Ronnie Dunn Reminds Us That We All “Bleed Red”
When the Brooks & Dunn breakup happened, it seemed to reveal the ills of the Music Row approach. It was rumored that the duo hadn’t spoken to each other offstage for years. They toured in separate buses. Except for a ritual of taking a whiskey shot together before taking the stage, they avoided all personal interactions, yet we as fans were supposed to believe the charade they presented onstage that they were best buds. Like Lady Antebellum having to hire a mediator to keep the band together, the money was just too rich for them to not fight through personal disagreements and keep the facade of a happy music life alive.
Trying to point to who the bad guy was in the duo may be as polarizing of an exercise as talking politics in mixed company, but Kix Brooks was the one saying he wanted to be “relaxing on a Caribbean island” by the age of 60, while Ronnie Dunn used his exit from the duo to immediately launch a solo career. However much and for however long Ronnie Dunn was willing to play the part, it’s hard to say that music wasn’t still deep in his blood. And when word came down that Ronnie had been writing with Texas songwriting legend Ray Wylie Hubbard earlier this summer, it was hard to say that the man didn’t have some measure of taste.
Ronnie Dunn released his first self-titled solo record in June 2011, and it was one where the chatter surrounding it made me pay a little closer attention to it than I may otherwise a Music Row release. Terms like “traditional” were tossed about, but I found it a little too laden with arena rock guitar to get into the project as a whole. As Ronnie posted on his Facebook page on the night of the CMA Awards, “Spent the day in the studio putting Aerosmith guitars on country songs.” That about sums up the album Ronnie Dunn for me, even though the release undeniably had its moments, of which the song “Bleed Red” might be the best.
“Bleed Red” comes at the point in the album when every Nashville-based Music Row project must pay its tribute to America and the troops, despite the sincerity of the writing or how sold the performer is on the message. These flag-waving songs have become the most trite, most predictable cliche in country over the last decade, bordering on gratuitous in the way they commercialize, if not outright exploit the troops instead of supporting them because of their objectionable sentimentality.
What’s refreshing about “Bleed Red” is even though it has the epic, anthemic approach indicative of the flag-waving anthem, it is not about politics, or any polarizing subject at all. It’s about the opposite. It’s the antithesis of the awful, too-often called upon emotional-driven overballad, that doesn’t sacrifice the soul-stirring epicness that makes these type of songs the best reminders of why we love music.
Instead of barking platitudes, “Bleed Red” resides in ambiguity, eroding prejudice and polarization by pointing out our universal humanness in a scope that would be impossible to do with the same words if they were devoid of song. Its message is crushing, not from the complexity of thought it inspires but in the simplicity of its moral.
But all of that stuff aside, the best part about “Bleed Red” is the vocal performance by Ronnie Dunn. There is nothing supremely challenging about how the singing part is structured in this song, or where the register resides. Ronnie makes it challenging nonetheless by voluntarily weighing every word down with such deep, authentic emotion. His voice is where this song goes from cheesy to meaty. He sings the shit out of it. Few could sit back and see the bead of sweat forming across his brow, the red face, and not feel raised hairs as he bellows this song out straight from the soul, and accuse him of pandering or playing a part.
“Bleed Red” isn’t just a song, it is a performance; a feat of emotional expression. And foremost, it is a reminder.
Is “Bleed Red” country? Maybe, maybe not. But it’s good.
Two guns up!
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Didn’t care for the official video for “Bleed Red”, but this live version seems to capture the right vibe.
November 6, 2012 @ 1:27 pm
I’m confused?
1. Did you write this long ago and now just put it up?
2. Why not review the whole Ronnie Dunn album. There is a lot more there than rock songs turned country. You even bother to read up on Ronnie’s discussion of the album?
3. Why open the blog with rumors that have clearly been addressed by both Kix and Ronnie??? Is that so the reader continues to read what I guess is a review of “Bleed Red”?
I appreciate you like the song, but I’m not sure how you didn’t/don’t review the whole album?
The album is good. Has a couple lack luster songs, but it certainly isn’t country with rock guitars. It has some Brooks&Dunn sound, but it also has traditional stuff.
This blog just seems out of place.
November 6, 2012 @ 2:20 pm
See, this is the reason I always listen to suggestions and criticisms, but never listen to whiners. Because even when you give whiners what they want, they’ll still whine about it.
Nobody said I wouldn’t review the album in the future. The reason I posted a song review right here, right now is because it is Election Day and I thought it was a relevant message to get out at this very point in time. And I had the idea to post this song review on this day for months, not when people started whining I had never reviewed Ronnie Dunn in connection with articles on Taylor Swift. It actually stems back to when the news came out that Ronnie and Ray Wylie Hubbard were writing songs together. That’s when I decided to give the album a second listen and really fell in love with this song.
I still believe just like Ronnie said that most of his music is country with Aerosmith guitars. The reason I went back to talk about the breakup etc was to set a context for people who may not be familiar with his music, to sell the idea of why a Ronnie Dunn song might be relevant to them, instead of just laughing him off as some pop country product with hair highlights and Aerosmith guitar leads. And ironically, many of those people probably never even read this article, but saw Ronnie Dunn’s name, and used it as further evidence that I’ve sold out to the mainstream.
So if you’ll excuse me, I have another Taylor Swift article to write.
November 6, 2012 @ 2:49 pm
Ok. But you show your bias everytime in articles like this.
Why didn’t you try to title and open the blog with something like… “Fitting Song for Election Day” and then writing about the song and not rumors of B&D, which seem to only be included to stroke your ego/bias that all mainstream music must be a facade.
If anyone writes off Ronnie Dunn as a pop country singer, they are fucking dumb. Oh your dick got hard cause he was hanging with Hubbard? He has been pals with him for years.
Ronnie has one of the best voices ever, and although B&D pushed the music boderlines with some tunes, they have always been rockin’ country. Maybe not the real meth-lab banjo country of some of your favorites, but B&D was the same sound from Brand New Man to Only in America. Certainly not pop (and yea, I know they covered a few pop tunes).
But take your shot at his looks when you can’t rip his talent.
And I’m not whining about what you cover, I’m whining about how you cover it and the sensationalism and lack of research you do on some artists. You realize the more true country a mainstream artist is, the less you seem to know about them?
Happy election day douche bag.
November 6, 2012 @ 3:06 pm
“to sell the idea of why a Ronnie Dunn song might be relevant to them, instead of just laughing him off as some pop country product with hair highlights and Aerosmith guitar leads.”
Ronnie Dunn is not a pop country star. I’m not sure who would laugh him off as that. Brooks and Dunn was a big market band, but Ronnie Dunn’s voice is one of the best voices country music has had. I’m not sure who would discount him as pop-country with hightlights.
November 6, 2012 @ 3:29 pm
No I’m sorry, y’all are right. This review is bullshit. Sorry for wasting everyone’s time! I’ll go back to kissing Hank3’s ass and writing incessantly about Taylor Swift!
November 6, 2012 @ 3:40 pm
You are just very irresponsible covering some artists that deserve a great deal of respect. This blog is an example of that. You took shots, when you should have just left it at a good song to think about on election day.
November 6, 2012 @ 3:45 pm
Dang! You take criticism so well. Way to alienate your audience
November 6, 2012 @ 7:50 pm
Ronnie Dunn is a good country voice with Highlights shining on his pop country head.. there.. said it!
November 9, 2012 @ 10:44 am
Everyone please note that “Karl” “Tim” and “IceColdCountry” are the same commenter.
More info here: https://savingcountrymusic.com/ronnie-dunn-take-country-back-by-learning-to-download#comment-264867
November 7, 2012 @ 8:20 pm
Hey, Trigg I agree Bleed Red was a cool song and his album fell short. I would like to ask what you thought of Kix Brooks solo album. I thought it also sucked. Forgive me if you have commented on it already.
November 7, 2012 @ 9:42 pm
Have not heard Kix’s solo album yet. Heard a couple of songs and it didn’t peak my interest one way or another.
November 6, 2012 @ 2:58 pm
“The reason I posted a song review right here, right now is because it is Election Day and I thought it was a relevant message to get out at this very point in time. And I had the idea to post this song review on this day for months, not when people started whining I had never reviewed Ronnie Dunn in connection with articles on Taylor Swift. It actually stems back to when the news came out that Ronnie and Ray Wylie Hubbard were writing songs together. That”™s when I decided to give the album a second listen and really fell in love with this song.”
Is there a reason you didn’t mention any of this in the article? I can see where it might be confusing to some why this is being posted now or what the point is with some of what is mentioned in the blog. As the blog is written, there is a bunch of filler in it, that makes no sense.
November 6, 2012 @ 3:26 pm
It doesn’t take a genious to figure out why Trigger made a comment of THIS song on THIS day. I took a look at the title and put 2 n 2 together.
I, for one, have heard B and D a couple times and never would go out of my way to listen to them again, good voice and all, just not my cup of tea. Good song though and i commend Trigger for writing about songs and albums from all genres.
November 6, 2012 @ 5:11 pm
If you posted it because it’s election day,how could you not at least mention “The Cost Of Living” which is 1000 times better than “Bleed Red” ?
November 6, 2012 @ 5:31 pm
I like some Brooks & Dunn songs but I never really got too much into them, so thanks for calling attention to this song.
Such a simple sentiment — we’re all human beings, we’re all in this together — but on the other hand, it’s all too easy for people to forget that stuff and instead stick to a perpetual us-against-them attitude. (Nice tune, a helluva performance too!)
November 6, 2012 @ 6:15 pm
I was thinking that this is a song we should all sing after this ugly, bloody election. Let the healing begin.
November 6, 2012 @ 7:45 pm
Cant say i’ve ever met a cowboy, with cowboy tattoo’d on his forearm??!! usually you know a cowboy just by looking at him, without having to read the actual sign on his body. don’t think cowboys have a hairstylist named sebastian on call 24/7 either…
heck of a performance though!! much better than hillbilly deluxe, thats for sure.
November 8, 2012 @ 3:06 pm
I hear what your saying SH about the tattoo. I think it is kind of corny, but Jaskson Taylor has a tattoo that says “HonkyTonk Hero” on his forearm. Pretty bold, but I wouldn’t take it up with him.
I kind of look at Ronnie’s “Cowboy” tatt, that if you questioned it, he has a resume to back up being a road dog, gypsy…i.e. “cowboy” on some level. Just my opinion, he can pull off the tatt. I do think he shouldn’t try and show it off so much. I actually thought it was just fake when I saw on the cover.
November 7, 2012 @ 6:07 am
I’ve been holding this in, so here goes…
My biggest problem with these pop country articles are not the articles themselves, but the whiny idiots they attract to the comments section. You cast a wide net into the pop country sea and you’re never going to be able to please everyone you pull in. How many times can we have the same tired debate about covering Taylor Swift? In the words of one of the preeminent singer/songwriters of our generation: “I just I mean this is exhausting, you know, like.”
Just so I’m on record, I think this song sucks. It’s slightly less horrible than the pop country drivel of Brooks & Dunn, but it’s still awful adult contemporary crap that I hope to never hear at my dentist’s office. Yet I still don’t feel the need to comment on it, nor the writing, nor the intentions behind the writing, nor the timing of the writing. If you just want someone to blow Ronnie Dunn there’s lot of outlets for that. Move on.
And Triggerman, you know what they say about arguing with idiots. You gotta chose to take the high road at some point. The back and forths bring down the general level of discourse around here and cater to the wrong element.
November 9, 2012 @ 3:57 am
Well said. I’m still laughing at the fact that whether or not B&D were pop-country became an issue under contention… you can never say that blue collar suburbanites who go line dancing on weekends won’t defend their pop-icons, now can you? Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go listen to some meth-lab banjo twang (which resembles closely the moonshine-still banjo twang my Granddad listened to, from which Country music was born)
November 7, 2012 @ 8:45 am
What I don’t understand is how can anyone call his music pop country? What is “pop” about it? I personally think Ronnie Dunn is one of the few in Nashville who I can consider country. He may not be as traditional as Jamey Johnson or Lucky Tubb and he may sometimes lean more towards ZZ Top rock due to using electric guitars but I think he is one artist who can keep country tradition/roots based but continue to be modern as well. Let’s face it who do you know out there in the country world can sing a ballad as good as Ronnie Dunn?
Now I love all the artists/bands like Hellbound, Jayke Orvis, Boomswagglers, Ugly Valley Boys, Hank III, Turnpike, Jason Eady, Lucky Tubb, but I feel anytime anyone mentions an artist in Nashville who has any success and actual talent on here, everyone automatically bashes them. I feel in order to be smart about where country music is going, one must applaud those who are at the forefront, who can still carry the torch for the traditions of country music rather than tear them down. If you want to tear down Taylor Swift, Lady A, Band Perry, Brantley Gilbert, etc. please do. I can understand that, but to sit here and bash on one of the few left in mainstream music who still has roots and can actually sing and play instruments rather than using computers to alter them is wrong in my opinion.
November 7, 2012 @ 9:34 am
I’m a little surprised at the response to this article. I started out agreeing with Tim, I was confused at first as to why the article was just coming up, but not to the point of lashing out. It was just a flash of curiousity when I saw the article had been posted. That’s pretty much the extent of where I agreed with Tim though. I think the background on Kix and Ronnie was just that. A background. I think the essence of the review isn’t so much the song itself but the emotion and passion that went into it, when that’s exactly what is missing from so much country music today, especially these types of songs.
Personally, I’ve always loved Brooks & Dunn, I like some of Ronnie Dunn’s stuff and I don’t like some of Ronnie Dunn’s stuff. I enjoyed reading this article though and didn’t see anything wrong with the way or the time it was written.
November 8, 2012 @ 2:31 am
I think some of the negativity here is a result of ongoing anger at Triggerman for the Jamey Johnson article.
November 8, 2012 @ 8:48 am
The funny thing is that I voiced my distaste for the Jamey Johnson article and Trig explained that he didn’t feel like there was any passion in the songs. This article is a positive review for Ronnie Dunn’s song precisely because of the passion in it. These articles aren’t just about the music or the words but the feeling and emotion that’s put into them and evokes in its listeners, it’s a package deal. There’s no reason for readers not to be objective from article to article.
November 8, 2012 @ 11:33 am
Eric, I can’t speak for others, but for me, the negativity has nothing to do with Trigger’s Jamey Johnson articles. It is bigger than that. It is Trigger’s coverage of anyone with Nashville ties or mainstream success. He always takes a shot, takes a dig at them when they don’t deserve it or worse yet, it is completely fabricated. And then he always has to throw in some “I told you so” or some dreamed up theory of his that he influenced some aspect of a song or something. He can influence a song by a major artist, but he can’t seem to do 5 min. of research to learn the true story behind an artist?
Opinions are opinions. And this is Trigger’s site and he can write what he wants as someone pointed out. But some artists have earned respect. And there is some responsibility when you fly the flag that says “Saving Country Music”.
To many times I’ve read articles about great country artists that have ties to Nashville or mainstream and there are flat out inaccuracies or sensationalism written about them. This article is one example. Shots are taken, digs are made and Trigger just sheds any responsibility for anything. Some say he shouldn’t “argue with idiots” but, as someone else pointed out,
“but to sit here and bash on one of the few left in mainstream music who still has roots and can actually sing and play instruments rather than using computers to alter them is wrong in my opinion.”
That is where my negativity or calling out Trigger in articles comes from.
November 9, 2012 @ 10:47 am
Tim apparently can’t speak for others, but is willing to impersonate others to agree with his own points, as him and “Karl” are the same people. More info here:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/ronnie-dunn-take-country-back-by-learning-to-download#comment-264867
November 9, 2012 @ 1:36 pm
This blog has more drama than an MTV reality series…looks like the moderator is offended easily and holds a double standard for commenters.
November 7, 2012 @ 2:52 pm
Seems to me that people who want the blog written this way or that way should write their own blog. Being as this is Triggerman’s blog, he can write it any way he wants.
November 8, 2012 @ 9:11 am
I don’t particularly care for this song, it’s too ballad-y for me, but I really liked Cost of Living, it used to always get me. He’s good at delivering what could be corny or sappy lines with the right emotion to where it feels heartfelt. I didn’t realize that he has worked the Wylie Llama, thats legit. He needs to get himself some old man hair to go along with his old man face, he looks crazy.
November 8, 2012 @ 7:52 pm
I have hated this guy since that song where he rhymes paint with can’t.
November 15, 2012 @ 3:16 pm
I have bought every Waylon album and lots of Willie, Merle, George and Dale Watson and can say I have not liked every song by all of the above. Ronnie Dunn is a great singer but like all artists I don’t like all his songs.
Also… Merle rhymed bank with drink and I managed to get over it.
June 19, 2013 @ 11:44 pm
Ronnie Dunn surprised fans in downtown Nashville for CMA Music Festival activities last night when he performed four songs on the rooftop patio of Rippy”™s Bar and Grill on lower Broadway. The performance happened as fans were departing the Bridgestone Arena after watching the CMT Awards. Dunn debuted four new songs: “Country This,” “Kiss You There,” “Cowgirls Rock ”˜N”™ Roll” and “Peace, Love and Country Music.” During “Kiss You There,” a flash mob took over Broadway for an impromptu dance to the delight of the crowd.
Source:http://www.nashville.com/music/2013/06/ronnie-dunn-surprises-cma-music-fest-fans-on-rooftop/
October 8, 2013 @ 10:48 pm
I can remember where I was standing when I first heard Ronnie Dunn’s voice booming over the radio.
“Not Too Late”, by Lindsey Buckingham, reminds me of Ronnie Dunn. The lyrics are about regrets of not really being heard….the way you wished it would have been.
Kix Brooks gave Ronnie commercial success, he made their shows pop. He was the showman. It’s not too late for Ronnie…. not being heard…that’s been a problem for a very long time.
October 9, 2013 @ 1:32 pm
Dedicated to anyone with a country music dream…
Reading the paper
Saw a review
Said I was a visionary,
but nobody knew
Now that’s been a problem
feeling unseen
Just like I’m living
somebody’s dream
What am I doing anyway
Telling myself
it’s not too late
I’m not a young man
But I’m a child
in my soul
I feel there’s room for
a man who is whole
And there’s a need
for songs that are sung
For chances not taken
for deeds not yet done
What am I doing anyway
Telling myself
it’s not too late
My children look away
They don’t know
what to say
So that’s been a problem
feeling unheard
My so called visions
always deferred
It must be the reason
I’ve developed this need
You know you should never
believe what you read
What am I doing anyway
Telling myself
it’s not too late
Lindsey Buckingham