Album Review: Shane Owens - “Where I’m Comin’ From”

There’s been a slow tide turn towards the more down home melodies and homespun lyrics of country music’s roots since its latest turn towards the pop radio sounds of the day (or recent yesterday, as it were) and Shane Owens is yet another artist — joining the likes of Chris Janson, Greg Bates, William Michael Morgan and Brandy Clark — proving there’s still a place on the mainstream airwaves for such a sound. This isn’t to say Owens latest project, Where I’m Comin’ From feels dated in any way. It does’t. The record is far from dated.

The production paints a modern picture of traditionalist country songs with big choruses and impactful lyrics and melodies. “All The Beer In Alabama,” the song — co-written by Shane, Dan Murph and Phillip Douglas — which will be the album’s second single, proves this with a sound that is uniquely Shane Owens yet a familiar fit like an old baseball glove at the same time. The shuffle of “Alcohol Of Fame” feels like a classic George Jones tune while Shane’s take on John Anderson’s “Chicken Truck” is just fun (and includes the iconic Anderson himself).

“Country Boy Can” (a song we shared on Roughstock prior to the album’s release and was co-written by Cole Swindell and Brian Callihan) is a steel guitar-laced song which showcases how Shane Owens brings a strong ballad to the plate while Top 40 hit lead single “Country Never Goes Out Of Style” serves as musical evidence that the music that Shane Owens does will always have a place in the world. “19” (from writers Jeffrey Steele, Tom Hambridge and Gary Nicholson) is a classic country story song about an American Hero who gave it all to fight for the USA. The album’s title track (written by Jerry Salley and Kerry Kurt Phillips) showcases all the values and virtues that Shane and country music stand for.

With a traditional country vocal style, Shane Owens can’t be anything but country and he proves this and more on Where I’m Coming’ From. This is a record that deserves to be front and center and in the hearts and minds of country music fans everywhere.