Country-Rock Trio Lady Antebellum Releases Debut Album
Douglas Boultinghouse
Staff Writer
Who knew that flipping through channels and randomly stopping would provide me with a new group to pursue? I didn’t, but I’m glad it did.
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| Courtesy of MusicCityNetworks.com |
| Lady Antebellum |
What I saw on the screen was the new music video for the song “Love Don’t Live Here” by Lady Antebellum. Instantly I went to iTunes to find their album. Their sound intrigued me. The female's singing resembles a mixture of Miranda Lambert and Lori McKenna, and the male's voice sounds like Tim McGraw with a hint of Keith Urban.
After doing some background checking, I found some interesting facts about the trio. Lady Antebellum, often referred to simply as Lady A, consists of lead vocalists Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley with Dave Haywood singing harmony and playing guitar. Scott is the daughter of 1990s country singer Linda Davis, primarily known for her duet “Does He Love You” with Reba McEntire, and Kelley is the brother of pop singer Josh Kelley.
For newcomers, they are in the fast lane to success. Country diva Martina McBride knows this. She brought the band out on the road to support her 2008 tour. In a press release featured on the bands official site, McBride told fans and the media, “You can say you saw them when ...”
The self-titled album kicks off with the top 10 single “Love Don’t Live Here.”
“'Cause I’ve been doin’ fine without you / Forgettin’ all the love we once knew / And girl I ain’t the one who slammed that door / But now you say you’ve changed your thinkin’ / But I ain’t got a heart for breakin’ / So go and pick your bags up off my floor / Oh cause love don’t live here anymore,” Kelley sings.
Though a typical country song, it doesn’t disappoint. Kelley singing lead with Scott on backup couldn’t sound much closer to perfect.
Tag-team lines begin the next song “Lookin’ for a Good Time.”
“Girl you’re beautiful / You’re 'bout near perfect / But I bet somebody’s already told you that / Name your poison / Name your passion / 'Cause a boy like me just couldn’t help but ask,” Kelley begins.
“Keep on talking to me baby / I’m hanging on your every word / Keep those drinks a coming / Maybe we’ll both get what we deserve,” Scott kicks in.
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| Courtesy of MusicCityNetworks.com |
| Early Start - Lady Antebellum received a jump
start in their career when they performed with Martina McBride. The
groups is often called Lady A. |
Already sounding incredible, they step up their game and join forces on the chorus, “How 'bout baby / We make a promise / To not promise anything more than one night / Complicated situations / Only get worse in the morning light / Hey, I’m just lookin’ for a good time.”
Scott takes lead on the ballad “All We’d Ever Need.”
“Boy, it’s been all this time / And I can’t get you off my mind / And nobody knows it but me / I stare at your photograph / Still sleep in the shirt you left / And nobody knows it but me / Everyday I wipe my tears away / So many nights I’ve prayed for you to say,” she sings.
The chorus appears here adding a special spark to the song.
“I should’ve been chasing you / I should’ve been trying to prove / That you were all that mattered to me / I should’ve said all the things that I kept inside of me / And maybe I could’ve made you believe / That what we had was all we’d ever need,” Scott and Kelley sing.
Kelley chimes in with his equivalent verse to Scott’s opening, “My friends think I’m moving on / But the truth is I’m not that strong / And nobody knows it but me / And I’ve kept all the words you said / In a box underneath my bed / And nobody knows it but me.”
The entertaining song “Long Gone” holds a place before the highlight of the album, “I Run To You.”
With the lyrics, music, timing and especially the use of their falsettos, Kelley and Scott are unstoppable.
Kelley starts with, “I run from hate / I run from prejudice / I run from pessimists / But I run too late.” Scott sings, “I run my life / Or is it running me / Run from my past / I run too fast / Or too slow it seems.”
Together they sing, “When lies become the truth / That’s when I run to you.”
Moving from one magnificent track to another, they include the upbeat “Love’s Lookin’ Good on You” and the catchy self-exploration “Home is Where the Heart is” before moving into the one song that will stop you in your tracks, “Things People Say.”
“There I was at the bus stop beggin’ you just to stay / Can we work this out, baby we can work this out / A dust trail from a Greyhound headed for the West Coast / As I watch you leave, it’s gettin’ hard to breathe / No this ain’t how it was suppose to be / While you’re out chasin’ all your dreams / Tell me where does that leave me?” Kelley asks.
A chorus full of questions sung by both follows, “What about the plans that you left behind / The little white house by the railway line / The one we picked out / We even put the payment down / What about the promise that you made / To stay with me till your dying day / Said you’d never go away / Are they just things that people say?”
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| Courtesy of MusicCityNetworks.com |
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Lady Antebellum - Dave Haywood (sitting), Charles Kelley (standing) and
Hillary Scott (on top of car) make up Lady A. The band performs country/rock music.
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Kelley continues his expression of pure, raw emotion with, “The preacher stopped by the house last Tuesday / Asked if I was fine / We sat and talked a while / He tried to make me smile / But it’s so hard to show my face 'round lately / In this small town / I guess they heard the news / ‘Bout me and you / It’s 3 a.m. and I can’t sleep at all / I wonder where you are tonight and do I ever cross your mind.”
If there were ever a song meant for blasting while riding down old dirt roads, “Slow Down Sister” would be that song.
“So slow down sister 'cause I just can’t love ya / But I just can’t get you off my mind / Oh and Lord knows I need ya / But I just don’t want to / Put this rusted heart upon the line,” Scott and Kelley sing.
Scott’s ballad “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” slides in before the closing track, “One Day You Will.”
The old saying “save the best for last” fits this album. The final song showcases the musical force of Lady A that will take country music by storm.
“You feel like you’re falling backwards / Like you’re slippin’ through the cracks / Like no one would even notice / If you left this town and never came back / You walk outside and all you see is rain / You look inside and all you feel is pain / And you can’t see it now …” the pair sings before the inspirational chorus begins.
With the introduction slowly building, something big waits around the corner.
A strong burst in the music triggers the chorus, “But down the road the sun is shining / In every cloud there’s a silver lining / Just keep holding on (just keep holding on) / And every heartache makes you stronger / But it won’t be much longer / You’ll find love, you’ll find peace / And the you you’re meant to be / I know right now that’s not the way you feel / But one day you will.”
Before the chorus repeats, the lyrics turn darker as the sun prepares to shine, “You wake up every morning and ask yourself / What am I doing here anyway / With the weight of all those disappointments / Whispering in your ear / You’re just barely hanging by a thread / You wanna scream but you’re down to your last breath / And you don’t know it yet …”
With the increase in groups and duos in the country music industry, Lady Antebellum stands out in the crowd. Their album provides a refreshing sound that blends traditional country and rock influences. The self-titled debut effort hit stores April 15 and debuted on the at No. 1 on the country charts and No. 4 on the Billboard 200, according to Billboard’s release. The band deserves kudos to chart that high on the top albums chart as Mariah Carey, whose album released the same day, and to take the top spot with a “monstrous” 463,000 copies sold in its opening week. It’s not easy to battle the legendary M.C., but Lady A is up for the challenge.
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