I'll say it straight about Darius Rucker, I always thought he was one of the most under-appreciated new country artists out there. He doesn't have a really big fan club as other folks like Luke Bryan or Jason Aldean have, but he makes wonderful songs. In that matter, he's a bit like Billy Currington. True Believers is truly a great album, Darius Rucker writes his own songs, and writes them quite well. Combining hits like Wagon Wheel with slow love songs like I Will Love You Still, Darius offers a high quality album.
Like I've said, the song-writing is quite good on this album. There is no song that is overly repetitive, as we've seen with other artists like Toby Keith that write their songs themselves, but end up doing more harm than good by doing so. Moreover, the musical creativity is quite impressive. That being said, this isn't the most diverse album. We have fun songs (Radio for example), and love songs (Lie To Me). We have some songs in the middle (Heartbreak Road), that are fun but that also talk about love. I would have appreciated something different on this album, one or two songs that really are far away from what he does usually.
Darius Rucker seems to know who his audience is, and wants to offer them a great album. Put in that context, I can simply say that is mission accomplished. If you were already a fan of him with History In The Making or This, then you'll love this album. If you expect something that talks about opening beers on a dirt road with girls in cut off jeans, then this isn't for you obviously.
8.5/10
True Believers
Very good first. It's well-written, but considering the theme, being that "they are married and will spend their lives together," we see that Darius targets a much more mature audience, which I find cool to be honest. Everybody focuses on the young kids that party, it's nice to have new country for people with other interests. That being said, I never understood why this song never played that much on the radio (I probably haven't heard it in months).
9.5/10
Miss You
This is a slow song, but it's still enjoyable, since the chorus has a bit more rhythm to it. This is another love song too.
7.5/10
Wagon Wheel
Nominated to be song of the year, this is perhaps my favorite song of the year all around. The lyrics are just splendid, and to the ones saying that Old Crow Medecine Show performed it better... well I don't agree. This is a wonderful song, it has everything going for it, the music, the guitar, just everything. Only reason why it doesn't get full score is because Darius didn't actually write it himself (but neither did OCMS !).
9.5/10
Love Without You (feat. Sheryl Crow)
This is a very slow song. Darius Rucker has a great voice, I was disappointed he didn't push it more here and not leave more space for Sheryl Crow, especially considering there is nothing to see musically, even thought the piano solo is welcomed.
7/10
Radio
This is also a great song, quite well-written, but we don't fall off our chairs. It's enjoyable, it was already determined that this would be a single. Perhaps not the greatest I've seen from Darius though.
8/10
Lost In You
Very enjoyable love song. It has a good rhythm, and the creativity behind the music is much appreciated. It's quite well-written, but again, nothing to fall off on our backs.
7.5/10
I Will Love You Still (feat. Mallary Hope)
This is perhaps in my top 10 love songs of the year. We can experience the voice of Darius quite a lot in this song, and the duo with Mallary Hope fits very well. The piano and the music is also very enjoyable. It's a sad song, but it's still enjoyable.
9/10
Take Me Home
Something about this song is off. It's like the music doesn't correspond with the lyrics at some points. Or maybe the way Darius sings it. It's also quite repetitive.
4.5/10
Shine
It's a well-written song, it's a good song, but it's not great. It's only average. Again it's a love song, which we are starting to get bored of as a theme in general. The music is also generic.
6/10
Heartbreak Road
This is a very upbeat song. It's enjoyable, it's fun, the song-writing is above average, it has a lot of things going for it. As a whole, it's not top-tier, but still offers plenty to be very enjoyable. Don't quite figure why it never landed on the radio.
8.5/10
Leavin' The Light On
This is a slow, quite enjoyable song. On the other hand, it's repetitive, and the theme is again love in this song, which is seriously getting generic with this album.
6.5/10
Lie To Me
This is a well-written song, but again, it's about love. It's a bit different, since he asks the girl to lie to him to keep in love, which you could consider either cute, or more than rubbish. Sadly, I'm on the wrong side of this. The song is enjoyable though.
7.5/10
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