Keith Urban Albums (6)
What The Critics Say
Keith Urban's fourth album, Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing, was released literally days after he entered an alcohol treatment center to treat his disease. The album was issued, debuted in the top spot in the Billboard country charts, scored four hit singles, and eventually went double platinum. What's so remarkable about this is that Urban's rehabilitation regimen didn't allow him to tour for months after the disc's release, potentially hurting sales. It didn't happen. Urban's now trademark meld of country, pop, and rock & roll connects deeply with fans and they are nothing if not loyal. Defying Gravity is his fifth studio release, and in many ways it simultaneously builds on its predecessor while standing apart from it completely. Certainly, there are similarities in sound and approach: Urban once again worked with Dan Huff to co-produce the set, and his now signature manner of layering everything from strings and drum machines to taut, sheeny electric guitars playing power chords, banjos, pedal steel, and crunchy, crisp drums is a sound that belongs to him alone. The other is that this album is unapologetically one of redemption tomes colored as love songs in various shades and tempos -- though none of them are heartbreak songs. He co-wrote eight of Defying Gravity's 11 songs, and arranged all of them. That said, this time out Capitol throws everything into the ring by issuing a pair of leadoff singles in the tight little rocker "Kiss a Girl" and the shimmering, reverb-laden guitar workout "Sweet Thing," which is disguised as a midtempo power ballad. Both are 21st century equivalents of rock & roll love songs that echo everyone from Tom Petty to Greg Kihn and even Dwight Twilley -- though this is clearly not conscious. As radio tracks, they are smart picks, especially with the clever guitar and banjo interplay -- Urban has transformed the role of the backwoods and in-the-hills instrument into a respectable part of the rock & roll toolbox. There are some proper ballads on the disc as well, such as the haunting, nocturnal, and dreamily textured "The Summer Comes Around," his nakedly emotional paean to wife Nicole Kidman ("Thank You") that closes the set, and the shuffling "Only You Can Love Me This Way." The skittering drum loop that undergirds the guitar and Rolling Stones-esque "doo-doo" chorus in "I'm In" makes it an excellent choice for a fourth single, and the clipped pedal steel, distorted electric guitars careening in the bridge, and shuffling hi-hat and snare make the finger-popping "Why It Feels So Long" feel like a contemporary country take on of one of Bruce Springsteen's boulevard songs, or John Mellencamp's "Cherry Bomb." In sum, Defying Gravity builds on the skill set that gave listeners Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing and takes it further, seamlessly combining hook-laden crafty songwriting with a pop sensibility in the modern country vernacular that blazes a new trail and underscores Duke Ellington's dictum that there are only two kinds of music: good and bad. This is a shining case in point for the former. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
'Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing'
Release Date 1/1/2006
Tracks 13
Label Angel
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing was released on November 7, 2006, just after country singer and songwriter Keith Urban entered -- of his own accord -- into treatment for alcoholism. With Urban having married actress Nicole Kidman just months before, the timing couldn't be better. After all, Urban is trying to get well at the very peak of his life -- thus far -- personally and professionally. Be Here, his last album, is, at the time of this writing, at nearly the four-million mark in sales. As fine as that disc is, this one is another giant leap for Urban as an artist. Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing is slicker than anything Urban has issued before, but that's because it's more ambitious as well. Urban is a rocking guitarist, a complete wildman on the electric six-string, and he can combine his tough, unhinged approach to playing guitar with pop songwriting and utterly brilliant production elements that layer strings, drum loops, fiddles, banjos, E-Bows, and Hammond B-3s. Add a songwriting style that touches on the classic elements of rock, country, and mainstream pop, and you have something that hasn't been heard in the country genre in this way before. That's right -- the album is further proof of his ability to stretch the genre to the breaking point by bringing in more of modern pop's elements while remaining firmly within it. This albums feels, song by song, as if there isn't anything he can't do. Co-producing with Dan Huff, Urban wrote or co-wrote ten of the album's 13 cuts -- there's a hidden track buried in the CD-ROM portion of the disc. The production is thoroughly modern, but feels like the country equivalent of George Martin. It's positively baroque in places, and there is so much packed in that it almost feels claustrophobic, but he makes it work beautifully. No record since Neil Diamond's brilliant Beautiful Noise -- produced by the Band's Robbie Robertson -- has sounded so regal and inviting. The album's first single, "Once in a Lifetime," opens the set; it entered the Billboard chart at number 17, the highest debuting single since the chart's inception. But the shock is simply that it's not the best track on the record. Urban has packed this disc with fine writing and excellent, even defining versions of the songs he chose to cover. There are a number of rockers, including "Faster Car," with its smoking, funky bassline and layered power chords on guitars and his "ganjo" that ring above the horn section, and "I Told You So," which uses acoustic guitars, fiddles, and the ganjo to usher in some twisting, minor-key electrics. Both songs are based on tight little hooks; both songs build to the breaking point and allow Urban's voice to soar above the instruments. On the latter tune, Uilleann pipes and bouzouki are layered into the mix in a melody that brings to bear Celtic cowboy lyric frames and tribal rhythms that just explode near the end when Urban cuts loose in a serious, distortion-laden guitar wrangle. "Shine," which begins as a shimmering country-pop tune, is a another example, as a string section and his unhinged soloing style battle for dominance in the nearly unbearable climax. "I Can't Stop Loving You," written by Billy Nichols, is another big climax tune, but it becomes one of the great modern country love songs with its incessant reaching to its crescendo -- provided by an army of strings and big power chords. "Used to the Pain," written with Darrell Brown, is a stealthy rocking love song that drips with emotion brought out by vocals that swirl all around the instrumental mix and huge drums. The down-home anthem "Raise the Barn," a duet with Ronnie Dunn, was written in reaction to the destruction done by Hurricane Katrina. Urban can write a shuffling country-rocker with the best of them. Urban didn't pen "God Made Woman," but his version makes the track his own. Beginning with a choir (somewhat smaller and yet reminiscent of the Rolling Stones on "You Can't Always Get What You Want"), the cut quickly becomes a loud and proud country-rock anthem that celebrates -- not objectifies -- women. "Tu Compañía" is a way funky country two-step love song driven by the ganjo. Yeah. Funky. The album's final cut, "Got It Right This Time," sounds like a homemade demo by the rest of the album's standards, with Urban handling drum machine and keyboard chores while singing. That said, it's far from substandard and certainly belongs here, as it showcases Urban's voice in all its unadorned grandeur and reveals the influence of soul music on his singing. Those who wish to decry Urban as some kind of slick, formulaic songwriter and flavor of the country music moment are missing it. The man writes honest, beautifully crafted songs that are adult enough to ponder, tough enough to rock, and tender enough to pull -- not tug -- on the heartstrings. As previously stated, there's no better time to get well than when you are at the absolute top of your game. While Urban's previous records have had their moments and Be Here was his true arrival, Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing is his mature pop masterpiece -- and for all its wonder and expertise, it feels like it's just a taste of what he will offer in the future. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Keith Urban has been a consistent presence in the Top Ten of the country singles charts since 2000, scoring eight consecutive entries as of the release of his third U.S. solo album, Be Here, the eighth being the disc's leadoff track, "Days Go By." And there's plenty more where that came from. Unlike most other country artists, Urban doesn't restrict himself to ten selections from the Nashville songwriting establishment for his albums. This one contains 13 songs at a generous 55-minute running time, and Urban's name is on nine of them as a co-writer. Thus, the collection can be viewed as more of a singer/songwriter effort than the usual Music City product. From that point of view, the album has a distinct storytelling arc, beginning with the carpe diem sentiments of "Days Go By" and continuing into a series of songs that celebrate life and love, notably Rodney Crowell's unabashedly romantic "Making Memories of Us," which finds Urban doing his best Crowell imitation. Suggestions of struggle begin to intrude as of "God's Been Good to Me," however, and eight songs in Urban abruptly changes the sound and the mood with the piano-and-strings weeper "Tonight I Wanna Cry," a song this reformed drinker confesses in his press materials that his sponsor might not approve of. "She's Gotta Be" picks up the pace, if not the mood, and Matraca Berg and Jim Collins' "Nobody Drinks Alone" brings the singer to a sodden rock bottom before he changes the subject by covering Elton John's "Country Comfort" and finally overcomes adversity in "Live to Love Another Day," then rewrites the album's opening song to look forward again on the album-closing "These Are the Days." The album-length story of optimism and perseverance in the face of romantic turmoil and alcoholic temptation is told musically with Urban's usual collection of fast-picked string instruments, including electric and acoustic guitars, banjo, mandolin, and Dobro (the last played by Bruce Bouton). It's a muscular sound indebted at least as much to rock and bluegrass as to traditional country, but it supports his light, flexible tenor and his essentially upbeat message. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Keith Urban's sophomore issue on Capitol is an early yet devastatingly original piece of work that pointed the way toward his later albums. Urban is partially responsible for the diverse musical traditions that make their way into the contemporary country music scene of the 21st century. While others like Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Travis Tritt and the like modeled a sound that included Southern and '70s rock, Urban brought bluegrass, Top 40 pop stylings, and drum loops into the mix as well, and made them all work in his own songs as well as those he covered. Produced by Urban and Dan Huff, Golden Road is the first place listeners really get to hear the monster guitar slash and burn that he is well known for in his live performances. The album contains two Urban originals in the beautiful, lithe ballad "You're Not Alone Tonight" and the shuffling soft rocker "Song for Dad," both of which showcase the blend of sounds he would later employ as his own trademark mix. The set also contains a pair of excellent cuts by Rodney Crowell, which are particularly suitable, and perhaps were even tailor-made for Urban in "You Won" and "What About Me." The ballad "Raining on Sunday," was a single written by Darrell Brown as was the other single "You'll Think of Me." Tony Martin's "You Look Good in My Shirt," is a delightful stinging rocker, and Monty Powell's "Who Wouldn't Want to Be Me" is another, with Urban playing the strings off his banjo as well as electric guitar. While his later records were bigger hits, this one is consistent enough and full of such charm and personality that it's difficult to believe Urban didn't write everything here. That he owns these songs as if he did write them makes Golden Road a lasting early achievement. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Keith Urban's solo American debut for Capitol (after leaving the Ranch) may seem a bit quaint now that he's a superstar who is as well known for his production skills and songwriting as he is for his guitar slinging. But back in 1997 when this album was released, Urban looked like a fresh-faced kid who was entering the U.S. market a virtual unknown. Truth is, he made his recording debut in his native Australia in 1991 and had been on the radar of the Nash Vegas A&R men for a long time. This album proves why. There are four Urban originals here that showcase his knack for writing in numerous styles that all fit the expanding country radio format. He could marry a rock tune or a pop ballad to a country melody, set it off with just the right amount of heartfelt emotion and masterful production touches, whether it be playing the banjo or adding strings to the mix. He and co-producer Matt Rollings also selected a mostly winning combination of tunes to fill the remainder of the disc including Monty Powell's fiddle drenched barnstormer "It's a Love Thing," Charlotte Caffey's mid-tempo ballad "But for the Grace of God," and "Rollercoaster," which marks Urban's first signal towards the contemporary country community that he wasn't just a pretty face who could sing. The track is a guitar scorcher from top to bottom with Urban playing guitar like he was Randy Scruggs' younger brother, flat picking his Stratocaster like it was another extremity he was born with. This and other such moments balance the slick and sometimes too-soft production on the record; as such, the album does mark the true root of his sound as a major artist wetting his feet. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Technically, the Ranch is a country music trio consisting of Peter Clarke, Jerry Flowers, and Keith Urban, but in practice, it is a group of equals to about the extent that the Jimi Hendrix Experience was, which is to say, not at all. Clarke provides drums and percussion, Flowers plays bass and sings background vocals, and Urban does everything else. That means singing lead and background vocals and playing a variety of stringed instruments and keyboards, as well as taking co-writing credits on nine of the 12 tracks. The album is a showcase for Urban, the up-and-coming Down Under performer who moved to Nashville to be nearer the music he loved. Urban is a triple threat: he writes songs steeped in country traditions (yet not really traditionalist), he sings them with confidence, and, most impressively, picks a guitar authoritatively. His pop/country/rock sound occasionally recalls the 1980s style of Rodney Crowell, particularly on one of the songs he didn't write, "Just Some Love." His is an approach that takes the history of country into consideration, but looks forward. He may plead "Hank Don't Fail Me Now" in one song title, but he never really sounds like Hank Williams. He is perhaps most comfortable just picking fast, as he does on the instrumental "Clutterbilly," but the album reveals a budding talent not far from fully flowering. Not surprisingly, after the commercial failure of this release, the Ranch broke up and Urban went solo, breaking through to success shortly after. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
