Song Review – Luke Bryan’s “Huntin’, Fishin’ And Lovin’ Every Day”
Hypothetically, whether a given song is released to mainstream country radio as a single or not shouldn’t affect the listener’s judgement upon the song itself. And in many cases, it doesn’t. A song is a song, and it should be considered on its own merits. There are exceptions however, like when a song is exceptionally bad, like many of the country radio singles over the years from American country music artist and Leesburg, Georgia native Luke Bryan.
Certain singles from Bryan such as “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” and “Kick The Dust Up” have since become like guideposts on the country music timeline where the genre took a turn for the worse. It’s one thing to record a terrible song and bury it on an album, especially since most mainstream consumers don’t buy albums these days anyway. It’s another thing to unleash it on the masses like an audio virus to infect the public airwaves. So in these cases, the status of a song as a single comes into play when considering its overall horribleness and adverse impact.
But the needle can swing the other way as well. If we are fair and impartial, and reset the barometer back to neutral when each new song is released, then hypothetically if a song is better than average, or better than expected from a given artist and when measured against its mainstream radio peers, then perhaps the song can be elevated in stature due to its single status.
“Huntin’, Fishin’ And Lovin’ Every Day” is not a good song. It doesn’t matter how “country” it is, and we can agree, it is country. It may be one of Luke Bryan’s most country songs yet, at least from his last two records. Waylon Jennings phase guitar and half-time bass drum beat, and lyrics that are indicative of legacy-era Alabama make “Huntin’, Fishin’ And Lovin’ Every Day” hard to chide as something outside the generally agreed upon parameters of what constitutes the country music genre. It isn’t a traditional or classic country song by any stretch, but it does have a classic Outlaw style.
So why isn’t it a good song then? It’s because the lyrics are indolent, tired, list-errific rehashed inane give up material, lazily strung together by none other than the mother brain of bad country, the Georgia-born “Peach Pickers” of Dallas Davidson, Rhett Atkins, and Ben Hayslip.
But let’s be honest with ourselves. If we hadn’t just endured what’s going on a decade of being beaten over the head with list songs and Bro-Country iniquity, a song like this would just blend into the background to send a few toes tapping, and not be a launching pad for a tirade about how modern country no longer says anything and rarely includes any element of story. Maybe we can blame the “Peach Pickers” for this development, and most assuredly they deserve to shoulder some of it. But “Huntin’, Fishin’ And Lovin’ Every Day” is it’s own animal, and shouldn’t be immediately discounted because of past trespasses by its singer, or its songwriters.
And we also must factor in that it’s now a single—the 4th from Luke Bryan’s latest record. That means there will be a single on country radio from country’s sitting Entertainer of the Year that features half-time bass drum, Waylon phase guitar, no electronic embellishment, and vintage Alabama-style lyrics (the band, not the state). Stuff all that into a pair of boxing gloves and pit it against whatever other embarrassing mush that’s being peddled on country radio at the moment and it doesn’t look half bad. It took some guts to decide to release this as a single.
“Huntin’, Fishin’ And Lovin’ Every Day” is not a good song, but it’s not a bad one either. Beyond the lyrics and style, what makes the song redeemable is the structure. The song pulls off a nice little build up and crescendo that we rarely hear in country music today. It adds composition to its list of constructive attributes. That’s what can happen when you give a song over four minutes to actually develop. The song isn’t something groundbreaking. If anything, “Huntin’, Fishin’ And Lovin’ Every Day” is quite interpretive, borrowing from country song that take this similar approach from the past. But those songs weren’t bad either, and neither is this one.
As was said when Luke Bryan released Kill The Lights, he didn’t get here solely by peddling smut. Luke Bryan is a smart bastard, and knows just how, and just when to pull back and release something with a little bit more substance right when folks at large are about to write him off. This is the reason he’s at the top, and folks are predicting bands like Florida Georgia Line are not long for this world.
Luke Bryan’s singles “Play It Again” and “Drink A Beer” weren’t terrible either. And they weren’t good too. But they were effective. Bryan’s last single “Home Alone Tonight” didn’t even hit #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. At least not yet. Luke Bryan may be dumb, but he’s not stupid. He sees acts like Chris Stapleton coming up on his heels, beating him handedly in the albums charts every single week, and winning awards out from under him. That’s probably why Bryan cached a song like “Huntin’, Fishin’ And Lovin’ Every Day” on his latest album to begin with, just in case.
How will “Huntin’, Fishin’ And Lovin’ Every Day” do? Will it be his first non radio #1 in the last eight tries from Luke? Will the insular radio programmers give it a chance, or will they think Luke has lost his mind? Will country music conspiracy theorists say Luke’s just trying to capitalize off of Chis Stapleton’s success? (Check the comments section, they’re coming).
“Huntin’, Fishin’ And Lovin’ Every Day” is a song that doesn’t suck that is being sent to radio, and so it should be applauded. Tepidly. And the qualifiers of who’s singing it, who wrote it, and how it sounds like stuff from the (near and far) past are being picky in an environment where only pragmatism will ever pull country radio out of the gutter it is currently in. Chris Stapleton and to an extent Tim McGraw have opened a door on country radio where better songs can walk in and actually be successful, and now artists like Luke Bryan are walking through it.
So yes Luke, by all means, you go hunt, and fish, and love every day, over and over, again and again, like a droning broken record. Because repetitive, mundane, retreaded songs are still better than whatever the hell Thomas Rhett and Sam hunt are doing.
March 14, 2016 @ 9:14 am
This is the kind of song Luke should have been doing all along. It’s actually pretty decent.
March 14, 2016 @ 9:19 am
I will take this over bro country and pop country any day
March 14, 2016 @ 9:24 am
“Because repetitive, mundane, retreaded songs are still better than whatever the hell Thomas Rhett and Sam hunt are doing.” Great line.
I was surprised (but glad) this was a single. I thought for sure he would release “Too the moon and back” so that people could go on and on how deep Luke Bryan can be (similar to the current Cole Swindell single).
And honestly, I probably prefer country sounding songs over great lyrics (at least for the radio). Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan used to always sound like this, and still do on a few of there album cuts. So it’s a relief when one of those album cuts makes its way onto the radio.
March 14, 2016 @ 9:28 am
The first lyrics are “whooa-ooh-ohhh!” That automatically knocks it down several points in my mind.
This is just the most shallow, stereotyped thing imaginable. And this doesn’t sound “Outlaw” to me, this sounds early to mid 000s, I.E. the same era that King George released “Alyssa Lies” and “Give It Away.”
My cat is giving me the death stare playing this, it’s obvious he hates it.
And let’s just be clear… A 40 yr old dude is singing about doing nothing all day except hunting and fishing… Not doing responsible adult things like working, or keeping obligations to other people, no, he just goes out and makes no money, So he’s probably living off of someone else’s money while he irresponsibly hunts and fishes all day.
The music may well be halfway tolerable but the lyrics are stupid and insufferable. Of course it will fit right in with everything Puke Bryan has recorded recently, even if sonically it is a step in the right direction.
This goes right back to what I’ve said a thousand times. We have to get rid of the stupid in Country Music before we get rid of the rock and rap. Because then we’ll just have stupid music that’s Country.
March 14, 2016 @ 9:53 am
Not to defend the lyrics because they’re pretty terrible, but the way I heard them was less bragging about how the protagonist does nothing everyday, and more about how someone who maybe works a mundane job is dreaming of a reality where each day instead of having to go to work, he could just indulge in the simple pleasures of life, and that would make him more happy. It is escapism from the workaday doldrums, and taken in that context, it’s a little less terrible than bragging about how you do virtually nothing all day.
March 14, 2016 @ 10:16 am
I hear ya on that, Trigger. I think the problem is that all we ever get from mainstream country is that kind of mindless escapism, and the songs never seem to confront the actual reality of life for most country fans, who are largely working class folks.
At least we used to get “40 hour week” to balance out “Dixieland Delight”, ya know?
I thought your rating was fair for this track, though. Not awful, not good.
March 14, 2016 @ 10:53 am
Alright, that’s a fair and reasonable interpretation. But here’s a hypothetical… How come a forty year old dude can’t think of anything else better than his life than hunting and fishing… Can’t some of this escapism include, gee, a cross country train ride, or one last meal at grandma’s, or inventing toys that make all the children happy?
Why is the escapist fantasy so one dimensional?
March 14, 2016 @ 11:06 am
Most 40 somethings that I know spend their time hunting and fishing when they aren’t working or taking care of their other responsibilities. I like the song because I relate to it. When I’m not taking care of my family I spend my time hunting and fishing.
March 14, 2016 @ 11:11 am
I totally agree. This song doesn’t say very much. But there’s also something to be said about enjoying the simple pleasures in life, and I think that’s what it’s trying to say. There’s way better ways to say it, but I’m not offended by this song’s message.
March 14, 2016 @ 11:42 am
I’ll agree with Farmer and Trigger and add this: at least it’s a song about from 40-year-old man singing about huntin’ and fishin’ and not another song from a 40-year-old (married) man singing about pickin’ up college age girls for one night stands.
Put another way, I can listen to this with my preschooler and not be uncomfortable when she asks me what the song is about.
March 14, 2016 @ 12:22 pm
Yes, I don’t see why his age matters in this particular case.
March 15, 2016 @ 2:03 pm
BigRed you are spot on. While we’re at it, It’s definitely better than listening to a song about a 40 year old partying with a “jacked up truck” while “listening to Hank” or some other cliche crap.
March 14, 2016 @ 12:44 pm
Interesting how pretty much everything on the radio is escapism these days. Don’t get me wrong, that’s my favorite type of art due to personal issues, but it shouldn’t be the extent of what’s out there. Country used to be so unflinching in its portrayal of heartbreak that haters love to call it “whiney” (my future brother-in-law has to listen to country music at work on Wednesdays, so he’s taken to calling them “Whiney Wednesdays,” even though it’s our local pop country station). These days, country has become the polar opposite in its portrayal of the endless party, booze and meaningless hookups. Meanwhile folks like Jason Isbell are cutting gut-punchers about cancer.
March 14, 2016 @ 10:02 am
Just FYI, “Alyssa Lies” was Jason Michael Carrol.
March 14, 2016 @ 10:47 am
Huh… You’re right… I always thought it was George Strait
March 14, 2016 @ 1:32 pm
You can’t disrespect the Grait STrait in here. I knew someone would correct you. I knew if would be in the comments if I just keep reading. Boom, found it.
March 14, 2016 @ 8:05 pm
I’m going to disrespect George Strait it won’t be because I thought he released a song I liked…
The man is Country Music’s great constant. ALWAYS a classic tune or two, ALWAYS some fiddle and steel, and NEVER particularly far removed from his own signature shuffling brand of Country Music.
March 14, 2016 @ 2:27 pm
Whatever happened to him, anyway? Other opinions will vary, but I thought that his 2009 single “Hurry Home” was a genuinely great song with a moving message.
March 14, 2016 @ 12:16 pm
King George didn’t release Alyssa Lies. It was a completely different artist (Jas on Michael Carroll, who has never regained the momentum he had up until Where I’m From.
March 14, 2016 @ 5:56 pm
If whoa-oh-oh’s knock a song down several points, the don’t listen to Dying Slowly by Saint Asonia
March 15, 2016 @ 2:38 pm
This is so true. I would never buy any thing of his after the comments he made about Waylon Jennings. Seeing the I am friends of the Jennings family that was a low blow to call them Outlaw drugies in the gutter. If it wasn’t for Waylon to paved the road for these guys, Let’s just say they need to step back and see where real music came from
March 16, 2016 @ 10:06 pm
“Alyssa Lies” is a Jason Michael Carroll song. Pretty sure George never cut that. And “Give it Away” is a damn fine song.
March 14, 2016 @ 10:32 am
Trigger,
You assume we listen to the radio?
March 14, 2016 @ 10:48 am
I’m assuming no such thing. I certainly don’t listen to country radio. The only reason I knew this song was being released as a single was through the press. But I didn’t start Saving Country Music to preach to a choir. You’d be blown away how many songwriters, radio DJ’s, program directors, and major label employees and executives read this site like religion. They might make up the majority of the readership. I believe all sectors of country music need to be saved, including mainstream radio. It might be the last holdout in the effort. I don’t expect everyone to care what happens on commercial radio. Many I would expect not to. But I make it a priority, because it is still the medium that reaches the most people in the country realm.
March 14, 2016 @ 10:59 am
Just giving you a hard time bro. Keep up the good work.
March 14, 2016 @ 12:47 pm
I actually listen to country radio because my car is too old for any of the newfangled stuff (satellite radio or even an auxiliary jack). So, I’m glad a song like this is being released as a single.
March 14, 2016 @ 12:54 pm
I drive an 05 Wrangler. Well before the the fancy stuff but it’s easy to drop a bluetooth head unit in one. Poof, no more radio.
March 14, 2016 @ 2:05 pm
I don’t know how old your car is or even what model, but I assume it at least has a cassette player. Cassettes are dirt cheap these days. They also make cassette auxiliary adapters: http://www.amazon.com/RCA-AH600R-Car-Cassette-Adapter/dp/B000BUN79K/ref=sr_1_2?s=mp3&ie=UTF8&qid=1457989451&sr=1-2
March 14, 2016 @ 8:07 pm
My 94 GMC has a cassette player, which is nice because I get to play my Uncle Dave Macon and my Roger Whittaker tapes on the way to work. I also invested in one of those fake tapes with the cord attached that plugs into a portable CD player (I might use it once every few months)
March 15, 2016 @ 7:48 am
I finally broke down and got an FM transmitter that plugs into the cigarette lighter. It’s an absolute game changer.
March 14, 2016 @ 10:38 am
This might be the first song you gave a not-good review for that I actually listened to all the way through, for what that’s worth.
Which isn’t to say that I’ll ever listen to it again. But I think it might be the first time I’ve made it all the way through a Luke Bryan song, and that means he’s gradually getting better.
March 14, 2016 @ 10:53 am
When Kill the Lights came out, this was one of the songs that really stood out. I also like Scarecrows and Fast. Luke Bryan does have some descent songs. It is easy to forget how his debut and second album were very country. I am like most of the people on this site and think that a lot of his songs are crap. I just can’t put him in the same category as Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett, & FGL.
March 14, 2016 @ 11:45 am
I would have to give it 3/10. Its less awful than what he normally puts out, but the song is basically a Cabela’s ad put to song. I just can’t respect/like a song that is so obviously pandering to the stereotypical Country audience.
March 14, 2016 @ 11:56 am
He has a sponsorship deal with Cabela’s so that’s probably why
March 14, 2016 @ 4:05 pm
I agree with your rating. Yes, this is better than his usual output, but it’s still kind of boring and forgettable.
March 14, 2016 @ 4:20 pm
Reminds me of “Bait A Hook” by Justin Moore. I liked the production but the lyrics were just so dumb that I couldn’t enjoy the song. But it became a crowd favorite for Moore despite lack of airplay.
Same thing might happen for Bryan with this one.
March 14, 2016 @ 11:53 am
Prediction that this will be his least successful radio songs in a while.
March 14, 2016 @ 1:55 pm
Very interested to see how it performs. Right now Luke is pretty much guaranteed a #1 with whatever he releases, but this will test that theory. And this isn’t the last single of the album they throw out there late in the album cycle for shits and giggles. His last album he released six singles from. I think they saw the slight weakness from “Home Alone Tonight” and thought they needed a change of direction.
March 14, 2016 @ 5:22 pm
If this went to #1, I would be happy. I’d rather have bad country music play on pop country radio than rap or R&B. Of course, I don’t listen to pop country radio, but I would feel better for the people that do.
March 14, 2016 @ 12:02 pm
Not a bad song I guess, but obviously released to remind people, “Hey, I’m still “country”!” Sad to think that after his first two albums, a song like this could have been seen as a “pandering to the masses” type of song. This makes me think the Jake Owens and Jason Aldean camps are scrambling for their “i fish and hunt, too” retorts to remind us they really are country. If this does well as a single (which is no guarantee), I can see fishing & hunting becoming the tailgates and moonlight of Summer ’16.
March 14, 2016 @ 12:32 pm
“It took some guts to release this as a single.”
I would respectfully disagree. Bryan can put out any song he wants to; all of his fangirls will buy it and it will shoot to the top of the airplay charts in 11-15 weeks, so he doesn’t have to worry about releasing a less “radio-friendly” single. He’s one of the few artists that radio essentially guarantees a massive amount of airplay and easy chart run for each of his singles.
But you’re right that he probably wouldn’t have released this if he didn’t sense the turning tide in mainstream country ”” it makes me wonder if we might see “To The Moon And Back” (the only song on “Kill The Lights” that I genuinely enjoyed) make it to radio as well.
March 14, 2016 @ 1:33 pm
This is single #4. You’d have to think the title track “Kill the Lights” makes it onto the radio. It sounds like it’s perfect for the radio climate these days, and its unusual for the title track to not be a single. Six singles is a lot for an album, though his last album had six singles.
If there are six singles, I think “Moon” would be the next one. He was quoted saying its one of the most important songs he’s cut. And based off how well “You Should Be Here”, “Drink a Beer”, and “Die a Happy Man” have done, “Moon” would be extremely well received (which is good, b/c its much better than those songs).
It’s also his only shot at a “Song of the Year” nomination come award season.
March 14, 2016 @ 2:21 pm
Good points.
Assuming that the album runs six singles deep ”” which I expect it will ”” I think the three candidates for the final two singles from “Kill The Lights” are the title track, “Fast,” and “To The Moon And Back.” I’ll be surprised if “Fast” isn’t released, because Bryan’s already mentioned in interviews that he wants to release it as a single as his “Drink A Beer”-type song this era. I think “To The Moon And Back” makes a strong case to be released for the reasons you mentioned, although I can also easily see the title track being released if Bryan and his label sense that the traditional revolution in the mainstream is losing steam.
March 14, 2016 @ 4:23 pm
I wouldn’t be surprised if this album only does 5 singles. The sales aren’t holding up as well as his previous album so they might just move on to a new project.
March 15, 2016 @ 12:33 am
“Kill the Lights” has only been out for seven months to date (it was released in August of last year).
For comparative purposes, “Crash My Party” was released in August 2013. That album’s fourth single, “Play It Again”, was also released seven months deep into the promotional cycle (March 24, 2014).
*
Yes, the sales aren’t great. In fact, “Kill The Lights” has been demonstrating some notably shaky chart legs, considering it’s currently at #60. Bryan is definitely at risk of having a severely front-loaded album era much like Miranda Lambert’s “Platinum” in 2014-2015 (a solid debut, but much weaker longevity compared to preceding efforts).
Still, the sales are respectable overall. It will cross the million threshold soon enough and that should be enough to warrant a couple more singles considering how relatively young the album is and how exceedingly difficult it is for a non-Adele or Taylor Swift entertainer to go Platinum this day in age.
March 14, 2016 @ 5:41 pm
Yea I could definitely see “Fast” being released. “Kill the Lights” could also be scratched if they feel that the R&B country thing is dying out. Most of the second half of his album was relatively good, but these first 3 singles he released were horrible.
March 15, 2016 @ 12:24 am
Unfortunately, Luke Bryan has also said, on record, that “Move” is guaranteed to be a single at some point in the album’s promotional cycle.
I sure direly hope he breaks his initial promise, but it’s hard predicting that because he said he also views it as “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” II! =(
March 14, 2016 @ 12:51 pm
Eh, sounds par for the course with Luke, unfortunately. I’ve heard worse and I’ve definitely heard much better, but either way I’ll be assaulted by this song whenever I happen to flip through the radio stations. Unfortunately, radio still holds an air of curiosity for me so I listen to pop country stations every now and then to hear what’s going on, and see if anything major is coming up (be it good, bad or worse). Most of the time it’s just painful and/or annoying. And is it just me, or does Luke look REALLY weird in the single artwork above?
In other news, are you going to review Randy Houser’s new album Fired Up, Trigger? I know that he’s probably a C-lister at best, but it’d still be cool to get an opinion. I’ve greatly appreciated the larger number of mainstream releases you’ve been writing about in recent years. Aside from “We Went” and passing mentions of his contributions to “Honk Tonk Badonkadonk,” you haven’t really given an opinion of Houser. And like with many artists, you may not have much of one to give. But it’s my opinion that his first two albums, Anything Goes and They Call Me Cadillac, are solid, with the latter verging on excellent at times. So I’m inclined to pay at least a bit of attention.
March 14, 2016 @ 1:36 pm
I had no idea he had an album out. I loved “Like a cowboy” on the radio, and like most of his stuff for the most part…. definitely will check it out.
March 14, 2016 @ 2:07 pm
Proceed with caution. I’ve yet to give the whole thing a listen, but as early as the third track in it’s basically straight pop (the first song, “Back”, has a measure of twang, though). Chris Stapleton is a co-writer on the penultimate track “One Way” and even does some uncredited (as far as I can tell) backup vocals.
March 14, 2016 @ 5:54 pm
Yea idk what I just listened to on that 3rd song. Other than it being blatantly pop, it always annoys me when singers try to sound all emotional while they sing very bland lyrics.
I’d expect there to be a decent amount of good album cuts, but you’d have to think that pop song will be the one ending up on the radio.
March 14, 2016 @ 1:58 pm
I don’t think this is par for the course from Luke Bryan at all. I think it is the most country song he’s released as a single, at least since he became a big mainstream star.
Randy Houser’s album is definitely on my radar, and may receive a review shortly.
March 14, 2016 @ 2:12 pm
Meh, I’ve always been partial to “All My Friends Say”, though he wasn’t a superstar back then. I suppose I’ve become so jaded by having this guy forced down my throat and being half the face of country music (the other half being Blake Shelton) to outsiders that I’m just sick of him, regardless. To be fair, I’ve never been even remotely a fan, even when his material was acceptable, with the aforementioned song only being a slight guilty pleasure. Even as early as the days of “Do I” I was sick of him. “Rain is a Good Thing” just dug his grave for my ears. Over the years he’s just become one of those guys I wouldn’t give another chance to even if he cut a straight up traditional album and everybody gave it the highest marks.
March 14, 2016 @ 4:09 pm
What are tha chances that you’ll be reviewing Loretta Lynn’s new album?
March 14, 2016 @ 7:39 pm
Frank The Tank,
I apologize in advance, because I’m going to use your comment to riff about some other things. Please don’t take it like I’m directing all this stuff at you in any way. I am obviously aware of the Loretta Lynn album and have not ruled out reviewing it. Sometimes there’s album or songs or artists that you just don’t have anything to say about. Wanting to write something is not enough. There needs to be passion there. Don’t mistake passion for caring. In the end, reviews are made of words. And if you don’t have words, you’re not going to get very far with a review.
Yesterday a colleague of mine named Grady Smith announced that he would no longer be writing his weekly column for The Guardian. He basically said he had grown tired of writing and it was no longer fun for him due to writers block, distractions, etc. What I told him is the same rule I follow myself: only write when passion gives you no other choice. Saving Country Music is a one man operation, which not only means I have to write all of the stories, but I also have to do a tremendous amount of behind-the-scenes stuff just to keep the site online. If I am not passionate about a subject, it’s foolhardy to sit in front of a screen and try to force words out just because I know I really need to post an article about a given subject, like Loretta’s album. I’m sure there’s plenty of people asking, “Why would you write about a Luke Bryan song, when you haven’t even written about Loretta Lynn’s new album?” The answer is passion. I write about whatever I am most passionate about at a given moment. That won’t stop folks from taking to Facebook and using the fact that I haven’t written about Loretta Lynn’s album as ammunition to attempt to undermine the support for this site, and the integrity of me as a writer. In the end, it seems like you’re judged more these days on what you don’t do, instead of all the great things you might have done in the name of country music. A few weeks back, I was attacked for not covering the death of Sonny James, even though I had covered it. I covered the death of Gogi Grant, and I was the only outlet in the world to do so until the family was forced to pay for an obituary in the LA newspaper to get the media to pay attention. Only then did it become the national story her death deserved. Most anyone who reads this site already knows Loretta Lynn’s album exists. So I am more likely to focus on the stories people do not know about, or sharing perspectives that are not welcome in mainstream media, like in this Luke Bryan song review.
Music journalists are leaving the profession left and right. Blogs are shutting down daily. Entire writing staffs are being let go. And viral sites focused on smut like Country Rebel, We Hate Pop Country, Rare Country, and others are taking over the country music space online. We used to think Taste of Country was terrible. Those were the days. Saving Country Music has weathered a very big storm that’s occurred over the last year, and it is not done churning yet. But the only way this site will be able to keep going is if I follow my passion. Because in the end, that’s what’s going to result in the best writing, and the most important stories. That may not always line up with what readers want to read, and I totally understand that. But folks need to also understand what an increasingly-difficult job it is to write about music. 75% of the folks that were around when I started are gone. But I don’t try to dwell on that, I just try to get out the next article on a subject that I’m passionate about, and hope it will keep the site online for another day.
March 14, 2016 @ 9:12 pm
Trigger- I love this site, greatly appreciate what you do, and would love to see SCM stay around forever. However, based on what you wrote here(“keep the site online for another day”), do you see an end to SCM on the horizon? Or was that more for effect?
Sincerely, Andrew
March 14, 2016 @ 9:51 pm
Thanks for the concern.
SCM’s not going anywhere.
March 14, 2016 @ 11:03 pm
Then I’ll keep reading- as long as you don’t start endorsing presidential candidates 😉
March 15, 2016 @ 4:25 am
I apologize for not having anything better to add to the song (it’s…..better than some stuff….I guess), but I just have to say that was probably the best comment I’ve ever read. Kudos to keeping the fight alive Trigger!
March 15, 2016 @ 4:30 pm
No worries. I understand where you’re coming from. This is one of my favourite sites and I look forward to the new articles each day. Keep up the good fight!
It’s disappointing to hear that Grady Smith won’t be writing anymore – I always enjoyed his articles – but good for him for recognizing that he was no longer happy doing what he was doing and made a change. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.
March 21, 2016 @ 7:16 am
We’re all here for you, Trigger. And for better or worse, we’ll all be making topical requests and inquiries until SCM is boarded up one day. It’s just the way people are 😉
March 14, 2016 @ 1:07 pm
The instrumental side is quite refreshing to hear, even though the lyrics are worn-out and the chorus is EXTREMELY repetitive. Do Dallas Davidson, Rhett Atkins, and Ben Hayslip own thesauruses, or are they only allowed to use words and concepts that bro-country singers understand, like “gurl”, “beer”, “dirt road”, and “resisting arrest”?
March 14, 2016 @ 1:54 pm
Many songs aren’t written in the current climate like you would think. 2010 I remember a songwriter telling me that he writes on a computer program. Almost a thesaurus like program but it has varying options to go with it. Such as a rhyme or a better word to use. Isn’t always on a napkin or notepad anymore. I would suspect they do this
March 14, 2016 @ 1:59 pm
Dallas Davidson think a thesaurus is a type of dinosaur.
March 28, 2018 @ 3:18 pm
I LOVE THIS
March 14, 2016 @ 1:10 pm
The worst part of this song is not the lyrics, it’s Luke’s horrible singing. This guy has no talent what so ever. I had the misfortune of seeing Luke live as the opening act for Shooter Jennings several years back. He was horrible then too. Spent most of his set walking around.
March 14, 2016 @ 1:36 pm
that is interesting. I did not know he toured with Shooter.
March 14, 2016 @ 2:52 pm
Not sure if it was a tour, but it happened at least once at our county fair. I didn’t even know who Luke was. My wife and I went and got a corn dog and a beer during his set. Shooter on the other hand put on a great show. Maybe 1500 people there.
March 15, 2016 @ 5:42 am
“Spent most of his set walking around.”
Hell, he can’t even do that without falling!
March 15, 2016 @ 9:38 am
I meant, while he did his set, I was walking around. His show was boring. I wasn’t the only one either. No one seemed to be particularly interested in him, as most of them were in line for beer or talking and moving around while he played.
March 15, 2016 @ 3:48 pm
That”™s my aversion to Luke: His singing. He has a higher shelf, open head”¦ room thing that I do not like. It sounds forced to me and, as a result, I don”™t believe anything he sings. For example, Drink a Beer”¦it sounds like he”™s trying to emote the song, rather than just letting the song be what it is.
I “judge” artists by my ”˜guitar on a stool”™ test. Would I like to sit and listen to an acoustic set performed by an artist and his guitar (or accompanying guitar player-I know not everybody plays)? Then, would I pay to see that set? Luke is a no on both accounts.
A broken clock is right twice a day. So, on an occasional song or two, Luke”™s voice may hit the mark. But, I am not a fan of his voice; therefore, I do not listen to him on purpose because of his voice.
March 14, 2016 @ 1:22 pm
He is so corny and goofy.. Hard for me to take him seriously.
March 14, 2016 @ 2:30 pm
Sorry, but you can polish a turd as much as you want, talk about how you smelled worse, but at the end of it all, you have a turd. Another Luke turd.
March 14, 2016 @ 2:40 pm
Hmm, sign of the direction of where country music is heading or a one off that’ll join “Drink a Beer” as Bryan songs that aren’t completely terrible. Only time is going to tell, but I’m placing more concern on Stapleton than this one. I think how well or poorly Stapleton’s latest single does on the charts is going to be the true test. If it’s another hit, then that means things are finally changing.
March 14, 2016 @ 2:52 pm
Not sure if it was a tour, but it happened at least once at our county fair. I didn’t even know who Luke was. My wife and I went and got a corn dog and a beer during his set. Shooter on the other hand put on a great show. Maybe 1500 people there.
March 14, 2016 @ 3:21 pm
Points to Luke for recording something closer to a country song .
Points lost for recording something so boring musically ( its a repeating three chord sequence for 4 and a half minutes for God’s sakes with some ridiculous rock and roll ending for no reason ! ) , weak melodically ( forgettable ) weak title . The track never gets off the ground ….in fact it never gains any traction ON the ground . Good try , LB but there are WAYYYY better songs waiting to see the light of day if you’re having a country epiphany of sorts . If you aren’t , never mind everything I just said .
And the Waylon flanged guitar didn’t go unnoticed .
March 14, 2016 @ 9:54 pm
Outlaw country was pretty musically boring, though, as a general rule. Most of the songs that I have heard from that era use a very repetitive bass-drum chord structure.
Country music of the decade centering around 1990, though, was truly one of the greatest forms of American art in recent generations. My country playlist disproportionately consists of songs from that era.
March 27, 2016 @ 11:22 am
update . heard this for the first time last night ( radio at work ) . THE worst crap out there ….VERY weak forgettable hook ….it just lays there ….nothing interesting , clever , nothing melodically fresh ….bad ” rap ” breakdown in the middle , repetitive , far too long and pointless at 4: 50 plus….what in God’s name is this guy thinking – or not thinking ? dunno WHO in hell would be interested in this contrived , pandering excuse for music and message ……just stupid in the truest sense of the word ….
man …if this is what is considered successful country mainstream the genre is in worst trouble than I’d imagined . if you are a fan of THIS PLEASE do yourself and the world a favour and listen to just about anything else to illustrate what I’m saying …….you deserve far far better whether you realize it yet or not ….and it IS out there even though LB can’t find it .
March 14, 2016 @ 4:30 pm
I’m simply not impressed with this: even acknowledging and appreciating the increase in country instrumentation.
*
Firstly, it still smacks as written-by-committee.
Granted there are some moments where some alluring imagery is provided including the swaying of tall pines. But the gratuitous name-dropping of the Flint River (which also surfaces in “That’s My Kind of Night”) and the Muckalee (which also surfaces in the previous album cut “Muckalee Creek Water”) largely undermines the authenticity of this track as just another laundry list track.
I believe I used the analogy in my review of the album as a whole as if Luke Bryan decided to cook a more organic variety of pasta for a change……………..but still insisted on adding a Top Ramen flavor packet to spice it up. That’s what this song is. We don”™t get any insight at all as to what shaped Bryan”™s lifelong love of huntin”™, fishin”™ and lovin”™ every day. It just focuses on what he’s doing and that he gets a farm pond buzz, but “Tackle Box” off his debut album provides a far more compelling testament as to how he has been raised and where his roots are. In contrast, here, he spends the entire first verse boasting about that, if walking in the woods and fishing were his day jobs, he would be stinkin”™ rich. Then he spends the entire second verse talking about his wife joining him, but not building on the song in any significant way. Finally, in the bridge, we see him and his fellow writers unable to resist sneaking a veiled jab at city slickers and their “old dirty air”, and then urging you to come along and join him.
It”™s just a hollow stab at populism that screams more “Hey y”™all, huntin”™ and fishin”™ are awesome, ain’t it? Holla if you agree!” than illustrating why huntin”™ and fishin”™ are celebrated pastimes in the country music tradition and what deeper lessons and character they have instilled all across the heartland.
*
Now, musically, this is definitely the best a Luke Bryan single has sounded since “We Rode In Trucks” off his debut album. I especially enjoyed the banjo that permeates the bridge.
However, I would bite my tongue if asked to agree this is more country-rock than country-influenced rock. This is clearly the latter. It is decidedly a Bob Seger-informed arena-geared heartland rock song. Nothing to be ashamed of, really, but it nonetheless follows a familiar template that countless other corporate country songs of its ilk since the late 80s have adopted.
*
In the end……………………I’m not impressed with this as much as you, but I can nonetheless see why this is more appealing than most of Bryan’s output since his debut album.
I’m thinking a Strong 4 to a Light 5 on this one.
March 14, 2016 @ 7:07 pm
Tackle Box (and to an extent, We Rode in Trucks) have much more depth and are more evocative than anything Luke Bryan has done in years – and he’s actually listed as a cowriter on those two tracks. Not sure what to make of that.
March 14, 2016 @ 8:32 pm
It means he doesn’t give himself enough credit.
He feels he cynically needs to capitulate to the Music Row songwriting machine to make a broad impact.
But as much as I’ve panned virtually all of his music since his debut album, I’ve always seen the potential residing within him. He wrote plenty of decent to even strong songs on both his debut album as well as unreleased demo album prior to being signed.
I’ll even admit “To The Moon And Back” is the first album track I’ve liked a lot since his debut, and the bonus track “Little Boys Grow Up & Dogs Get Old” is one of the best singular tracks he has recorded yet and should have wound up on the standard track listing.
March 14, 2016 @ 5:07 pm
Yeah, I could listen to this without reaching for the dial.
March 14, 2016 @ 5:20 pm
Definitely the best song Luke has released in a while. It’s the kind of song I would listen to on the radio if I couldn’t find anything better(in my area, there aren’t many options). His other stuff makes me want to drive off a cliff.
March 14, 2016 @ 5:52 pm
The song is pretty good in my opinion.
March 14, 2016 @ 7:11 pm
Luke Bryan can sing good country music he needs to get out of the rap crap he is singing lately.
March 14, 2016 @ 7:16 pm
Didn’t have time to read all The replies and this may have been said already, but the last comment about “Thomas Rhett and Sam Hunt” is funny . Considering “Peach Picker” Rhett Akins is Thomas Rhett’s father he is probably guilty of contributing writing to TR’s awful songs as well as Luke’s “not so terrible song.”. Funny how they (the writer) gets paid either way. For the record…I live in South GA, home of both Luke and Rhett, and care for neither. Love what you do Trigger .
March 14, 2016 @ 8:42 pm
That hook is god awful, and cutting the g off of every single -ing word sounds so hokey. It doesn’t work naturally with some -ing words.
His last great single was Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye. I loved the steel in that tune.
March 15, 2016 @ 2:08 am
I would say that his last great single was “Someone Else Calling You Baby” back in 2010. It featured a great melody and a very tasteful mix of country and rock instrumentation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATIa2EbnoYk
Starting with “Tailgates and Tanlines”, his songs has been just barely good at best. Nonetheless, I like “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye”, “Drunk On You” (due to the melody, not the lyrics), “Roller Coaster”, and “Strip It Down” (again, only due the melody).
March 14, 2016 @ 9:54 pm
I’m shocked this was released as a single. I guarantee you if Chris Stapleton wouldn’t be doing so well, that “Kill The Lights” would have been the next single. IMO, this is just Bryan seeing Stapleton as a threat and as a result, trying to compete with him. I hope Bryan’s next record is better than this album, it is pretty disappointing.
March 14, 2016 @ 10:29 pm
Not the deepest song, but it does describe the dream life for a lot of country boys around here. I could Bob my head to this, if I was high and the sun was out.
March 15, 2016 @ 7:55 am
And, honestly, how much more can you ask from country radio?
March 15, 2016 @ 10:55 am
That’s great, Toby. That should be part of pop-country reviews from here forward. “Would you bob your head to this, if you were high and the sun was out?”
March 15, 2016 @ 8:32 am
Just to be clear, “Home Alone Tonight” was by no means a big hit (sales were light by Luke Bryan standards), but not hitting #1 on Hot Country Songs really shouldn’t be a strike. It had the unfortunate challenge of reaching its radio peak during the “Die A Happy Man” era, and that was one of the biggest country hits of the decade (and THE longest-reigning country radio #1 since Taylor Swift’s “Our Song”).
Same goes for Burning House, Break Up In A Small Town, etc. These are all big overall country hits by any reasonable standard – but they just weren’t AS big as Thomas Rhett’s smash.
Home Alone Tonight still shot to #1 at radio pretty quickly (it isn’t comparable to the sluggish new Florida Georgia Line single) and sales were still respectable given its quick run, the fact that country sales are down across the board, and the fact that so many people already have the song cause of the album.
Not defending the song, pretending it will go down as one of Luke Bryan’s biggest hits or disputing your points about the strategy behind releasing this new single. Just saying that the peak chart position for Home Alone Tonight is not itself any sort of alarm.
March 15, 2016 @ 9:33 am
I agree with you on account of the Hot Country Songs peak.
Still, this era as a whole thus far underscores how Bryan’s career stature isn’t nearly as dominant as it was during its predecessor. “Strip It Down” is the only single that has convincingly made the case for why it deserved to be a Hot Country Songs #1, and that tanked in airplay pretty badly upon peaking (it actually fared poorly in callout.) “Kick The Dust Up” wouldn’t have made it to #1 if it hadn’t been a lead single riding on the coattails of A-lister frontloaded hype and intense name recognition following a multi-platinum effort.
“Home Alone Tonight” just kind of came and went. Much like “I See You” and “Roller Coaster” off his previous album, I’m sure it will be much forgotten about in relation to his other chart-toppers. It wasn’t as polarizing as “Strip It Down” in terms of callout, but then again sometimes polarization can work to a track’s advantage in inciting higher passion scores. “Home Alone Tonight” was just that kind of song that virtually no one was passionate about outside of critics amongst us who nit-pick songwriting more than the general population.
My bet is the release of this as a single is a deliberate admission to that, and hoping they can produce another memorable mile marker off of a shift in strategy. And if this falls short of expectations on behalf of Capitol Nashville, my bet is they’ll follow it up with “Move” in a Hail Mary-attempt to produce another “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)”.
March 15, 2016 @ 5:20 pm
Trigger,
I’ve been wanting to ask this question to you for a LONG time, and after reading this article, I think it’s a good time to ask. You went on in this article to describe that this is in fact a country song. You have said that certain songs aren’t country before, that I felt have matched or surpassed this song in regards to the “countryness” of it. So here’s my question:
What exactly is the criteria, in your eyes, for a song, or an album, to be “country” ?
March 16, 2016 @ 8:51 pm
This song sucks. How can I be nice about this. First of all, there is no cohesion. The song-by-committee lyrics, the weird hip-hop vocals, the hook others have commented on, the guitar thrown in there. What is this song. Also, I am also offended by this taking of country culture, watering it down, and spitting it out to the masses. This song is standard stadium country. Write a song, throw in some “country” words, and the masses will plunk down their $200 tickets like Pavlov’s dogs. Puke. I hate stadium country with a passion. This song has no authenticity. It’s definitely a “change the station” song for me. I give it .05/10, and only because the guitar player at the end was really good.
March 17, 2016 @ 8:01 pm
Great tune.
May 10, 2016 @ 9:18 am
God help me, I’ve actually found that I like this song.
June 19, 2016 @ 7:52 pm
You people are idiots……. Music is about.the lives they live….. Instead of criticising… Enjoy…my whole family hunts, fishes and. ENJOYS EVERY MINUTE OF IT…..
LUKE,
The song is awesome in my book and everyone’s favorite… Oh and bye the way.. We all work and make good money…. So instead of criticising…
GROW up and ENJOY THE BEAT AND MEANING
June 30, 2016 @ 11:12 am
I like this song as I hunt and fish. I don’t listen to Nashville country much as I listen to Texas Music/Red Dirt mostly & I hate rap country too. But after reading this review…. I have come to realize that the only thing worse than Radio country is reading the critics reviews. Wow…..get off your pedestal. With that said….go listen to Cody Jinks, Whiskey Myers, Jason Boland and the Stragglers. Country music still lives and flourishes…..its only dead in Tennessee.
July 2, 2018 @ 8:33 pm
The worst part of this song is that the field he’s hunting is downwind :facepalm: