Are my eyes and ears deceiving me? Is alternative rock/pop band Train really making inroads in country music? ...Well, really, it's not that big a stretch. After all, David Nail covered "I'm About to Come Alive" and even made it the title track of his album. The Dixie Chicks have covered "Hey, Soul Sister" in concert. Based on that very song's phenomenal success in nearly every country and nearly every format, it's getting remixed and shipped to country radio.
"Hey, Soul Sister" probably would've worked even without a remix, as the original version is fairly laid-back and acoustic, driven with its inspired ukulele riff. But the country mix is very pleasant in its own right, swapping the uke for a mandolin and seamlessly working in some tasteful banjo and fiddle while still keeping the driving rock beat of the original. The references to Mister Mister, Madonna, gangsters and Love Connection in the lyrics are a bit of a hodgepodge. Combined with a slightly odd opener of "Your lipstick stains on the front lobe of my left-side brains," the lyrics make no bones about being, well, a hooky pop song. But why should "hooky pop song" be a bad thing?
In the past few years, it seems as if several artists have been more open to the thought of crossing over to country. Some seem to do it only through individual songs being shipped to the format on a lark (e.g. Kid Rock with "All Summer Long"), while others, such as Jewel, seem far more serious in their pursuit of the genre. Whichever path Train decides to take, I have to say that "Hey, Soul Sister" sounds just fine whether it's sharing a playlist with Rihanna, will.i.am and Usher, or with Brad Paisley, Zac Brown Band and Jason Aldean.
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