Josh Turner - "Why Don't We Just Dance"
By: Bobby Peacock
Josh Turner has one of the finest bass-baritones in country music. Unfortunately, he doesn't always pair that voice up with material worthy of his voice, often settling for the middle of the road with decent but not great songs such as "Another Try" or "Everything Is Fine." Both of these had slight lyrical deficiencies that not even his voice could hide — and maybe such deficiencies are why those two singles seem to have killed off his chart momentum. This time around, however, he has a rock-solid song that should kick his career back into high gear.
"Why Don't We Just Dance" is a bouncy little up-tempo that's perfectly matched to its simple yet effective storyline: The world's in a mess, so let's forget our troubles, move the couch, and just dance. We may not be good at it, but by God, we're gonna have some fun. This theme has been done at least once before (does anyone else remember Turner Nichols' "She Loves to Hear Me Rock"?), but it's hard to resist a feel-good song like this, especially when it's got such an infectious, syncopated rhythm and a catchy melody that shows off the deeper end of Josh's range quite effectively. At times, he recalls the seductive swagger of Conway Twitty, which has also been channeled recently through songs such as "Just Got Started Lovin' You" and "Gettin' You Home (The Black Dress Song)."
While Josh Turner's career of late has been a case of one step forward, two steps back, "Why Don't We Just Dance" is definitely a step in the right direction. The last time around, he sent the equally fun "Firecracker" to #2, so leading off his next album with an up-tempo may be a wise decision. If he can string together a few more songs of this caliber, he should be able to regain his lost momentum quite easily.
READER'S COMMENTS
says:
Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2009
bhyuh says:
Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2009
fuck
BJ says:
Posted: Thursday, August 27, 2009
Here is my friend that is a co-writer of this song. Jonathan Singleton. Check him out singing it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU24vWwFJUs
TenPoundHammer says:
Posted: Thursday, August 13, 2009
"Another Try" and "Everything Is Fine" certainly weren't bad, and I'd say they were even better than some of what's on radio now. However, "Another Try" was hobbled by its second verse (which was essentially a rewrite of the chorus), and despite the details of "Everything Is Fine", it still had a feel of "Well, that's nice. Got anything else to say?" — it was just a fairly lightweight, feel good song without much substance, even if it did the "list of cool stuff" trope better than most.
Ginger says:
Posted: Thursday, August 13, 2009
The last album being possibly one of my favorites had so many promises. I personally believe that the wrong songs were released to radio. "The Longer The Waiting," "So Not My Baby," and "Baby I Go Crazy" and also "Nowhere's Fast are great songs. (Sorry if I got the song title's wrong). It will be nice to finally hear some new tunes from Josh.
countrymusicroots says:
Posted: Wednesday, August 12, 2009
I love "Why Don't We Just Dance"; however, I felt "Another Try" and "Everything is Fine" continued Josh's consistent traditional country sound. I find him very refreshing in a world gone pop, and I hope he sticks to his traditional country roots.
jensen says:
Posted: Wednesday, August 12, 2009
I agree that "Why Don't We Just Dance" is a great song. But I definitely disagree with your comments on "Another Try" and "Everything is Fine". The are great songs that don't sound like the cookie cutter pop songs that get played on radio. I hope Josh never changes his song selections to get more airplay. I still play his last album nearly everyday.
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