With a voice that feels like a mix between the smoothness of Alabama’s Randy Owen and the grittiness Confederate Railroad’s Danny Shirley, Dallas Davidson certainly has a voice that isn’t like everyone else who currently gets radio airplay.  Add in some superb songs and it’s easy to see how the Georgia native has become one of mainstream Nashville’s go-to songwriters.  Like his buddies Randy Houser and Jamey Johnson, Dallas Davidson’s first hit single was “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk.”  While people like to hate on the song, it has given birth to three significant singer/songwriters in Nashville as both Jamey and Randy moved on to major label success while Dallas teamed up with fellow Georgia natives Rhett Akins and Ben Hayslip to write a string of hits like Brooks and Dunn’s “Put A Girl In It,”  Jack Ingram’s “Barefoot and Crazy,” “All Over Me” for Josh Turner, “All About Tonight” for Blake Shelton and “Gimmie That Girl” and “The Shape I’m In” for Joe Nichols.  Dallas also co-wrote “That’s How Country Boys Roll” with Billy Currington, Ashley Ray’s “Dirt Cheap,” “Rain is A Good Thing” with Luke Bryan and “Start A Band” with Ashley Gorley and Kelley Lovelace for Brad Paisley and Keith Urban.  Frankie Ballard’s debut single “Tell Me You Get Lonely” was co-written with Marty Dodson.  To say Dallas is prolific is an understatement as the last writer to have this many hits in a one or two year block probably was singer/songwriter Jeffrey Steele.

On This Ol’ Boy, Dallas packs 10 ‘unheard’ tracks around five of the tunes from above.  His versions of “All About Tonight,” “Tell Me You Get Lonely,” “All Over Me,” “Barefoot and Crazy” and “Gimmie That Girl” are a great indication of what a Nashville demo sounds like these days.  Basically, these songs are almost exactly the same as the singles you’ve heard on the radio with full band production.  Sometimes the production is slightly different or parts are changed by the artist who releases the single out to radio but for me it’s always fun to hear the songwriter share their own versions of the songs that became hits for somebody else.

The title track “This Ol’ Boy” kicks-starts the record and immediately and it feels like the song can be the exact kind of hit that every tune other artists have recorded have become.  It’s a song that finds Dallas praising his woman and the fact that he is lucky enough to be the ‘ol boy’ with her.  “Farm Party” might be the kind of song that multiple critics criticize as being something that has been played out but I have a feeling that radio will be playing the hell out of “Farm Party” sometime in the future and honestly, I hope it is Dallas Davidson, the artist, who gets the chance.  “That’s How You Get The Girl” is another rockin’ tempo-fueled tune.  Instead of co-writing with Rhett Akins, this time Dallas writes with Rivers Rutherford (“Ain’t Nothin’ ‘Bout You”) and longtime friend Ben Hayslip.  It’s a fun song about how a guy can get the woman of his dreams. 

The Akins/Hayslip/Davidson songwriting team co-wrote “Place To Lay Your Head” and like the majority of their hits, the song is all about making good time vibes through music, the lyrics are tight, the hooks are sharp and the song feels – it’s too easy to keep sayin’ this – a hit.  Fans of “I Can’t Make It Rain” might remember the tune as a single from 2009 for the band Houston County and it is the first ballad on this collection.  I loved the trio’s version (they co-wrote it with Dallas and Ben Hayslip) and I like hearing Dallas’ own take on it.  “Blame It On Blue Eyes” is a mid-tempo ballad that feels like a song tailor-made for Montgomery Gentry as the verses and chorus suit the duo’s string of hits.  Dallas co-wrote this heartfelt song with Shane Minor (himself a former major label artist with a fertile songwriting career).

“Thirsty” is another hit in waiting that was co-written with Rivers Rutherford and this one features a strong country blues vibe to it that helps the party tune stand out from some of the other music row tunes on this record.  Frankie Ballard co-wrote “A Bunch of Girls” with the Akins/Hayslip/Davidson team and it’s another fun-time rock-n-rollin’ country song ready for airplay.  “Hillbilly Business” is something that’d not be outtaplace on an Aldean record with the ‘metal’ guitars backing up Dallas as he sings lyrics about a country man happy to be takin’ care of his ‘hillbilly bidness.  The album closes out with “Shotgun Rider” which features some strong instrumental breakdowns. 

This record may not get Dallas Davidson a record deal but it does showcase to the world that he can, indeed, sing his own songs.  A successful songwriter like Dallas Davidson may not have had as many of these songs become hits if he were a signed artist in his own right and that’s OK because if he were that ‘signed artist,’ he’d not be able to write as many memorable songs as he does, many of which are featured here, on This ‘Ol Boy.  If you love hearing songwriter records you should definitely check this album out.

You can support Dallas Davidson by purchasing this album at Amazon | iTunes | eMusic.