Oak Ridge Boys - Seven Nation Army

Here's an interesting new single from the legendary vocal quartet.  Did the Oak Ridge Boys choose wisely in choosing to rework a rock song into a song that would fit their harmonic vocal style?  While radio will likely still ignore the single should new fans still take a listen?

With tightened playlists forcing older, classic artists off the country airwaves, these artists are forced to try to get attention from new and younger fans in different ways. Johnny Cash did so by recruiting Rick Rubin to make his American Recordings series.  While this approach, taking modern rock/classic rock songs and turning them into interesting country/acoustic songs worked very well for the Man In Black, it hasn't really helped Glen Cambell in the same way and while Loretta Lynn recorded an album with Jack White of the White Stripes, she didn't court the new fans via that method. 

The Oak Ridge Boys are one of the most revered musical groups of all time ad while they've been active with music most of this decade, they haven't exactly been sought after by the young or 'hipster' crowd.  But after one listen to their newest single "Seven Nation Army," a remake of the White Stripes song written by Jack White, that crowd should certainly pay attention to the Oaks.  Because if this song is an indication in what to expect from the vocal quartet and their upcoming album "The Boys Are Back," then their album is going to be one of the biggest surprises of 2009. 

While not 'traditional country' in any sense, "Seven Nation Army" has an insanely catchy melody and the vocal work is of a vocal quartet giving younger fans a master class on how to sing.  This is a song that deserves any and all airplay it gets as it's just a cool, groov-y song to listen to.

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