On Tuesday, September 9th, country superstar, Lee Brice, is set to released his third album titled, ‘I Don’t Dance.’ The album will be a follow-up to his 2012 album, ‘Hard 2 Love,’ which was certified GOLD by the RIAA, and reached the number two spot on the US Country albums chart. ‘I Don’t Dance’ is the first album that Lee was able to have complete control over as he produced the album himself, along with writing a majority of the tracks, and playing an overwhelming majority of the instruments. This album will be Lee Brice through and through. New England Country Music was very fortunate to receive an advanced copy of ‘I Don’t Dance.’ I have broken down each track with my impression and favorite lyric from that song. Check it out!
1.) ‘I Don’t Dance’ – Written by Lee Brice, Rob Hatch, and Dallas Davidson.
Impression: The hit song starts with what sounds to be one of those toy music boxes. ‘I Don’t Dance’ has been one of the biggest songs in country music as it hit the top of the country airplay charts in August. Lee was actually in Cohasset, MA when he found out that the song hit the top of the charts which is significant and meaningful to him as he originally wrote the song with the sole purpose of playing for his bride at his wedding. But after he finished the song, he knew he had to record it, and thank god he did. This song will be part of thousands of peoples’ lives and weddings and it may go down as Lee’s most successful song. Lee sets the bar high for the album by starting the record with such a hit song and a beautifully written and sung song. Favorite Lyric: Love’s never come my way, I’ve never been this far, cause you took these two left feet, and waltzed away with my heart…
2.) ‘No Better Than This’ – Written by Lee Brice, Rob Hatch, and Vicky McGehee.
Impression: This song definitely gives the listener more than just a country feel. I get a little blues, a little rock, and some country all mixed together. The song talks about it being the summertime, with friends, good music, and good drinks. Definitely an anthem type of song and it works. One of my favorite songs on the album.
Favorite Lyric: Somebody brought a jar, got the whole party buzzing, the word on the street, is everybody’s coming… it don’t get, no better than this. Got the sunshine on our face, moonshine on our lips…
3.) ‘Show You Off Tonight’ – Written by Lee Brice, Kyle Jacobs, Ben Glover and Vicky McGehee.
Impression: ‘Show You Off Tonight’ features some great instrumentals including from the electric guitar. The song is about a guy who has a girl who looks beautiful and Lee wants to take her out on the town and show her off. Most likely another tribute to Lee’s wife, Sara.
Favorite Lyric: The way you walked in, painted red lips, the way that red dress is hugging up on your hips, I want the whole world to see… Damn girl, you’re looking so pretty.
4.) ‘Always the Only One’ – Written by Lee Brice, Kyle Jacobs, and Joe Don Rooney.
Impression: ‘Always the Only One’ doesn’t have too much of a country feel. But don’t get me wrong, it’s still a good song. I do like when the music goes down on the chorus and it’s just Lee singing, “You were always the only one…” It’s a song that demonstrates that Lee’s range, vocal talent and abilities, and how he can manipulate his voice as his much how he wants to.
Favorite Lyric: I got a past, I couldn’t get past, but it don’t haunt me no more. ‘Cuz my demons ran like hell when my angel walked through my door.
5.) ‘Good Man’ – Written by Lee Brice, Kyle Jacobs, Vicky McGehee, and Billy Montana.
Impression: Except for the chorus, the song is fast and almost rap-like. Very Colt Ford-esque mixed with some rock with Lee’s strong vocals on the chorus. It’s a change of pace song that will have thousands of fans listening to it and coming back for more.
Favorite Lyric: Won’t hold you down, won’t hold you back, but I won’t let you go. This ain’t no one night show.
6.) ‘Drinking Class’ – Written by Josh Kear, David Frasier, and Ed Hill.
Impression: Last week, Lee premiered ‘Drinking Class’ on the Late Show with David Letterman, and let fans see why his new album is so highly anticipated. This is one of the songs on the album that I enjoy the most with the humming in the beginning to the range that Lee shows with his vocals in this song. I expect this to be a single off the album and I expect it to climb towards the top of the charts.
Favorite Lyric: They can never, nah they can’t keep us down. If you gotta, gotta label me, label me proud…
7.) ‘That Don’t Sound Like You’ – Written by Lee Brice, Ashley Gorley, and Rhett Akins.
Impression: The song is deep and emotional with the theme of a girl changing (most likely an ex), and not in a good way, because of a guy. The guy took away all the good things about her. It’s different than the rest of the tracks on the album as it isn’t up tempo or with a positive theme.
Favorite Lyric: Truck tires on a gravel road. Laughing at the world, blasting my radio. Tin balls flashing in the water. Doing whatever whenever you wanted. What did he do?
8.) ‘Girls in Bikinis’ – Written by Lee Brice, Thomas Rhett, Rodney Clawson, and Chris Tompkins.
Impression: Is it ‘bro-country?’ Probably. But who cares!? Some of the biggest artists today have bro-country songs and it works just fine. This will be a great beach, summertime song. Hell, it will be on my summer playlist, even if summer is over. Expect big things out of this song. It’s a fun song and who doesn’t like fun country songs!?
Favorite Lyric: Watching girls in bikinis is like watching a slinky walk down the stairs. Can’t help but stare. They do the shimmy, out of them cutoffs…
9.) ‘Sirens’ – Written by Lee Brice, Rob Hatch, Jon Stone, and Lance Miller.
Impression: It’s a cool country-rock song with great beats. When Lee performs this live, he will have people clapping their hands and stomping their feet. In the song, after picking up a lady with car trouble, she pulls out a gun and tells him to drive and he does even after seeing the blue lights and hearing the sirens. Lee takes ‘Cop Car’ (written by Sam Hunt, recorded by Keith Urban) to the next level with this one.
Favorite Lyric: My truck was shaking, my blood was pumping, but she was laughing. I ’bout hit the brakes when we came around the corner, a mile of blue lights, guns aimed pointed, whatever she had, they wanted…
10.) ‘Somebody’s Been Drinking’ – Written by Ashley Gorley, Hillary Lindsey, and Shane McAnally.
Impression: It’s a nice, slow song about a ‘booty call’ from an ex. They call, and text, and show up at the door after they’ve been drinking. They only remember the good times when they’ve been drinking. It’s a song that’s relatable, as many of us, probably including myself, has experienced this at one point in their life. Hey, it happens. But Lee does a fantastic job illustrating the song through his lyrics and it’s a great song.
Favorite Lyric: Somebody’s been drinking, somebody’s been thinking about us. Somebody’s all alone, picking up the phone, and they know they oughtta just hang up.
11.) ‘Hard to Figure Out (The Airport Song)’ – Written by Lee Brice, Joe Leathers, and Nicole Witt.
Impression: Wow, this is an emotional song! In this song, Lee is frustrated by the little things in life. The security line at the airport, cheap hotel rooms, etc. But he meets a woman who just lost her husband and he asks if there’s anything he can do. (I’ve met Lee before, and I can honestly say that he is one of the nicest guys in the world. So it wouldn’t surprise me if this was a true story.) The message in this song is to be appreciative of everything you have and to not fret about the small things in life. And in today’s world, this is a message that we all could probably use, including myself. I absolutely love this song. It’s deep, it’s emotional, it’s beautiful.
Favorite Lyric: I felt so stupid being mad, after seeing her so sad. I need to check my heart. I need to watch my mouth. Have a little more faith, a little less doubt. It ain’t that hard to figure out…
12.) ‘My Carolina’ – Written by Lee Brice and Phillip Lamonds.
Impression: The Sumter, South Carolina native is proud of his state and loves going back to his state. In the song, he talks about having to leave to chase his dreams but he loves everything about Carolina. Like the soy bean fields, fresh boiled peanuts, shrimp and grits, and everything else. It’s an up-tempo song that is a tribute to Lee’s favorite place.
Favorite Lyric: Some Jack in the barrel, and a hog in the pit. Need some hard red clay… Some black water healing, some time to kill.
13.) ‘Panama City’ – Written by Mark Irwin, Josh Kear, and Chris Tompkins.
Impression: When I interviewed Lee back in July, he told me that he is most excited for people to hear this song. “I first heard it ten years ago, and I wanted to record it then. Now that I had the opportunity to record what I wanted to, I had to record it. It’s just one of the best songs that I’ve ever heard and it’s actually live. Live recording, live vocals, everything was done at the same time, around the piano. Nothing was touched or edited. It’s just strictly what we did that day. That is what I am proud of.” The song is definitely different to have it live recorded without post-editing or anything and I’m glad he did it. The song is raw which makes it unique and that will make it a hit.
Favorite Lyric: With a bottle of Silver, and a bottle of Sapphire, an Indian blanket, and a beachfront bonfire, we watched the moon, shipwreck in the distance… God I miss that summer, but not as much as I miss you…
14.) ‘More My Style’ – Written by Lee Brice, Vicky McGehee, Billy Montana, and Brian Davis.
Impression: Want to learn about Lee? Just listen to this song. He talks about the stuff he likes and what he likes to do. The stuff that make it ‘his style.’ The instrumentals are definitely uplifting. They reminded me a bit of an amazing musician that I saw at Downtown Disney named Nicholas Marks. (YouTube him, you won’t be disappointed!)
Favorite Lyric: White tail shining, cold beer drinking, that’s this country boy’s country way of thinking.
15.) ‘Closer’ – Written by Lee Brice, Jon Stone, and Jerrod Niemann.
Impression: One of Lee’s best friends, Jerrod Niemann, helped Lee write this song. It’s a song about wanting to get closer to someone but put to some heavy beats and great electric guitar. I love the sound of Lee’s voice in this song, especially during the chorus. It’s the type of song that you will get stuck in your head and be singing it over and over again.
Favorite Lyric: I wanna see your colors, read you cover to cover, know you outside in…
16.) ”Whiskey Used to Burn’ – Written by Lee Brice, Rob Hatch, and Lance Miller.
Impression: I absolutely love that this song is played acoustically on a guitar to start. The song is about a man getting older, seeing his hair turning grey, and wishing he could go back to when he was younger, when the ‘whiskey used to burn.’ This is another song that shows Lee’s range and his vocal abilities and hands down my favorite on the album.
Favorite Lyric: When I still could feel my broken heart, sometimes I wish I could go back to the start… There isn’t much I’d change. Sometimes I miss those days…
My take: it’s a strong album from Lee Brice. His third album will be his best thus far. It is full of great songs that allow him to show off his wide range, vocal skills, and incredible musical talent. He actually played 80% of the instruments on the album and he wrote 13 of the 16 songs (including the bonus songs). And don’t be stupid- get the deluxe edition. The three bonus songs on the deluxe album are three of the best songs on the album. Especially ‘Whiskey Used to Burn.’ It is my favorite on the album, even more than his current mega-hit, ‘I Don’t Dance.’ This album definitely has the potential to hit the top of the country charts and should surpass sales of ‘Hard 2 Love.’
You can pre-order his new album, ‘I Don’t Dance,’ now on iTunes and also on Walmart.com. For more updates on Lee Brice, make sure to check out his website and follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
Lee has two more stops scheduled in New England this year as he wraps up on Luke Bryan’s Thats My Kinda Night tour. Check Lee out (along with Luke Bryan and Cole Swindell) when he makes stops in Manchester, NH on September 11th, and in Hartford, CT on September 13th.