Gary Allan - "She's So California"

[msm444]

New single according to Music Row. Goes for adds on October 6th.

wm.allaccess.com/allaccess/garyshes.wma

[zaclord]

I was hoping for "Like It's A Bad Thing" but this one is good to

[S4C]

This was the obvious pick (along with LIABT, but I think this had the upper edge.. well, obviously it did... you get what I'm saying).

I don't know. It's a good song, kind of catchy. Country for sure. But it's not my favorite from Gary, nor from what's left from the album. It's just an average song, nothing standout about it. Maybe it'll grow on me.

[Dustin J.]

Not to be confused with "She's So California" by Willie Mack. :)

This is a strong choice.

[someguy]

Too bad. At least it's better than Adam Gregory's song with the same name, but it's probably my least favorite song on Gary's album. Oh well, hopefully it will do well.

[kw9461]

Pretty safe release, although I'm really surprised that they didn't go with Half Of My Mistakes. I expect this to do fairly well, hopefully T10, but I don't see this as a #1 contender, it's just a tad too bland. Hopefully there will be a 4th single and either HOMM or LIABT will be released, because I think both have #1 potential.

[bigbluenote]

I'm with the majority opinion here: It's good, but not the best choice, it's kind of bland, LIABT would have been a better pick, etc.

But as long as it's some kind of hit, I'll be satisfied.

[kim8]

Darn, darn. Ugh, I love Half of My Mistakes and Like it's a Bad Thing and I was really hoping both would be released. No shot of that now. Gosh, I just can't even imagine LIABT never being released. That is just such an awesome song. Hopefully it will be released next. I do like this single and hope it does well for him. Argh.

[rockingcountry]

I like it. Pretty good choice I think. Hopefully a top 10 for Gary.

[kevin59]

Listen to song (Allaccess)

wm.allaccess.com/allaccess/garyshes.wma

[Marv]

This sounds like a very worthwhile CD to buy, and I would like some recommendations on his earlier CDs.

His GH CD is wonderful, and especially 'Smoke Rings In The Dark'.

I love this song, but I'm not sure if it can reach the top 15-20.

[kim8]

I've never bought a Gary Allan CD I didn't like, so I might not be good at giving you an honest opinion. He just has a unique voice and I've always enjoyed his CDs. Tough All Over is superb for the introspective songs he recorded. It's quite different from his other material and is sort of ballad heavy and dark. On the other hand, Alright Guy had some fun songs on it and is a good listen. See If I Care is a nicely balanced CD that is one of my all time favorites. Hope this helps.

[kw9461]

I own all of Gary's cd's and while they are all top notch, I'd recommend See If I Care and It Would Be You. Those are both fantastic albums. Next I'd say Tough All Over (sort of a depressing album, but still top notch) and Used Heart For Sale (not as polished as his later albums, but his talent and potential still really shine).

[Ten Pound Hammer]

Meh, this song just isn't grabbing me. The lyrics are just a big list of things associated with California (she's a wildfire? O RLY?). That, and if I hear someone rhyme "warn ya" and "California" again, I will whack them with a wet trout.

[zaclord]

this was a bad single choice. i have failed to like it in the slightest bit since it was released. i have not enjoyed this album at all from Gary. i hope he releases a new single from a new album once this one fails to go top 10.

[someguy]

I would say that this is still my least favorite song on the album. Its release as a single hasn't changed that for me. It's too bad, because I actually really enjoy the album as a whole, just this song (and "Learning How To Bend") are among the 2 or 3 worst songs on the album.

[bigbluenote]

Dec 10, 2008 17:15:16 GMT -5 someguy said:

I would say that this is still my least favorite song on the album. Its release as a single hasn't changed that for me. It's too bad, because I actually really enjoy the album as a whole, just this song (and "Learning How To Bend") are among the 2 or 3 worst songs on the album.

You don't like "Learning How To Bend"?! I thought it was a highlight off this album. "She's So California" is an alright song, nothing great, but not bad by any means.



And I want to take a few minutes to answer Marv's question:

First, I own all of Gary's CD's. I enjoy each and every one of them. To summarize what I'm about to type, I highly recommend "Smoke Rings In The Dark", "See If I Care", and "Tough All Over".

"Used Heart For Sale", his debut album, is country, 90's country. And I can't tell you how much I loved 90's country. "Country" music these days doesn't even compare to this album.....
Highlights: "Send Back My Heart", "Her Man", "Forever And A Day", "Used Heart For Sale", "Of All The Hearts", and "Wake Up Screaming". Each is very country and carries a special instrument (Gary's voice (Yeah, lame, I know)).

"It Would Be You", his second album from 1998. I would call this an extension of his debut album. Still very country, great lyrics, etc.
Highlights: "It Would Be You", "I'll Take Today", "I Ain't Runnin Yet" (a beautiful ballad), "I've Got A Quarter In My Pocket", and "Baby I Will" (another sultry ballad).

"Smoke Rings In The Dark" is one of my 3 favorite albums. The remake of "Runaway" makes the album for me. One of the best country songs I've ever heard and easily one of Gary's best. I can't tell you how many times I've repeated this song while listening to the album on my computer or in my truck.
Highlights: "Smoke Rings In The Dark", "Right Where I Need To Be", "Lovin You Against My Will", "Sorry" (such a very cool sounding song and I like the lyrics), "Cryin For Nothin" (another great sounding ballad), "Bourbon Borderline" (gorgeous ballad), "Runaway" (see above), "Cowboy Blues" (old fashioned sounding, especially when he whistles), and "I'm The One".

"Alright Guy" is another of my favorite Gary albums, but not one I'd recommend over the other 3 I listed up top. There's some REALLY good songs on this one. But for every great song, there seems to be an "eh" song.
Highlights: "Man To Man" (of course), "Man Of Me", "What's On My Mind" (although I like Blake Shelton's version MUCH better), "Alright Guy" (very humorous song), "The One" and "I'm Doin My Best".

"See If I Care" is the first Gary album I ever purchased simply for the haunting song "Songs About Rain". This album is THE one that turned me from liking Gary alright to Gary being one of my favorites. The album starts strong with "Drinking Dark Whiskey", a fun rocker. It is hard to find any song ever recorded that is better than "Songs About Rain". This is EASILY the best Gary song by far. And don't get me started about his duet with Willie Nelson, "A Showman's Life", LOVE IT!
Highlights: I won't list all 11 songs here. But I will exclude "Tough Little Boys". To this day, I still don't like that song. Other than that, every other song is excellent, especially the two mentioned above.

"Tough All Over, I remember being SO excited when this one came out after loving "See If I Care" so much. And it didn't let me down. Yes, it's a very dark album, but you have to remember that he recorded this after his wife committed suicide. If you keep that in mind, I think that this being such a personal album for him makes it more interesting to listen to. However, he does stray a bit from the traditional country that many of his albums were known for.
Highlights: "Tough All Over" (one of his least country tunes), "Best I Ever Had" (loved it from the moment I heard it), "Ring" (can we say... "personal"?), "Promise Broken", "Life Ain't Always Beautiful", "He Can't Quit Her" (another song among his best work), "Puttin Memories Away" (love the violin in this song), and "No Damn Good".

"Living Hard", his current one, is not one I'd recommend to anyone who loves the COUNTRY Gary, the one we've seen for the past 10 years. I was shocked when I first heard this on how not country it is, how electric it is. I don't recall any other of his albums being so hard as far as the sound goes. I have listened to this album less than any of his other ones.
Highlights: "Watching Airplanes", "Learning How To Bend", "As Long As You're Looking Back", and "Yesterday's Rain". However, since I haven't heard this album all the way through since I first bought it and don't care to listen to it right now, there may be more highlights, but I doubt it. Not his best work.

Whew, 30 minutes later. There you go. If you plan on buying one of his albums for sure, I hope you get "See If I Care", "Tough All Over", or "Smoke Rings In The Dark. If you do, let me know what you think. And hopefully this all helped.

[Marv]

That was an extremely gracious & lengthy breakdown; sounds like I gotta break open my piggy bank!!! Thank you.

The recommendations from many of you have resulted in some very wonderful CDs I've added to my collection.

Two which come to mind immediately would be Phil Vassar's exceptional debut CD, and the downright incomparable Patty Loveless's 1996 masterpiece, 'The Trouble With The Truth', which I understand won a slew of awards from lots of various country music organizations in 1996/97.

[someguy]

Dec 10, 2008 18:00:41 GMT -5 bigbluenote said:

Dec 10, 2008 17:15:16 GMT -5 someguy said:

I would say that this is still my least favorite song on the album. Its release as a single hasn't changed that for me. It's too bad, because I actually really enjoy the album as a whole, just this song (and "Learning How To Bend") are among the 2 or 3 worst songs on the album.

You don't like "Learning How To Bend"?! I thought it was a highlight off this album. "She's So California" is an alright song, nothing great, but not bad by any means.

It's not even that I don't like it, I just don't find it very interesting. It really doesn't stand out to me at all. For me, the highlights from the new album are "Trying To Matter", "Yesterday's Rain", "Watching Airplanes", "We Touched The Sun", "Half Of My Mistakes" and "As Long As You're Looking Back".

[bigbluenote]

Dec 10, 2008 19:06:35 GMT -5 Marv said:

That was an extremely gracious & lengthy breakdown; sounds like I gotta break open my piggy bank!!! Thank you.

The recommendations from many of you have resulted in some very wonderful CDs I've added to my collection.

Two which come to mind immediately would be Phil Vassar's exceptional debut CD, and the downright incomparable Patty Loveless's 1996 masterpiece, 'The Trouble With The Truth', which I understand won a slew of awards from lots of various country music organizations in 1996/97.

You're welcome. Glad I could help out....I also enjoy Phil's debut album. Great pick!

[Drummer's girl]

Bigbluenote, that's a great summary of Gary's CDs. While I might have some minor quibbles with you about a couple of things (for example, I love Tough Little Boys from See If I Care), overall, I think you're right on....

I love the way we, as listeners, can start with Used Heart For Sale, listen to each CD in order, and hear the progression of the "Gary Allan" style. While I love the first two CDs, Smoke Rings is really where that style started to emerge. In the past, Gary has occasionally recorded a song he wrote, but on Tough All Over, he wrote several songs (including No Damn Good, and Putting Memories Away, which for my money, is one of the best country songs recorded by anyone in recent years).

I agree 100 percent about your thoughts on Living Hard. It was a big disappointment for me as well. I've only listened to the CD from beginning to end once, and that's unusual for me with a Gary CD. And I had to chuckle at Ten Pound Hammer's comments about the rhyming of "warn ya" and "California" in She's So California.... if I could, I'd take a trout and whack whoever thought THAT line was a good one... lol... but it's not the only bad rhyme on the CD. In the song Wrecking Ball comes the line, "I'm a wreck ya'll, she's a wreckin' ball"..... argh....

If they do happen to release another song from this, I hope it's Like it's a Bad Thing as well. It's not particularly country sounding, but it IS a good song...

[kw9461]

^ I agree with you about Puttin' Memories Away. That song and Puttin' My Misery On Display are both fantastic songs, especially considering the personal meaning to Gary.

[bigbluenote]

Dec 11, 2008 2:45:42 GMT -5 Drummer's girl said:

Bigbluenote, that's a great summary of Gary's CDs. While I might have some minor quibbles with you about a couple of things (for example, I love Tough Little Boys from See If I Care), overall, I think you're right on....

In the song Wrecking Ball comes the line, "I'm a wreck ya'll, she's a wreckin' ball"..... argh....

If they do happen to release another song from this, I hope it's Like it's a Bad Thing as well. It's not particularly country sounding, but it IS a good song...

Thanks. And I have a huge problem with the "yall" and "ball" rhyming in "Wrecking Ball". Ever since the first time I heard it, it has bugged me so much.

[someguy]

I thought I had mentioned this before, but looking back it seems that I haven't. Does anyone else think that Gary's voice sounds a lot like Tom Petty on this song? I notice it especially in the way he sings "So when you get burned" in the chorus.

[kim8]

Dec 18, 2008 16:40:38 GMT -5 someguy said:

I thought I had mentioned this before, but looking back it seems that I haven't. Does anyone else think that Gary's voice sounds a lot like Tom Petty on this song? I notice it especially in the way he sings "So when you get burned" in the chorus.

Absolutely!! I don't know much about Tom Petty, but I know enough to have heard that similarity the first time I heard this song!

[kim8]

Ouch, is this song done already? Just curious why this song didn't seem to catch on?

[bigbluenote]

Feb 12, 2009 16:57:22 GMT -5 kim8 said:

Ouch, is this song done already? Just curious why this song didn't seem to catch on?

Because it's Gary Allan. And because it's not a lead single.

[someguy]

Feb 12, 2009 16:57:22 GMT -5 kim8 said:

Ouch, is this song done already? Just curious why this song didn't seem to catch on?

Yeah, this looks finished to me too. I can't really say that I'm surprised though, I never got into it. I assume the album is finished, but there are a few songs I would still like to see released.

[austin]

I'm surprised this didn't even go Top 20. I'm pretty sure it is done, too.

[Zazie]

Feb 12, 2009 17:02:48 GMT -5 someguy said:

Feb 12, 2009 16:57:22 GMT -5 kim8 said:

Ouch, is this song done already? Just curious why this song didn't seem to catch on?

Yeah, this looks finished to me too. I can't really say that I'm surprised though, I never got into it. I assume the album is finished, but there are a few songs I would still like to see released.

Losing 700k on the 2/21 chart and about to lose even more on the 2/28 -- it's done.

If they want to get sales past half a million, they should release Half of My Mistakes -- but I'd be surprised if they try for a 4th single after the results from the last 2. I love Gary Allan but SSC is not up to his usual standard.