Music
GrowinG Up is GettinG old Jason Michael carroll Featuring songs from such noted tunesmiths as Tom Shapiro, Paul Overstreet, Keith Anderson and Jason Michael Carroll himself (who co-penned three selections), is an apt title for Carroll's 10-song second col-lection. Much like his own life, the title track, as well as such party anthems as Barn Burner and Happened on a Saturday Night (Suzie Q), is a reflection of the North Carolinian as country's Gen-Y family man, with the youth and spirit to speak to a party crowd but the dedi-cation and responsibilities that come with being a father of four. It's that grounding in love and family that lend such authenticity to album highlights like Carroll's co-written We Threw It All Away, Hurry Home and the poignant, post-divorce portrait Tears. A chart-topping debut album and back-to-back Top 5 singles with Alyssa Lies and Livin' Our Love Song helped establish Carroll as Billboard's Top New Country Artist of 2007, and Car-roll is on the airwaves now with Where I'm From, the stellar first single from the new album. The disc reunites Carroll, 30, with noted producer Don Gehman (Hootie & The Blowfish, John Mellencamp, Nanci Griffith, R.E.M.), who helmed Carroll's debut disc, that disc hit No. 1 on the country charts the week after its release. Grade: B+ the Crow: new sonGs for the five-strinG Banjo steve Martin Steve Martin sure can make you laugh. But the Texan also plays one mean banjo. This is the first full-length bluegrass album from the actor/co-median/musician. After playing on the Grammy Award-winning with Earl Scruggs, Martin began writing a string of new banjo songs, some with lyrics and some as instrumentals. The CD features special appearances by Dolly Parton and Vince Gill and consists of 15 original tracks written by Martin. I have loved the banjo my whole life, he says. The songs on this record represent the influence of a dozen players and a thousand tunes, and I thank them all. Grade: A-defyinG Gravity Keith Urban Keith Urban has been a successful solo artist for a decade now, and he just keeps getting better. The Aussie carefully crafts the songs he records, tweak-ing lyrics and melodies until they are just right. Urban might argue a song is never perfect, but judging from the rapid success of his latest single, Sweet Thing, fans do not agree. After only 10 weeks on the charts, the lead single from Keith's has already cracked the Top 10. The album's title comes from the lyrics of a song on the album, he says, and it just struck me at the time as a phrase that really defined the joyous, optimistic and uplifting spirit that seemed to show itself while making the album. Magnificent cuts include Hit the Ground Runnin and Standing Right in Front of You. Grade: A UnstoppaBle rascal Flatts Since hitting the big time in 2000, Rascal Flatts has sold more than 18 million albums (the best-selling artist across all genres of music in 2006) and scored nine No. 1 singles and 17 top 10 hits. Each of the band's five albums is a multi-platinum seller. Additionally, they are the reign-ing AMA, CMT, ACM and CMA Vocal Group of The Year with two, six, five and six respective consecutive wins. And the icing on the cake? Since 2006 they've played for 2 million fans in 156 cities. This new 11-track CD is unstoppable, as the guys cover the gamut of great songs. She'd Be in California may go down as one of RF's best, while Love Who You Love and Things That Matter also are ear-friendly. Grade: B Keepin' It Real MAy 2009 46 TrucKers News music reviews jon rAwl