Husband and Wife Give Birth to 'Album #2'
Douglas Boultinghouse
Editor-in-Chief
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| Courtesy of Joey + Rory |
| "Album #2" |
Joey Martin Feek and Rory Feek, the husband and wife known as country duo Joey + Rory, released their second album Sept. 14. Creatively, the album is simply titled "Album #2." Like the debut, "The Life of a Song," the tracks modernize old-school, traditional country music.
The couple address the struggles and urges to step up the game for their sophomore album in the opening track.
"The critics all are waiting / To see if we come through / So much contemplating album number two," they sing.
The same humorous and honest playfulness appears on "Baby I'll Come Back to You."
Joey sings lead paying a bit of a tribute to the country greats and how some things never change, but if those things change, she'll come back then ... maybe.
"When Willie gives the weed up and cuts off all his hair / When George Jones finally says he needs his rocking chair / When Dolly gets a breast reduction down a size or two / The maybe, just maybe / Baby, I'll come back to you," she sings in such a way it's impossible not to laugh.
Joey proved back in 2008 with "Cheater, Cheater," she had no intention of putting up with any "no good, white trash hoes."
On "Album #2," she goes after the man with "God Help My Man."
"I hoping he a blew a tire and his old truck flipped and caught on fire / Cause God help my man if he's fooling around / If he's fooling around with some hussy he knows / While I'm cooking his dinner and washing his clothes / If he thinks he can come home and climb into my bed / He's got another thing coming upside of his head," she warns in a way that almost channels the country legend Loretta Lynn.
It's no secret when artists release albums, they want people to buy a copy or two of it. The Feeks figured they would be honest and tell you that, so they wrote "Buy Our CD."
"Now we could play a sad, old ballad / Leave you wiping tears away / Or hell, we could just be honest and say what we really want to say / Buy our CD / Y'all drive your car down to the very first Wal-mart you see / And pick up our brand new record / Hell, get you two or three," Rory sings with a bit of a chuckle.
While the pair perfect the art of making you laugh, the album also includes the inspirational ballads such as "Where Jesus Is," "My Ol Man" and "The Horse Nobody Could Ride." But the album's highlight is the duet "Born to Be Your Woman," a song only a husband and wife could make believable.
"Our love will last forever / Like this diamond on my hand / Cause I was born to be your woman / And you were made to be my man," the wife sings.
The husband follows with, "You're the breath in my body / You're the blood that's in my veins / You're my strength when I grow weary / You're my shelter when it rains ... You were born to be my woman / And I was made to be your man."
The duo called on friends and tour-mates, the Zac Brown Band, for "This Song's For You," which they dedicate to each everyday American struggling to make it through the day.
"This song's for you / You know who you are / We're up on this stage / But you're the star / You're why we do what we do / We want you to know / This song's for you," Brown sing, harmonizing with Joey.
"Album #2" literally picks up where the first one ended. The harmonies are on-point and the lyrics are cleverly written. But what makes this album stand out more is the simple fact Rory sings often sings lead. Joey's voice rings pure and brings to life the traditional country styles many have forgotten, but when Rory chimes in, they create magic as the husband-and-wife charm shines.
For Additional Reading
Husband, Wife Duo Modernize Traditional Country Storytelling
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