Keith Urban - Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing (CD)

Keith Urban's New Album!

By Kimberly  May 25, 2007

Pros: excellent songwriting and musicianship

Cons: more of a rock album than a country album

I have been following Keith Urban’s music since his self-titled debut album and have enjoyed his subsequent records, Golden Road and Be Here. When Love, Pain, & The Whole Crazy Thing was released, I was quite surprised to hear a more rock/pop themed tone to this album compared to his previous records which both had a defiant country/bluegrass sound. At first listen, I was not impressed with Love, Pain… but after listening to the album in my car for two weeks, my opinion began to change. This album is one that you really have to spend time with and listen to a few times over before you really begin to enjoy the excellent musicianship and songwriting skills that Keith displays throughout the record.

Keith begins the album with his first single, Once in a Lifetime, a great commercial radio release and starter to the record. The next two songs, Shine and I Told You So, became two of my favorite songs on Love, Pain… with I Told You So being, in my opinion, one of the standout singles featured here. The light rock flavored Won’t Let You Down is another song that grew on me as well as the instrumentation slowly builds throughout, providing an enjoyable climax. Faster Car is a fun song to sing along with and jam to with its heavy guitar riffs and catchy chorus. The standout ballad for the record is the single, Stupid Boy, which Keith excellently delivers both vocally and musically.

Another highlight of the album is Raise the Barn, probably the most “country” song on here, which features guest vocalist Ronnie Dunn of the popular duo Brooks and Dunn providing backing vocals. Love, Pain… winds down with Got It Right This Time, a rawer recording featuring Keith’s vocals on a more intimate level for listeners to experience.
Overall, this album is quite a departure from Keith’s country roots on his previous records but at the same time, pushes Keith to the next level as an artist and musician. For those skeptical of this new rock sound from a country artist, I would strongly encourage spending some time with this album and allow yourself to look past genre categories but instead at the artist’s excellent talent and heart behind this project.