After the hugely successful single “In Color,” Jamey Johnson was always gonna have trouble with a follow-up single being successful at radio. While a very strong album, “That Lonesome Song” really isn’t an album chock-full of hits in the current radio climate. In all actuality, the mere fact that Jamey scored a Top 10 hit with “In Color” is damn impressive. So, with the album selling nearly 300,000 copies on the strength of the lone single and critical acclaim, Jamey’s taking a chance and releasing “High Cost Of Living” as the second single from the album.
As far as singles go, “High Cost Of Living” is quite impressive and the storytelling from Johnson and his co-writer James Slater (John Michael Montgomery’s current single “Forever” is written by him) stands in stark contrast to what is currently favored by country radio. And this is just the lyric. When you add in the steel guitar and Hammond B3-driven melody what we have is an interesting song that forces you to listen to that story. That story is amazing in the way it sets up the way addiction can derail your whole life. If anyone wants a cautionary tale about drugs, there might not be a better song than “High Cost of Living.”
All of that being said; I don’t see any way that this song scores Jamey Johnson another big hit with radio given the traditional or even outlaw country elements and a lyric about drug abuse, as cautionary as it ultimately is. Radio likes light, humor-filled tracks or serious heart-tugging ballads about families or love, not cautionary tales.
You can support Jamey Johnson by buying the single at iTunes | Amazon.
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