Rearview Town – Jason Aldean Album Review
From the electric guitars in the opening moments of Dirt To Dust, it’s clear that Rearview Town is another in the line of country music albums with a rock’n’roll edge from hitmaker Jason Aldean.
The new 15 track album is Aldean’s eighth and comes as the follow-up to 2016’s gold certified, They Don’t Know. And over the course of the record, the 41-year old Georgia native shows the same blend of rock and country that has made him a star over the last 13 years and earned him nine #1 US Hot Country singles.
You Make It Easy, the lead single from Rearview Town shows the softer side of the singer. The one that we don’t think of right away because it doesn’t blast guitars through the speakers. But what it gives us that slow jam feel of lovin’ and “you make me a better man” sentimentality. The track already has more than 24 million plays on Spotify, and another near 26 million on the official lyric video on YouTube.
While You Make It Easy shows his softer side and is one of the tracks that brings a sense of balance to the album, I’ll Wait For You (the brand new single) brings back the multiple electric guitars and driving sound to a track with the same strong theme of love.
Note: Since the announcement of this record we’ve been cheering for Aldean quietly and waiting for his new music. After the tragedy of the Route 91 Harvest Festival last fall, where Jason Aldean was on stage as the firing began, we’ve hoped for a steady and strong step forward in his music and career. And with this album, he’s taken it.
Whenever I listen to a Jason Aldean album I find myself thinking back to 2009 when he paired with Bryan Adams on an episode of CMT Crossroads. During that episode, Adams made a comment that Aldean and his band were a rock and roll band that played country music. Since then I’ve looked at his music through that lens, and it fits.
Over 15 songs and 46 minutes, Jason Aldean gives his fans the mix of songs to love to and drink to that they likely expected. He turns up the volume for songs that deserve their place on party playlists (Blacktop Gone, Dirt To Dust, Gettin’ Warmed Up) pumping through truck speakers in a field. And the new daddy brings that balance we talked about with songs you can slow dance to in the kitchen (You Make It Easy, Better At Being Who I Am).
Another track that is bound to be highlighted, played often, and make its way up the charts (if released, and I would guess that it will be) is Drowns The Whiskey. The song pairs Aldean with eight-time ACM Female Vocalist of the Year, Miranda Lambert.
The duo’s voices play well off of each other, with no power struggle, and no overshadowing. Lambert supports Aldean on the song without taking it over. And while she isn’t the star on the track, her voice is recognizable and adds a little something extra to a song that could have been just another heartbroken drinking song from a male singer.
Over the last 13 years, Jason Aldean has been a strong and steady force on the country music charts, on tour, and on award nomination lists. He has seen singles and albums reach the top of the charts. He’s sold out shows all over the United States, Canada, and beyond. And, in both 2016 and 2017 he took home the prestigious Entertainer of the Year awards from the Academy of Country Music.
All that is to say that Aldean doesn’t have much left to prove in his career, other than he’s not done.
Rearview Town doesn’t break the mold, and it doesn’t deliver a brand new Jason Aldean that we’ve never heard before. And that’s absolutely fine because what it does give us is 15 songs that fit perfectly in the library that he’s been building since the release of his self-titled debut album in 2006.
In fact, the only surprise on this album is that Jason Aldean’s Saturday Night Live cover of Tom Petty’s I Won’t Back Down that was released as a single in memory and support of the victims and survivors of the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting isn’t included. If you haven’t heard that song, finish the album, and then listen to it too.
You Make It Easy has already climbed as high as #2 on the country charts in the United States, giving Rearview Town the strong start that we expect from Jason Aldean. And if we were in the business of predicting album successes, we’d tell you that you should look forward to another string of radio hits and gold/platinum certifications for Jason Aldean.
If you’ve ever found yourself enjoying Jason Aldean’s music in the past, hit play and listen to this collection of songs. There’s something there for you. And if you don’t know Aldean’s past hits, now is a good time to start listening.
Jason Aldean, Rearview Town Tracklist
1. Dirt To Dust
2. Set It Off
3. Girl Like You
4. You Make It Easy
5. Gettin’ Warmed Up
6. Blacktop Gone
7. Drowns The Whiskey ft. Miranda Lambert
8. Rearview Town
9. Love Me Or Don’t
10. Like You Were Mine
11. Better At Being Who I Am
12. I’ll Wait For You
13. Ride All Night
14. Up In Smoke
15. High Noon Neon
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