Songs that are most uncharacterstic of their artist

[Ten Pound Hammer]

What are some songs do you think are "out of character" or otherwise blatantly unfitting the artist? Here are a few I can think of.

The idea for this thread came earlier today when I heard "Never Givin' Up on Love" by Michael Martin Murphey on Sirius XM's countdown for the top 30 from 1989. I had never heard the song before and I felt that it was a very unusual, out of character song for Murphey. He usually records soft ballads like "Wildfire", "What's Forever For", "Talkin' to the Wrong Man", etc. But for those who've not heard the song, click here to hear... MMM using his closest stab at a Latin American accent, bouncy brass, and a catchy bubblegum-pop chorus. It was just... baffling, but in an entertaining kind of way. But I still think it doesn't fit MMM at all.

It also made me think of how unfitting "Country Boy" by Alan Jackson is to his style. It has cringeworthy lines like "I'm not a stalker" and "Climb in my bed, I'll take you for a ride" that make AJ sound like a dirty old man. It has this weird choppy melody that goes in and out of Dorian mode. Everything about that song just seems cringeworthy and out-of-character for AJ.

Speaking of songs that the artist was too old for -- I already think "If I Were a Boy" is one of the most petty, hateful, and misandrist songs I've ever heard in my life. So who is the worst person to do a country cover of it? How about a lady who's nearly twice Beyoncé's age, and has never before had a single condescending or man-hating bone in her body? The only "boy" a 50something year old woman should be singing about is her grandson.

George Strait is way too down-to-earth and straightforward for silly novelty songs like "River of Love". I'm sure even at the time, he knew that one was way beneath him. Even most of his other "novelty" type songs ("Adalida", "Ocean Front Property", etc.) felt like they had more meat on them. "River" was just musical cotton candy that I don't think any artist could've pulled off.

"Lookin' for That Girl" and "Truck Yeah" were such blatant pieces of bro-country garbage that had me wondering why Tim McGraw was trying to pander so hard to radio -- he was still riding pretty high when both songs came out, so they felt like trying to restablish cred that he hadn't yet lost, and only making himself seem desperate in the process. I get the feeling that even he thinks that, since I believe he once said on Twitter that he didn't like "Truck Yeah", and his label actually pulled "Lookin'" because of how negative the fan reaction was.

[classiccountryfan]

Interesting that Y2Kountry would do a 1989 countdown; I would have thought it would have fit in better on Prime Country. Anyway, a few that come to mind (although I can't articulate specific reasons):

Alan Jackson--I Don't Even Know Your Name and The Talkin' Song Repair Blues
Bellamy Brothers--Country Rap
Exile--Super Love
Kenny & Dolly--Love Is Strange

[Ten Pound Hammer]

Aug 20, 2018 0:16:55 GMT -5 classiccountryfan said:

Interesting that Y2Kountry would do a 1989 countdown; I would have thought it would have fit in better on Prime Country. Anyway, a few that come to mind (although I can't articulate specific reasons):

Alan Jackson--I Don't Even Know Your Name and The Talkin' Song Repair Blues
Bellamy Brothers--Country Rap
Exile--Super Love
Kenny & Dolly--Love Is Strange

It was on Prime Country, I just used the wrong name.

I can see "I Don't Even Know Your Name" but I at least felt that AJ had the charm to make it seem amusing and not cringey. "Talkin' Song" was also different for him, but it's so well written (*cough*Dennis Linde*cough*) that it didn't bother me.

"Country Rap" was clearly the Bellamys goofing around with genre fusions, similarly to "Get into Reggae Cowboy". The thing I always noticed with "Country Rap" was that it was one of the only times both of them sang a back-and-forth lead, instead of just one of the two singing the whole song.

====

Thought of a couple more:

"Bonfire" was ridiculously out of character for Craig Morgan. He spends the whole song shouting in the most overexaggerated twang imaginable, and the lyrics are beta versions of what would later be known as bro-country.

Patty Loveless shouldn't even have tried to cover "Lovin' All Night". Rodney's version was a frisky and energetic country-rocker, while hers was a cutesy and chaste shuffle.

"Pass It On Down" was just plain bizarre for Alabama. It has this weird "spacey" sounding production, ultra-preachy environmentalist lyrics the likes of which they never did again, and it in no way resembles their 80's slickness nor their 90's genericness.

Going the other way, "I Was" and "If I Was a Drinkin' Man" seem completely out of line with the rest of Neal McCoy's catalog, but in that case it's for the better: he was usually eyerollingly light and fluffy, but those two were by FAR his best songs because they were among the only two to have any substance.

[nick64]

Cowboys & Angels by Dustin Lynch - it had substance

[Ten Pound Hammer]

Terri Clark with "Dirty Girl" and "Gypsy Boots".

SHeDAISY with "Come Home Soon"

Big & Rich with "Lost in This Moment"

Also what the hell were the Oak Ridge Boys smoking when they thought they could cover "Seven Nation Army"?!

[phil1996]

Kip Moore - Somethin ‘Bout a Truck

[lady𝓐fan]

Darius Rucker - Homegrown Honey

[countrymusicjunkie]

Toby Keith- "Drinks After Work" and "Shut Up And Hold On"

[recordyear]

Thomas Rhett - Beer With Jesus (still not good imo)

[Ten Pound Hammer]

Aug 23, 2018 8:36:43 GMT -5 recordyear said:

Thomas Rhett - Beer With Jesus (still not good imo)

Weird, I always thought that was the one TR song that everyone could agree on. I do agree that it was before he really found his style, though.

I still don't know what SHeDAISY was thinking with "Come Home Soon". Their songs usually rely on quirky and colorful lyrics, and strong melody and harmony. Even "This Woman Needs" has that color to it despite being a more serious song. But "Come Home Soon" was just a boring tuneless slog.

And how did I go this long without referencing "I Hope You Dance"? Sure, let's have the twangy traditionalist do a cold, slick pop ballad with lyrics that sound like someone threw a Chicken Soup for the Soul book in the blender.

[Andy]

Randy Travis - It's Just a Matter of Time (basically a traditional pop/r&b song by a neotraditional honky-tonker)

[Ten Pound Hammer]

Aug 23, 2018 22:53:11 GMT -5 Andy said:

Randy Travis - It's Just a Matter of Time (basically a traditional pop/r&b song by a neotraditional honky-tonker)

"Are We in Trouble Now" And "Would I" are pretty unusual for him too. The former is a mellow piano ballad written by Mark Knopfler, and the latter is an upbeat country-rock novelty.

All of them are good songs, and especially "It's Just a Matter of Time". Note that I don't think "most uncharacteristic" necessarily means "bad". "A Woman in Love" is most uncharacteristic of Ronnie Milsap since it's by far his most country sounding, as opposed to his usual R&B and pop trappings, but I still like it a lot.

[austin]

Aug 23, 2018 9:00:45 GMT -5 Ten Pound Hammer said:

I still don't know what SHeDAISY was thinking with "Come Home Soon". Their songs usually rely on quirky and colorful lyrics, and strong melody and harmony. Even "This Woman Needs" has that color to it despite being a more serious song. But "Come Home Soon" was just a boring tuneless slog.

I am the biggest SHeDAISY supporter around these parts, and I don't *hate* the song, but I agree here. Kristyn's friend who had a military spouse did inspire the song, but I honestly think after Knock On The Sky they were so scared and in a way desperate to make a comeback that they tried to pander to the military crowd that was hot in 2001/2002. They were a year or two too late, but also lacking the quality some of those smashes had. Sweet Right Here is an amazing album, though, but 'Love Goes On' was a better ballad single for them to have chosen.

Kristyn was such a creative writer and SHeDAISY is one of the most unique artists lyrically, so a basic song like 'Come Home Soon' is SO out of place in their discography.

[classiccountryfan]

Aug 24, 2018 8:46:22 GMT -5 Ten Pound Hammer said:

Aug 23, 2018 22:53:11 GMT -5 Andy said:

Randy Travis - It's Just a Matter of Time (basically a traditional pop/r&b song by a neotraditional honky-tonker)

"Are We in Trouble Now" And "Would I" are pretty unusual for him too. The former is a mellow piano ballad written by Mark Knopfler, and the latter is an upbeat country-rock novelty.

All of them are good songs, and especially "It's Just a Matter of Time". Note that I don't think "most uncharacteristic" necessarily means "bad". "A Woman in Love" is most uncharacteristic of Ronnie Milsap since it's by far his most country sounding, as opposed to his usual R&B and pop trappings, but I still like it a lot.

I was surprised when Randy came out with Just a Matter of Time because Glen Campbell had a top 10 with it just a few years earlier.  A song of Randy’s that seems uncharacteristic to me is Promises with its stripped down acoustic sound.  Also, Vince Gill’s If You Ever Have Forever In Mind, which to me has a big band era sound to it. 

[bboat11]

"I Love You" is the song that jumps out immediately to me from Martina's catalog. I know she's considered to be one of the "leaders of the pop/country movement" alongside people like Faith and Shania, but tbh I think that that is just because she was famous at the same time as them. If you look at her career as a whole, she has done a better job of keeping in touch with her roots than the majority of her peers. However, "I Love You" is the one exception. I do think it's still plenty country sounding by today's standards, but it is the one time she really got any pop recognition, and it definitely sounds more slick and polished than the majority of her output. Especially compared to what came before it.

[Ten Pound Hammer]

Aug 24, 2018 11:12:54 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

"I Love You" is the song that jumps out immediately to me from Martina's catalog. I know she's considered to be one of the "leaders of the pop/country movement" alongside people like Faith and Shania, but tbh I think that that is just because she was famous at the same time as them. If you look at her career as a whole, she has done a better job of keeping in touch with her roots than the majority of her peers. However, "I Love You" is the one exception. I do think it's still plenty country sounding by today's standards, but it is the one time she really got any pop recognition, and it definitely sounds more slick and polished than the majority of her output. Especially compared to what came before it.

"I Love You" also doesn't fit her "Lifetime movie of the week" style of music either. As much as I rag on her earsplitting belting, I think I actually would've preferred that on "I Love You" to the cutesy widdle giwl voice she went with.

[Dreams]

Written by Mariah Carey & Willie Nelson.

[Kat5Kind]

21 from Hunter Hayes. It just screams that he had almost no share in writing it. (One Shot, on the other hand... yeah, I can easily see him being behind that one.)

[Ten Pound Hammer]

Aug 28, 2018 1:30:24 GMT -5 Kat5Kind said:

21 from Hunter Hayes. It just screams that he had almost no share in writing it. (One Shot, on the other hand... yeah, I can easily see him being behind that one.)

It's hard to take the lyric "Gonna party like we just turned 21" seriously when sung by someone who both looks and sounds about 8. Just saying.

Honestly, I think he'd have been better off sticking to Cajun music. "Storm Warning" at least had some spice to it, but almost everything else felt like watered down imitations of the kind of songs Bieber released before his balls finally dropped.

[dajross6]

In listening to ACC Rewind last week, George's "Don't Make Me Come Over There and Love You" was a really weird choice from a guy who had a string of hits up to then. It's basically an uptempo Elvis song that is a head scratcher to me still today.

[bboat11]

Jan 30, 2019 17:47:22 GMT -5 dajross6 said:

In listening to ACC Rewind last week, George's "Don't Make Me Come Over There and Love You" was a really weird choice from a guy who had a string of hits up to then. It's basically an uptempo Elvis song that is a head scratcher to me still today.

I've never really understood why DMMCOTALY is so looked-down-upon in George's hits catalog. To me it sounds like a classic George song! Yet I definitely seem to be the exception rather than the rule with that opinion.

[countrymusicjunkie]

Jan 30, 2019 17:47:22 GMT -5 dajross6 said:

In listening to ACC Rewind last week, George's "Don't Make Me Come Over There and Love You" was a really weird choice from a guy who had a string of hits up to then. It's basically an uptempo Elvis song that is a head scratcher to me still today.

I agree and I always thought "We Really Shouldn't Be Doing This" was a pretty odd choice from George as well.

[carriekins]

Jan 30, 2019 23:28:25 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Jan 30, 2019 17:47:22 GMT -5 dajross6 said:

In listening to ACC Rewind last week, George's "Don't Make Me Come Over There and Love You" was a really weird choice from a guy who had a string of hits up to then. It's basically an uptempo Elvis song that is a head scratcher to me still today.

I've never really understood why DMMCOTALY is so looked-down-upon in George's hits catalog. To me it sounds like a classic George song! Yet I definitely seem to be the exception rather than the rule with that opinion.

I'm with you!

[Uncle Lumpy]

Alan Jackson had two songs that always struck me as uncharacteristic (for him). "I'll Go On Loving You" & "Like Red on a Rose" . I hated them both when they were released and still hate "I'll Go On Loving You" . Sorry but sexy time Alan recitations just doesn't work for me. Strangely , "Like Red on a Rose" just kind of clicked with me years after its release & I love the line "I love you like all little children love pennies'. Still an odd song for him though.

[sabre14]

Brett Eldredge - "Raymond"

Brett's original version of his debut album Bring You Back had some good songs on it but comparing "Raymond" to the rest of his singles is shocking. Brett hasn't even come close to releasing a song like "Raymond" again.

[gardyfan]

Jan 31, 2019 13:04:45 GMT -5 sabre14 said:

Brett Eldredge - "Raymond"

Brett's original version of his debut album Bring You Back had some good songs on it but comparing "Raymond" to the rest of his singles is shocking. Brett hasn't even come close to releasing a song like "Raymond" again.

I wish he would do more like it. Raymond is his best song by far.

[Uncle Lumpy]

Yeah I loved Raymond and a couple of album tracks but generally I think of Brett as having an awesome voice that is wasted on drivel for the most part.

[.indulgecountry]

Yeah Brett Eldredge totally peaked with his debut single. I've lost all hope and faith in him ever giving us a song like that again. He just makes cheesy love songs that either sleep-inducing or obnoxiously oversung.

[jimmy's carhartt]

"I Told You So" - Carrie Underwood
"Beautiful Drug" - Zac Brown Band
"I'm Alive" - Kenny Chesney
"The Truth" - Jason Aldean
"American Honey" - Lady A
"Summer Fever" - Little Big Town
"I'm So Happy That I Can't Stop Crying" - Toby Keith
"Guys Like Me" - Eric Church
"My Church" - Maren Morris
"You Don't Know Her Like I Do" - Brantley Gilbert
"Strip It Down" - Luke Bryan
"Parking Lot Party" - Lee Brice
"Break Up in the End" - Cole Swindell
"Dirt" - Florida Georgia Line
"Wagon Wheel" - Darius Rucker

[Ten Pound Hammer]

Jan 31, 2019 12:35:03 GMT -5 Uncle Lumpy said:

Alan Jackson had two songs that always struck me as uncharacteristic (for him). "I'll Go On Loving You" & "Like Red on a Rose" . I hated them both when they were released and still hate "I'll Go On Loving You" . Sorry but sexy time Alan recitations just doesn't work for me. Strangely , "Like Red on a Rose" just kind of clicked with me years after its release & I love the line "I love you like all little children love pennies'. Still an odd song for him though.

I agree on these two being different, but I actually really like both.

However, as I said in the OP, I felt "Country Boy" was even more out-of-character for him.

And those covers of Jason Derulo and Lil Wayne. What was he thinking?