Hootie & the Blowfish front man Darius Rucker is back with his second endeavor into country music. And he’s no fluke. His first attempt was pretty successful and he’s definitely got the voice for this.

The album opens up with “This”, which is a song about being happy where you are now and being thankful for everything that’s happened in your life (good or bad) because those things brought you to now. It’s a nice start for the album and this should be a decent hit for him.

Up next is the first single, “Come Back Song”. It has a really nice feel and melody so I’m not surprised it was the first song released. Rucker laments letting a woman go and he realizes that he shouldn’t have and wants her back. Granted, his way of doing so is singing a song to her on the radio. We can’t all do that. And if you sing like me, we shouldn’t even be allowed to do so. Seriously, it’s pretty bad.

“Might Get Lucky” is about….you guessed it…getting lucky. But it’s like a family version of getting lucky. In the song, Rucker sings about finding the things he can do in his relationship to make his woman happy. Well, happy enough for a little fun in the sack when the kids go to bed. It can seem a little cheesy at times but hey, we should all treat our women right because if you don’t, you aren’t likely to get lucky.

We then go from the happy song about a good relationship to “Whiskey And You”. It’s not necessarily about a bad relationship, it just seems like one that’s kind of up and down (aren’t they all?). And sometimes he needs a little whiskey to make him feel better and then make him realize he needs to stay. It doesn’t make him a bad person. Stop judging! There’s nothing wrong with some good whiskey.

During the album, we’re constantly reminded that this is a country record and that Rucker is a southern boy. “Southern State of Mind” is all about the fact that no matter where he travels, he always remembers his southern roots and manners. He wants to order sweet tea everywhere and he says “hi” to everyone he sees, even if it makes them think something is wrong with him. This could be another

decent hit on the country charts for him. “Love Will Do That” is all about the good things that love does. It makes angels sing and makes you laugh but it also drives you crazy. This is kind of a generic country song but it gets a little catchy after awhile.

On “The Craziest Thing”, Rucker sings about a woman that lives life to the fullest, takes chances and pushes her limits. But she loves him, settles down and is content with slowing down some. And loving him is the craziest thing she’s ever done.

Next up is “Things I’d Never Do” where Rucker lists several things that he’d never do like leave a good woman or say mean things to her. But in the chorus, he’s thinking about her in a hotel room and is sad because, unfortunately, he’s done a lot of things that he said he’d never do. We’ve all done things we said we’d never do, we’re human. Or maybe you’re that person that’s never done anything wrong or never regretted anything. You’re not? I didn’t think so.

Along a similar line, “We All Fall Down” lets us know that everyone fails at some point and we all mess up. Sometimes you have to go through a lot of bad just so that you can pick yourself back up and win all back.

“I Don’t Care” is a duet with Brad Paisley. This track is kind of a break from the other tracks. I think it will be very popular and it’s got a lot of humor in it, as Paisley likes to do. When a song starts out with “Is 10:00 in the morning too early to drink beer? I don’t know, and I don’t care”, it’s got me. Hell, 10:00 is too late in the morning some days. They also ponder about the important things in life like is it impolite to stare at a beautiful woman and would you rather have the blond, brunette or the redhead. Definitely check this one out, I think you’ll find it pretty funny too.

“She’s Beautiful” is about a woman that’s beautiful but in more ways than just looks. He’s lucky to have found her and he’s not going to let her go. It’s not a standout track or anything but it’s also a little catchy and Rucker can sing anything.

All relationships have points where things end or things get to where they could easily end. In “I Got Nothin”, he sings about a night where he and his woman have hit that point and she’s ready to go but maybe she’d stay if he’d just speak up. The problem is, he can’t think of anything to say, no matter how hard he tries to. I know I’ve been there. Sometimes you just draw a blank and you want to say the right thing but you over think it and maybe just saying anything at all would work.

The last track is “In A Big Way”. It’s another reminder that no matter where he goes in this world, he’ll always need some country time to be happy. He wants to sit on his front porch, some homemade biscuits and a screen door. Everyone needs someplace to go when they need to get away and relax, right?

Overall, this is a pretty solid album. Darius Rucker isn’t changing country or anything but he is taking what works and making it his own. I’ve always been a fan of his voice and he sings all of these songs well. The tracks I liked best were “This”, “Come Back Song”, “I Don’t Care” and “I Got Nothin”. But the other tracks are pretty decent and you can just let it play. Rucker should have another success here.

Charlie Hustle

<