Hot off a number one debut album, high profile tours, and the Grammys, comes Lady Antebellum with their sophomore effort, Need You Now. In fact, the trio is part of a light brigade that has skyrocketed Country music to new heights, much like Garth Brooks and Shania Twain did in the nineties. While, Need You Now, is more expansive than their debut, they certainly haven’t felt the need to fix what was not broken.
Like most Country pop albums, this one has a superb production that exposes every little nuance of the trio’s music. The pitch prefect and crystal clear production is definitely the first thing you notice about this album. That said, it is the songs themselves that burst into life. The band are excellent songwriters, plain and simple. Songs like the title track, “American Honey,” “Something ‘Bout a Woman,” and “If I Knew Then” embody everything that made Country music great to start with. They sound modern but retain that working class soul that aches for gained and lost loves. As I mentioned before though, the band stretches a bit as well. They get there rock on on “Stars Tonight,” they embrace their inner Pop lover on “Perfect Day,” and bring on the big ballad with the string-laden “Ready to Love Again.”
Overall, this is a very good album. I’m not quite sure that this is their magnum opus but it’s a lot more enjoyable than most of the last decade’s Country albums (Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts being the main exceptions in my mind). Lady Antebellum trying a few different styles here, as well as how to combine them, and, for the most part, the result is a great listen. If you are a fan of radio-friendly, hook-heavy, wonderfully played songs, and don’t mind a wee bit of twang then Need You Now is for you!
By Mark Fisher
