There are few times when almost the whole collective of songwriters and musicians in Nashville stop and pay attention to a new release to the music market but one of these times is with each and every new release from Keith Urban.  While there aren’t a whole lot of ‘edgy’ songs like “Kiss A Girl” on this record, there are plenty of mid-tempo country love songs like “Sweet Thing.” And, like the formula that Nashville’s other current guitar hero Brad Paisley has stumbled upon, “Defying Gravity” feels like an album that finds its creator firmly in control of what has made and kept him a star for the whole decade. 

“Hit The Ground Running” is a song that is likely to become a concert staple this summer as it allows Keith to flex his guitar god muscles.  The song has an immediate hook (that was co-written by Jerry Flowers, Tony Martin and Mark Nesler) which gets into your head and doesn’t leave.  This is the kind of song that expands country music (traditionalists will hate it) and just sounds damn fun to listen to.  If you’ve ever wanted to know how Keith feels about his marriage all you need to do is listen to the Steve McEwan and Johnny Reid co-write “Only You Can Love Me This Way.”  It’s a country/soul song that suits KU’s honey-soaked tenor like a glove as does the wonderful “If I Could Ever Love,” which as a Celtic-like, U2 feel to it that wouldn’t work in just about any other country artist’s hands.

Keith wrote a pair of hook-laden tracks with pop/rock writer/producer Rick Nowles and the result of their writing sessions are two of the albums finest moments: “Standing Right In Front Of You” and another song that shows off KU’s feelings for Nicole Kidman, “Thank You.”  It’s a stark, loop and piano-lead ballad that finds a man quite content in his life and how it’s gone down unexpected paths.  “Why’s It Feel So Long” has a fun, breezy summery melody that recalls the Kenny Chesney beach songs without ever going to the beach, it’s also a song that uses an actual steel guitar for more than window dressing. 

In the end, “Defying Gravity” isn’t gonna win over any of the traditionalists among the country fans but this album certainly has the feel of a long life, the kind of album that is just too good to not want to listen to it over and over again, which exactly why just about everybody in the Nashville music community stops and pays attention to anything Keith Urban releases.

To read Keith's Song-by-Song review of the album click here.

You can also support Keith Urban by downloading this album at Amazon.