McCreery, Oak Ridge Boys drop new sounds

Same Truck

Scotty McCreery is somewhat of a guilty pleasure. American Idol winners are supposed to sell albums, lots of them. With three with three number ones on his resume, McCreery has certainly done his job well. But commercial success sometimes has its burdens. With an unabashed contemporary bent, aw shucks demeanor and flannel shirt, he was portrayed as a caricature of the genre on an SNL spoof 2013s "See You Tonight" was designed to market him as a more mature artist and to buck the stereotype. ...

Down Home Christmas

While eight Christmas releases might seem a bit much for any other band, for a group like The Oak Ridge Boys, with a pedigree that goes back over 50 years, it feels just right. Joined for the third time by producer Dave Cobb, the outfit lends their signature harmonies to a collection of songs that is pure Oak Ridge, continuing to merge the worlds of southern gospel, country and a few other sounds. Highlights include the doo-wop flavors of "Reindeer on the Roof," shiny bright rocking ...

Seasons Change

"Boys from Back Home" is Scotty McCreery's amalgamation of Kenny Chesney's "I Go Back" and "Boys of Fall," which even borrows words from each hit song to create something attempting to be new. It's not new. Instead, it sounds more like songwriting by committee, relying upon radio listener demographics. Many of these songs were created to sound immediately familiar to mainstream ears. They will. This doesn't mean they're good, though, let alone meaningful. ...