Artist: Randy Houser
Album: How Country Feels
Label: Stoney Creek Records
Rating: 3/5
Review by: Henry Lees
The second time around can be so much sweeter and it’s likely that Randy Houser would wholeheartedly agree. How Country Feels is the Mississippi singer/songwriter’s third studio album but it really amounts to his second career launch. This time, Houser is back in the game and swinging hard for the stands. Not only has this new collection brought him his first #1 single with its title track, the song was also recently certified gold for over 500,000 digital downloads. The insanely catchy “How Country Feels” was a truly inspired choice to lead the Mississippi born and bred singer/songwriter’s return to the spotlight.
In addition to his considerable writing talent, Randy Houser is a singer’s singer. His powerful pipes, slathered in rich, soulful sauce, are capable of rising to unexpected heights and dipping into guttural growls. On some notes, Houser’s voice is reminiscent of Ronnie Dunn’s soaring, smoky-Okie tenor. At other times, a bit of John Anderson can be detected. Do the songs on How Country Feels live up to his vocal prowess? Some certainly do, and it’s apparent that Houser has chosen them well to provide some ‘wow’ moments without overwhelming showiness. Revved up guitar work also takes a front seat on How Country Feels as a loud and rockin’ recent appearance on Conan O’Brien emphasized.
Houser started off in Nashville as a songwriter in the mid-2000’s. He signed on as an artist with the Universal South imprint in 2008, which later merged with Toby Keith’s label, Show Dog Nashville to become Show Dog – Universal. Houser’s debut, Anything Goes, proved a promising start with the title track providing a solid chart showing and the second single “Boots On” making it all the way to #2. He made a memorable, initial impression with a wide range of fans too. Who could forget that adorable YouTube video of little Houser fan Drake in his car seat lip-syncing “With my dirty old hat, my crooked little grin…”? Houser wrote or co-wrote every song on his second album, 2010’s They Call Me Cadillac, butit failed to chart a big hit and he eventually left Show Dog – Universal in 2011. After a period of heavy touring, he was picked up by Stoney Creek Records, also home to hot, rising star duo Thompson Square.
On How Country Feels, Houser laid back from loading up the album with his own songs, sharing writing credits on just 7 out of the 15 found on the well-sequenced collection. He also paired up with fellow Mississippian and long time friend Derek George to produce the album, something he vowed to do when he had the chance. The result is sometimes too glossy and aggressive, but also has Houser sounding confident and comfortable throughout. Of course, it begs to be remembered that Houser is responsible for co-writing and naming “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk”, Trace Adkins’ cheeky 2005 smash that spawned some nasty-ass dance mixes. While the winking, slap and tickle humour of that divisive hit was certainly obvious, Houser’s writing has thankfully shown more breadth and depth since.
Three songs that catchily extoll the virtues of not wasting a minute of life, going for broke and experiencing the thrill of love kick off How Country Feels. While the inherent sunniness of second single “Runnin’ Outta Moonlight,” “Growin’ Younger” and “Top of the World” may threaten the need to reach for a pair of shades, there are a few darker and richer emotional moments on the album that help balance things out. “Power of a Song” profiles characters whose life crises are suddenly changed by what’s on the radio and Houser’s most personal song on the album, “Route 3 Box 250D”, is a quietly moving portrait of the pain and scars of growing up. Other highlights include the bluesy and plaintive ballad co-penned with Zac Brown, “Along for the Ride”, and the earnest duet, “Wherever Love Goes”, featuring American Idol alum Kristy Lee Cook sounding a little like LeAnn Rimes and much better than I recall from her Idol performances. With it’s sing-along worthy chorus, “Goodnight Kiss”, co-written by Houser, Rob Hatch and Jason Sellers, would be a great choice for another single.
While the overall polish is sometimes too slick, Randy Houser’s How Country Feels does have some grit that grabs on and leaves a lasting impression. Taking the album title at face value, this is indeed a decent snapshot of how country feels in 2013.
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