Gary Allan Set You Free Album Review
Gary Allan Hits with Full Force with New Album Release Set You Free. Gary Allan‘s single “Every Storm (Runs Out Of Rain),” featured on his new album which dropped last week, is already a run away success having reached Gold status earlier this month. After listening to Set You Free from beginning to end and over again, it’s simple to see that “Every Storm” is in good company with the other eleven tracks featured on the new record. Allan’s album has that rocker edge to it that we all know and love, and each song reaches right in and grabs a hold of you, pulling you in with well-written lyrics, haunting and/or catchy melodies and Gary’s gruff but velvety vocals. Poetry of a Broken Heart. The major theme on this album is easily heartbreak. Even songs like “You Without Me” and “One More Time” that aren’t strictly about broken hearts and relationships are still heart wrenching because the love and desire for a life well lived he describes are just so intense! Even though most of the songs share different variations of this common thread, each song still manages to be poetic, unique and powerful. There is a different story for each track, and each is as compelling as the next. With “Sand In My Soul,” it is easy to visualize the beach, the tiki bar, and a lone figure drinking alone then shuffling off to his room as the world moves on around him. Anyone who has loved can relate to the addiction metaphor (“stoned mind” “jonesing for another kiss” “high on love” “strung out on a woman”) employed in “Hungover Heart.” As you listen to the album, each track is just a vivid as the next and it’s difficult to not have an emotional reaction to the music. Two songs which stand out from the heartbreak theme are “Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain)” and “Good As New.” Both of these tracks are optimistic and bolstering. Like the heartbreak songs, these two tunes don’t deny the hurt in the world, but highlight it, and in the process emphasize just how good the good things really are in contrast. This lyrical quality is in keeping with the more mournful tunes as it still maintains a poetry and powerfulness that is certain to touch listeners. It’s The Little Things. Besides having 12 well-written, compelling and unique songs on Set You Free, there are little details embedded in each song that add musical diversity to the album as a whole while setting the tracks apart from each other. In “Bones” there is a strong presence of harmonica that gives it a serious groove. The intro to “It Ain’t The Whiskey” features an organ riff that immediately caught my attention. With “Sand In My Soul“, the fiddle stands out and really adds an extra layer of sorrowfulness to accompany the lyrics. When we get closer to the end of the album “Drop” really shakes things up with a jazzy/bluesy quality that increases Continue reading Gary Allan Set You Free Album Review