Comments on: Album Review: Haywire – Josh TurnerJ

By: Shirley Lee

Shirley Lee — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 17:53:19 +0000

I love this CD because the uptempo music and the happy lyrics just give me a great big smile across my face. When real life gets me down I can listen to this album and it cheers me up right away. I don’t need any heavy-handed inspirational message lyrics when I want something fun to listen to. And this very definitely fits the bill for me, for sure. I love me some Josh!

By: Paul W Dennis

Paul W Dennis — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 06:14:08 +0000

This may be one of the best sounding CDs released in the last few years and that surely counts for something. I do agree that the songs are mostly trifles, so this will never qualify as a great album, as contrasted to some of the other great sounding albums such as the recent Gene Watson or Willie & The Wheel albums.

I expect this album to be successful in the marketplace but he does need to vary the song selection for future releases or he will soon find himself qualifying for one of my FORGOTTEN ARTISTS articles

By: Bonnaroo Embraces Rootsy Musicians; Rare George Jones Songs Reissued; Luke Bryan Celebrates No. 1 | The 9513

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:06:12 +0000

[...] his over-reliance on one-dimensional portrayals of women as one of the record’s downfalls. Country California’s C.M. Wilcox agrees, calling it Turner’s least interesting album to date. Love songs are the order of the day. [...]

By: Brady

Brady — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:20:52 +0000

I just don’t think he has anything particularly compelling to say and has backed himself into a corner regarding the type of material he’s willing to record. He’s got the looks, the voice, a nice family, and enough money that he can afford to build a log cabin dedicated solely to songwriting. From the outside looking in, there’s no conflict in life, so why should there be in his songs? It’d be nice if life were really that easy and I respect him for sticking to his principles, but the resulting material just isn’t that interesting.

I saw somewhere recently where he said he passed on “In Color” because it didn’t fit him. If there’s something wrong with the message or subject matter in that song, then what’s left? Or is he afraid of associating himself with Jamey Johnson? I just don’t get it.

But, as always, that’s just my subjective take.

By: Leeann

Leeann — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:23:33 +0000

Same here.

By: Occasional Hope

Occasional Hope — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:21:24 +0000

I have no problem with ‘sweet’ per se, but the songs need to be stronger than this to make an impact on me.

By: Leeann

Leeann — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:30:07 +0000

I agree with this review. While there are some pleasant enough sounding tunes here, the album is completely underwhelming in general. So far, nothing has reached out and grabbed me in any way. Even his last album, which I’ve made no secret about being disappointed in, had many more bright spots than this. Like Ocasional Hope said, his voice and the production is more like what I want to hear in country music, but there’s still a disconnect to me. Not only aren’t any of the lyrics particularly interesting, I still feel like he’s not vocally connected with what he’s singing. He’s kind of in the same category as Darryle Singletary for me at this point. They’ve both got the goods, but they’ve got to choose better songs to match their talent.

By: cntryMomma

cntryMomma — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:23:33 +0000

I love this site, but rarely have the luxury of time to comment … ;o ) … but I just had to say something here …

It’s a sad state when folks are annoyed that a good Christian man puts out a “sweet” album. As much I can enjoy and appreciate the realness of a raw emotional country song, it’s not everyone’s style. If this is the type of music he want to make, more power to him. *shrug* I love Josh Turner as a person and as an artist.

By: Occasional Hope

Occasional Hope — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:30:54 +0000

I generally agree with this. I think it does *sound* really good compared to most major label releases these days (production and vocals), but the songs are all lyrically bland. Josh has always been a bit hit-and-miss for me in terms of his material, but this one’s all miss.