CD review: Luke Bryan, “Doin’ My Thing”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Country
Luke Bryan “Doin’ My Thing” (Capitol Nashville)
Luke Bryan effectively alternates fun-loving tributes to country living with earnest brokenhearted ballads on his genial sophomore album “Doin’ My Thing.”
The singer-songwriter, who grew up working his family’s peanut farm in Leesburg, Ga., proudly pays homage to his rural roots with the cheeky opener “Rain Is a Good Thing” and invites listeners to find refuge in the country with “Welcome to the Farm.” A brawny guitar adds a bluesy vibe to “Drinkin’ Beer and Wastin’ Bullets,” about making the best of an unsuccessful deer hunt.
Bryan, who co-wrote eight of the 11 tracks, keeps the album’s tone as light as a farmland breeze with the title track and the inspirational anthem “Chugging Along.”
He shows his series side on a trio of heartfelt ballads, including lead-off single “Do I,” which he co-wrote with Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley of country trio Lady Antebellum. The third member of the band, Hillary Scott, provides background vocals on the song. He also croons effectively about lost love on “Someone Else Calling You Baby” and “Every Time I See You.”
In “What Country Is,” Bryan convincingly defines country as sweet iced tea, peach ice cream and cane pole fishing and firmly proclaims “it ain’t a rebel flag you bought at the mall.” But in the album’s biggest misstep, he delivers an unnecessary cover of OneRepublic’s whiny pop hit “Apologize,” an overplayed song that all too recently played on a loop at every mall in America.
— BAM
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