Billy Ray Cyrus Albums (12)
'Back to Tennessee'
Release Date 11/18/2008
Tracks 12
Label Hollywood
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What The Critics Say
It's no coincidence that Billy Ray Cyrus' return to Tennessee happens the same week his daughter Miley leaves Hollywood for the homeland in the big-screen debut of Hannah Montana: taken together, the album and the film are a multimedia project about the Cyrus family's rejection of Hollywood for the heartland. Of course, this is all an act. The Cyruses aren't leaving Hollywood, not when Miley is one of the biggest stars in America, and Billy Ray isn't even from Tennessee, so this is all a charade. Then again, even at his prime, Billy Ray was never considered much more than a cartoon cowboy, scooting along with a near-novelty hit in "Achy Breaky Heart," so the studied calculation of Back to Tennessee doesn't necessarily ring false, even if his affected drawl certainly does on "He's Mine." That's not the only time that his exaggerated swagger strikes a sour note -- Cyrus never quite sounds right when he's raising hell as a "Thrillbilly," or when he's aping an outlaw on "Country as Country Can Be," or even when he's singing a syrupy, icky duet with Miley on "Butterfly Fly Away." Billy Ray sounds the best on Back to Tennessee when he doesn't dip too far in either direction, when he doesn't get too country or pop, when he does the kind of arena-country that made him a star back in 1992. This doesn't happen all that often -- it's on the minor-key shuffle "I Could Be the One" or the pumping "Love Is a Lesson" -- but when it does, the record serves up some goofy good times that nevertheless manage to puncture the entire conceit behind the album, not to mention its companion, Hannah Montana: The Movie. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Love Songs'
Release Date 1/29/2008
Tracks 24
Label Mercury Nashville
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What The Critics Say
Isn't it awesome to have a Billy Ray Cyrus compilation without "Achy Breaky Heart" on it? Yes, and no. Yes, because some listeners need to hear that song again and again as long as they live, and no, because this collection of love songs doesn't really do much for the re-born Cyrus' reputation as a singer. There are good single titles here, like "She's Not Cryin' Anymore," which was actually the very best song on Some Gave All, the album that contained the aforementioned abomination. Other tracks such as "I Am Here Now," from Trail of Tears, and the title cut off It Won't Be the Last, also work quite well. The reason? Cyrus co-wrote these songs; he wasn't interpreting them. There's real heart in his performances. Some of the others included here, "Only God Could Stop Me Loving You," from Storm in the Heartland, and "Missing You," from "Shot Full of Love," are saccharine and flat. Lifeless. This may indeed be a production problem because Cyrus is capable of belting them when he wants to, with real soul as well as power. But three excellent songs a love song collection does not make. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Seizing the opportunity for a comeback opened by his daughter's success as Hannah Montana -- and his accompanying role as Hannah's father -- Billy Ray Cyrus gives it his all on Home at Last, his tenth solo album but the first one to really seem to count since the glory days of "Achy Breaky Heart." Smartly, he avoids any boot-scooting shuffles and pitches the record directly toward the housewives who danced the night away to his big hit and now raise daughters who watch Hannah Montana. This means there's not much of the lean country that marked his very good 2006 set Wanna Be Your Joe but instead a lot of earnest midtempo tunes and ballads, along with covers of such standards as "Brown Eyed Girl" and "You've Got a Friend." It's modern-day adult contemporary music, but it's not given the drippy, saccharine, and synthesized arrangements that made AC music stultifying in the late '90s. Instead, it's stripped-down and direct, never sounding too slick but never sounding like something that could be mistaken for anything other than commercial adult pop, either. If the album suffers a little bit from a sense of sleepy sameness -- it sure could use more numbers like the working-class anthem "The Buffalo" or the mildly driving anthemic rocker "You Can't Lose Me" -- on a track-by-track basis, it's sturdy and Cyrus is always likeable, never pushing too hard and always sounding like a warmer, more genuine singer than he did at the peak of his fame in 1992. Make no mistake about it, Home at Last is as safe and comforting as its title suggests (which may indeed be a let-down for those that liked the sly, wily nature of Wanna Be Your Joe), but it's to Cyrus' credit that he pulls it off like an old pro, which is what makes this not only a handsome commercial comeback but a deserved one. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Billy Ray Cyrus has been nothing if not industrious in keeping his career alive despite the vicissitudes of the entertainment business. The crushing success of his nine-times-platinum debut album, Some Gave All, fueled by the hit "Achy Breaky Heart," was too much for anyone to live up to, but he rode that popularity through the platinum follow-up It Won't Be the Last and the gold third album Storm in the Heartland before listeners lost interest. After finishing off his first major-label contract with the poor-selling Trail of Tears and Shot Full of Love, he jumped to a second major label and tried again with Southern Rain, meanwhile diversifying by turning to TV acting on the PAX series Doc, which paid the bills over the next several years as he tried to resuscitate his music career on the budget label Madacy (Time Flies) and then, taking a flyer from Randy Travis, with a gospel album (The Other Side). Now, he has been signed to New Door Records, the imprint of Universal that has the unusual goal of attempting to stage comebacks for artists who have a history with the parent company. (Cyrus' first five albums were on Universal subsidiary Mercury Records.) Hedging his bets, he is simultaneously beginning a second TV series, Hannah Montana, co-starring with his daughter Miley Cyrus on The Disney Channel.Wanna Be Your Joe has the look of an album that has been labored over and revised. There are what appear to be the remnants of an earlier version, produced by Cyrus and Jeff Tweel, and including the tracks "I Wouldn't Be Me," "The Freebird Fell," "Lonely Wins," "Ole What's Her Name," and "Hey Daddy." Seven other tracks produced by Cyrus, Terry Shelton, and Russ Zavitson appear to come from a later session. And then there are two add-ons: "Stand," a father-daughter duet produced by Andy Dodd and Adam Watts and aimed at the new TV show, and the so-called "bonus track," a guitar-and-vocal novelty called "A Pain in the Gas." Despite the appearance of a collection cobbled together over several years, though, the album hangs together, or rather, it hangs in two distinct pieces not divisible by the recording dates. On the one hand, there's a collection of romantic ballads -- "Wanna Be Your Joe," "I Wouldn't Be Me," "What About Us," "I Wonder," "Lonely Wins," "How've Ya Been," and "Ole What's Her Name" -- that run the gamut from sincere pledges of commitment to expressions of frustration and outright kiss-offs. Then there is a set of self-referential songs and tributes, most of them midtempo country-rockers. "The Man" has the subtitle "Tribute to Dale Earnhardt," while "The Freebird Fell" might be subtitled "Tribute to Ronnie Van Zant" (Van Zant's Lynyrd Skynyrd bandmates Ed King and Artimus Pyle are co-authors along with Cyrus). The silly "I Want My Mullet Back" (couldn't he just grow it back if he wanted to?) also name-checks Lynyrd Skynyrd. And "Country Music Has the Blues," with guest singers George Jones and Loretta Lynn, is one of those laments for the state of the music that specializes in naming all the legends in the business. This second part of the album is vastly less successful than the first. The tributes are no doubt sincere, but somewhat muddleheaded. "Country Music Has the Blues," for example, mixes up country stars who are dead with ones who just aren't having hits anymore. You'd think that Cyrus would be careful to make a distinction there, since he fits into the latter category, but not the former. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
'The Other Side'
Release Date 10/28/2003
Tracks 11
Label Word/Curb/Warner Bros.
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What The Critics Say
Billy Ray Cyrus pleasantly surprises in this ode to gospel -- gospel being defined here as a blending of mainstream pop and traditional country with religious lyrics. Religious faith is put on a pedestal here, sounding thoughtful and inspirational in these 11 stylistic tracks. Cyrus seems to have put his "Achy Breaky Heart" days behind him and takes a step forward with this album. The fervor that was missing from his last two albums turns up here in abundance. The Other Side enriches Cyrus' fading repertoire. This CD shouldn't be labeled because of its religious material, but should be recognized for its unlikely convergence of musical styles. Special guests '80s pop icons Kim Carnes and Richard Marx contribute vocals. Highlights include "Face of God," "Did I Forget to Pray," and an amazing rendition of "Amazing Grace." ~ Maria Konicki Dinoia, All Music Guide
'Southern Rain'
Release Date 10/11/2000
Tracks 11
Label Barnes & Noble
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What The Critics Say
Hooking up with Dixie Chicks producer Blake Chancey and with producer Dann Huff, Billy Ray Cyrus made a label debut that showed off his country-rock abilities well. The single, "You Won't Be Lonely Now," which was rising in the country Top 40 and the pop charts at the time of the album's release, properly displayed the artist's sense of determination against adversity, cloaked in the terms of a love song. Similarly, the title song (co-written by Cyrus), which followed on the album, spoke of perseverance despite lean times. The rest of the record was more varied, including heartfelt ballads ("I Will," "Everywhere I Wanna Be") and up-tempo novelties ("Burn Down the Trailer Park," "Hey Elvis"), but the point had been made. Chancey and Huff helped Cyrus pick material that suited his country-rock style. "Southern Rain," for example, sounded like Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" as it might sound played by Lynyrd Skynyrd, while "Love You Back" recalled Little Feat's "Willin'." The result was a sturdy collection of average country songs effectively performed by a minor country talent. All of which was fine, unless you were hoping for an album that measured up to Cyrus' early sales figures, which, of course, Monument was. ~ William Ruhlmann , All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Trail of Tears is the most personal and most accomplished album Billy Ray Cyrus has recorded to date. Cyrus' elaborates his pop-oriented country with some rootsy production flourishes -- the album sounds edgier and grittier than any of his previous records. Furthermore, Cyrus delivers both his originals and the covers with conviction, far more conviction than could have been believed possible from his first two albums. In fact, Trail of Tears suggests that he may be able to carve out a successful career for himself, after all. ~ Thom Owens, All Music Guide
'Storm in the Heartland'
Release Date 11/8/1994
Tracks 14
Label Mercury
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What The Critics Say
Although it didn't win him any new fans, Storm in the Heartland delivered what Billy Ray Cyrus' fans wanted to hear -- good-humored rockers and powerful ballads. In fact, it was a stronger, more assured effort than It Won't Be the Last, offering a catchier batch of songs, even though it doesn't have the goofy charm of Some Gave All. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
