Easy Does It

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<i>Easy Does It</i> does not find Jake Owen kicking back and coasting along lackadaisically. This album is a serious bid for a sustained breakthrough on country radio, calculated at times but delivering the goods nonetheless. Owen’s studly persona — tempered by a little working glass grit — gets full exposure here. He flashes his brash side on rollicking numbers like “Who Said Whiskey (Was Meant to Drink a Woman Away)” and a fresh version of the steamy “Eight Second Ride.” If Jake sounds a bit like Toby Keith on these tunes, he brings the smooth Urban Cowboy stylings of Johnny Lee to mind on the title track and “Don’t Think I Can’t Love You.” Beyond a few bad boy moments, Owen seems most comfortable in domestic settings, celebrating the pleasures of true love in “Cherry On Top” and “Anything for You.” A Caribbean dockside vibe lends some color to the philosophical “Green Bananas.” Jimmy Richey’s production cranks up the twanging guitars, lays down breezy Southern R&B grooves and (on “Nothin’ Grows In Shadows”) throws in some Celtic touches.

via Apple Music