Courtesy RollingStone.com
“Scotty McCreery, the fresh-faced kid who won American Idol back when he was 17, is all grown up on Rise & Fall, a record that leaves little doubt about the North Carolina native’s country bona fides. Over 13 tracks, the 30-year-old sings about the cruel passing of time, crises of conscience and faith, and drinking a whole lot of beer. It’s a country album every bit as legit as Jamey Johnson’s That Lonesome Song — McCreery’s favorite — and one that fans of “real country” need to hear. Start with the Garth Brooks-inspired rave-up “Can’t Pass the Bar” or the brooding “No Country for Old Men,” which finds a jaded narrator longing for a bygone era in country music: “Those days are gone/and they ain’t comin’ back again.” McCreery is here to prove him wrong.”- J.H.
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