The title tune is a fun, party-ready track about havin’ a good time with folks and friends out in their county. There are mason jars and handmade alcohol to help everyone achieve that moment of Zen. The banjo and guitars-fueled melody really drives home the message Matt was striving for on the record. “Whiskey Well” is a fiddle and steel guitar-laced hand-clap ready romp that features a melody that recalls some similar singles of the past few years yet remains uniquely Matt Stillwell. The lyrics are witty and clever and are playfully sung by Matt.
“Dirt Road Dancing” is a tune which is featured twice on this Shine Deluxe album, once in the original form and then closing out the album as a remix featuring label-mate Colt Ford. Both songs sizzle and shake and work well within the ‘country’ theme that country radio seems to love as of late. The Colt Ford remix features him doing what he does so well.
“Damn This Rain” shows off the softer, ballad-ready side of Matt with a song that was one of Shine’s first singles. It finds Matt Stillwell singing a lyric, one of his many co-writes on the album, that equates a rain and the wet road with his own emotions after a bad break-up. “Drunk Enough” is the new single and one of the new tracks added to Shine Deluxe. It’s a moody, groove-infused mid-tempo about a guy who drunk-dials his ex. It’s not exactly the party-hearty kind of tune that the song’s title would lead fans to believe it would be about but with the soaring country rock melody the song really stands out as one of the best tunes Matt Stillwill has written yet. The other new track on Shine Deluxe is “If I Can’t Have You.” It’s another mid-tempo ballad about a guy who professes that he doesn’t remember anything after a bitter and bad divorce. He says he doesn’t want to have any momentos of their time together if she’s not gonna be in it. It sounds just as radio ready as anything else on this album.
I thought “Oh My Sweet Carolina” was one of the best tracks from Shine and that fact still remains. A remake of the Ryan Adams album cut, the song features Stillwell’s best vocal along with delivering a message that anyone who has left their hometown for their dreams will certainly relate to. Even if Shine Deluxe doesn’t give Matt Stillwell the radio hits that his talent deserves, the album is nonetheless a strong one. Fans of good mainstream country music would do well to seek it out.
You can support Matt Stillwell by purchasing this album at Amazon | iTunes.
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