Taylor Hicks - Seven Mile Breakdown

[starr]

gfa.radioandrecords.com/publishGFA/GFANextPage.asp?sDate=05/05/2009&Format=4

"Seven Mile Breakdown" will impact Country radio on May 5, 2009.

This is the second single from Taylor Hicks sophomore album, "The Distance."

"The Distance" is currently in stores and at digital music sites.

www.myspace.com/taylorhicks

I see nothing on any official source, whether Taylor Hicks' MySpace page, Radio & Records, All Access, or All About Country, that suggests this song will be released to country radio. So I'm moving this to the Non-Singles/Album Tracks forum. Will move it back if you provide a credible source for your claim. -dudley

starr provided this Radio & Records link indicating that this song will, indeed, impact Country radio, so I'm moving it back. -dudley

[hoosy]

Country radio???? Interesting....

[mairy]

WHAT? :o

[S4C]

Haha. When I heard that this was the title of the new single, I thought to myself that it sounded like it could be a country song. Now I'm even more intrigued to hear it.

[someguy]

I don't know the song so I can't comment on it specifically, but I'm getting a little tired of reality show contestants/fading pop stars deciding that they want to 'go country'. That's a trend I wish would cool off a little.

[mairy]

Apr 26, 2009 13:09:10 GMT -5 someguy said:

I'm getting a little tired of reality show contestants/fading pop stars deciding that they want to 'go country'.

That reminds me that one of the Danity Kane members recently said that now that the group is over she would like to go country.

[zaclord]

yeah, Shannon.

[pipi]

I dislike all the failing pop stars jumping on the country bandwagon. May he have a Jessica Simpson style flop.

[shaq91]

You can listen to the full song here
amiestreet.com/music/taylor-hicks/?fms=9i6wN64DaGQx

[zaclord]

this doesn't sound country at all, imo.

[mairy]

He will be performing this on American Idol this week.

Also, the video shoot has already been booked:

BOOKED: Taylor Hicks - Spence Nicholson, director
Shooting in Los Angeles...

artist: Taylor Hicks
song: "Seven Mile Breakdown"
label: Artist2Market
director(s): Spence Nicholson
production co: Red Van Pictures
producer: Ryan Kohler
DP: Brett Pawlak

Source: www.videostatic.com/vs/2009/04/booked-taylor-hicks-spence-nicholson-director.html

[Ten Pound Hammer]

Apr 26, 2009 16:37:10 GMT -5 pipi said:

I dislike all the failing pop stars jumping on the country bandwagon. May he have a Jessica Simpson style flop.

It doesn't bother me too much, except in cases like Jessica Simpson where the artist in question has a history of being a big phony bandwagon-jumper with little to no artistic merit. Admittedly I'm not familiar with this guy at all, but unless he's a male equivalent of Jessica Simpson talent-wise, I can't find much to complain about.

[43dudleyvillas]

I'm just going to step in before this thread gets derailed into a back & forth about Jessica Simpson. Please make sure your comments here focus on Taylor Hicks and "Seven Mile Breakdown." Thanks.

[Uncle Lumpy]

I didn't mind this too much from my initial listen. I wasn't knocked out by any means, but found it as "country" (or maybe even more so) then probably 75% of the formats mega-stars. At least its not another young blond chick. I think that quotas been filled...

[kim8]

Never been a fan of his (still don't have a clue how he won his AI season) but I agree, this song doesn't sound country to me at all. I have no clue why it would be marketed to country radio unless his team thinks country music fans are the only ones left who buy CDs.

[kevin59]

[LISTEN] Taylor Hicks - "Seven Mile Breakdown" (Allaccess)

[kim8]

So he actually did a really good job on American Idol. If nothing else, he has a lot of energy! I'm still not convinced this song fits "country" but I could see it more after his performance.

[Dustin J.]

Apr 29, 2009 22:14:57 GMT -5 kim8 said:

So he actually did a really good job on American Idol. If nothing else, he has a lot of energy! I'm still not convinced this song fits "country" but I could see it more after his performance.

Agreed 100%. I actually liked the performance last night a lot more than the studio version of the song.

[jptexas]

If Taylor wanted to release this song to country, why did he insist on the weird non-country beat and use the Fender Rhoads piano. I like the song, but it's not country material.

[diver]

I am shocked. I heard rumors but I did not think it was going to happen this week that Taylor Hicks was releashing a single to country! I just read this thread after loving Taylor last night on American Idol. I , indeed, have mixed emotions about this. I thought the song was R&B and with lots of fiery soul...not country. I was so excited about Taylor coming back to perform on American Idol. I am NOT excited about his move to the Country Charts. We are pretty saturated as it is. But I agree, at least he will not be adding to the blonde girls. I feel so conflicted, confused and country ambushed!! I really like this guy, this is hard to grasp.

[lasvegaskid]

Apr 28, 2009 12:26:33 GMT -5 Ten Pound Hammer said:

Apr 26, 2009 16:37:10 GMT -5 pipi said:

I dislike all the failing pop stars jumping on the country bandwagon. May he have a Jessica Simpson style flop.

It doesn't bother me too much, except in cases like Jessica Simpson where the artist in question has a history of being a big phony bandwagon-jumper with little to no artistic merit. Admittedly I'm not familiar with this guy at all, but unless he's a male equivalent of Jessica Simpson talent-wise, I can't find much to complain about.

Unlike Jess, this guy actually has talent. I think his biggest probem post-'Idol is the lack of material he has had to work with. If he had the benefit of the stud writers and producers like Jess has had, his career might really take off.

[idolman88]

May 1, 2009 0:09:44 GMT -5 diver said:

I am shocked. I heard rumors but I did not think it was going to happen this week that Taylor Hicks was releashing a single to country! I just read this thread after loving Taylor last night on American Idol. I , indeed, have mixed emotions about this. I thought the song was R&B and with lots of fiery soul...not country. I was so excited about Taylor coming back to perform on American Idol. I am NOT excited about his move to the Country Charts. We are pretty saturated as it is. But I agree, at least he will not be adding to the blonde girls. I feel so conflicted, confused and country ambushed!! I really like this guy, this is hard to grasp.

As the poster right above me stated correctly, part of Taylor's problem has been a lack of amazing material, and also the lack of a radio format that will accept his music. R&B is more influenced by auto tuned crap these days than anything else, Taylor's soul and blues music would not stand a chance on those stations. Prior to 'Seven Mile Breakdown', Taylor's four previous radio singles have been released to Adult Contemporary where they have recieved modest airplay at best. Where I live in the northeast, Hicks is usually identified as a country artist by most casual Idol viewers. (Including 90% my teenage friends). I think the country mix produced by Chuck Ainlay is definately worthy of country airplay. If you like him and his music, then I don't see why it is a problem that he is releasing a song to country radio.

[starr]

May 1, 2009 19:26:28 GMT -5 idolman88 said:

As the poster right above me stated correctly, part of Taylor's problem has been a lack of amazing material, and also the lack of a radio format that will accept his music. R&B is more influenced by auto tuned crap these days than anything else, Taylor's soul and blues music would not stand a chance on those stations. Prior to 'Seven Mile Breakdown', Taylor's four previous radio singles have been released to Adult Contemporary where they have recieved modest airplay at best. Where I live in the northeast, Hicks is usually identified as a country artist by most casual Idol viewers. (Including 90% my teenage friends). I think the country mix produced by Chuck Ainlay is definately worthy of country airplay. If you like him and his music, then I don't see why it is a problem that he is releasing a song to country radio.

Taylor could always try the Urban AC radio format. I think that format would be more accepting of his soul music.

The "Seven Mile Breakdown" (Chuck Ainlay Country Mix) is now available for download at iTunes. It's 3 minutes and 18 seconds.

The album version of "Seven Mile Breakdown" is also available for download at iTunes. It's 4 minutes and 18 seconds. And it's a much different version than the country mix.

[mairy]

So the song was remixed? It's the same posted here from allaccess or a different one?

[starr]

May 3, 2009 7:06:45 GMT -5 mairy said:

So the song was remixed? It's the same posted here from allaccess or a different one?

There are two different mixes for this song. The original album version and the country mix. You can find both mixes on Taylor's MySpace page at www.myspace.com/TaylorHicks

The country mix is being sent to radio. I like the original album version of "Seven Mile Breakdown" better.

The country mix has a lot of piano. The original album version doesn't have all that piano.

[idolman88]

May 3, 2009 7:06:45 GMT -5 mairy said:

So the song was remixed? It's the same posted here from allaccess or a different one?

It's the same one posted here from allaccess.

[joey2002]

Apr 27, 2009 21:53:15 GMT -5 @zaclord said:

this doesn't sound country at all, imo.

Yeah, lol, i totally agree. I can't see this getting much airplay on country radio.

[rapbeat]

May 3, 2009 23:40:32 GMT -5 joey2002 said:

Apr 27, 2009 21:53:15 GMT -5 @zaclord said:

this doesn't sound country at all, imo.

Yeah, lol, i totally agree. I can't see this getting much airplay on country radio.

It will probably be power-requested up for a few weeks by the crazies, then drop off to its rightful hole.

[leilamaurizia]

The 9513

Taylor Hicks - “Seven Mile Breakdown”
Jim Malec

Season five American Idol winner Taylor Hicks is a Birmingham, Alabama, native whose 2006 debut album has sold over 1,000,000 copies, despite failing to chart a single top-ten hit (save “Do I Make You Proud,” which he sang on the Idol finale). Hicks recently separated from Arista records, and his sophomore, self-issued album The Distance has sold around 25,000 copies.

Fortunately, there’s at least one last hope for any faltering, over-30 pop star.

“Seven Mile Breakdown,” the second single from The Distance (which features songs written or co-written by Gary Nicholson, Delbert McClinton and Jeffrey Steele, among others) can be considered country in the same sense that a cross between Bob Seger and Mark Cohn could be considered country. So, not at all—even though it features an obligatory “delta” reference.

Still, Hicks channels the adult, piano-driven groove that is a staple of artists from the tradition in which he follows, and he’s a good enough singer (and is blessed with enough charisma) to handle the material more than satisfactorily.

And frankly, despite the fact that this isn’t country, it presents a sound that would serve as a refreshing change of pace when compared to modern country’s typical slick-as-a-baby’s-bottom fluff. It wouldn’t be a terrible thing, after all, to have a little bit of actual soul in a format that boasts a legion of new singers claiming a “soulful” voice.

Unfortunately, the song itself is just a mess. Hicks says something about small towns, the sun sinking down on the delta, and Mississippi, but it’s hard to figure out what exactly he’s talking about. By the time he sings, “Don’t you know we’ll get through this, baby/I just don’t see how/You know it’s written on the faces of every little passing town,” we’re left feeling as lost as he seems to be, with no definite answer as to what’s going on. Is the singer of this song even in Mississippi, or this all some big, convoluted metaphor?

Although Hicks’ voice is gritty, the track pounds too hard, too fast and too loud. Bring those flaws together with a vague and disjointed lyric and the result is a song that has a delta sound but little delta flavor; we can’t feel the mud between our toes or taste the crawdads or see the eyes of a gator peering up from the dark water.

Hicks has soul, but this record doesn’t. It’s a disappointing entry from one of American Idol’s least disappointing attempt-a-crossover artists.

(thumbs down)

[starr]

Taylor's "Seven Mile Breakdown" music video!

video.aol.com/aolvideo/AOL%20Music/seven-mile-breakdown/22321014001