This New Brooks & Dunn “Reboot” Could Be Interesting
The heart welled up with excitement in many true country music fans when word came down that Brooks & Dunn had a new title on the way, only to be tempered by the fact that it’s a Reboot (nice double entendre there) of some of their old classics re-recorded with contemporary stars. To some, Brooks & Dunn still symbolize where mainstream country went wrong, but to many, time has been very kind to the duo’s legacy, with many of their biggest hits making listeners well up with nostalgia, especially after what “country” music has become today, including at the hands of some of the artists included on this new record due in full April 5th.
We get it. After the retirement of Brooks & Dunn in 2009 and tacit participation in country music since then, what better way to reboot your career than to get some of today’s biggest and hottest names to sing with them on some tracks. Some of the names you get downright excited about like Ashley McBride and Jon Pardi, Cody Johnson and perhaps Kacey Musgraves. Midland may be more hat than cattle, but few doubt their acumen at playing classic-sounding country songs, and Brothers Osborne are usually more good than bad.
It’s fun pairing artists together like this on specific songs, even though you’ll have to suffer through contributions from Kane Brown and Brett Young in the process. Of course we all can play fantasy football here and wonder why folks like Cody Jinks and Tyler Childers didn’t get a call. But let’s face it, this album is an attention reclamation project for the duo, and you want to get the names involved that will boost your streaming numbers and get all the kiddos listening. And what’s so bad with a little musical osmosis if it turns some folks on to a little actual country music?
The original versions of songs loom so largely in listener’s heads that trying to sell the public on new versions is a tall order, especially with songs so important to the legacy of country music. But listening through the reboot of “Brand New Man” with Luke Combs, it’s pretty damn good. We could do without the electronic hand claps and the loud production. But the thing sounds like a hit, and it very might well be. It’s already at #42 on radio, and #30 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in its first week. Luke Combs is one of the hottest things in country right now, if not the hottest, and anything with his name on it is going to shoot up the charts. This thing could end up being a #1.
Brooks & Dunn have also released a new version of “My Next Broken Heart” with Jon Pardi, and it’s pretty damn good too. Again, they could have left the hand claps on the cutting house floor, you hear a few shimmers of Auto-tune here and there, and nobody will ever sing this song as good as Ronnie Dunn did the first time. But there’s plenty of steel guitar and a renewed energy behind the track that you can appreciate. Probably one of the best, and worst things about Reboot is it’s produced by Dan Huff who came from the rock world, so a lot of the lead guitar and drums are too out front on the songs we’ve heard so far. But this does keep the new tracks feeling lively as opposed to rehashed.
And then here comes Kane Brown re-singing the song “Believe,” probably because it’s one of the few Brooks & Dunn tunes that features talking instead of singing, which better suits Kane Brown’s limited skill set. Kane can’t come close to matching the intimacy and soul of the original track, and the new version became more of an R&B song than the stripped back ballad of its original intent. Even then, it’s hard to call it offensive.
It would be great to get another original Brooks & Dunn album while there’s still tread on those tires. Look at their Las Vegas stage partner Reba McEntire and her straight up Western-swing style song “No U In Oklahoma” from her upcoming record that she says will be one of the most country of her career. It’s a good bet that Brooks & Dunn still got it, and Ronnie had some moments on his recent solo records when he wasn’t trying to chase radio play. But hopefully Reboot will serve its purpose, which is giving a bump up to Brooks & Dunn whose catalog is worthy of one, and without having to completely sell out to radio to do it. After all, radio isn’t playing these songs anymore anyway, so the material will all be new to many.
We’ll have to see what we think about the whole thing come April 5th, but if this record results in a reboot of Brooks & Dunn’s career, it can’t be a bad thing for country music.
TRACK LIST:
1. Brand New Man (with Luke Combs)
2. Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You (with Brett Young)
3. My Next Broken Heart (with Jon Pardi)
4. Neon Moon (with Kacey Musgraves)*
5. Lost and Found (with Tyler Booth)
6. Hard Workin’ Man (with Brothers Osborne)
7. You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone (with Ashley McBryde)
8. My Maria (with Thomas Rhett)
9. Red Dirt Road (with Cody Johnson)
10. Boot Scootin’ Boogie (with Midland)
11. Mama Don’t Get Dressed Up For Nothing (with LANCO)
12. Believe (with Kane Brown)
*- co-produced by Kacey Musgraves
February 24, 2019 @ 10:53 am
I lost interest in them when their Steers and Stripes album came out
too polished
February 24, 2019 @ 12:32 pm
That marked their comeback! They were dead to radio and in the verge of splitting before Steers & Stripes. I think Red Dirt Road was their best album.
February 24, 2019 @ 4:58 pm
Steers and Stripes is a great album. ‘The Last Thing I Do’ should have been a single.
February 24, 2019 @ 10:54 am
Been saying it for a while here that Tyler Booth would be one to watch out for from KY, especially after Dillion got recognition. I’m glad he’s getting exposure like this.
February 24, 2019 @ 11:23 am
I’m most excited for the Kacey Musgraves Neon Moon collab, having heard the crazy, unique version she does live. On another note, I’m probably the only one here who thinks Thomas Rhett could sound pretty good on My Maria.
February 25, 2019 @ 9:39 am
Trig – why the star next to the neon moon track?
February 25, 2019 @ 9:43 am
That’s because it was co-produced by Kacey Musgraves. Forgot to include that info.
February 24, 2019 @ 11:43 am
Thomas Rhett and Kane Brown lol. Not sure that I even want to give this listen.
Trig, when do you plan on reviewing or ranting over the new horrific FGL album? Been looking forward to that.
February 24, 2019 @ 11:47 am
Posting this article just reinforces my theory that people’s eye gravitate towards what they hate. I agree Kane Brown and Thomas Rhett are some unsavory names, but I actually think the vast majority of contributors in this track list are cool. And if Kane Brown and Thomas Rhett fans get turned onto something that actually sounds like country, even better.
I may have something on the Florida Georgia Line album soon.
February 24, 2019 @ 6:20 pm
Trig, we gravitate towards the reviews of especially bad albums because you do such a fantastic job tearing them apart. No one roasting terrible “country” like you, dude!
February 25, 2019 @ 4:28 pm
Trig, people get verbal about what they hate, probably because words are usually the only things they can throw. But eyes, I have to believe people like to gaze on what they love. At least I do. When I see my wife or daughter napping on the couch, I don’t get verbal. Maybe it’s a guy thing. And maybe it’s a sad commentary on my life that I’m less moved to get verbal by positive things than the negative. Is anyone else like this? I think it’s a problem that praise isn’t considered interesting. Maybe most people are just morbid. Maybe they’re rewarded for producing rubberneckers. I don’t know. Our standards are too high, and we don’t forgive easily enough.
February 24, 2019 @ 2:30 pm
Lmfao—— horrific very funny
February 24, 2019 @ 12:29 pm
As a HUGE B&D fan, this does nothing for me because of the artists involved. Hell, even if Jinks, Childers, and Sturgill were included, it would still feel gimmicky.
This might be the first tribute/ duets album I’ve never seen Sheryl Crow included.
February 25, 2019 @ 1:23 am
This isn’t a tribute, and I don’t think it’s for Brooks & Dunn fans. I think it’s to introduce the music of Brooks & Dunn to younger fans.
March 7, 2019 @ 8:44 am
You are correct Trigger.
Also GREAT article.
Perhaps we can get some country sound back into country music.
By the way. We now have a new TEAMDUNN page for Ronnie.
You were on our last page so please come join us on our new page as we promote Ronnie Dunn.
Stop by and visit us here https://www.facebook.com/EverythingRonnieDunn.
February 24, 2019 @ 12:39 pm
I expect most of these to be pretty good, but I keep thinking about Thomas Rhett trying to sing My Maria and I can’t stop laughing.
February 24, 2019 @ 1:16 pm
You would ultra surprised. I seen him on his radio tour with only 20 people or so in a restaurant. All radio station people and me basically. Before his first single “something to do with my hands” was cracking the top 40.
I had a hank Williams shirt on. He noticed it and actually broke out into one of his songs impromptu.
February 24, 2019 @ 12:42 pm
I get why there’s only hot names featured here, but I really wish they had ballooned the number of songs a bit and had Alan Jackson, George Strait and some of their contemporaries from their actual era make an appearance as well. Granted, that might have also seemed odd on a project with songs that probably influenced many of these younger performers (rather than the direct competition, as it was for the older crowd), but it certainly would have been cool. Was also hoping to see Big & Rich in there, as their names tend to crop up on projects like this every now and then, but it was not to be.
February 24, 2019 @ 2:00 pm
Big and rich really? Ugh they dont belong in the same class name one b&r song that will be on radio 20 plus years after release.. im waiting hell i dont even hear save a horse anymore
February 24, 2019 @ 7:57 pm
Bud, I’ve been a regular reader and commenter on this site for over six years, and I’ve never made any secret of my (perhaps contradictory) fandom of B&R. As such, forgive my saltiness, but I don’t give two diarrhetic shits whether the radio plays them 20 years from now, or even 20 seconds. I still have my albums. And are you really using RADIO as a barometer of influence? On Saving Country Music? Please.
Speaking of who belongs in what class, Big & Rich opened for Brooks & Dunn on tour back when they started in 2004. So it’s not as if it’s some sort of unprecedented sin to suggest such a collaboration.
February 24, 2019 @ 8:59 pm
“And are you really using RADIO as a barometer of influence? On Saving Country Music? Please.”
Seriously? Have you not been paying attention during all your time on this site?
SCM is obsessed with Rigged Radio.
February 25, 2019 @ 5:21 am
My point exactly: it’s rigged. Country radio is a talking point because it’s outdated and a sham. Not necessarily that we should care what it dictates is worthy of our time, as Bartimusmaximus implied. If that were the case, Bebe Rexha would be the greatest country artist of all time.
February 24, 2019 @ 12:56 pm
I’m interested in everything but the Kane Brown, Thomas Rhett, and LANCO tracks. Every other artist on the list has substantial, worthwhile music even if there’s a handful of forgettable radio singles.
February 24, 2019 @ 12:57 pm
One disclaimer–I forgot about the Tyler Booth track. I don’t have a fucking clue who Tyler Booth is. Worth a listen?
February 24, 2019 @ 8:11 pm
Tyler Booth came from Austin City in Lexington along with Dillon Carmichael. He sounds like Waylon/Sturgill but I would say his stuff veers more radio friendly than Dillon
February 24, 2019 @ 3:54 pm
For some reason I’m actually interested in the LANCO collaboration. Despite not being very country, their debut was a lot different than the rest of mainstream music and I didn’t mind their last two singles. Again, not saying they’re country, but there’s something intriguing about them.
February 24, 2019 @ 1:08 pm
Big nostalgia hit reading the tracklist, but my first thoughts are ‘how many times will I have to tell young people that the original was better’
February 24, 2019 @ 1:48 pm
I am a big fan of the “D” in Brooks and Dunn. If this album holds to their others, you will not be able to even hear Kix sing. Ronnie’s voice carried the duo. Kix is talented no doubt. But the fact cannot be denied. Other than a couple of singles featuring Kix, which were good by the way, It is Dunn.
Like the preposterous Sugarland Duo. Kristian Bush, really?
Soldier on Ronnie. You have one of the best voices out there.
February 24, 2019 @ 2:03 pm
Untrue up till about the 4th album is was about 50/50 on leads
February 24, 2019 @ 4:27 pm
My Mom who is a huge B&D fan always called Kix “the other one”
February 24, 2019 @ 4:45 pm
Strange how Ronnie finally released an album at age 38 once he was paired with Kix.
February 24, 2019 @ 6:15 pm
In concert, Kix carried his weight. Rock My World, Mama Don’t Get Dressed Up, and You’re Gonna Miss Me were staples in the concerts. He also was the entertainer of the two in concert – telling jokes, jumping into the crowd to dance. He was way more than a Naomi Judd or the bean dude from Sugarland.
Independent Trucker from GH2 is my second favorite Brooks lead vocal.
Songwriting credits on albums were 50/50. It’s just Dunn’s voice … tough to compete with that!
February 24, 2019 @ 2:09 pm
Excited to hear ‘Red Dirt Road’ with Cody Johnson
February 24, 2019 @ 2:23 pm
Not a fan of these types of albums, or re-recording old material in general. It’s basically just a cash grab. Tracy Lawrence did this same concept last year and it wasn’t good. Also, it’s difficult having to explain to people that these are re-recordings. I’ve already had to tell one of my friends that “Believe” isn’t new and it originally came out fifteen years ago :/
February 24, 2019 @ 2:36 pm
Agreed. I will give this a chance because I love B&D,but in general, these “tribute” and “reboot” projects just end up making me said because the originals are so much better.
Still haven’t gotten over being traumatized by the Barbara Mandrell tribute album, and those were GOOD artists (for the most part). Scary to think about Combs and Rhett singing two of my favorite songs.
February 25, 2019 @ 8:42 am
Re-recording old material isn’t necessarily a “cash grab.” Most of the time it’s done because the major labels own the original master recordings, so if an act doesn’t own the original recordings and wants to release a greatest hits album independently on his/her own label, they can’t use the original recordings because they would have to buy those from the major label, which usually commands a hefty price tag.
February 24, 2019 @ 2:30 pm
I tried going into this with an open mind.
I really did.
but there’s three interesting people on this record outside of B&D
Ashely McBRide, Jon Pardi, and Luke Combs
The rest are all a bunch of clowns, jokers, fools and yammering idiots
Who exactly is this supposed to appeal to?
I know that me, somebody who likes B&D but not as much as I like virtually any other style of Country Music that came before absolutely will not pay to hear B&D singing a song I’ve heard before with an amateur hour karaoke night tool autotuned into the mix
I’ve heard My Maria many times
How is Thomas Rhett going to make it any better?
Older fans will reject it for being unnecessary and stupid
Modern Country fans ARE unnecessary and stupid
February 24, 2019 @ 2:32 pm
This is a tried and true way to release a GREATEST HITS package . Teaming a veteran act (with a hugely popular catalogue ) with the up and comers who bring THEIR uninitiated fan-base to the dance is a win/win/win for original artists , newer artists and the labels involved . Its a no-brainer …..Santana did something similar with SUPERNATURAL in 2000 …new material , of course , but new popular faces sold the Santana sound to a new generation . HUGE success which Santana is arguably still coasting on having brought that new demographic into the fold . The Doobies have done it , The ABBA stuff has been done ….(and now by Cher) and many many other combinations of original acts with younger new faces …..
You make great points though , Trigger . AJ tried to do it with Zak Brown ….George Strait with Kenny Chesney way back ……introducing a new generation of fans to REAL country music by way of the popular acts of the day is not a bad thing . And if ANY of it rubs off on these new artists and/or their fans and/or radio its all good…especially right now . Plus , of course , newer fans will get to hear a REAL singer’s singer in Ronnie Dunn and make their own conclusions about the Aldeans who can’t carry a note at gunpoint .Not to mention the royalty cheques the writers will get for the same material all over again,
One more thing to note is that the Brooks and Dunn catalogue was dance-floor tried and tested ….from shuffles to waltzes to ballads to straight ahead Rock and THAT is something very few newer artists can claim with the same undance-able cut time hip hop rhythms 8 out of 10 new songs use . The dance music is what keeps the honky- tonks , dance halls and cabarets open and COUNTRY music alive …..not radio stuff like Kelsea Ballerini or FGL
February 25, 2019 @ 3:49 am
And don’t overlook Jimmy Buffett’s “License to Chill.”
With the exception of the Hank Williams cover of “Hey Good Lookin’ ” it’s about 2/3’s duets with then-peaking artists – AJ, George Strait, Chesney, Toby Keith, Martina McBride, (even post-peak Clint Black)~ doing new and cover material (not JB’s hits), and it was his only number 1 album…
February 24, 2019 @ 3:10 pm
Tracy Lawrence did this exact same thing in 2017. He re-recorded his hits with a bunch of contemporaries, including Luke Combs. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a good album, even though nothing will touch the damn-near-perfection of Tracy’s original cuts. I’ve heard three of the cuts from this new B&D album — the tracks w/ Luke Combs, w/ Kane Brown, w/ Jon Pardi — and my reaction is mostly good but not as impressed as the Tracy Lawrence album.
As you duly note, the claps in “Brand New Man” are unfortunate. It’s gimmicky. It’s bad. Otherwise, it’s a good rendition, and Luke is characteristically great in his vocal contributions. The track with Kane Brown is bad albeit not the worst thing ever. The very presence of Kane Brown is almost enough to ruin the entire project, and B&D should have known better.
I’m not surprised, because Kix Brooks likes to suck-up to these adolescent imbeciles in his video interviews (Kix Brooks Radio on YouTube). In a time where we need real leadership more than ever, Kix has been disappointing. Moreover, he’s terrible at doing interviews, and I don’t know how he has a show other than his fame with B&D. He has the personality of Wolf Blitzer.
February 24, 2019 @ 3:50 pm
All about the franchise.
February 24, 2019 @ 4:32 pm
Neon Moon is one of my all-time favorite country songs. And I love Kacey’s cover. Looking forward to her and Ashey’s tracks. Will probably skip the rest as I’d rather listen to Ronnie sing them in the original cuts.
February 24, 2019 @ 4:42 pm
I clicked play on “My Next Broken Heart”, and all of a sudden I felt this strange sensation to hunt down the nearest cowboy hatted fat girl and dance my white butt off. Not bad, Pardi.
What a strange sensation.
February 24, 2019 @ 5:35 pm
Trey Gray is a great drummer. Their rhythm section is top shelf.
February 24, 2019 @ 5:10 pm
I only like about 20% of B & D catolog that being said Ronnie is one the best singers in country.
February 24, 2019 @ 5:30 pm
I think Kane is more talented than 3/4 of the new “country singers” of today. I like to hear him sing and I am a 64 year old white man. Bet he does a great job on the B@D song.
February 25, 2019 @ 8:44 am
Re-recording old material isn’t necessarily a “cash grab.” Most of the time it’s done because the major labels own the original master recordings, so if an act doesn’t own the original recordings and wants to release a greatest hits album independently on his/her own label, they can’t use the original recordings because they would have to buy those from the major label, which usually commands a hefty price tag.
February 24, 2019 @ 6:55 pm
next up: Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison reboot with Brian of FGL as the glass of water Cash comments on, and Tyler as the “Dirty Old Egg-Suckin’ Dog.”
February 24, 2019 @ 8:12 pm
Tyler Booth came from Austin City in Lexington along with Dillon Carmichael. He sounds like Waylon/Sturgill but I would say his stuff veers more radio friendly than Dillon
February 24, 2019 @ 8:55 pm
“He was way more than a Naomi Judd or the bean dude from Sugarland.”
The bean dude, hilarious. His claim to fame is strumming whatever strings he is playing and looking up and staring at Nettles as she screeches out a song that is worse than fingernails on a chalkboard.
February 24, 2019 @ 9:17 pm
He was the purse, the financier, of the trio – the heir to Bush Beans. He paid thousands of his granddaddy’s bean money to stand there and strum his guitar!
February 24, 2019 @ 9:59 pm
I for one am pretty excited to hear several of these songs. Of what’s been released so far, I think Trigger’s review is pretty much spot on. The only other observation that I have is the added drums at times on My Next Broken Heart have a retro arena rock sound to them (I’m thinking like Queen’s We Will Rock You). It’s an odd sound the first couple of times listening to it, but I think it works ok with the song. They have changed just enough to “modernize” the songs while leaving the core intact.
Considering the Believe reboot with Kane Brown has already been released, I would say I have at least some interest in every remaining song on the track list. I have no idea how Thomas Rhett is going to have the vocal chops to pull off My Maria, but I’m curious to hear him try. Then again, Ronnie had to carry Kane on some parts of Believe, so he may just do the same on My Maria. After hearing their take on Eastbound and Down at the CMA’s, I’m dying to hear Midland tackle Boot Scootin Boogie.
February 24, 2019 @ 10:30 pm
Kacey co-produced Neon Moon with Dann Huff. it’s probably disco-country.
like this >> https://youtu.be/7EcuvuMdAKc
February 25, 2019 @ 8:48 am
In my opinion, it was those carpetbaggers Dann Huff and Mutt Lange that were the progenitors of modern day mainstream pop country bullshit.
February 25, 2019 @ 6:24 am
Totally unnecessary and a money grab.
February 25, 2019 @ 9:51 am
What is LANCO? It sounds like a railroad or a telecom company. Whatever it is, I’m sure its something to avoid. I don’t know anything about it, but I know I don’t like it.
February 26, 2019 @ 8:47 pm
Late to this party but I’m pretty excited about this one. Saw Luke a few weeks ago and he was awesome live. Tyler Booth is a name that we’re going to be hearing a lot more of. I think his lyrics are definitely more on the radio side of country but the kid can sing. And I’m seeing a lot of hate on Lanco. They played the Luke Combs show, I don’t know much about them but they had a whole lot of energy and a put on a good show. They would make a good radio rock band.
February 28, 2019 @ 6:10 pm
HOLY CRAP !!!!! Welcome back,boys !!!!(even if it’s for a “Reboot.” ) Ronnie and Kix put the “Western” in Country and Western .
March 8, 2019 @ 9:23 am
I know what I’m about to say here will come as no surprise to anyone on this site, but I live these days in Pasadena and don’t run into many people who care about country music, so I don’t get a chance to share something that comes to mind fairly often: Ronnie Dunn is one of the greatest singers ever.
April 5, 2019 @ 11:32 am
Well I just got my first listen to this album today. Overall I really like it. I could do without the Thomas Rhett trackand maybe Kane Brown on Believe but the rest are a very enjoyable listen. It does mirror what we all know about women in country these days – the lack of – with only two invited here, Kacey and Ashley, but both tracks are stellar, especially the way Ashley and Kix harmonize. Jon Pardi and Cody Johnson tracks are very good. I doubted this project when I first heard about it but now I get it and how this may introduce younger country fans to the fabulous Brooks & Dunn.