Halfway To Heaven

About

If there can be such a thing as a smoothed-out hellion then Brantley Gilbert is it. His sophomore album unites two very different Nashville archetypes — the sensitive crooner and the country hell-raiser. In “Hell On Wheels,” “Kick It In the Sticks” and “Bending the Rules and Breaking the Law” the thrill of troublemaking is offered by someone who clearly has no cause to bend any rules or cross any laws. In songs like “Take It Outside” Gilbert aims for levels of machismo usually reserved for heavy-metal head-bangers, but his gruffness is put to better use in his ballads. “My Kind of Crazy,” “Fall Into You” and “Saving Amy” strike a fine balance between sweet and weary, Gilbert’s openhearted approach providing a much-needed counter to his roughneck persona. The album’s centerpiece is “Saving Amy,” in which the deceased narrator watches over his troubled widow: “I wish she knew I’d do anything / To kiss the tears right off her face / Tell her everything’s okay / Feel her heart beat next to mine / And make up for lost time / Oh but God I know I can’t / You can’t let her live this way / It’s too late for saving me / But there’s still hope for saving Amy.”

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

Start your shelf to read the full take →