Completely (Arista)r e v i e w
Diamond Rio acts completely unconventional in places on its new album, “Completely.” Sure, there’s plenty of those vocal harmony-powered country songs we’ve come to expect from this accomplished group, but there are also a few completely unexpected moments, as well.
For example, “Something Cool” is a swinging jazz number, highlighted by tinkling piano; “The Box” is funky bluegrass – or was that bluegrass-y funk?; Then there’s “Rural Philharmonic,” which is bluegrass – with strings. This group has the chops to play most any old style of music it chooses, which is probably why it keeps the variety quotient so high here.
Just to keep its record company happy, one imagines, the group also tacked on a Diane Warren-written track – the album’s title song. But this obvious commercial gesture does nothing to spoil an otherwise eclectic little country album.
by Dan MacIntosh
