Friday 7 August 2009

Aaron Tippin - He Believed


Aaron Tippin - He Believed
Nippit Records

Tracklist: He Believed, I Got It Honest, Country Boy's Toolbox, My Blue Angel, Working Man's PhD, Bad Latitude, Ready to Rock (In A Country Kinda Way), Whole Lotta Love On The Line, I Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way, Honky-Tonk Superman, Could Not Stop Myself, Trim Yourself To Fit The World
When we were lucky enough to get CMT Europe in the 90's there were a handful of acts that I fell in love with and still continue to enjoy. Among them was Alan Jackson, Tracy Byrd, Confederate Railroad and upo there with the best, Aaron Tippin. He always seemed like a kick-ass country kinda boy, even if his muscles and mustache gave him the look of the gay dancer that you know but don't like to go out on the razz with. Tippin scored some great hits with a series of hard-core rockin' country (the best being the first I heard by him, Ain't Nothin' Wrong With The Radio) and the odd ballad. He's been relatively quite over the past for years but he's now recorded (well last year, but I've only just got a copy) an album for Nippet Records that will be sold exclusively through the wonderful Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. What great places they are, me anmd my misses spent hours in those things when we were in Tennessee a few years back. Aaron Tippin is the latest country singer to performer to lend his name to an ever growing list of CD's sold exclusively through Cracker Barrel, following Merle Haggard, Alabama, Josh Turner, The Charlie Daniels Band and Lonestar among others.

He Believed is a twelve song affair with 6 new tracks and 6 old hit singles. The hiots should need no introduction with Honky-Tonk Superman and Working Man's Ph.D telling you everything you need to know about Aaron Tioppin, and the beautiful ballad, My Blue Angel, surely the best vocal performance of his career. Of the new songs, the title track is a heartfelt tribute to his father who died a couple of years ago in a car crash. Co written with Aaron's wife Thea, it's a ballad with lashings of gospel and tells the story of the rock his father was to him. Ready To Rock (In A Country Kinda Way) is a full-on country rocker with crowd participation, that will appeal to fans of Brooks and Dunn and Toby Keith. On first hearing I thought it was a bit contrived, but the second time I played it was in the car, and loud, and I really enjoyed it for what it was - kickin' country. I also enjoyed the honky tonkers, Bad Latitude and Country Boy's Toolbox. So all told it's a worthwhile purchase, just a shame you're only getting 6 new ones.

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