Feels Like Today [ECD] - Rascal Flatts

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********The Album: Feels Like Today
'Feels Like Today' is the Rascal Flatt's third album ('Rascal Flatts' and 'Melt' are the others). Its themes are all about seizing the day, not regretting the past or at least learning from mistakes, appreciating what you have. It's one album that I listen to without skipping any tracks - the songs all have catchy melodies and well-crafted musicianship (in a country stylee).

Here ...
...you can hear clips at artistdirect.com. They all have a high rating for singalongability and are well produced without sounding artificial.

**Where You Are - good album opener. Starts quietly but picks up. Sadly also has the cheesiest lyrics in the world.
**Bless The Broken Road - this song won a Grammy for Best Country Song in 2006. It's a great song (a cover I think) about thinking of past mistakes as steps that had to be ... more

Well now just incase there was any lingering doubt about the dubious nature of my taste in music after my two Il Divo reviews, I'm taking another direction and reviewing a country music album by one of the most popular country music bands of recent years.

********How I discovered the Rascal Flatts
My road-to-Damascus conversion to liking country music was a bit like the one you get when you reach 30 and suddenly realise you'd rather listen to Radio 2 than Radio 1. My own epiphany occurred a few years ago when I was living in the Midwest (and if you don't know what I mean by 'road to Damascus' then you should read your bible more - which will incidentally also endear you to country music). I was listening to some boring, relentless pop music station in my car and switched in desperation to one of the many country music stations offered in that fine North Dakotan settlement. I can't remember the first song I heard but after two or three, including 'Prayin' for Daylight' from the Rascal Flatt's first album, I was hooked. It helped that it was summer - country music is made for summer.

Country music doesn't have the depressed lyrics of the blues, nor the incessant plinkety plink of bluegrass (much as I like a bit of bluegrass now and again - who doesn't). The songs often have meaningful lyrics that add up to a story. There's a huge range of country music out there - it's not all Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton. The Dixie Chicks are a fairly well-known middle-of-the-road example and then the 'pop country' music style is, as the name suggests, a kind of crossover - Leanne Rimes, Shania Twain and Sara Evans are other examples. But my favourites are the Rascal Flatts. (And can I just pre-empt smart-donkey remarks: that's 'FL' in Flatts, not 'TW'. Thank you.) It's essentially melodic light pop with the odd fiddle (stop it, I mean violin) or mandolin thrown in.

********The Rascal Flatts themselves (the statistics and names are from www.rascalflatts.com)
The Rascal Flatts have only been in the public eye for about 5 years but shot to fame with their first album. They've sold 6 million records. They were the Country Music Awards group of the year in 2003 and 2004. There's three of them: Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney so I guess with names like that there were really only ever going to be either singers or hairdressers. I'm glad they went for the singing.

********The Album: Feels Like Today
'Feels Like Today' is the Rascal Flatt's third album ('Rascal Flatts' and 'Melt' are the others). Its themes are all about seizing the day, not regretting the past or at least learning from mistakes, appreciating what you have. It's one album that I listen to without skipping any tracks - the songs all have catchy melodies and well-crafted musicianship (in a country stylee).

Here are the tracks. I won't describe all of them - you can hear clips at artistdirect.com. They all have a high rating for singalongability and are well produced without sounding artificial.

**Where You Are - good album opener. Starts quietly but picks up. Sadly also has the cheesiest lyrics in the world.
**Bless The Broken Road - this song won a Grammy for Best Country Song in 2006. It's a great song (a cover I think) about thinking of past mistakes as steps that had to be taken to get to the ultimate love of his life. (I'm still at the mistakes part I think - poor me.)
**Then I Did - upbeat song about taking decisions - relationship vs job essentially.
**Feels Like Today - "I woke up this morning, with this feeling inside me that I can't explain, like a weight that I've carried's been carried away". This is a great morning song - makes you want to take on the day.
**Fast Cars and Freedom
**When The Sand Runs Out - quieter, reflective song about making the most of life - hence "I want to be running when the sand runs out"
**Here's To You - a song dedicated to, and all about, their fans.
**Day Before You
**Break Away - another toe-tapper. Very catchy chorus and 'escapist' lyrics.
**Holes
**Oklahoma Texas Line
**Skin (Sarabeth) - hidden track. - this is hidden at the end of the previous track and is the most 'oprah' - about a girl who has chemotherapy and loses her hair, so a guy shaves his head to take her to the prom, so she won't feel so left out. It is redeemed by a good melody.

The cd is 'enhanced' - this means in this case that if you play it on your computer a screen comes up that provides a link to their website. You have to create a username/password to proceed, but then you will have access to such things as video commentary, a 'making the album' vid, and competitions.

The album is produced by Lyric Street Records and was released in September 2004 although it seems to be on Amazon at least under the label 'Angel' as of November 2005.

********Price
When the Rascal Flatts release their fourth album in April I would anticipate the price of this will go down. For the moment, it's £11.99 at Amazon.com, £12.99 at play.com (free P&P), and also pops up on ebay for around £4-5.

********Overall
If you like a bit of folk, country or pop music, check out the Rascal Flatts. Although they're pretty commercial, they're heartfelt in their performances, accomplished as musicians, and for the less cynical among us, their 'song stories' are worth listening to. As far as their three albums go, I like their first self-titled one the best, but I still think this one is fab.

check out: www.rascalflatts.com 

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