Gilbert, Hayes, McCreery vie for ACM award

Fire & Brimstone

It would be easy (and lazy journalism) to write about how much Brantley Gilbert's music is un-country. You need only isolate the drum parts for most of these latest songs to confirm this is primarily a rock recording (masked as country). However, there are some quality - if not exactly country - songs on this effort, which cry out for a different sort of evaluation. Gilbert saves his best for last with "Man That Hung The Moon," a song about fatherhood that will likely bring many dads to tears. ...

The Devil Don't Sleep

For those fans worrying over the potential demise of bro country, rest easy; Brantley Gilbert is here to keep that flag flying high. Comprised of a solid set of radio ready rockers alongside a few tamer numbers, Gilbert sets out to prove the establishment wrong, rolling his way through 16 tales of hard living and partying. Yet, while Gilbert holds strong to the "bro country" stance, he's also very much his own man, allowing his faith and values to pull front and center as well. ...

Just As I Am: Platinum Edition

With the third version of Brantley Gilbert's "Just as I Am," he has almost doubled the average country album track listing. The definitive Platinum Edition contains 19 tracks that feature his trademark rock inflected country sound. The original 11 tracks are still intact, with the addition of the 3 songs from the original deluxe edition. Added on at the end are five new songs that largely fit well with the tone of the album. Those who originally purchased the regular edition ...