As an act with few true radio hits, a Greatest Hits project for Big & Rich might seem like a little stretch but if you consider the fact that the duo of Big Kenny and John Rich’s albums were always more than their radio hits, the thinking behind the release of this album seems a lot more logical. With 15 tracks, Greatest Hits certainly does feature the best of what this ‘oil and water’ duo has to offer.
Part of what made Big & Rich work was the blended lead vocals on such songs like “Wild West Show” and “Big Time” while the country rock of “Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy)” showed off a new ‘loudness’ for country that made the genre ‘cool’ for a younger audience and the duo managed to bring in quite a few fans with their Muzik Mafia and their energetic tunes. One of the duo’s best tunes is the story song “8th of November.” It was a heartfelt story of one man’s life fighting for America during Vietnam. The ballad “Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace” showcased the dichotomy of the duos faith-based backgrounds and their party boy attitudes. It’s a well-written song that should’ve been a big radio hit as so many people should relate to the lyrics.
The quirky “Rollin’ (The Ballad of Big & Rich),” “Never Mind Me,” “Kick My Ass” and “Everybody’s Rockin’” showcase how Big & Rich are able to not take themselves too seriously as they sing songs that are fun and just make you want to get out and have a good time. The previously released “The Man I Am Now” is an up-tempo traditional country ode to that might actually go a long way to explaining just why John Rich does the things he does. Fans of the duo’s lone #1 hit “Lost In This Moment” will enjoy the fact that the romantic [wedding-ready] ballad is also included on this compilation, as it should be as the duo’s biggest hit (outside of “Save A Horse” of course).
The DVD portion of the greatest hits offers up all of Big & Rich’s music videos as of the September 2009 release of this compilation and those videos illustrate the many sides of Big & Rich and work as a smart companion piece for the Audio CD. If you were curious about Big & Rich but didn’t really ever get their albums, you couldn’t have a better choice out there right now than to buy this CD package of Big & Rich’s Greatest Hits.
Note: The last paragraph refers to the Bigandrich.com exclusive release. Click here to order.
You can support Big & Rich by purchasing this album at iTunes (songs) (videos)| Amazon (digital) (CD/DVD)
0 Comments