The record kicks off with “Out of Summertime,” a previously leaked track that was one of a handful of tunes pitched as potential singles to be released as the coronation single after winning American Idol. It’s easy to see why Scotty would want to have a song like this and quite honestly, I’m surprised a little bit why this one wasn’t released as his second single as it fits the fall/winter mode and as an up-tempo song, would’ve proved that the baritone tenor could sing tempo as well as he does the ballads like Gold lead single “I Love You This Big.” While many people thought this single was cheesy, as far as American Idol coronation tunes go, it actually wasn’t all that bad and did well enough to make Scotty a viable radio-ready star.
Written by Casy Beatherd, Adam Wheeler and Phil O’Donnell, “Clear As Day” is a very strong ballad which showcases the range to his voice that some people who thought Scotty was a ‘Josh Turner clone’ would be surprised to see. While Scotty can sing those Josh Turner-like baritone tunes, he also has a rang-y tenor that’s more like that of Canadian country icon Paul Brandt or former teen country star Blaine Larsen. We won’t discuss “The Trouble With Girls” too much because we have an article (click here) dedicated to it but we think it is easily one of the best, radio-ready songs on the record and it’s easy to see why Scotty and his label chose the tune as the second single from Clear As Day.
Scotty McCreery’s album wouldn’t be a modern country album if it didn’t have a proud of my small town kind of song and that’s exactly what “Water Tower Town” is but you know what, it doesn’t say that if you’re not country this or cities are bad that, instead its’ a nice sweet song about any Small Town, USA town with lyrics done in all the right ways. It also doesn’t hurt that it has enough hooks to get 500,000 people singing along and certainly feels like it could join “Out of Summertime” as a single for next spring/summer, along with Scotty’s cover of Keith Urban/The Ranch’s single from 1997, “Walkin’ The Country.” And while this one may not be as ‘raw’ as Keith Urban’s original was, it’s still a really good song and you know what? It’s a good pair for the small town life but it’s more about unplugging and unwinding with the one you love and who can’t relate to that?
“Better Than That” is a nice groove-filled mid-tempo tune with nice mandolin-laced rhythms and a lyric that’s nice and sweet and not the usual take on a love song. This one, too feels like a radio single. “Write My Number On Your Hand” is an age-appropriate song and is more or less just for fun, like Blaine Larsen’s “Yessireebob” from Off To Join The World. “Dirty Dishes” is a song Scotty said passed the ‘mama crying test’ and that’s one of the reasons why he cut the song and it’s perhaps the one song where what I hear is a song that’s similar to what Josh Turner may have cut. That being said it’s a sweet song has great lyrics about everyday life, exactly the kind of stuff that makes country music the true American music.
Co-written by superstar songwriter (and former hit making singer) Rhett Akins and Lee Thomas Miller, “You Make That Look Good” has a playful, rocking melody that drives the song along and it tells a story of a girl who makes everything in the guy’s life look better when she’s in it. In other words, it’s something girls everywhere love to hear and that could potentially make the song a hit single if radio timing is right (it also doesn’t hurt to have a sound similar to other popular songs either, making it instantly feel familiar). “Back On The Ground” is all about the feeling you get by being with your family and friends where you grew up and how much you like returning ‘home’ even when you wanted anything but to stay there when you graduated from school. The record ends with “That Old King James,” a song that shows off both Scotty’s love for his faith and for the grandparents in his life. The story of the song is about getting the granddaddy’s bible as a family heirloom worth cherishing more than any other object.
With 12 strong tracks, Clear As Day certainly showcases the potential I saw in Scotty McCreery on that very first American Idol audition and while there are clearly songs on the album that are better than some of the others, it’s hard not to like all of what is presented here. A handful of the better tunes will likely be chosen from as the third, fourth and possibly fifth singles from the album before Scotty moves onto the second album sometime in 2013. And while all that’s well and good, perhaps the biggest thing for him is that it will sell really well, with Gold (500,000 sold) all but a given and Platinum (one million sold) a strong likelihood, particularly as other songs become big hit singles for Scotty.
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