It's a bit of a shame, but you rarely hear a song on modern country radio without some sort of unnatural vocal effect or computer-generated drum beat, not to mention odd sounds here and there that can't be produced by a traditional instrument. It's an epidemic in a genre that has historically stuck to instrumental arrangements that can be performed live. Frankie Ballard tackles this issue on the solid, if not spectacular El Rio. The album was recorded in Texas at the famed Sonic Ranch studio.
Disclaimer: one downside to this album is that there's almost no country influence, I'm not even sure what genre I'd put it in--heartland rock comes to mind but I can't hear John Mellencamp singing these songs in my head. At the same time, country radio is inundated with non-country songs, so if it has to be that way, at least Ballard released an album of more good music than bad. Not that I willingly make that concession but with the current reality of the genre in the mainstream, it has to be done.
Perhaps the most confusing thing about El Rio is that most of the songs are either great or instantly forgettable. Only the lead single, "It All Started With a Beer" skirts the line of mediocrity. The song isn't going to make you cringe, but it's not going to make you think, either, and by the time it's over the listener is left with no lasting effect.
Every other song on the album is either enthralling or terrible. The album opens with the fantastic "El Camino," which boasts the album's most singable chorus and a catchy guitar riff that will get stuck in listener's heads. At this point one has high expectations for El Rio, but then the next three songs change things completely. "Cigarette" opens with perhaps the most annoying guitar riff I've ever heard, and the chorus clashes on the ear drums. The lyric centers around a man wanting to be the cigarette dangling from a beautiful woman's mouth. While the idea is fine, the execution was a disaster. It's a skip track, to say the least. Next in line is perhaps the biggest head-scratcher on the album in "Wasting Time." The song sports a catchy arrangement and chorus, but Ballard says the word "girl" so many times it becomes a distraction, and the song never recovers despite its solid foundation. It's not that this song is terrible overall, it's that it has one fatal flaw that can't be overlooked.
Unfortunately for listeners, " A Little Bit of Both" hits a new low as track four. It's the one blatant attempt at radio play on El Rio, dropping the names Jerry Jeff Walker and Jay Z next to each other at one point, which just makes no sense. To be completely honest, if you're buying the digital format of this album, just deselect track 4 and save yourself the horror.
"L.A. Woman" is where things get interesting again. Ballard and his band kick things off with an odd but gripping guitar line, and from there "L.A. Woman" develops into foot-stomping celebration of a song. The pre-chorus kicks in and the listener is hooked before the chorus even comes around. This song is a definite standout track.
"L.A. Woman" is where things get interesting again. Ballard and his band kick things off with an odd but gripping guitar line, and from there "L.A. Woman" develops into foot-stomping celebration of a song. The pre-chorus kicks in and the listener is hooked before the chorus even comes around. This song is a definite standout track.
After the lead single at track six, a great song called "Sweet Time" blesses our ears. The song talks of a man and a woman taking their "Sweet time in a real fast car," The verses are a little clunky at times, but the chorus is perfect. "Sweet Time" is destined to be a single, as far as I'm concerned. At this point we come to the strongest song on the album, the excellent "Good as Gold," which uses an odd song structure that keeps listeners guessing before jumping into an excellent guitar solo to close everything out. It's hard to describe this song without selling it short, so all I'll say is give it a listen.
After two great songs, the album balances itself again with the boring and banal "Southern Side," It's not entirely offensive to the ears, but the lyrics really drive it down and make it another skip track.
Luckily, that's the end of El Rio's failures, as the album closes out with two great songs, a nice cover of Bob Seger's "You'll Acomp'ny Me" and the album's second best song, "You Could Have Loved Me." It's the softest, most reflective song on the album, which has been a trait of many modern rock albums. Though it has its shortcomings, El Rio starts and ends well with some very good songs in between. Overall, it's more than worth a listen and though I don't highly recommend it, I don't think listeners should overlook it, either.
6/10
Luckily, that's the end of El Rio's failures, as the album closes out with two great songs, a nice cover of Bob Seger's "You'll Acomp'ny Me" and the album's second best song, "You Could Have Loved Me." It's the softest, most reflective song on the album, which has been a trait of many modern rock albums. Though it has its shortcomings, El Rio starts and ends well with some very good songs in between. Overall, it's more than worth a listen and though I don't highly recommend it, I don't think listeners should overlook it, either.
6/10
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