Joe Nichols: Real Things

Each time Joe Nichols puts out a new CD, you think, wow, this is definitely his best album ever – and then the next CD comes out and proves your wrong. You said it after “Man With a Memory,” and again after “Revelations” and probably again after “III.” However Nichols’ newest CD, “Real Things” proves that this singer just keeps getting better. 

With this CD, Nichols has put together a set of new songs that have a traditional sound that reminds you of country stars like Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash and others who have a deep, irresistible voice like Nichols.  The songs are primarily ballads with some honky-tonk rhythms thrown in. He sings about simple things love found and lost, drinking and dreams. While many of the tracks seem to be serious and melancholy, Nichols says he’s in a happy place and just married and old friend this month.  

The first cut and title song sets the CD’s tone. Nichols goes through a list of items that make him happy: 

            “I love things made to last
            Hardwood floors and stone fireplaces,
            And looking back on the past
            Ice cold beer, fish that fight
            Wise, old hunks
            And old timer’s tellin’ lies…" 
 

He is singing about the small, real things that make a life. Many of the songs seem to have been selected because they ring  true for Nichols. 

The first single, “Another Side of You” describes a relationship in loving detail, being a partner, mother and worker, “If I had to do the things you do, well I’d just lose my mind, but somehow you get them fed and bathed and settled down by nine.” 

Even the drinking songs have honesty about them. For example, “Let’s Get Drunk and Fight” reveals the pattern for some couples who drink and fight and make up and then start all over again. “Well I’ve been stone, cold sober, you’ve been cold as ice. Hey I gotta good idea, let’s get drunk and fight.” 

The song “She’s All Lady” is sure to be a fan favorite, especially among Nichols’ female fans. It describes how difficult life on the road can be – the temptation to stray is always there:

“I met her at a Baptist church in Tennessee
She was looking for someone
I was praying it was me.
No, she never though she’d fall in love with a guitar man
Yeah, it took some getting used to, she does the best she can.
No, she don’t like to stay home alone
No, I don’t need you number, she’s probably waiting by the phone.”

The New York Times reviewed the CD recently and said this might be one of the best country albums of the year. Well, maybe its even the best Joe Nichols has ever made – well, at least until the next one comes out!