It happens whenever something or someone gets popular; many of the same people who build them up cannot wait to bash them once they inevitably fall down. Rascal Flatts are, it seems, the poster boys for everything that is bad or wrong with mainstream (popular) country music. The main criticisms of the band center around their songs that described as formulatic, bombastic, overwrought, or just plain insipid. While some songs released by the band (“Bob That Head”) can certainly fall into this category, many of the trio’s songs have been quite good, at least to my ears. So, then, what do we make of Rascal Flatts’ latest single?
Written by Clint Lagerberg and recording artist Chris Sligh, “Here Comes Goodbye” (Listen) certainly follows a well-worn power ballad path with a soft piano and verse intro where Gary Levox shows off his capable vocal chops. The song then falls into the second verse where it gradually builds into the reach-for-the-rafters vocal that Levox has become known for. So, at the basic level, this is Rascal Flatts radio ballad 101. But when you start to deconstruct the vocal performance a little bit, this may be one of Levox’s more nuanced vocal performances of the last few years. He doesn’t sound strained or rushed throughout the song and in fact sounds like a man who is living the emotion of the lyric.
The production from Dann Huff and Jay Demarcus accentuates the lyric and vocal, as most contemporary country productions do, but never does the production seem overwrought and emotional for the sake of tugging at the heartstrings. Sure, there are likely to still be plenty of haters for this song but in the end, I haven’t enjoyed a Rascal Flatts single like this in quite a few years. It is much better than anything on the trio’s previous album, “Still Feels Good” and I can see why the trio took a chance on a couple of unknown writers (Yes, I know Sligh was on American Idol, for what? A minute?). If this single isn’t a huge hit on multiple radio charts, I’d be shocked.
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