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MP3 Chuck Allen Floyd - Good On The Inside
13 MP3 Songs in this album (47:20) !
Related styles: Country: Country Rock, Country: Modern Country, Mood: Fun
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As reviewed on Melodic Sunburst on January 24, 2010:
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There are no epiphanies in the world of Chuck Allen Floyd. There is no sudden spiritual or physical healing, no salvation through the love of a good woman, no grand promises of a better tomorrow. That’s not to say that Good On the Inside, his follow-up to 2008’s Tonight An Angel Fell, is devoid of grace and mercy. However, Floyd’s appreciation of life and its pleasures (and pain) is a bit more hard-won.
That concept mirrors Floyd’s own personal journey. When a three-year stint in Nashville failed to yield desired results, he set his guitar aside and enrolled in law school. It was only after passing the bar and beginning to practice law that he discovered he couldn’t leave his passion behind. The prodigal son returned to music, eventually landing a songwriting deal with Clint Black’s Blacktop Music Group. Now playing predominantly in Oklahoma and Texas with his band the Liars Club and contributing cuts to other artists’ records, he has never looked back.
Good On the Inside isn’t a dour record. It’s actually quite a bit of fun without being mind-numbing. Floyd and the Liars Club (Jon Knudson, Bart Weilburg, Thomas Young, and Justin Morris) deliver country-rock packed with plenty of hooks and manage to make it all seem effortless. Vocally, Floyd channels enough impishness and tenderness to charm his way into unsuspecting hearts.
The title track, a nod to regaining emotional peace of mind, manages to be uplifting without veering headfirst into schmaltzy territory. Stressing self-empowerment, Floyd sings “I didn’t see a blinding light on some Damascus road/Didn’t shake a demon that was eating at my soul.” The song helps establish the tone of the record, which discusses weathering personal and professional storms and emerging (most of the time) with dignity intact.
Refreshingly, Floyd clearly isn’t looking for anyone to save him from his tortured soul. When love blooms it’s rooted in flaws and forgiveness (“She Loves Me Anyway”) or based on passion meeting compassion (“Friendship on Fire”). Even portraits of heartbreak such as “What Are Fools For” center more on mutual respect and hope for a renewed relationship than dependency.
Two of the album’s highlights revolve around unanswered prayers. The striking story song “Nothing But Hard Times” potently chronicles a protagonist vainly trying to ward off ill health, mounting bills, and economic ruin. Anguished, he admits “When I pray/ I pray the Lord will finally cut me down/When I dream/I dream of shovels striking at the ground.” In desperation he makes a move that literally brings the flames of hell to his heels.
Alternately, “Hey God” is a cheeky take on not always getting the things that you want. Slightly irreverent and fueled by virtuoso performances from the Liars Club, it’s a stand-out that should get audiences singing along.
However, in the stripped down closer “All This Love”, Floyd proves equally adept at quieter moments. Accompanied only by sparse guitar, he sings haltingly of loneliness that threatens to consume him even under the most ordinary circumstances. While ”Good On the Inside” acknowledged that “the mirror doesn’t show” the positive changes, anyone who’s ever suffered a broken heart will easily recognize himself in the details of “All This Love.”
Good On the Inside certainly leans more toward Top 40 material (the album includes a cover of Eddie Rabbitt’s smash “Drivin’ My Life Away”) than some of the other recommendations on the blog, but I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy the album as much as I did. I have some questions about the sequencing of the album (in particular following “Good On the Inside” with “Nothing But Hard Times”) and could have done without the inclusion of “I Love You Drunk” but those are relatively minor qualms. At the very least, with a first place win in last year’s Billboard World Song Contest (for his composition “Borrowed Wings“) in the country category under his belt and songs from his debut in rotation on the Texas charts , it’ll be worth watching Floyd as he continues to build a following.
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