Jon Pardi’s debut album has been a long time coming, but it is finally here. Today, January 14 Write You A Song is being released on Capitol Records Nashville. Jon wrote all but one track on the record and co-produced the album along with Bart Butler. The album contains eleven songs including the single “Missin’ You Crazy” and his hit “Up All Night,” currently at #13 on the charts. The songs deal with topics familiar to country music such as life on the road, drinking, love and breakups. Their stories are told by Jon’s unique voice in an undeniably good debut album. You can hear his influences aplenty, especially the Bakersfield sound of his native California, in an album that is not lacking in fiddle, steel guitar and piano.
Opening the record is “What I Can’t Put Down” a country rocker about picking up habits, from whiskey to cigarettes to a woman, or in the final verse, his guitar, which is the one thing he “finally got one right.”
“That Man” is a true, heartfelt ballad with swoon worthy lyrics. “When u wanna be wanted/And you need to be needed/When you wanna to move on ‘cause you want somebody who’s nothing like he is/You know I’ve always been waiting/And I guess what I’m saying is /I am that man.”
“Happens All The Time” talks about love and it’s possibilities “We just might fall in love I hear it happens all the time.” “Love You From Here” will hook you with one of the “countriest” sounding, infectious, upbeat melodies you have heard in a long time. The song is about the end of a relationship, but he sings “just ‘cause you’re gone…I can still love you from here.”
“Chasin’ Them Better Days” and “Write You A Song” both deal with life on the road. The latter is a steel guitar and fiddle infused, high energy number about meeting women at different cities on the road without promising them anything more than hearing their name in a song. The former is a more reflective, yet still up tempo song, about working hard hoping that “Any second, any minute, any time/All my luck’s gonna turn in a dime.” The last minute and a half of the song is an instrumental where an old school piano and fiddle take center stage.
“Empty Beer Cans” is a country rocker in which he says goodbye to a flame, comparing to his now ex to draining him the way he drains a beer can. The lyrics in “Trash A Hotel Room,” about “getting back in touch” with a female friend, are a little raucous, but I found myself toe tapping and humming along.
The album closes with the irresistible, simple melody of “When I’ve Been Drinking” about a drunk dial call in which he maybe said “A little too much/You know I don’t think before I talk when I got a good buzz.”
Write You A Song is a cohesive package of country music that you’ll want to listen to again and again. The album is currently available HERE via Amazon and iTunes.
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