I don’t stray into mainline Country often (I prefer some of the fringes), but my mother-in-law suggested this one to me. Why not? This album, “Gettin’ Old”, is a companion album to last year’s “Growin’ Up”. In fact, the opening track for this album serves as a transition between the two, aptly titled (if a bit on the nose) “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old”. Combs, himself, has said that this album is about being in that middle ground where you’re happy with where you are, but miss the way things were, and have started to come to grips with the fact that your time is running out.
I think that the majority of the tracks in this album manage to stay in line with that concept pretty well, though several only really pull it off in the bridge after spending the early part on trivialities or in generic Country “I love my truck” territory.
I have to address the fact that three tracks on the album weren’t written by Combs. I mean, the cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” is obvious. But there’s also “Where the Wild Things Are” (written by Randy Montana) and “My Song Will Never Die” (written by Eric Church). They’re all good - “Fast Car” has hit top two on the Billboard, but I’m not sure how much that has to do with Combs’ cover, as it’s almost identical, note-for-note, with the original. Same pared-down supporting instrumentation, but slightly different mix; the biggest difference is that Combs’ version crescendos a bit more. They didn’t even change the pronouns in the song, like most gender-swapped covers tend to, and I’m not certain whether that decision comes from trying to appear open-minded or if it was just laziness.
The album is, otherwise, full of a mixed bag: songs about love (“Love You Anyway”), past loves (“Tattoo On a Sunburn”, “Hannah Ford Road”), change and how bad it is (“Back 40 Back”), family, living or dead (“5 Leaf Clover”, “See Me Now”), etc, etc. Some feel cliche, some are genuinely solid.
I do like the album’s concept, but I feel like it’s weak in the execution. This is another instance where the album really needs some editing. It’s 66 minutes long with 18 tracks, and a good handful don’t really *fit*. “Joe” seems to be about an AA member talking about just surviving day-by-day, and it’s honestly not bad, but it doesn’t mesh with the album. Several tracks also feel contradictory, so clearly, despite the album’s concept, in theory, being heavily autobiographical, it really isn’t. And I don’t know which songs have personal connections or stories, etc.
This one started off pretty well, but as it went on, it just teetered and lost its balance on the premise it was trying to sell. Especially after listening to releases from Tucker and Isbell, it just feels lackluster.
Rating: Yellow