I’ve sat down to finish this review several times over the
past week, and I keep coming up with little to say – which, if you know me, is
quite the feat.
As a Dierks fan since 2004, I’ve always thought his
music stood apart from the mainstream just enough to make him unique. His love
for bluegrass and rootsy, acoustic instruments was something that I always loved
about him. No surprise, then, that my favorite album is Up on the Ridge. As a fan, too, I’ve been there for the ups and
downs. I’ve attended the concerts he’s referenced lately where he was trying too
hard to play the big arenas. I’ve wondered why he wasn’t recognized by the
awards shows. I’ve seen him play the mainstream game a bit. I’ve watched his
popularity climb through recent years, fueled by hits like “Drunk on a Plane”
and “Somewhere on a Beach.” And while I do enjoy and appreciate Black as an album and thought it would
be what finally took him all the way – looking back, I can see how it didn’t
get the job done.
The Mountain just might
be Dierks at his strongest – this just might be the summit of the mountain of a
career he’s been climbing. I thought Riser
was a standout album, and it is, but with the release of The Mountain I can see that Riser
was not quite a fully cohesive album.
The Mountain is
inherently Dierks. It’s rugged and rock-tinged, but still undeniably country.
It has a heart, and it has lyrics that I challenge anyone to say they can’t
relate to in some way. It tells stories, it evokes feeling, it creates landscapes,
it makes you think. It does all the things that great music should do – and
this is definitely great music.
Opening with second single “Burning Man” featuring Vocal
Duo of the Year Brothers Osborne sets the tone for the record. It honestly took
me a couple of listens to warm up to this entirely, and I had to listen to it
in the context of the album for it to finally click, but now I think it’s one
of the best songs on the album. I just love the juxtaposition of Dierks’ more
rugged vocals and TJ Osborne’s smooth baritone – goes down like a fine wine. Or
a shot of whisky! And even though the lyrics to the song are specific to a MAN,
as a mother and a friend, I can tell you that I, too, am still a little bit
holy water, and a little bit burning man.
I loved “The Mountain” upon first listen. The music itself
evokes that kind of “keep moving” mentality. This song soars. I relate to these
lyrics so much – I know everybody can. This song is inspiring down to its very
core. My favorite line is “it just took a couple steps, a right then a left,
then a couple million more who’s counting?” LIFE PEOPLE. THIS IS LIFE.
Which, quite perfectly, brings us to “Living.” And this is
another one that rocked me upon first listen because the lyrics are just so
true. I don’t have much to say about
this track other than it’s fantastic and I hope it’s a single because I really
think it’s a message that everyone needs to be exposed to.
Next up is lead single and #1 hit “Woman, Amen” which I won’t
spend much time on because it’s all been said before. After that is the wonderful
“You Can’t Bring Me Down” which Dierks has said is a bit of a response to some
gossip in Nashville, and I think it’s just such a great attitude. It’s also something
I know people struggle with ALL THE TIME. This song is a refreshing message
that everyone should hear – and has some fantastic instrumentation to boot.
Things get a bit sultrier on “Nothing on But the Stars”
which shifts the gears of the album a bit – less about living life to the
fullest and gratitude, and more about love, both lost and found. I like the
dark feeling of “Stars” – it seems almost stormy, even though the lyrics
mention the stars and constellations. A good friend described this song well – “Black”
meets “Come a Little Closer” and I couldn’t agree more!
When I first heard “Goodbye in Telluride” I was a little
disappointed. It didn’t seem to fit the mood of the album, seemed too polished
and mainstream. The fast-talking verses remind me of Sam Hunt and while I know that
he’s like THE BIG DEAL in country music right now, he isn’t my cup of tea, and
I was uncomfortable with Dierks emulating that style on his own. But now that I’ve
listened to the album in full, on repeat, probably a solid 50 times in the past
week, I can say that this song fits in just fine on the album. Again, the music
itself may sound like the Music Row Machine, but the lyrics paint a picture,
and they feel clever and even a little hopeful, which settles in nicely with
the themes of the album.
“My Religion” is a pretty, piano-led ballad, which is a
sound we don’t often hear from Dierks. His vocals really soar on this song. I
love the contemplative tone of the song, and I really love the sincerity and
gratitude you can hear in his vocals on this song. If there’s one thing Dierks
has learned to do in his career, it’s be an emotive vocalist!
“One Way” feels like your favorite pair of broken-in jeans.
This song is one of the highlights for me – the instrumentation here is some of
my favorite since Up on the Ridge, and
I just love how breezy it sounds. The steel guitar makes it sound both mournful
and wistful at the same time. This song takes me back to Dierks’ earlier albums
and sounds like it would fit right in on Long
Trip Alone just fine, but it doesn’t sound dated in the slightest.
Another album highlight is “Son of the Sun.” I grew up in
Arizona myself and I can say that there’s a cactus flower somewhere out there
that knows my deepest thoughts, too. This song reminds me of my dad – although he
grew up in Ohio, once we moved to Arizona when I was 5, he was truly home. As
an artist, he is constantly inspired by the gorgeous landscapes there, and this
song really speaks to “home” for me. (Makes me a little homesick, too, but in a
good way.)
I love how the album switches here to a reflective tone,
sometimes evoking feelings of nostalgia, but otherwise just reflecting on the past
but still focusing on the here and now. “Stranger to Myself” is something
everybody can relate to. “Big hair and drunk smiles” can bring on some cringe-inducing
but no less important memories in the building blocks that make up each of us. There’s
a lot of gratitude in this song, too, which is clearly one of the album’s central
themes.
“Travelin’ Light” featuring Brandi Carlile is nothing short
of stellar. Again, the theme here is reflection and gratitude, focusing on the
present day, and speaks to the importance of moving on from the past and not
letting mistakes or previous ‘baggage’ weigh you down. Dierks and Brandi’s vocals
sound great here, as does the mandolin-led rootsy instrumentation. This song
has been a standout on almost every review I’ve read about the album, and this
review is no different!
Which brings us to “How I’m Going Out” which can be a hard
one to listen to because I don’t want to think about Dierks leaving us just
yet! But, I can appreciate the honesty of this song, about not wanting to
overstay your welcome once it’s time to move on. It can be a hard thing to soul
search to really figure out if what you’re doing in life isn’t serving you, and
this song really speaks to that.
One thing I love most about Dierks, and therefore, about
this album, is that he’s not afraid to leave Nashville to do what he needs to
do. Just like with Up on the Ridge he
felt like he needed to get away to make the music he wanted to make. And I
truly feel that this time, it’s paid off in spades. This album is a gem. It’s
everything I love about Dierks and then some. It’s given me new things to
appreciate about him as not only an artist, but as a human (and he was already
a pretty great human to begin with). With The
Mountain, Dierks makes it clear that he is the absolute best possible
recipient of the ACM Honors’ Merle Haggard Award. He has certainly blazed his
own trail in country music, forged his own path, and made an incredible album
start-to-finish in the process.
Carrie Srebro
DBC Chart Reporter/Rep ~ NC
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