Keith Urban
Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing [Capitol/EMI] 2006
Review by Cheryl Breo
New Zealand born, Australian raised Keith Urban knew at an early age that he wanted to make his mark on the Nashville country scene. Quitting school when he was 15 years old to hit the road, Keith spread his wings in 1992 and moved to Nashville to begin his climb up the ladder of the world’s largest country music market.
And what a climb it has been for him; climbing steadily toward the top musically, but sliding down a few personal rungs of that ladder, as he battled his admitted use of cocaine.
Now, with his marriage to Nicole, his rehab at the Betty Ford Center over and the release of his latest album, “Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing”, it appears Keith is well on his way back up those personal rungs of his ladder.
With a title of “Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing”, it would be easy to “catalogue” the album as a reflection of his recent “front page, paparazzi” life; but nothing could be further from the truth. It is a well crafted album, showcasing Urban’s multi-talented skills as a musician; playing guitar, piano, drums, bass….just to name a few of the instruments to his credit on the tracks.
“Once in a Lifetime”, “God Made Woman” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You”, sweep the listener into Keith’s romantic, passionate, peaceful side…the side that is who Keith is today.
The rocking “Faster Cars” showcases his ability to make his guitar strings sing with amazing creative acoustic magic.
A wonderful highlight of the album is “Raise The Barn”, which he wrote and sings with Ronnie Dunn…a “put a big smile on your face” tribute to all those “unsung heroes” rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina, celebrating their strength of spirit in the face of such vast devastation; that they still encounter to this day.
This reviewer enjoyed every song on “Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing”, an outstanding country/rock album that superbly showcases Keith Urban’s masterful musicianship and his ability to let his love, pain and all that crazy stuff, come across honest, fresh and real. I give it 5 stars out of 5.
