Album Review – Joe Nichols’ “Never Gets Old”
Man did we need a good album from Joe Nichols. Mainstream country has been on a losing streak something fierce for 2017—barring a few exceptions—and when you have an artist like Joe Nichols, you need them to act like a bulkhead against adverse trends. It sucks when later in an artist’s career and after a long hiatus, they have to go and release some crap just to make their record label happy or to try and hold on to their radio relevancy. It not only sullies the present tense, it makes you rethink the past. It is almost as if you must go back and erase an artist’s music from your memories when they let you down later in their careers.
Joe Nichols had us real excited when he released a few songs ahead of his new album Never Gets Old, like the twangy “I’d Sing About You.” Even the title of the record seemed to hint to how certain things in life never go out of style, like blue jeans, white t-shirts, and true country music songs like the stuff Joe Nichols has cut throughout his career. A voice like the one Joe Nichols possesses is timeless and immune to trends. Unfortunately Joe Nichols himself isn’t, sliding from quality to commercial in different quadrants of his career, and resulting in a mixed quantity when it comes to the judgement of his output by traditional country fans.
Never Gets Old starts off so promising with the first few songs. No, this is not Cody Jinks or Tyler Childers-type high caliber stuff that you expect from your favorite independent country music artists. But for the mainstream it’s so much better than what you’re used to. It’s good songwriting and country sounds. There is a misconception out there the independent fans love to hate on mainstream music just because it is successful. Not to say there aren’t some of those wet blankets lurking out there, but generally speaking music fans want to like music. This is especially true with an artist like Joe Nichols. You want to root for him because he’s delivered in the past, and you’re even willing to extend greater latitude to him because of the restrictions of the mainstream label environment.
Songs like “Diamonds and Babies” and “We All Carry Something” may not go over well under the high nose of the Americana crowd, but these are solid songs nonetheless, and excellent vehicles to imbibe in that stellar Joe Nichols voice. The back half of Never Gets Old also has some quality stuff like “Billy Graham’s Bible,” and the somewhat contemporary, but still solid “This Side of the River.”
But like a truck stop sandwich that gets the bread, mayo, and cheese right, but the roasted turkey smells like tuna, the center of Never Gets Old is downright rotten. It’s like they knew core country and Joe Nichols fans would never go for what eventually may be the biggest radio singles on this record, and so if they put them in the middle, perhaps you would warm up to this record before they got to them.
Most fans of Joe Nichols and traditional country will visibly wince when they hear the electronic drum intro of “Breathless,” and won’t find much favor with the Sam Hunt Style sexy R&B approach of the song. But that is nothing compared to the breathtakingly vomitous “Tall Boys.” No, this is not a song about the starting lineup the Memphis Grizzlies. This is a catastrophic career-defining careen into the guardrail by Nichols. It makes “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off” feel like Tolstoy. We’re talking the most formulaic Bro-Country of Bro-Country you can find.
Talk about never getting old, “Tall Boys” would have been considered acrid and dated in 2014, which ironically was probably when it was recorded since like so many projects from aging mainstream artists, this album was beset by endless delays. They better release this piece of shit as a single, and it better scurry up the charts to number one, because otherwise what’s the point of putting it on this album besides pissing off core fans?
“Hostage” is a better song then the other two in the middle of this shit sandwich, but you will never find a better example of the gross overuse of Auto-Tune in a song this side of T-Pain and Cher. I mean they slathered it on like the Hellman’s when you ask your 6 year old to make you a ham sandwich.
Our biggest concern heading into this record was how Joe Nichols promised it would include a country cover of “Baby Got Back,” and make no mistake it’s about as bad has the worst case scenario you worked out in your brain when you first heard the news. But as the final track, you can just cut it off like the crust, and chalk it up to drunk rednecks getting dumb in the studio on a dare. There is no excuse for “Tall Boys” though. It’s nothing more then an unabashed cash grab via radio. Yet don’t be surprised if it never even sees the light of day on an iHeartMedia playlist. Are radio programmers really going to buy into a Bro-Country song from Joe Nichols? Even “So You’re Saying,” which boils down to building a song around a scene from Dumb and Dumber, still works better than “Tall Boys” or “Breathless.”
So just like Joe Nichols’ career, Never Gets Old gives you both points and counterpoints to the quality of his songs or the lack thereof that has made his career hard to define. At some point Joe Nichols is going to sing a song that hits you square in the chest and makes you point vehemently at your audio device and say, “That’s what I’m talking about.” And other times he’s going to make you feel like an idiot for listening. There will also be moments in the middle, and unfortunately a bunch of Never Gets Old sits in that middle ground, while the most stark moments are defined by the bad stuff.
We know deep down in his heart, Joe Nichols is a traditionalist and a true country music fan, and one with the voice and the perspective to be able to record pure country gold. The problem though—like with all mainstream artists—is if they’ll be allowed to express that part of themselves, or if they must become pragmatists just to get new music out. If you put up a fight, you might end up in their major label parking lot wondering how they’ll pay the bills next month.
True country music never gets old, but the tiring fights for artistic freedom and trying to figure out who and what an artist is through the filter of Music Row’s mechanized conveyor belt got old many years ago. It would be nice if Joe Nichols could once again just put out the album that he wants to. But until then, you open his albums like you do a sandwich, leaving the unsavory parts on a napkin, and nibble on what’s left knowing there’s something out there that’s so much better.
One Gun Up (5/10)
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The Good:
The Very Bad:
hayes
August 2, 2017 @ 8:14 am
I think this Album is very solid. I also think So You’re Saying is the best song on the Album. It’s the one I’d release to radio for sure. Great instrumentation and the melody and chorus is fantastic on that one.
Mets08123
August 2, 2017 @ 8:16 am
Honestly, I think this is perfect example of “modern country.” I definitely agree with you that “Tall Boys” is a complete throw away track. However, the rest of the album is very solid. I think “Hostage” is a solid song in the spectrum of “modern country,” it still has all the elements of what makes a solid country song.
I was very surprised by this album, definitely was not expecting it to sound like this at all. In the midst of this epidemic that we are in he did not succumb to the nonsense (with small exceptions). Overall as far as mainstream artists go (if you still consider him mainstream), it is one of the more solid albums out there.
Zackary K.
August 2, 2017 @ 8:24 am
Yeah, this is almost exactly what I came away with too.
I’ll give Joe this – he’s got a good voice and he knows how to use it. I’m not just talking about power either. Some of these songs are sort of just “ok” on paper, but often his rollicking, warmer tone really elevates them to a greater level. The title track (my personal favorite next to “We All Carry Something”) is a great example of this. Hell, even the borderline bro anthem “Girl in the Song” sort of works for me because of it.
I’m not as big on “I’d Sing About You” as a lot of people are but it’s a fine song, and “This Side of The River” as well as “Billy Graham’s Bible” would also qualify as highlights for me.
Other that the album ranges from boring to outright awful (like “Tall Boys” as you said). “Diamonds Make Babies” is good, but there seems to be something missing from it. It almost feels like a demo or something. A step in the right direction in terms of some songs present, but as a whole? I went with a 6/10 but I came to the same conclusion essentially.
Corncaster
August 2, 2017 @ 8:35 am
“We know deep down in his heart, Joe Nichols is a traditionalist ,…The problem though—like with all mainstream artists—is if they’ll be allowed to express that part of themselves, or if they must become pragmatists just to get new music out.”
Is that really being “pragmatic”? I thought sales were down, down, down. And bro-country is a bubble. If certain songs and playing are stellar, the problem may not be that they’re traditionalists — the problem may one of marketing. Do marketers want to make the effort to ensure that country music sells at least as well as bro or monogenre music? It doesn’t look that way. It looks like they have their formula and fix and are hide-bound conservative in clinging to them.
Let it burn.
Cool Lester Smooth
August 2, 2017 @ 11:05 am
The “pragmatism” involved is the label giving him a few songs that he has to record, if he wants to put out something like Billy Graham’s Bible.
Almost a tit-for-tat situation.
Gena R.
August 2, 2017 @ 9:21 am
“So You’re Saying” is such a cute song, D&D gag and all. 😀 I think it, “I’d Sing About You,” and the title cut could all make for genuinely fun, catchy radio hits; and “We All Carry Something” is a lovely tune with a powerful message. Too bad it sounds like the rest of the album is so uneven…
“Our biggest concern heading into this record was how Joe Nichols promised it would include a country cover of ‘Baby Got Back,’ and make no mistake it’s about as bad has the worst case scenario you worked out in your brain when you first heard the news.”
Oh, lord. o_O At least the melody and style aren’t a ripoff of Jonathan Coulton’s earnest/romantic take from a decade or so ago — plus, JoCo actually did the whole song, not just repeating the first verse:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCWaN_Tc5wo
albert
August 2, 2017 @ 9:24 am
This is probably THE best country music singer around today . I hope there was a gun to his head cuz that’s the only way I’d excuse Joe for not holding his ground and doing what only HE can do as a vocalist .
Let’s not forget …Joe’s first ( ? ) number one was a piece of underwritten crap called GIMME THAT GIRL which stank of rock and bro . Later it was SUNNY AND 75 …more junk .
TALL BOYS is pure Blakeshit. Makes me afraid to dig any deeper into this collection after what I’ve heard and read . I want so bad for this guy to thrive and survive and be successful on HIS terms but I’m not holding my breath .
R2D2
August 2, 2017 @ 11:19 am
Joe’s first #1 was “Brokenheartsville” in ’02, followed by “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off” in ’05.
albert
August 2, 2017 @ 10:07 pm
yup ….my bad and right you are , R2D2. ‘Gimme That Girl’ was actually his 3rd #1 . In any case , he has recorded lots of GREAT songs over the years so he knows what a great song is . One of my all time faves ( like AJ ) and it hurts to see these guys having to ” tow the line” just to compete with the material radio is playing .
CountryKnight
August 2, 2017 @ 9:40 am
If “Tall Boys” is the price to pay for this album to see the light of day, so be it. It is like going on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. It stinks to pay but the benefits outweigh the cost.
CountryKnight
August 2, 2017 @ 9:46 am
The thing is: singers like Turner and Nichols have to be pragmatic. Otherwise, they are stuck in perpetual album delay hell. They know that they are some of the last traditionalists left on the dial. Their slots wouldn’t be replaced by a new traditionalist.
Going independent probably would be better for their music but it won’t be better for country music. We have plenty of traditionalists in the independent scene. We need traditionalists in Nashville on the charts. Because to save Country Music, we must save Nashville. That is where the fight is.
Trainwreck92
August 2, 2017 @ 2:38 pm
I want traditionalists in Nashville too, but I’m not sure how much guys like Turner or Nichols are actually helping by staying a part of the machine. Half of the songs they record on any given album might be stone cold country, but those generally aren’t the songs that are sent to radio, and since mainstream country listeners aren’t buying too many albums these days, the good songs don’t actually get heard by many people.
Trigger
August 2, 2017 @ 10:31 pm
Don’t forget William Michael Morgan.
Patrick Bluhm
August 2, 2017 @ 10:02 am
Been a fan of Joe for a long time. This is one of the best mainstream albums of the year. The Stapleton and Paisley albums were better. Because he is mainstream the record label is going to make him cut at least a bad song or two but for the most part Joe does what he wants on this album. Red Bow does allow some of their artists to do more traditional music like Craig Campbell but at the end of the day they are in the business of making money. Having said all that this a pretty good record from a mainstream guy 6.5/10.
seak05
August 2, 2017 @ 10:19 am
Joe Nichols has always been “commercial” he wants to be on a major label, he wants to be on radio, he wants to make money. This is also true for 99% of artists within the music industry. If he thinks the traditional type stuff will work, he’ll release that. But if it’s not connecting with an audience, he’s not going to keep going there….in that direction generally leads to asking “do you want fries with that” (exaggeration..sort of). At this point in Nichols career though he isn’t going to get airplay or big sales, so that actually frees him up some and that’s great, but he’s never had a moral high ground…and that’s true for everyone, Making money, wanting fans, are not actually dirty things.
And every time a William Michael Morgan releases a traditionalist album, and sells basically nothing, you’re going to see them move away from traditional. If you’re lucky you get Jon Pardi, who at least has traditional lyrics and some traditional instrumentation in his album…even if many of the singles have a heavy EDM backbone (or your Stapleton, but that success has so far proven to be an anomaly for mainstream labels).
R2D2
August 2, 2017 @ 11:26 am
Yes Joe has always been in the mainstream & commercial, but to say he has no moral high ground is a little bit extreme.. He was about as traditional as can be for the mainstream from his debut all the way up to about 2013 when he released “Sunny & 75.” So you could say he had “no moral high ground” and caved to trends throughout 2013 – 2016. I am not saying he hasn’t been prone to compromising but I think that is an unfair criticism of his entire body of work to say he has no moral high ground.
seak05
August 2, 2017 @ 11:38 am
The problem is this idea of moral high ground. Plenty of jerks have made good music. Making music that You, or I, or Trigger likes better, and this is “good” doesn’t make you more moral. Wanting to make money doesn’t make you less moral etc.
R2D2
August 2, 2017 @ 11:50 am
I am confused to where all this morality is coming into play right now. I agree with your above comment but what does that have to do with Joe Nichols? Was he spouting off a bunch in interviews prior to the release about this?
TK
August 2, 2017 @ 10:21 am
Joe’s voice sets him up for failure. He has one of the best country voices around and he releases albums rife with compromise (alright one traditional for every two bro country or Chris Young-esque hookup ballads).
Something worth discussing/noting: “Baby Got Back” has to have one of the most traditional country productions in recent years on a mainstream country record (close to “She Ain’t In It” by Jon Pardi). So in a way, I actually like the cover. What frustrates me is that when covering a rap song the Joe Nichols team decides to pour on the country, but for the rest of the album they pare it back to a minimum to make sure soccer moms in Columbus are still into the music.
I think country radio has become a home for white people music in general, regardless of genre. A place where almost exclusively white performers (sorry Darius) can sing disco (“Craving You”), rap (“Body Like a Backroad”), dance pop (“Move”) and straight up rock to a primarily white audience. The only common element seems to be the demographic singing and the demographic targeted.
Cool Lester Smooth
August 2, 2017 @ 11:09 am
I was about to say — I thoroughly enjoyed the Baby Got Back cover, not least because the production is incredibly trad-country.
Ll28
August 2, 2017 @ 10:57 am
I see that Tyler Childers reference up there. 👀 Can’t wait to read your review of that gem!
DJ
August 2, 2017 @ 10:59 am
I’ve been listening to music a long time and I can remember only a couple albums I liked all the songs on, the first off the top of my head are Red Headed Stranger and the Phases and Stages follow up, or was it vice versa? And Mickey Newbury’s Frisco Mabel Joy which I about wore out. I did of course listen to all the songs on albums I bought because it was a lot more difficult to skip with vinyl and tapes, but, that didn’t mean I liked them. I don’t even like all the songs on Cody Jinks albums or Jamey Johnson and I am a fan of theirs. It’s another of those if you don’t like it don’t but it deals, which is why it’s good to have choices.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
August 2, 2017 @ 11:07 am
Well… I’d listen to it anyways. only heard the one song so far,
Tall Boys would be okay if it weren’t so similar to so many other trashy songs.
If it were unique and not just the same beer and truck nonsense it might be tolerable.
so overall I bet it’s an okay album to people who aren’t too stuck up about their Country Music and don’t mind a bit of filler.
Erica
August 2, 2017 @ 12:25 pm
I’m glad you mentioned “So You’re Saying”, because I think it brings out one of Nichols’s strong points as a singer and performer. The song itself, minus Joe, is a run of the mill pick-up song. In the hands of any bro-country singer out there today, it’d be another creepy song about a woman who needs to keep her hand over her drink while talking to the fellow singing to her. Joe Nichols delivers it so sweetly and sincerely, though, that the song turns into a cute little jam worth dancing to. Maybe it’s his voice and maybe it’s just who he is, but even when he is singing something silly (*cough Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off cough*), I still enjoy listening to it.
That said, there is no excuse for that “Baby Got Back” cover.
Kevin Davis
August 2, 2017 @ 1:08 pm
I actually have no problem with the “Baby Got Back” cover. It’s always been a silly song, and I’m sure that it works well as a part of his live sets, with everyone knowing the lyrics (including the boyfriend/girlfriend brought along who doesn’t listen to country music). It’s also the most traditional song on this album, in terms of instrumentation. So, I say we cut him some slack. He clearly just wanted to end the album with a fun song that was never meant to be taken in the least bit seriously.
But “Tall Boys” is horrid and completely inexcusable, especially in 2017.
Also, I love “Billy Graham’s Bible,” but is seems like this is the exact same cut as on the previous album (‘Crickets’). So it seems odd to include it again on the following album.
Mike
August 2, 2017 @ 1:19 pm
I knew I’d heard “Billy Graham’s Bible” before! I even Googled it to see if a different artist came up. “Diamonds Make Babies” was done by Dierks, so I knew I’d heard that one once before. Two artists cutting the same song at the same time used to happen quite a bit… Until I heard “Diamonds and Babies” I didn’t think about how rare it is now.
Cody
August 2, 2017 @ 1:30 pm
“Diamonds Make Babies” was also done by Bradley Gaskin. He came out with a awesome traditional country song called “Mr. Bartender”. I don’t know what ever happened to him though, he sort of disappeared. Its a shame though, because he had a very traditional country sound.
Wesley Gray
August 2, 2017 @ 1:40 pm
I saved the good tracks and I left the bad ones in the middle off my list so i’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that atrocious music on an other wise good, mainstream, yet good, album. On a brighter note, I just found that Charley Pride released his first new album of material since 2011 on July 7, 2017. Listened to it last night. it’s GOOOD. All the way through. A real pleasure to listen to! Y’all go check that out to get the bad taste of the weak songs on this record out of your mouth. 😀 Spot on review, Trigger.
Kevin Davis
August 2, 2017 @ 1:43 pm
Yes, the new Charley Pride album is very good.
Wesley Gray
August 2, 2017 @ 2:04 pm
I wasn’t too surprised. the new Pride album had come out back in the early-mid 80’s, it would probably be at #1 right now. GREAT record. I listened to it twice in a row last night. 🙂 *sorry about the double-post. i clicked the wrong “reply” button. You can delete the duplicate below, Trigger.*
Thebugman10
August 2, 2017 @ 7:53 pm
My God, Tall Boys is just as bad Dierks’s song called Tall Boys from “Riser”, but I which was mostly a really good album. It has the exact same pun as the previous song. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had the same writer.
Sam Cody
August 2, 2017 @ 8:42 pm
I’m waiting to see what Honky thinks about it, before I decide whether I’ll listen or not.
Benny Lee
August 3, 2017 @ 5:52 am
Looks like I’m in the minority here, but Joe Nichols the artist has just never lived up to Joe Nichols the voice, IMO, and this is further proof of that.
The good is mostly ok-good. The bad is intolerable.
It would be nice if he got together with a great songwriter and started singing material that was already dynamite, but I don’t see it happening.
IMO he’s George Strait if George never sang any good songs and sold out over 30% of the time.
Janice Brooks
August 5, 2017 @ 1:07 pm
Just got this today and after 2 listens I’ll concur about Tallboys and Baby Get Back. I’ll have the single in rotation next week.
Robert Thayer
September 8, 2017 @ 9:07 am
I had an opportunity to meet Joe, in New York City. I would have to say he is as polite as Elvis ever was and as talented as Johnny Cash on or off drugs. While my daughter at age 11 is a pop loving typical kind of girl, she enjoyed his music as well live. This album reminded me of my father playing Johnny Cash and Glen Campbell on his record player. Even Tall boys conjures up images I grew up with on the Eastern Shore of Maryland despite the electronic drums, which I agree were not necessary. This man made an honest attempt to save country music from its constant transformation to pop music with a southern accent, which, I just cannot enjoy as country music. Sometimes music is about more than the money it could make. As a film producer I am going to find out how I can get his version of Baby Got Back into our next film. This album not only shows us that he talented, and I know from our meeting, a good hearted Christian who loves country music with his entire soul, he also has a sense of humor, something you lack for skipping the last track.