If I had to pick three country artists to listen to for the rest of my life, they would be Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and Scotty McCreery.
Scotty McCreery reminds me what real country music sounds like - and it's his fifth studio album, Same Truck. The album starts off with a great introduction being the title track and it reminds me that "we're all in the same truck". Especially if you live in a small town, going to the same stores, the same bars, the same church, it's all simple living. But it's the type of life for certain people. But in a way, it's kinda like we're all humans, just trying to survive and live life.
Past albums from McCreery such as Clear As Day and See You Tonight, definitely have summer vibes to them, and Seasons Change and Same Truck kind of give me end of Summer/Fall vibes... And I really love it! Heading straight into the break-out single that's very popular in Country music (currently climbing up into the number four spot on the charts) "You Time" is a song that is SO easy to love... I mean, I could never be in a bad mood when I hear this song. It's got such a great beat and I can tell Scotty is coming out of his shell a little bit with the way the track sounds. "It Matters To Her" is one of those songs you can hear when you're driving down the road, when you're in your backyard. It's that song that is so sweet lyrically. The simple phrase "It matters to her" is saying that women notice all the little things that men do and everything matters to them. "Damn Strait" is for sure one of my favorites on this album. Written by Trent Tomlinson and Jim Collins, "Damn Strait" is about hearing a song, or several songs, by Country music icon George Strait that remind the singer of a past relationship and how they can't listen to those songs anymore.
"It'll Grow On You" is about moving to a small town, or passing through, the simplicity of small towns is described as "Gas ain't all that cheap and they don't take credit cards, they'll wanna talk forever if they don't know who you are". This song makes me think this is how McCreery will choose to live his entire life because, for him, there is no other way. "The Waiter" is the one that pulls on the heartstrings. And that's an understatement. When I first saw the title, I thought it would simply be about being in a restaurant, meeting a girl, etc. the rest is history. But this song is called "The Waiter" for reasons way deeper than that... All I wanna say about this song is my favorite lyrics are, "He ain't talkin' to himself, he's talkin' to heaven." Moving on to "Why You Gotta Be Like That", this is the song that definitely lets me know Scotty's definitely coming out of his shell more. The chorus says it all.
"Home" is the song that makes you appreciate what you have and really explains life going from somewhat of a bachelor life to... Married life! It explains the way that the singer used to basically be dying to get out of the house, hang out with the boys, close the bar down. And now that he found his other half, he "can't wait to go home". "Carolina To Me" is honestly such a sweet song. The opening lyrics immediately pulled me in the first time I heard it, "I believe this life we're living ain't all there is, and there's something better up there waiting after this". Those lyrics really made me think. And the ending of the chorus pulled me in even more - "We all got our own opinions, we all believe what we believe, but everything that's Heaven to you, is Carolina to me". If you've been a Scotty McCreery fan for a while, or you dig deep into his music, you know that he ALWAYS has a song about Carolina, because he truly loves it and sticks to his roots, which is something I love about him as a person and an artist. "Small Town Girl" is about what it sounds like! It's a fun track and smal town girls are hard to find... But he found his. "That Kind Of Fire" is definitely the most romantic track on the album and somewhat shows a side of Scotty we've never seen before, lyrically.
"How You Doing Up There" closes the incredible album out and when I listen to this song, the lyrics, seem so familiar. It's almost as if this song is a response, or a continuation to McCreery's first-ever number one hit, "Five More Minutes". Just the way he's singing, the lyrics, the overall vibe just makes me feel that those two songs are connected to each other. And one of my favorite things that I've noticed about Scotty McCreery albums is that he usually ends his albums with slower songs, which I love. Clear As Day has ending tracks such as "Back On The Ground" and "That Old King James", See You Tonight ends with "Carolina Eyes", and Seasons Change ends with "Still" and "Home In My Mind".
There's a record store in Nashville. It's called Ernest Tubb Record Shop. There's a revolving sign above it that says "Real Country Music Lives Here" and that's how I felt listening to all of "Same Truck". And that's how I feel every time I listen to Scotty McCreery's music. There are not many artists like him around anymore. So when you come across an artist like him, or any real and unique artist of any genre, you know they're special. And I know I was meant to hear Scotty's music for a reason. I've been listening to him since I was fifteen. I remember calling to vote for him when he was on American Idol. I remember when he won. I remember when he released Clear As Day. I remember the first time I saw him in concert. I remember when he (finally) got married. I remember when he got his dog, Moose. But what I'll always remember most is how his music made me feel and how it helped me get through the tough times of life.
You can listen to "Same Truck" here, you can listen to all of Scotty McCreery's music here and check out Same Truck merch here. You can keep up with Scotty on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. If you're feeling generous and wanna read more about Scotty, you can check out my live review of his performance in St. Louis during the You Time tour here!
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