Based on a True Story is ‘The Voice’ judge and mentor Blake Shelton’s seventh album and he is getting more personal here. Like his co-judge Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Blake is enjoying the fact that he is on the top spot in Billboard Country Charts.
I’m not a big fan of the country genre but I gave this guy a chance, probably because he just won in the latest season of The Voice. I figured, if he can mentor those performers well, he might be pretty good at what he does. And here is what I thought, track per track (or at least my favorites), about his new album.
Sure Be Cool If You Did
Here’s a country gentleman who says ‘Baby, it’s your call, No pressure at all…’ when he meets a girl he meets in a bar. But of course, he’d love it if there was more. The tune is like other country songs but he is such a great story teller, you can almost see what’s happening in your head.
Doin’ What She Likes
It is based on a true story, literally. In this song, he describes his everyday life with his wife, Miranda Lambert, another country singer. I’m sure a lot of girls out there would squeal ‘Aaw, how sweet!’ and fall in love with Shelton all over again.
Mine Would Be You
The drum line in the intro made me think of ’50 Ways to Leave Your Lover’ a bit. But unlike that very funny and ironic song, this is actually one of the most romantic in this album. What else could be sweeter than ‘singing like crazy fools’ when one is in love?
Like most of his albums, Based on a True Story feels like it was recorded in his home because it felt so laid back. The words are simple and the tunes are plain country. ‘He didn’t try so hard, did he?’ is a comment I’d hear from some friends. But that is exactly what I was impressed about. It was so charming, it worked really well.
Out of ten, I’d give this a solid 7. That is how great it was for me, considering I’m not a country fan.
