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Horse of a Different Color

 
Album Review: Horse of a Different Color

  • Artist: Big & Rich
  • Rating: StarStarStarStar
  • Release Date: May 04, 2004
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Country

Review

Like many professional country musicians, the duo of Big & Rich -- Big being Kenny Alphin, while Rich is John Rich, a former singer for Lonestar -- are based in Nashville, but that doesn't mean they follow all the conventions of Music City. In fact, they throw conventions out the window on their 2004 debut album, Horse of a Different Color. They can certainly craft a kicking country song, as the backwoods ballad "Deadwood Mountain" proves, but they don't settle for that, preferring to spike predictable song structures with considerable doses of goofy humor or, better still, to fly beyond genre and concoct gonzo amalgams of country, arena rock, and rap. All of this makes Big & Rich hard to peg, particularly because they come across as a big-boned, country variation of Tenacious D or Ween -- talented musical pranksters who treat everything as a lark, but have the musical skills to back up their boasts. Like the D, they even have a theme song in "Rollin' (The Ballad of Big & Rich)" -- which bizarrely enough sounds a bit like Tenacious D, which isn't nearly as bizarre as how the melody of "Wild West Show" recalls Nirvana's "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle" -- and they have no compunctions about being flat-out silly, which is good, since that silliness brought them a big novelty hit in "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)," a song designed for drunken shout-alongs in sports bars. Much of Horse of a Different Color plays to that audience, but the surprise is that the rowdiness is tongue-in-cheek and that Big & Rich are musically clever, filling the record with big hooks and unbridled weirdness. Not that all of this is successful -- it can sound too goofy at points -- but it's wilder and stranger than most contemporary country albums of 2004, and a whole lot more fun, to boot. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Rollin' (The Ballad of Big & Rich) John Rich, Big Kenny, Cowboy Troy Big & Rich (4:50)
Wild West Show (Lyrics) John Rich, Big Kenny, Blair Daly Big & Rich (4:20)
Big Time (Lyrics) Angie Aparo, John Rich, Big Kenny Big & Rich (3:56)
Kick My Ass (Lyrics) Bryan Wayne, John Rich, Big Kenny Big & Rich (4:58)
Six Foot Town (Lyrics) John Rich, Big Kenny Big & Rich (3:47)
Holy Water (Lyrics) Jeff Cohen, Vicky McGehee, Big Kenny, John Rich Big & Rich (4:16)
Saved (Lyrics) John Rich, Big Kenny Big & Rich (4:51)
Real World (Lyrics) Big Kenny, John Rich, Adam Shoenfeld Big & Rich (5:05)
Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy) John Rich, Big Kenny Big & Rich (3:20)
Drinkin' 'Bout You (Lyrics) John Rich, Big Kenny Big & Rich (2:53)
Love Train (Lyrics) J.D. Nicholson, Big Kenny, John Rich Big & Rich (3:47)
Deadwood Mountain (Lyrics) Big Kenny, John Rich Big & Rich (5:10)
Live This Life (Lyrics) Big Kenny, John Rich Big & Rich (5:33)

Credits

Janice Azrak (Art Direction), Bob Morris (Logo Design), Bartley Pursley (Audio Engineer), Jeremy David Cottrell (Assistant), Martina McBride (Vocals (Background)), Steve Schweidel (Assistant), Mike Johnson (Guitar (Steel)), Paul Worley (Audio Production), Big Kenny (Audio Production), John Rich (Audio Production), John Rich (Guitar (Acoustic)), Richard Dodd (Mastering), Nicole Summers (Flute), Wayne Killius (Drums), Jake Burns (Assistant), Wade Hachler (Assistant), Paul Worley (Producer), Kevin Tucker (Design), Todd Tidwell (Assistant), Michael Rojas (Keyboards), Bart Pursley (Mixing), Gretchen Wilson (Vocals (Background)), Paige Conners (Production Coordination), Richard Hanson (Assistant), Paul Hart (Assistant Engineer), Adam Shoenfield (Guitar (Electric)), Big John (Vocals), John Rich (Vocals), Glen Rose (Photography), Bart Pursley (Engineer)
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Wikipedia: Horse of a Different Color (Big & Rich album)
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Horse of a Different Color
Studio album by Big & Rich
Released May 4, 2004 (2004-05-04)
Genre Country
Length 45:55
Label Warner Bros.
Producer Big Kenny
John Rich
Paul Worley
Professional reviews
Big & Rich chronology
Horse of a Different Color
(2004)
Big & Rich's Super Galactic Fan Pak
(2004)
Alternate cover

Horse of a Different Color is the debut album by the American country music duo Big & Rich. It was released in 2004 on Warner Bros. Records and it contains the hit singles "Wild West Show", "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)", "Holy Water", and "Big Time". Respectively, these reached #21, #11, #15, and #20 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. The album was certified 3× Multi-Platinum by the RIAA for shipments of three million copies. This album was released in several colors, including blue, red, and gold.[1]

Contents

Content

Horse of a Different color features several guest musicians, primarily members of the MuzikMafia, the collaborative singer-songwriter group that Big & Rich founded. Country rap artist Cowboy Troy is featured on the lead-off track "Rollin' (The Ballad of Big & Rich)", and makes an uncredited guest appearance at the end of "Kick My Ass". Gretchen Wilson provides background vocals on "Saved", and Jon Nicholson on "Love Train". The only guest musician who is not a MuzikMafia member is Martina McBride, who provides backing vocals on the final track, "Live This Life". Big Kenny and John Rich, who comprise the duo, co-wrote all the tracks on the album, and co-produced it with Paul Worley.

Four singles were released from this album. Lead-off single "Wild West Show" peaked at #21 on the Billboard country charts in early 2004. Following it was "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)", which peaked at #11 and was certified platinum by the RIAA as a single. The third single release, the #15 "Holy Water", was inspired by Big Kenny's and John Rich's sisters, both victims of domestic abuse. "Big Time" was the final single, reaching #20 in mid-2005.

Track listing

  1. "Rollin' (The Ballad of Big & Rich)" (Big Kenny, John Rich, Cowboy Troy) - 4:40
    • feat. Cowboy Troy
  2. "Wild West Show" (Kenny, Rich, Blair Daly) - 4:20
  3. "Big Time" (Kenny, Rich, Angie Aparo) - 3:56
  4. "Kick My Ass" (Kenny, Rich, Bryan Wayne) - 4:58
    • feat. Cowboy Troy (uncredited)
  5. "Six Foot Town" (Kenny, Rich) - 3:47
  6. "Holy Water" (Kenny, Rich, Vicki McGehee, Jeff Cohen) - 4:16
  7. "Saved" (Kenny, Rich, John Phillips) - 4:51
  8. "Real World" (Kenny, Rich, Adam M. Shoenfeld) - 5:05
  9. "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" (Kenny, Rich) - 3:20
  10. "Drinkin' 'bout You" (Kenny, Rich) - 2:53
  11. "Love Train" (Kenny, Rich, Jon Nicholson) - 3:47
    • background vocals: Jon Nicholson
  12. "Deadwood Mountain" (Kenny, Rich) - 5:10
  13. "Live This Life" (Kenny, Rich) - 5:33

Personnel

As listed in liner notes.[2]

Big & Rich

Additional musicians

  • Brian Barnett – drums
  • Steve Brewster – drums
  • Dennis Burnside – keyboards
  • Owen Hale – drums
  • Mike Johnson – steel guitar
  • Wayne Killius – drums, shaker, peanut can
  • Duncan Mullins – bass guitar
  • Matt Pierson – bass guitar
  • Michael Rojas – keyboards
  • Adam Shoenfeld – electric guitar
  • Nicole Summers – flute on "Wild West Show"
  • Justin Tocket – bass guitar
  • Paul Worley – "Yeehaw juice" on "Kick My Ass"
  • Jonathan Yudkin – fiddle, banjo, mandolin, harp

All strings performed, comosed, and arranged by Jonathan Yudkin.

References

  1. ^ Big & Rich's Debut CD Certified Triple Platinum
  2. ^ (2004) Album notes for Horse of a Different Color by Big & Rich [CD]. Warner Bros. Records (48520).
Preceded by
License to Chill by Jimmy Buffett
Top Country Albums number-one album
September 4 - September 10, 2004
Succeeded by
Live Like You Were Dying by Tim McGraw

 
 

 

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