One thing Joey + Rory have done since the release of The Life Of A Song in 2009 is deliver music that not only lets the fans know the husband and wife's values and who they are but it also showcases a side not often heard in the mainstream country music world, that of the traditional and/or acoustic country music styles. Despite having songs that certainly are as good, if not better than, the mainstream, Joey + Rory continue to make music for an audience that now includes hundreds of thousands of people and a successful TV Show on RFD TV.
Through their two previous albums, the duo has prominently featured wife Joey Martin on lead vocals with songwriter Rory Feek often happily harmonizing. But for His and Hers the Sugar Hill/Vanguard Records couple has released an album that is equally split amongst the duo and to accentuate this, they released "Josephine," a Rory lead vocal song, and "When I'm Gone," a Joey lead vocal track as the lead singles. "Josephine" is a melodically interesting story song set in the Civil War with Rory narrating as the soldier who misses his wife and children. It's a tune that clearly showcases Rory as a strong-voiced singer in his own right. "When I'm Gone" is a beautiful ballad that showcases the raw and real emotions we all experience when we lose a loved one. It's an example of what real country music does better than any other genre.
While those two songs would be considered 'heavy' to many, Joey + Rory are able to keep things light with playful tunes like the jazzy "Someday When I Grow Up" and "Your Man Loves You Honey" mixed in with sweet songs like "Cryin' Smile" and "Teaching Me How To Love You." Joey showcases why she's one of the best vocalists in country music on "He's A Cowboy," "Waiting For Someone" and "Let's Pretend We Never Met." The title track closes out what may very well be Joey + Rory's most consistent album to date with a story song about a couple who fall in and then out of love and how it's divided by things both 'his and hers.' This song may be a theme for this album of 'his and hers,' but it's not really the tale of this couple, who genuinely love each other so much that it'd be hard for their story to ever end the way that His & Hers ends.
You're not likely to find many traditional country albums released in 2012 that can compete with the quality of songs, production (from Gary Paczosa) and vocals found on His and Hers, an album that's about as timeless as an album can possibly get.
Buy: Amazon mp3 | Amazon CD
0 Comments