After becoming a superstar as the male lead vocalist in Lady Antebellum, Charles Kelley has certainly blossomed as a songwriter, vocalist and entertainer. This collection of nine tracks, named after Kelley’s lead single “The Driver,” recalls a bygone era where albums weren’t filled to 10-15 (mostly filler) tracks and the sonics of it blend from country to album oriented rock to adult contemporary and singer/songwriter fare. Fans of Lady Antebellum’s early hits like “Love Don’t Live Here” will certainly find something to like in “Your Love” while the fans of the band’s weightier fare like “Hello World” will certainly find something to like in “Leaving Nashville.” In between there is a duet with Stevie Nicks (a cover of Tom Petty’s “Southern Accents”) and songs like 80s pop rocker “Dancing Around It” (where Kelley reveals a pretty falsetto) and Chris Stapleton/Jesse Frasure-penned “Lonely Girl,” a likely future single and the most obvious hit on this strong album.
Some might call The Driver an indulgent record but it’s hard to back up such a claim when Kelley didn’t write the entire record himself. Instead, he (and his co-producer Paul Worley) chose to record songs which suited an overall theme of songs. “The Only One Who Gets Me” feels like a brooding modern pop/country version of a Kenny Loggins songs while “Round In Circles” feels ready for sing-a-longs at concerts. “I Wish You Were Here” is a beautiful folksy ballad (which features Miranda Lambert) and the closer “Leaving Nashville” is the kind of song that was made for the dreamers out there, the ones who follow them and stick to them, even if those dreams ultimately lead to a life that isn’t as financially successful as one may have hoped for. Still, it is a brilliant song and proves how strong of a songwriting town Nashville is and the mere fact that Kelley cut a song like this one is a testament to his ability as an artist. He could’ve easily produced a 12 track record of songs which feature his own name (something that’s normal in Nashville these days) but instead chose to make the best record he could, one which is a singer and songwriter’s record, even if Charles Kelley only co-wrote four of the nine songs on the project (songwriter Abe Stoklasa who co-wrote “Leaving Nashville” has four cuts himself).
The Driver might not be a multi-platinum superstar effort but as far as solo “side projects” go, this one serves to remind folks that Charles Kelley is serious about his career outside of his popular band Lady Antebellum and that while he’ll obviously sound similar to his band at times, he’s definitely not just a one trick pony.
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