Keith Urban - "Ripcord"

[:) KUFan]

Listening Party!



Artist: Keith Urban
Album: Ripcord
Release Date: May 6, 2016
Label: Hit Red Records/Capitol Nashville

Track List:

01 "Gone Tomorrow (Here Today)" (Keith Urban, Jeff Bhasker, and Samuel Tyler Johnson)

02 "John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16" (Shane McAnally, Ross Copperman, and Josh Osborne)

03 "Wasted Time" (Keith Urban, Greg Wells, and J Hart)

04 "Habit of You" (K-Kov and Jackson Morgan)

05 "Sun Don't Let Me Down" [featuring Pitbull] (Keith Urban, busbee, Nile Rodgers, and Pitbull)

06 "Gettin' In The Way" (David Hodges, Emily Weisband, and Jordan Reynolds)

07 "Blue Ain't Your Color" (Hillary Lindsey, Steven Lee Olsen, and Clint Lagerberg)

08 "The Fighter" [featuring Carrie Underwood] (Keith Urban and busbee)

09 "Break On Me" (Ross Copperman and Jon Nite)

10 "Boy Gets A Truck" (Aaron Scherz and Ashley Bowers)

11 "Your Body" (Keith Urban and busbee)

12 "That Could Still Be Us" (Jason Duke, Jesse Lee, and Jonathan Price)

13 "Worry 'Bout Nothin'" (Chris Tompkins, Rodney Clawson, and Josh Kear)

[dm2081]

I didn't give this my full attention yet, but from the brief time I spent listening to this I was quite disappointed. I'm all for artists taking chances and pushing the boundaries of their music, but to me this is just pushing things too far. I really want to use the words "sell out" here but I won't just because of the goodwill I have towards Keith. Nothing really stood out to me besides "Break On Me", "Wasted Time" and "Boy Gets A Truck". Everything else was just too much excess and honestly just second rate dance music. When I want to listen to dance songs, I'll go to Calvin Harris, Kygo or Kaskade, not Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood. This honestly has me a little scared for what future A-listers might try to get away with.

[:) KUFan]

May 5, 2016 23:32:37 GMT -5 dm2081 said:

I didn't give this my full attention yet, but from the brief time I spent listening to this I was quite disappointed. I'm all for artists taking chances and pushing the boundaries of their music, but to me this is just pushing things too far. I really want to use the words "sell out" here but I won't just because of the goodwill I have towards Keith. Nothing really stood out to me besides "Break On Me", "Wasted Time" and "Boy Gets A Truck". Everything else was just too much excess and honestly just second rate dance music. When I want to listen to dance songs, I'll go to Calvin Harris, Kygo or Kaskade, not Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood. This honestly has me a little scared for what future A-listers might try to get away with.

I understand where you're coming from and I know many people within the country forum will agree with you as well. I understand the argument that his sound is not country but it never really was. Keith has always pushed the boundaries of the genre. Honestly, I enjoy "Sun Don't Let Me Down" for what it is. It's a catchy track. Something about "The Fighter" irks me. I feel like Carrie's voice is drowned out or something with the production. I really love "That Could Still Be Us," "Blue Ain't Your Color," "Boy Gets A Truck," "Break On Me," and "Gettin' in the Way." I think most of these songs are representative of what Keith has done all along throughout his career. I wouldn't let two songs push you away from listening to the album. It's different and may not be country sounding but really what is these days? He really shines vocally on some of the songs.

[Deleted]

Outside of "Boy Gets A Truck" (pretty good song I might say) I honestly didn't care for this album all that much. I've already said my problems with "John 3" (garbage lyrics IMO and that drum loop really pissed me off) "Break On Me" (so boring and lacking any real staying power) and especially "Wasted Time" (just going to say it, a token banjo solo doesn't make a song country at all) but I was still hoping for some of those signature Keith Urban moments songs that are reminiscent of his hits "Tonight I Wanna Cry" "Making Memories Of Us" "Stupid Boy" and the Celtic flavored "I Told You So" (my all time favorite I might add). I didn't really feel like any of those moments were here. The Pitbull collaboration is garbage no matter what genre you put in, "The Fighter" wastes both artists talents and sounds like a dance song, and the other songs just push way too far off the country envelope. I know Keith Urban has always pushed the genre's boundaries with his pop-country but it still had a definite country sound. Here, look I'm sorry but this album is way too electronic/pop and especially way too polished for my liking. 

I'm thinking about going with a C-/D+. Sorry to all you Keith Urban fans if you like this album good for you but don't try and convince me otherwise cause I've listened to this album enough already. 

[Kat5Kind]

I'll never understand why y'all resist genre bending so much. I haven't gotten a chance to listen to the album yet, but I'm sure it's not nearly as bad as you anti-pop country people make it sound.
(You guys accept Sam Hunt's shtick but Keith pushes it too far??? I don't think so.)

[carriekins]

May 6, 2016 7:41:04 GMT -5 Kat5Kind said:

I'll never understand why y'all resist genre bending so much. I haven't gotten a chance to listen to the album yet, but I'm sure it's not nearly as bad as you anti-pop country people make it sound.
(You guys accept Sam Hunt's shtick but Keith pushes it too far??? I don't think so.)

Lol, most of us don't accept Sam's music much either, so not sure where your vitriol is coming from.

[sgtoddball]

Outstanding Album. I'm glad Keith made an Album full of songs that aren't boxed into any specific genre.

[Deleted]

May 6, 2016 7:41:04 GMT -5 Kat5Kind said:

I'll never understand why y'all resist genre bending so much. I haven't gotten a chance to listen to the album yet, but I'm sure it's not nearly as bad as you anti-pop country people make it sound.
(You guys accept Sam Hunt's shtick but Keith pushes it too far??? I don't think so.)

I accept neither of their pop music. I'm going to  post this again but what artists like Sam Hunt, Keith Urban, Chris Lane, Kelsea Ballerini are generally putting out isn't country even by today's standards. Let's take a song like "Fix" "Wasted Time" "Dibs" or "Breakup In A Smalltown" now let's put those songs in the 2000s when like Taylor Swift was starting to break out and become the superstar she is today. Now let's stick them in a country music playlist next to songs like "Already Gone" "Cowgirls Don't Cry" "More Like Her" "The Truth" "White Horse" "I Told You So" "Down The Road" "Til Summer Comes Around". Now let's compare those songs to songs that are generally critically acclaimed. Songs like "Fly" (I know you hate Maddie & Tae's music but they are undeniably country) "Diamond Rings & Old Barstools" "My Church" "Burning House" "Riser" "I Got The Boy" "Humble and Kind" "You Look Like I Need A Drink" "I Met A Girl" "Head Over Boots" "The Blade" "Record Year". All the songs their sound undeniably country or at the very least pop-country with an equal or more country blend. Their is actually steel guitar and fiddle with those songs or a certain production choice that makes it sound country. I'm not saying songs have to be all traditional county but when songs don't even have the token banjo or if they do it's often times buried so far in the background you'll barely hear it. 

[rsmatto]

May 5, 2016 23:30:38 GMT -5 sabre14 said:

What in the world? I know we've seen many songs nowadays sound more Pop than Country but "The Fighter" sounds like a Dance track that's being released to top 40 radio. I literally thought for a couple seconds I accidentally clicked the wrong link/video, in the Pop forum, lol.

I don't hate it but this is certainly a case where Keith wanted a Pop song on his marketed "Country" album.

I told y'all it was a different, pop-leaning record.

[keelhauled]

I can't help but compare this album to Taylor Swift's 1989, but she didn't beat around the bush about what it was. I don't really like where she's gone with her music, but I respect her greatly for not pretending it's something else. I don't know why Keith can't do the same. Maybe they decided he's too old to be a pop artist, maybe he doesn't have the name recognition outside of the country genre Swift did, I don't know for sure. In any case, I'm disappointed that this is where his music has ended up, but I'm even more disappointed that he doesn't seem able to be honest about it.

[Dustin J.]

The Carrie duet is as pop as anything I've ever heard.

That having been said, I'm that means it'll be released to country radio.

[DJ General]

The fighter is incredible. I hope it blows at pop. And country will still play it because it's two of the biggest on the format. I love that Keith has been experimenting. There is dance funk country rock pop on this album and it's incredible.

[countrymusicjunkie]

Keith's never been the most country guy in the world but this is just flat out pop music. He's just pushed things too far on his last couple of albums in my opinion. When pop or rock artists decide to make a country sounding album they promote it as country and release the singles to country radio, so when an artist like Keith makes a pop album why is it labeled country and why are songs released to country radio and not just pop stations?

[Deleted]

May 6, 2016 11:33:15 GMT -5 countrymusicjunkie said:

Keith's never been the most country guy in the world but this is just flat out pop music. He's just pushed things too far on his last couple of albums in my opinion. When pop or rock artists decide to make a country sounding album they promote it as country and release the singles to country radio, so when an artist like Keith makes a pop album why is it labeled country and why are songs released to country radio and not just pop stations?

It's complicated, but the short version: most of the rock and pop artists who decide to "go country" only do so after they are no longer receiving substantial airplay on the radio formats (pop, rock, etc) that previously supported them. Darius Rucker, Aaron Lewis, Steven Tyler...their radio careers were all 'done' at those other formats, and when they signed with Nashville-based country labels and made country records, country radio welcomed them with open arms (Lewis and Tyler haven't had major success at country radio and probably never will, but at the very least they both appear pretty committed to making country music, at least for the time being).

Taylor Swift is the exception; it was apparent from the start that she had broad cross-over appeal, which resulted in her developing a huge fan-base both here in the States and internationally. And since she was (or is) still so young -- and has a lot of pop influences -- it only made sense for her to switch genres and cater her music to the pop radio formats. Keith's new album is very electronic and poppy, but pop radio isn't about to start playing a nearly 50-year-old guy who's been a country hit-maker for 15+ years. The Pitbull collaboration could be a pop hit (because of Pitbull), and I could see "The Fighter" getting some airplay at other formats (HAC and Dance, maybe), but pop radio isn't likely to play any of the other material on Ripcord.

The fact is that Keith is still signed to a Nashville-based country music label (and this isn't likely to change -- he's a huge asset for UMG Nashville), a label that has no relations with radio stations of other formats. And country radio knows that Keith is a huge name and that his fans will tune into country stations to hear his new music, because Keith has been a successful hit-maker for more than 15 years now.

I've only listened to the album once so far and I like it for what it is -- a good pop album. I'll have more thoughts later, I'm sure.

[carrieidol1]

I LOVE this record... No, it's not really country, but it's good music! "The Fighter" is a smash waiting to happen - so, so catchy. I know this album isn't something true country fans will like, but it's right in line with what's doing well on "country" radio right now. Keith has been doing this a while and has managed to stay more than relevant through it all; looks like that will continue with this record.

[tryexp]

Spotify link isn't working on this side of the pond, but based on the comments I'm not missing much. I'm curious about the Carrie Underwood duet though

[Deleted]

"The Fighter" is absolutely terrible.

It doesn't bother me that it's pure Pop, but I do take issue with the fact that the song is pure garbage.

[Deleted]

I took a listen to every song and I really don't like them. The first song of the record is good. The Pitbull song isn't bad. I like country music though, so maybe that's why I find this album to be below average and dreadfully boring.

I don't know where all the acclaim for "Boy Gets a Truck" came from--that song is overproduced and nothing special to my ears. The chorus structure bothers me and I find the lyrics in it to be quite corny the way the first word of each measure is a repeat of the last word from the previous measure.

I'm all for artists branching out and following whatever their hearts desire. Just keep it off my country radio speaker. Keith has always leaned far more pop than other artists, so this progression is no surprise. I really get the need for artists to sometimes try new things. But if all these people are going to give us a great big collection of songs from many different genres, why the hell can nobody put at least one country song on there?

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}

[DJ General]

Absolutely INCREDIBLE. I was SO excited when I heard the ten new songs this morning! I love that Keith wanted to experiment with this era, and he really did a great job. He manages to still stay true to his roots, but he incorporates tons of style from funk, rock, pop, dance, etc. The song with Carrie should (and will!) be a MASSIVE hit. There are still SO many potential smashes. Even the Pitbull song (who I normally do not care for) was really good. Keith is doing the correct thing - moving forward and NOT relying on the past to make hits. This is why he has lasted (and will continue to last) for so long. 5/5.

[babybuffalo]

My two cents form someone who has been a Keith Urban fan since 2002.

This is a great album. It's not a country or pop record, it's a Keith Urban record. Period. I just can't agree with the mindset that because an artist doesn't put out the music you want they are "getting away" with something. I can't stand Sam Hunt with the exception of his Cop Car co-write but I'm not worried about his success "ruining" country music. To put it in perspective I had a convo with a guy once from Texas. He likes to listen to Jim Lauderdale and Dale Watson. I LOVE Dale Watson but I also like a lot of what is on mainstream country. He told me artists like Brad Paisley (yes he said Brad Paisley) are ruining country music. So clearly it's all about personal taste. There are always going to be artists that want to mix genres and take the format boxes out of the equation.

Now the album - I actually think it has more of a steadiness and flow than Fuse ever did. There isn't a song I'd skip and usually there's always the one, whether it's Keith or any other of my faves, that I will pass on. This is an achievement I've seen several people on the fan boards echo. I can see and hear his relationship with his wife in the songs he wrote and the songs he didn't. I think this is his most vulnerable, most open, the sexiest album he's put out. To me that's all positives. I love that he tempered Carrie's vocals....99 times out of 100 they are too much but I really like them together on The Fighter. Gettin' In The Way is steamier than anything I think he's ever released. The raw vocals on That Could Still Be Us are insane. The riff on Sun Down Let Me Down is a total jam. I'm loving this. 10/10 for me. I think Keith achieved the consistency he was looking for in the last few albums that he didn't quite accomplish if you are looking at the album as a whole.

[someguy]

I like this album for what it is....a solid adult pop album. For the most part, I like all of the songs on the album. "John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16" is probably my favourite track at this point, but it's also one of my favourites of Keith's career. "Wasted Time" has also grown on me a lot. I do like "Boy Gets A Truck", but I think I would like it even more with a more understated production. It's a highlight though, and should probably be the next single. "The Fighter" isn't bad as a straight up pop song, but I don't think it should see a release to country radio. It probably will though.

Keith is really talented, and this is a good album, but I think it's the least country record I've ever heard from a mainstream country artist (including Montevallo and Red), aside from 1989. Not that that's a good or bad thing, it just is what it is at this point.

[sabre14]

Off-topic but someguy, what is that avatar you currently have? I love it. :)

[someguy]

May 6, 2016 23:38:00 GMT -5 sabre14 said:

Off-topic but someguy, what is that avatar you currently have? I love it. :)

That's actually a picture of the view of the lake from my family cottage (not my pic though, I can't seem to get my own pics to work on here, but I happened to find one online).

[lyrichord]

At first listen I like this more than any of Keith's material since LP&tWCT, it just feels more emotionally honest than his past few albums that featured over sentimentalized, schmaltzy takes on being a teenager (which drives me nuts about Lady A's recent works too). Is it country, not really, but I'm a core adult pop listener anyway. "Habit of You" is probably my favorite after a first pass through the album.

[codyj100]

Is this album a country album? Not in the slightest. Is this good music? Yes. 

Now, there are a few country leaning songs. As many have said above...it's not, as a whole, a country album. And, the more I think about it...I am fine with Keith releasing an album like this. He's not trying to fit a particular mold, he's being a fresh version of himself. I think that's what fans admire in an artist. Now, if they would only release the country sounding songs ("Break On Me," etc...) to country radio then I'm fine. 

[dm2081]

I got to be honest, even if this isn't supposed to be a country album, I still don't find most of these songs to be very good. It's like s**tty knock off Calvin Harris beats, and none of the songs really allowed Keith's voice to shine. Just my two cents though.

[CoJoFan]

Decent album for Keith. We are already on the 3rd single from this album ("Wasted Time"), so we will probably only get 1 or 2 more singles to country radio. My pick for the next 2 singles would be "Boy Gets A Truck" and "That Could Still Be Us". I wouldn't be surprised at all if they release "The Fighter" to country radio instead of one of these 2 though. After all we are getting more pop sounding songs released to the radio these days anyways.

[Deleted]

Keith is poised to debut at #1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart and #4 on the all-genre Billboard 200 (behind Drake, Beyonce, and Radiohead).

HITS is projecting Ripcord to sell 85-90k copies this week, adjusted up to 90-95k when streaming is included. I'd love to see it cross 100k on the sales/streaming chart (even if pure sales stay below 100k), but I'm thinking it will fall just short. In any case, these are pretty great numbers for Keith. Fuse sold 98,000 in its 1st week back in September 2013. Sales are down quite a bit since then, so Ripcord selling on par with Fuse (or just a bit below it) in its 1st week should be looked at as a great achievement.

[myeverything]

For everyone whose saying it's "not country" and its "not Keith".... well what the heck is "That Could Still Be Us"? Because if that's not Keith, then I don't know what is. "Gone Tomorrow, Here Today" has banjo, and obviously so does "Wasted Time" - I'll be the first to admit it's not "county" to most people's standards, but like others have said, Keith never really has been. And that's what I admire most about him. He's HIM - he's unique, he stays true to himself, he's brave... he obviously isn't afraid to try new things, he's always growing and evolving and pushing the edge. Can't say that about many other artists. That's what makes Keith, Keith. Heck, the man is SO musically talented, after 15 years of consistently kicking butt with everything he puts out, I'd be ready to try new things too.

This album is a masterpiece. I attended 4 listening/release parties within the past couple weeks and I've also been following Keith for over a decade. I have to say that I have NEVER, ever seen him this happy and proud, as he should be. Everyone is talking about this album, whether you love it or you hate it. It's going to do some really big things for him and I could not be happier. Cannot wait to see these songs live on the road all summer long!! Keith has done it again.

[Deleted]

May 11, 2016 12:02:59 GMT -5 myeverything said:

For everyone whose saying it's "not country" and its "not Keith".... well what the heck is "That Could Still Be Us"? Because if that's not Keith, then I don't know what is. "Gone Tomorrow, Here Today" has banjo, and obviously so does "Wasted Time" - I'll be the first to admit it's not "county" to most people's standards, but like others have said, Keith never really has been. And that's what I admire most about him. He's HIM - he's unique, he stays true to himself, he's brave... he obviously isn't afraid to try new things, he's always growing and evolving and pushing the edge. Can't say that about many other artists. That's what makes Keith, Keith. Heck, the man is SO musically talented, after 15 years of consistently kicking butt with everything he puts out, I'd be ready to try new things too.

This album is a masterpiece. I attended 4 listening/release parties within the past couple weeks and I've also been following Keith for over a decade. I have to say that I have NEVER, ever seen him this happy and proud, as he should be. Everyone is talking about this album, whether you love it or you hate it. It's going to do some really big things for him and I could not be happier. Cannot wait to see these songs live on the road all summer long!! Keith has done it again.

Yeah because if a song has a banjo it's automatically country (sarcasm heavily implied). Seriously this is a weak argument for defending a song as country. 

Here's the music I think of when I think of Keith Urban. I think of the pure lonesomeness that was "Tonight I Wanna Cry", the pure self reflection of "Stupid Boy", the hauntingly bitter "You'll Think Of Me", the celtic flavored lover plea of "I Told You So". Each one of those songs aren't overproduced. Each song is brilliantly written and Keith performs them amazingly well. With this album it feels like Keith's distinctive voice is slathered with electronic effects that make him sound indistinguishable. I am just not a fan of electronic music being in my country or if I am I prefer it in light doses. When it's not with electronic effects Keith sounds half heartedly in the album "Break On Me" being a prime example of this (IMO). 

I think staying true to yourself means you don't change your music direction the amount Keith did, let's take his album "Love Pain and The Whole Crazy Thing" that album as Country Universe said was really great and was a solid piece of pop-country and sounded personal. That's my problem with this album Keith to me doesn't sound like he's as passionate and it's not as personal like the writing for me doesn't sound very personal and more songwriter committee for me (which might explain my overall distaste for this album as Keith had songwriting credits on 5 songs). Now compare the album I did to "Ripcord" there is nothing sonically sounding familiar at all (IMO). 

Also this is not directed at you per say. But how come when Sam Hunt, Kelsea Ballerini, Chris Lane, Old Dominion make this pop like music they get heavily criticized, but with Keith Urban it's almost as if he gets a pass. That's bullcrap right there as I believe Keith should be just as criticized as those aforementioned artists no artist should get a pass, as I could give a crap of how Keith is as a person if the music is garbage to me I'm going to call the music out.  

I will say good for Keith Urban for having the #1 country album as there has been some really good promotion and build up for this album just wish I could've cared more.