This summer I was hanging out with my friend, also named Dan, who is a huge fan of country music and he was telling me about how much fun he had at the Jason Aldean concert. My exposure to country music is limited. A few years back I went to Countryfest with my hometown buddies and I started to like a couple of Kenny Chesney songs. Up to that point I was adamantly opposed to country music, and as I think back there was no good reason to be opposed to an increasingly popular genre of music. It is very difficult to enjoy something that you are philosophically opposed to, so it wasn't until I opened my mind to country that I started to appreciate it.
Dan's enthusiasm for country got me thinking and I decided to get an album and see what happened. I remembered watching the Grammy awards sometime in the past few years and seeing the Zac Brown Band win some award and I felt that this band had a good buzz about them, so I decided to get their new album Uncaged, which they released on June 6, 2012. The album was not entirely what I expected, but if I added up all my summer music listening I'd say that I listened to this album more than anything else.
Uncaged starts with the song Jump Right In, a catchy song that has a fun, vacation, dance feel. Jump Right In is an invitation to hang loose and have a good time, and I am all right with that. Zac Brown sings these lighthearted lyrics:
Stop on by and play a while
Simple tune to get your love light glowing
Keep your heart wide open
Disappear just like the tide
Let it roll on by
The second song is titled the same as the album, Uncaged, so I feel there is extra significance to it. It has a southern rock feel and it sounds like Zac Brown wants to bust out and cut loose. I really like this song because it's about getting out there and living to the fullest. If we become so stuck in our daily routines it can feel like we're trapped in a cage and I think this is Zac Brown's anthem for celebrating freedom and opportunity. His way of telling us to go out and do something we've been thinking about or putting off.
Goodbye in Her Eyes has a slower, sadder feel and is obviously about breaking up and the pain that goes along with it. Listening to this song you know that Zac Brown is singing about real hurt and it reminds you of hurt that you have felt. The song is almost perfect but there's two lines that I just don't get. Zac Brown sings "Sometimes I feel like a clown, who can't wash off his make-up". These lines stick out to me because they don't fit and seem forced. I can't figure them out. It seems like he thought this was a clever thing to say and wanted to use it in one of the songs. Well, he picked the wrong one. If anyone can make sense of how these lines fit into the song, please comment below.
The Wind speeds up the tempo and has a bluegrass sound. If the previous song is about love lost then this song seems to be about missed opportunity. It isn't nearly as sad but the story seems to be about something that could have been. I think we all have moments we remember that we wish we would have done something or said something to someone, so this song has universal appeal. Zac Brown sings "My love will find you anywhere", which is nice.
Island Song makes feel like I'm lying on a sunny beach in Jamaica. It has a fun, reggae feel and is about unwinding and taking it easy. I like this song because leisure time is important to me, and since I have spent days on sunny, white-powdery sand beaches in the Caribbean this song evokes fond memories.
Sweet Annie is a slower song and sounds very country. This song has good harmonies, and throughout the album there are good harmonies, but particularly on this song. Zac Brown sings "Can I stay with you a while, cause this roads been puttin miles on my heart" and those lines sum up this song - it's about pursuing something, pouring yourself completely into it and then having the need to settle down and rest for a while, or at least for a moment.
Natural Disaster is one of my favorite songs on the album. Zac Brown sings about a woman, but the idea is that there are lots of things that move us and change us, and that doesn't necessarily mean other people. It is also about having too much fun and the potential danger of too much of a good thing, but, again, it sends the message that Uncaged does also - we're meant to feel, live more aware, face our fears and explore the unknown.
Overnight is a very sexy song, and that is an understatement. Overnight is about the excitement of finding someone new. There are some funny metaphors to our legal system of judges, juries, and search and seizure. Overnight is an awesome song because it achieves exactly what it sets out to do.
Lance's Song is about loss. There are many people we feel are gone too soon, but that's life, and there's no right or wrong, good or bad, it just is. Lance's Song isn't a total downer because it sends life-affirming messages of appreciating what we have and to do the things you want because life is short.
Day That I Die is about making sure that you understand yourself and do things that make you happy. Zac Brown sings that he wants to be able to say that he "was a man who really lived and never compromised". Can't argue with that I suppose.
The last song, appropriately titled Last But Not Least, is about all the tough choices we face. There are lots of things we feel responsible for and people we feel responsible to. The stirring climax of the song addresses what this song is ultimately about - the notion that nobody is perfect and that life is hard. No matter how hard we try some people might be disappointed because we can't please everyone, so the most important thing is to make yourself happy. During the most intense part Zac Brown sings with a fervor:
I chase the dark when I see light
I trip and fall down every time I try
To walk that line
The sun comes up I look for rain
I search for joy and I find the pain
I swear I will not forget about
Last but not least
Uncaged takes you on a journey that explores life, love, and death. The album cover captures the darkness that pervades the album, but the Zac Brown Band shows us that there is also much goodness in life and it must be celebrated. The band has a spirit that can help set you free. You got to get Uncaged!
No comments:
Post a Comment