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| Artist : Little Big Town |
| Album : The Reason Why |
| Label : Capitol Records |
| Year : 2010 |
| Genre : Country |
| Rip date : Aug-23-2010 |
| Store date : Aug-24-2010 |
| Size : 63,6 MB |
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| 01 - The Reason Why 04:53 |
| 02 - Runaway Train 03:46 |
| 03 - Kiss Goodbye 04:03 |
| 04 - Shut Up Train 03:49 |
| 05 - Why, Oh Why 03:45 |
| 06 - Little White Church 03:06 |
| 07 - You Can't Have Everything 03:29 |
| 08 - All The Way Down 03:09 |
| 09 - All Over Again 04:08 |
| 10 - Rain On A Tin Roof 04:25 |
| 11 - Life Rolls On 03:10 |
| 12 - Lean Into It 04:19 |
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| 46:02 min |
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| It's anybody's guess why Little Big Town's three fine singles from |
| 2007's excellent A Place to Land failed to crack the Top 30, or why the |
| album didn't build upon the platinum success of its predecessor, The |
| Road to Here. That said, the bluesy roil in "Little White Church," the |
| pre-release single from The Reason Why, LBT's fourth studio album, |
| proves that failure was a fluke. The trademark four-part harmony that |
| separate them from the rest of the contemporary country pack isn't the |
| only thing: their group songwriting -- with producer and guitarist Wayne |
| Kirkpatrick as a fifth member -- is classy, sophisticated, and doesn't |
| rely on genre clichs. While the '70s-period Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles |
| were clear inspirations and influences earlier, here they've been |
| integrated into a sound that is LBT's own. The guitars are a little |
| fiercer, the harmonies looser, and therefore more emotionally |
| expressive; they reflect the growth in their lyrics. And even as Karen |
| Fairchild is asserting herself as a de facto frontwoman, the |
| contributions made by Kimberly Schlapman, Jimi Westbrook, Phillip Sweet |
| and Kirkpatrick create an inseparable whole. The group wrote or co-wrote |
| nine of the set's 12 songs, including the single, and it's their songs |
| that shine brightest, beginning with the title-track opener. With a |
| melody that resembles a 1960s pop song, Fairchild sings solo to a |
| single-string electric guitar riff playing changes; the acoustic guitars |
| fold underneath her voice and then the harmonies kick in to take the |
| entire thing to the stratosphere. The intro harmonies on "Why, Oh Why" |
| echo both the Louvin Brothers and Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, |
| before a nasty electric-guitar vamp, a punched-up kick drum, snare and |
| distorted slide guitar turn this into prime, funky country-rock. "All |
| the Way Down," introduced by a scratchy vinyl record and harmonies |
| singing the refrain as if from the distant past backed only by a banjo, |
| promptly shifts gears into a prime modern-country song with soaring |
| vocals, mandolins, and an infectious hook. "Lean into It" is the |
| stripped-down ballad that closes the album. Gentle guitars and a lonely |
| pedal adorn Sweet's vocal, which is girded by the voices of his |
| bandmates to provide solace during the dark hours we all endure. The |
| Reason Why is mature, exquisitely crafted, and radio friendly; it ups |
| the ante for contemporary country in songwriting, performance, and |
| production (the latter by stripping away excess). It's as near to a |
| perfectly balanced recording as one will find in the genre. |
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