star making a living in country Kenny also reinvented himself… Like your hero… After new edition fizzled out
March 23, 2015 @ 6:45 am
Basically don’t come on here unless you know real country imma shoot you down b______
March 23, 2015 @ 7:02 am
Ummm basically here’s some “Bobby wills” for you common tater
I think this might be ray price a Cherokee cowboy hank srs band you know pop singer fake Shelton called an old fart n jack ass
Faded Love Cherokee Cowboys Instrumental 1998 Ray Price: https://youtu.be/N-GqneGnpPA
March 23, 2015 @ 4:35 pm
Bless your heart.
March 24, 2015 @ 9:23 am
Lol attempting to quote fake country girl cheating home wrecker duhranduh ? Sorry poseur we can all see you don’t know s_____ from shinola about real country music
Go fire up your “lady a” records and dream of Keeney Rogers
I got my shit kickers on and I’m listening to Gary Stewart
March 24, 2015 @ 9:33 am
I bet you’re 400 pounds and from Peoria too right? I bet you follow Mary Katherine too huh?
Tell me again how hangaroundtonight tonight touches you… And just exactly where….
March 24, 2015 @ 11:41 am
The bottom line is Gary herzberg doesn’t deserve the voice he was given he has squandered it for several years focusing on chasing teenaged tail and doing drugs with his hangers on the fourteen to twenty one year olds and the disgusting leeches he surrounds himself with were more important now that some of us refuse to. Lie to
Him any more he’s in a panic no need to sell out little boy no sympathy whatsoever
June 8, 2015 @ 2:56 pm
This is almost what we would call “Beach Music” here in North Carolina..
July 9, 2015 @ 2:08 pm
I love Gary, and I agree, this song is more mainstream and not his outlaw “norm”. The only thing I can say is that at least he didn’t mask this song as straight country. He admitted in interviews it was a Mo-town vibe and a different step in his music. I don’t think he’s a sellout, and hopefully he will never become one. But I do predict Hangover Tonight will not do well on radio, as most of Gary’s songs don’t, and I think that right there shows he is still keeping it real and away from the “bro-country” the radio plays these days.
As for Chris Stapleton, I love his solo work, I just wish he’d start promoting more songs in Nashville like the ones he records for himself, a man with his influence could change things around there rather than add to the noise.
July 16, 2015 @ 9:16 pm
Somehow poetic that Droman produced this track seeing as he’s a drunk f-wit himself. Having known of others who have worked with the guy he’s about as unoriginal and as uninspired as you can get for a country producer. And yeah, the song blows massive amounts of cock too.
November 13, 2016 @ 6:08 am
Mmmmmmm……No album going on 2 years later and no “recovery” single??
That can’t be a good thing.