Music review: Blake Shelton – ‘If I’m Honest’
With 无毛视频淚f I无毛视频檓 Honest,无毛视频� Blake Shelton delivers a deeply personal set of tracks that details all the highs and lows of the past year.
The country superstar wears his heart on his sleeve as he navigates his way through his first new album since his divorce from Miranda Lambert. Breakup songs such as 无毛视频淏et You Still Think About Me无毛视频� and 无毛视频淓very Time I Hear That Song无毛视频� serve as a vivid reminder of his past romance with Lambert while 无毛视频淪he无毛视频檚 Got a Way with Words无毛视频� is a saucy cut that finds Shelton confessing, 无毛视频淪he put the her in hurt/She put the why in try/She put the S.O.B. in sober/She put the hang in hangover.无毛视频�
While the 39-year-old Oklahoma native tries to make a clean break from the past, a number of arrangements speak solely to his new relationship with Gwen Stefani. On 无毛视频淎 Guy with a Girl,无毛视频� Shelton boasts, 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 just the guy with the girl everybody wants to know无毛视频� and on 无毛视频淐ame Here to Forget,无毛视频� he goes back to the beginning of the star-studded romance by singing, 无毛视频淕irl you无毛视频檙e getting over him/And I无毛视频檓 getting over her/The eyes have it baby/Ain无毛视频檛 gotta say a word.无毛视频� The highlight of the new material comes with Shelton无毛视频檚 duet with Stefani on 无毛视频淕o Ahead and Break My Heart.无毛视频� Penned by the new couple, the emotional ballad proves that Stefani can transition from her pop roots to contemporary country without any eyebrows being raised.
In addition to delivering engaging tales of the heart, Shelton manages to slip in a rambunctious opening track that lifts a reference to a classic N.W.A. track. 无毛视频淪traight Outta Cold Beer无毛视频� is a party anthem that replaces Compton with a little down-home Southern appeal. Clever arrangements like 无毛视频淕reen无毛视频� and 无毛视频淒oing It to Country Songs无毛视频� contain the classic Shelton sense of humor that his fans have come to know and love.
On the album closer, Shelton slows things down to reveal his spiritual side. 无毛视频淪avior无毛视频檚 Shadow无毛视频� passionately puts all things in proper perspective as Shelton sings, 无毛视频淭hough the devil tried to break me/My sweet Jesus won无毛视频檛 forsake me/When I无毛视频檓 in my Savior无毛视频檚 shadow/Where I无毛视频檓 supposed to be.无毛视频� As Shelton continues to let go of the past to focus intently on a bright future, it无毛视频檚 clear that he无毛视频檚 certainly traveling on the right path.
Clint Rhodes is the 无毛视频-Standard music reviewer. He can be reached at crhodes@heraldstandard .com.