Song Review – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton’s “A Song To Sing”

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When the news came down that Miranda Lambert and Chris Stapleton would be releasing a song together, it was hard to not get a little excited, irrespective of your level of excitement for either of these artists and their individual careers. Both Stapleton and Lambert have made their way through life being a bit more authentic to themselves than the rest of the mainstream. And who knows, with the resurgence of twang and ’90s country sounds, maybe this collaboration would take shape as something really cool.

“A Song To Sing” is a pleasant enough track, and not a song that would inspire any hatred form anyone, unless hatred is what inspires someone, which unfortunately, is the state of many people these days. But instead of being inspired by ’90s country, this song more the domain of ’70s disco, making it destined to sound like virtually all the other vintage R&B-ish tracks out there these days, which there are already plenty of, and from artists who deal in this kind of music as opposed to a couple of country performers.

Written by Stapleton and Lambert along with Jesse Frasure and Jenee Fleenor, “A Song To Sing” is a song written about writing a song through the love of a relationship. The kids might call this pretty “meta.” But for those who appreciate the craft of songwriting, they might conclude this song is pretty “meh.” It’s like a song you write when you want to write a song, but don’t really known what exactly to write about. “Uninspired” is the right word.

Adding to how “A Song To Sing” looks great on paper, it’s Dave Cobb who is credited as the producer, responsible for the synth washes and twang-bereft nature of the tune. Though both Chris and Miranda are credited on the song equally as opposed to a “feat.” situation, Cobb’s participation might mean if it ends up on someone’s new album, it would be Stapleton’s, yet it was released on Miranda’s imprint. But as opposed to a lead single, this feels more like a stab to seed a “Song of the Summer” from the two country stars.

Again, it’s not about how bad “A Song To Sing” is. It’s about how out-of-step it seems with where both country and these two artists are going, and what this collaboration between two critically-acclaimed country stars could have been, which is epic. Forget the lack of twang or country influences, there’s not even really any grit or guts here. Though the performances from Lambert and Stapleton are pleasant enough, the song just doesn’t take you anywhere.

You could forgive Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers for the pop production of “Islands In The Stream” because the song itself written by disco stars The Bee Gees was iconic. Though playlists might pick it up and so might country radio, “A Song To Sing” feels like empty music calories. Then again, that empty feeling is often what constitutes a “hit.”

Adult Contemporary will eat this up.

6.7/10

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