Eric Church - The Outsiders - Where the Dark Meets the Light

(Photo : EMI Records Nashville)
Eric Church - The Outsiders

Eric Church's fourth album, The Outsiders gives fans two sides of the same coin (which is, in this case, Eric's personality). Side A is the as downhome as apple pie guy. He's the one who woos the girl, makes you laugh and goes towards the deep end of the emotional pool. The flip side guy leans more towards redneck territory (not that redneck is a bad thing). He's the one who loves his drink of choice, may get into a fight when the moment calls for it and listens to good old fashioned rock and roll. The trick is figuring out which version you're getting but as each song progresses, it becomes pretty obvious on most, so there's no real problem.

The title track is a perfect example of the flip side guy. As Eric sings, They’re the in crowd, we’re the other ones / It’s a different kind of cloth that we’re cut from / We let our colors show, where the numbers ain’t / With the paint where there ain’t supposed to be paint, you know right off the bat that this isn't a hearts and flowers moment.

"Give Me Back My Hometown" delivers the local sweetheart and you can't help but love him as he croons, All the colors of my youth / The red, the green, the hope, the truth / Are beatin' me black and blue cause you're in every scene.

Songs like "Dark Side" seem to blend the two ... as Eric shares just how ugly his dark side can be and how bad it would be for it to be unleashed on anyone, you think "brawler," but then when he reveals that the unleashing would happen to anyone who hurt his son, you're touched by the obvious love of a daddy.

At the end of the day, some people will love how Eric mixes up not only the personalities of the songs but also the musical aspects, throwing in rock, rap/spoken word and a touch of blues. Others won't because each song doesn't line up like precise little toy soldiers. It comes down to personal taste and whether you prefer a multi-faceted approach or a straight country licks down the line touch. For me, I am a big fan of seeing more than one side of any artist so I'm seriously diggin' (and relating to) The Outsiders.

GENRE: Country
RECORD LABEL: Universal Nashville
RELEASE DATE: February 11, 2014
TRACKS: 12

The Outsiders Track List:

1. The Outsiders
2. A Man Who Was Gonna Die Young
3. Cold One
4. Roller Coaster Ride
5. Talladega
6. Broke Record
7. Like A Wrecking Ball
8. That's Damn Rock & Roll
9. Dark Side
10. Devil, Devil (Prelude: Princess Of Darkness)
11. Give Me Back My Hometown
12. The Joint

STAND OUT TRACKS:

• Talladega
• Dark Side
• That's Damn Rock & Roll

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Eric Church