Luke Bryan - "What Makes You Country"

[phil1996]

[justin5545]

I think we can all agree "Mist People Are Good" is the standout track here. I had high hopes for the rest of the album but none of it is really special

[Deleted]

This album isn't exactly bad. Just kind of forgetful. I like "Most People Are Good" and "Light It Up" has grown on me a bit. But as a whole thus album is more bland than outright bad. "She's A Hot One" being the exception, that one's a pile of garbage.

[phil1996]

Better than his last album but that says just about nothing. A few really good songs here though. Most People Are Good is the best song of his career. Sunrise is a huge hit waiting to happen, and I love the old school country feel of Drinking Again. I'll give it a 7/10...Most People Are Good took it from a 6 to a 7

Great:

Most People Are Good
Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset

Good:

Drinking Again
Land of a Million Songs
Pick It Up
Win Life

Bland/Terrible:

Every other song

[someguy]

I agree that "Most People Are Good" is the highlight here. It'll take a couple more listens for me to determine my other favourites, but initially I'm liking "Win Life" and "Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset" a lot. I think it's a decent album, after one listen.

[LBTrocks]

I don't think "Most People Are Good" is good at all lol. Melodically, the chorus saves it a bit, but the song lyrically and musically sounds 'cheesy'

"Land of A Million Songs" is great and sounds like single material to me! I liked the bottom half of the album much better than the top half. "Hooked On It" is a fantastically edgy rock-leaning tune with a great melody, and it's not overbearing, which will be a plus for some. "She's A Hot One" is definitely my style too. "Hungover In A Hotel" was good until that sickly sounding woman started 'singing' lmao what was that?!

I also thought "Driving This Thing" was great once the chorus hit. I heard "What Makes You Country" on some commercial a while back I think and really liked it. "Drinking Again" has a quirky quality to it that I enjoy. "Out of Nowhere Girl" sounds... off to me.

"Light It Up" is still awful.

As for the rest, if I didn't mention it.... I either didn't like it or it's forgettable lol.

The great:
"Hooked On It"
"She's A Hot One"
"Land of A Million Songs"

Good:
"What Makes You Country"
"Driving This Thing"
"Drinking Again"
"Hungover In A Hotel" (but that female vocalist tho. NO. Brought it down from GREAT to good. That chorus is melodic heaven though.)

Not so good and/or forgettable and/or cheesy lol:
"Most People Are Good"
"Out of Nowhere Girl"
"Sunrise, Sunburn, Repeat"
"Bad Lovers"
"Win Life"
"Pick It Up"
"Like You Say You Do"

AWFUL:
"Light It Up" (this one gets it's own category)

So yeah, this album is a mixed bag. It has it's awful moments and it has it's wonderful moments.

ETA: Far too often, Luke's lyrics are cringeworthy. I bumped "Like You Say You Do" down from good to the not so good category cuz I can't get past this:
If you love her like you say you do
Then why don't you love her like you say you do
'Cause I wanna love her like you say you do

I mean, really? It even sounds worse in the song than it reads on paper.

[phil1996]

Dec 9, 2017 11:37:18 GMT -5 LBTrocks said:

ETA: Far too often, Luke's lyrics are cringeworthy. I bumped "Like You Say You Do" down from good to the not so good category cuz I can't get past this:
If you love her like you say you do
Then why don't you love her like you say you do
'Cause I wanna love her like you say you do

I mean, really? It even sounds worse in the song than it reads on paper.

I agree wholeheartedly. The title "Like You Say You Do" has so much potential. Give that to a brilliant writer. Instead it's just repetitive and really lacks depth

[recordyear]

HDD predicts this to have 85-95k sales and 95-105k SPS.
Wow...It's such a drop.

[zjames]

Dec 9, 2017 22:06:11 GMT -5 recordyear said:

HDD predicts this to have 85-95k sales and 95-105k SPS.
Wow...It's such a drop.

Less than half the first week sales of Kenny's recent live album. Oof. (I know Kenny gave copies to ticket buyers, but it's still funny to think about.)

[Deleted]

Dec 9, 2017 22:06:11 GMT -5 recordyear said:

HDD predicts this to have 85-95k sales and 95-105k SPS.
Wow...It's such a drop.

Proof that 1. "Light It Up" was the wrong lead single choice and 2. Luke Bryan is past his peak in popularity. He's no longer the hot selling item he was in 214 and 2015.

[dm2081]

This album is pretty much exactly what I expected after hearing "Light It Up". Nothing is really awful, but a lot of bland songs mixed with a few standouts. "Most People Are Good" and "Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset" are the two best songs, and seem like obvious single choices. Release "Most People Are Good" now for winter time, then release "SSS" for the summer. "Hungover In A Hotel Room" had potential if it wasn't ruined by some stupid modern drum loop production stuff. Give that song a steel guitar and piano and it would be sick. "Land Of A Million Songs", "What Makes You Country", "Drinking Again" and "Driving This Thing" were all pretty good. Everything else I could do without though. I'd give the album a C+. I expect better from Luke.

[seak05]

Everyone's sales numbers are down (if you're an established artist) including Taylor Swift, these numbers will be close to Chris S' from last week. Luke also has a ticket bundle, but it's a small one because he doesn't have a large announced tour for next year.

The ticket bundles are causing album sales numbers to be meaningless, and Kenny is the perfect illustration of that point.

[thewp]

Yeah, I don’t think Kenny’s ticket bundle is the best album to be used as comparison.

[layne]

About what I thought it would be. Average outside of the standout tract "Most People Are Good". I also think "Land of a Million Songs is solid. Guilty Pleasure is "Hungover in a Hotel Room". I totally skip the entire rest of the album outside of those 3 songs.

[CoJoFan]

Dec 9, 2017 11:37:18 GMT -5 LBTrocks said:

I don't think "Most People Are Good" is good at all lol. Melodically, the chorus saves it a bit, but the song lyrically and musically sounds 'cheesy'

"Land of A Million Songs" is great and sounds like single material to me! I liked the bottom half of the album much better than the top half. "Hooked On It" is a fantastically edgy rock-leaning tune with a great melody, and it's not overbearing, which will be a plus for some. "She's A Hot One" is definitely my style too. "Hungover In A Hotel" was good until that sickly sounding woman started 'singing' lmao what was that?!

I also thought "Driving This Thing" was great once the chorus hit. I heard "What Makes You Country" on some commercial a while back I think and really liked it. "Drinking Again" has a quirky quality to it that I enjoy. "Out of Nowhere Girl" sounds... off to me.

"Light It Up" is still awful.

As for the rest, if I didn't mention it.... I either didn't like it or it's forgettable lol.

The great:
"Hooked On It"
"She's A Hot One"
"Land of A Million Songs"

Good:
"What Makes You Country"
"Driving This Thing"
"Drinking Again"
"Hungover In A Hotel" (but that female vocalist tho. NO. Brought it down from GREAT to good. That chorus is melodic heaven though.)

Not so good and/or forgettable and/or cheesy lol:
"Most People Are Good"
"Out of Nowhere Girl"
"Sunrise, Sunburn, Repeat"
"Bad Lovers"
"Win Life"
"Pick It Up"
"Like You Say You Do"

AWFUL:
"Light It Up" (this one gets it's own category)

So yeah, this album is a mixed bag. It has it's awful moments and it has it's wonderful moments.

ETA: Far too often, Luke's lyrics are cringeworthy. I bumped "Like You Say You Do" down from good to the not so good category cuz I can't get past this:
If you love her like you say you do
Then why don't you love her like you say you do
'Cause I wanna love her like you say you do

I mean, really? It even sounds worse in the song than it reads on paper.

That female vocalist you're talking about on "Hungover In A Hotel Room" is Emily Weisband.

[carriekins]

The Highway is playing "Most People Are Good."

[vann]

I gotta say I really liked the album and although agre that some songs can sound a bit bland or forgetful it didnt bother me because it is better than "Kill the Lights".I think its a solid album...it didnt disappoint me.

I havent picked out my favorites songs yet but "Most People Are Good" and "What Makes You Country" were on this list before the album comes out.

[LBTrocks]

Dec 10, 2017 20:42:44 GMT -5 CoJoFan said:

That female vocalist you're talking about on "Hungover In A Hotel Room" is Emily Weisband.

Oh, that explains it lol. She was awful on "Rebound" by Drew Baldridge too.

[CoJoFan]

Dec 11, 2017 21:20:40 GMT -5 LBTrocks said:

Dec 10, 2017 20:42:44 GMT -5 CoJoFan said:

That female vocalist you're talking about on "Hungover In A Hotel Room" is Emily Weisband.

Oh, that explains it lol. She was awful on "Rebound" by Drew Baldridge too.

Really??? I liked that song! Oh well! Different tastes I guess. She’s more known for her songwriting anyways.

[LBTrocks]

Dec 11, 2017 21:25:51 GMT -5 CoJoFan said:

Dec 11, 2017 21:20:40 GMT -5 LBTrocks said:

Oh, that explains it lol. She was awful on "Rebound" by Drew Baldridge too.

Really??? I liked that song! Oh well! Different tastes I guess. She’s more known for her songwriting anyways.

I didn't care for the song either, but her voice is really bad to my ears. I personally think she should stick to songwriting, lol.

[countrymusicjunkie]

"Most People Are Good" is definitely the standout song from the album and one of my favorite song's Luke has ever recorded. I also really love "Drinking Again", "Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset", and "Land Of A Million Songs". "Hooked On It", "Pick It Up" and "Win Life" are pretty good as well. Everything else is either bland and forgettable or just plain bad.

[justin5545]

Single predictions (Literally based on nothing, just guesses):

1. Light It Up
2. What Makes You Country
3. Most People Are Good
4. Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset
5. Hooked On It or Land Of A Million Songs

[phil1996]

Dec 9, 2017 22:12:42 GMT -5 raylatch98 said:

Dec 9, 2017 22:06:11 GMT -5 recordyear said:

HDD predicts this to have 85-95k sales and 95-105k SPS.
Wow...It's such a drop.

Proof that 1. "Light It Up" was the wrong lead single choice and 2. Luke Bryan is past his peak in popularity. He's no longer the hot selling item he was in 214 and 2015.

I think it's more so that Light It Up was a terrible lead single. Luke is still going to get 4-5 #1's from this album. I would have gone with the title track as the lead single.

Single predictions:

2. Most People Are Good
3. Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset
4. What Makes You Country
5. Like You Say You Do
6. Out Of Nowhere Girl

[George Strait Junkie]

another trash Luke album but with a shocker "Most People Are Good" where did this jem come from wow it don't even fit on this pile of a .... record

songs i love

"Most People Are Good"

Songs that are Ok

"Land of A Million Songs"
"Like You Say You Do"
"Hooked On It"
"Win Life"

Songs i never wanna hear ever again

"Drinking Again" - seriously how is this even a freakin' song its annoying as hell
"rest of the album" - i mean its terrible even the songs i listed as ok is even stretching it for me

[CoJoFan]

After Light It Up this is how I’d go with singles

2. Most People Are Good (This could easily be a career song for him if it’s released. I’m talking Song of the Year nominations)
3. What Makes You Country
4. Like You Say You Do
5. Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset

And these are the only songs I cared for on the album. Kill The Lights was better in my opinion.

[rsmatto]

Dec 9, 2017 22:12:42 GMT -5 raylatch98 said:

Dec 9, 2017 22:06:11 GMT -5 recordyear said:

HDD predicts this to have 85-95k sales and 95-105k SPS.
Wow...It's such a drop.

Proof that 1. "Light It Up" was the wrong lead single choice and 2. Luke Bryan is past his peak in popularity. He's no longer the hot selling item he was in 214 and 2015.

Changing marketplace. Most artists have had diminishing returns on new releases.

Dec 13, 2017 14:48:58 GMT -5 CoJoFan said:

After Light It Up this is how I’d go with singles

2. Most People Are Good (This could easily be a career song for him if it’s released. I’m talking Song of the Year nominations)
3. What Makes You Country
4. Like You Say You Do
5. Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset

And these are the only songs I cared for on the album. Kill The Lights was better in my opinion.

All are likely to be singles with “Most People Are Good” all but guaranteed the second slot. I think “Drinking Again” could be a potential single too,

[Deleted]

Dec 13, 2017 17:15:47 GMT -5 rsmatto said:

Dec 9, 2017 22:12:42 GMT -5 raylatch98 said:

Proof that 1. "Light It Up" was the wrong lead single choice and 2. Luke Bryan is past his peak in popularity. He's no longer the hot selling item he was in 214 and 2015.

Changing marketplace. Most artists have had diminishing returns on new releases.

Right, but "Light It Up" has been such a nothing of a hit that I do believe that if something else was released from that album as the lead single this album would have had a better opening week, but that's just me.

[rsmatto]

Dec 13, 2017 17:19:08 GMT -5 raylatch98 said:

Dec 13, 2017 17:15:47 GMT -5 rsmatto said:

Changing marketplace. Most artists have had diminishing returns on new releases.

Right, but "Light It Up" has been such a nothing of a hit that I do believe that if something else was released from that album as the lead single this album would have had a better opening week, but that's just me.

Could another single have given a bigger first week? Maybe. But more than anything releasing this late in the year had a lot to do with it. Luke’s is still heading to Gold or even Platinum when it’s all said and done.

[Deleted]

Dec 13, 2017 17:23:31 GMT -5 rsmatto said:

Dec 13, 2017 17:19:08 GMT -5 raylatch98 said:

Right, but "Light It Up" has been such a nothing of a hit that I do believe that if something else was released from that album as the lead single this album would have had a better opening week, but that's just me.

Could another single have given a bigger first week? Maybe. But more than anything releasing this late in the year had a lot to do with it. Luke’s is still heading to Gold or even Platinum when it’s all said and done.

I'm well aware that it'll go gold or platinum. But from my own observations Luke Bryan isn't the hot selling item he once was.

[rsmatto]

Dec 13, 2017 17:27:17 GMT -5 raylatch98 said:

Dec 13, 2017 17:23:31 GMT -5 rsmatto said:

Could another single have given a bigger first week? Maybe. But more than anything releasing this late in the year had a lot to do with it. Luke’s is still heading to Gold or even Platinum when it’s all said and done.

I'm well aware that it'll go gold or platinum. But from my own observations Luke Bryan isn't the hot selling item he once was.

Well, for every artist, that’s extremely hard to maintain. And as mainstream Country fans continue to march to streaming (where it’ll eventually dominate), that’ll offset physical sales (like it is with singles).