The holder of 27 Top 10 hits, eight Number One hits, and nearly 10 million albums sold, Tracy Lawrence certainly has a career anyone would love to have.  While it’s been a successful ride, Tracy also has had major peaks and valleys and has certainly lived an eventful, sometimes newsworthy for the wrong reasons, life.  Now free from the constraints of a major record label deal, Tracy has chosen to record “The Rock,” a collection of Christian themed country music that he’s always wanted to record. 

Adam Wheeler and Mark Namore’s “Somebody Who’d Die For You” is a touching song that showcases the strength of people who are willing to die for who they love and what they believe in, be it their country or their God.  It’s a story that we all can relate to, no matter what faith you are affiliated with.  Wild in his earlier days, Tracy Lawrence no doubt can really relate to Allen Shamblin and Steve Seskin’s “I’m Done,” a song about wanting to be a better person and willing to change and move on from past transgressions:

“I’m done harbouring grudges and nursing old wounds,
Ddone clinging to old crutches and singin’ the blues,
 I’m done pointing fingers to everyone else, I
’m taking a long hard look at myself,
A new day has begun, I’m done”

This is the kind of song that radio really embraces and hopefully when it’s released to radio, it will join those other hits mentioned above.  “Dear Lord” is the lone track on this 10 song collection to be written by Tracy (with old friend Flip Anderson).  With a familiar melody that is a staple of many classic hits from artists like George Strait, “Dear Lord” too sounds like a hit.  Yes, it is spiritual in theme but that doesn’t mean it’s not also a great piece of laid-back country music.   Dave Berg, Annie Tate and Sam Tate are the co-writers of the Emerson Drive hit “Moments” and they are also the co-writers of “I Know Where Heaven Is,” a mid-tempo ode to understanding that heaven may just be with those that we love and the moments that we enjoy the most. 

“Up To Him,” the lead single from the album, was written by David Kent and Tim Johnson and while it’s struggling to find a large radio audience at the release of “The Rock,” the song is worthy of any spins it gets.  The lyric finds Tracy in the person of a hard-working man who “hopes for the best, plans for the worst and works like it’s all up to me and pray that it’s all up to him.”   It’s the kind of song that’s ripe for our times but that may just be why the song is struggling at radio.  The beauty about “The Rock,” lies in the simple truths of the lyrics and melodies of the 10 tracks featured on it.  While it is a Christian album, someone who’s not overtly religious could still find much enjoyment in the universal themes that are presented on the album and that’s what truly makes this one of 2009’s best releases so far.

You can support Tracy Lawrence by purchasing this album at iTunes | Amazon.