Keith Urban – HIGH

Hit Rec Records / Capitol Records Nashville / UMG Recording Inc

Release Date: September 20th 2024

Reviewed by: Joshua Andre

Keith Urban– HIGH (Amazon mp3/iTunes)

Track Listing:

  1. Blue Sky
  2. Straight Line
  3. Messed Up As Me
  4. Wildside
  5. Go Home W U (feat. Lainey Wilson)
  6. Chuck Taylors
  7. Daytona
  8. Love Is Hard
  9. Heart Like A Hometown
  10. Laughin’ All The Way To The Drank
  11. Dodge In A Silverado
  12. Break The Chain

It’s no stranger that throughout the time that I’ve been blogging about influential artists (blog still unfortunately on hiatus!), and throughout the time that I’ve been listening to country music– that Australian superstar Keith Urban has been a favourite artist of mine. He just seems to be an extremely likeable guy (judging from his interviews and his presence as a judge on The Voice Australia!), and his songs are super catchy, relatable, inspiring, as well as relevant to the times we’re living in now. Keith is like an everyman type of artist- someone you can aspire to be like if you’re a budding young singer or songwriter- and it’s clear that he’s very grounded and has no ego. I can guarantee you that in 50 years’ time, we’ll still be talking about Keith and his music, as well as the mark he’s made on music in general; and if you want to know more about Keith and his music, then read Jon’s blog about him, as well as his review on his 2020 album THE SPEED OF NOW PT 1. Since that time, Keith’s also released 4 stand-alone singles and 1 lead single for his new album (the most recent HIGH)- and each are varying degrees of success and impact, in my opinion. “Wild Hearts”, “Nightfalls”, “Brown Eyes Baby”, “Street Called Main” and “Straight Line” were all reviewed by this site, and each track is unique, and each is incredibly catchy and poppy. Still a bonafide country artist, Keith reminds us through his music and especially in these songs, that he marries the genre of country and pop quite well, and that his song-writing in general is to be aspired to.

With Jon covering Keith and his biography and his music quite extensively (so there’s no reason for me to rehash old ground), now’s the time for me to voice my thoughts on Keith’s latest album. HIGH is 4 years in the making, and though “Wild Hearts”, “Nightfalls”, “Brown Eyes Baby”, and “Street Called Main” are all not present on the 12 track 40 minute musical experience; there’s still something for everyone on this album that once again proves Keith’s prowess as a country singer and songwriter, not to mention as a performer and entertainer. We recently reviewed his underwhelming greatest hits album #1’s Volumes 1 & 2 (which was obviously a marketing ploy!); but how does this new album stack up?

Keith in his hey-day was a joy to listen to. His albums like Defying Gravity, Be Here, Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing, Get Closer and Golden Road were all nothing short of phenomenal, brilliant and near-flawless. I reckon most people would agree with that sentiment. As for studio albums after that (Fuse, Ripcord, Graffiti U and the aforementioned THE SPEED OF NOW PT 1); well, people are divided on that. And I get that, don’t get me wrong. Because Keith definitely utilises more pop influences throughout these 4 albums than others, and for country purists, that may be a bit sacrilegious and like a sell-out. Hence, I’d say that HIGH, which follows the line of its immediate 4 predecessors, would receive a mixed reaction. And it has. For me though, anything from Keith is good, and anything that shows his love of music and his passion is excellent. HIGH is all of those things, even if some songs are cliché; and even if some songs are pop and some are country, they’re all uniquely ‘Keith’ and that’s what makes HIGH special.

I’ve always been drawn toward the subject of living in the moment, because it’s all there is, and it’s hard to do. And these days with so much ‘content’ flying at us, it can feel like drinking from a fire hose. The songs didn’t work together [for the scrapped 2022 album 615]. I learned that what I thought was a framework to create within, turned out to be musically limiting. [But for HIGH], what makes you ‘high’ can mean whatever you want it to mean. It might be physical, spiritual, herbal, meditative, chemical or musical, but it’s definitely a place of utopia. For me it’s my family, my friends, and this rollercoaster musical journey I’m on. Playing guitar, writing songs and the place where I always feel high — playing live.  Every night I get a chance to bring an energy and a release to people.

With the common thread of the album being living in the moment and living life to the fullest, Keith delves deep into the ups and downs of life and highlights the beauty in the messiness and the chaos. With the 17 track intro opener “Blue Sky” being a prayer of sorts to God, asking Him to bring about some blue sky for the day to make it a good one; “Straight Line” follows, and is as vintage Keith as you can get- probably 2000’s Keith. And as Keith has beautifully expressed to what the high-octane, energetic, guitar led pop/country song is all about; the song imparts to us that sometimes, we need to be direct and be purposeful in what we want our life to look like and what we want to accomplish, instead of sitting back, meandering, letting life coast us by, and going in circles. Life’s so much more fulfilling and satisfying when you’re moving in a straight line (in terms of career, friends, relationships etc) rather than waiting for things to happen for you: ‘Straight Line’ is the perfect first track off my album because it’s a song born of wanting to break out of routine and feeling like somewhere along the line, life lost some color and excitement – ‘You and me used to be like a year-round summer…’ This song is about getting it back again – a message of taking back your life and driving out from under the dark cloud. If you’ve seen us in concert, I hope this track gives you that same liberated feeling. While ‘Straight Line’s’ lyrics are about being stuck and trying to break out of the monotony, the melody and energy are a boulevard of nothing but green lights. Every song on this album – even the ballads – carries an energy and a life force that became a very strong through line. I hope you feel it. “Messed Up As Me” unfortunately, is a low point on the album, but it’s the one and only low point. This melody is as mundane as you can think, and as much of a snoozefest as I feared. Keith has written some good songs in the past, but “Messed Up As Me” isn’t one of them. With lazy writing and repetitive lyrics in the verses, and the sentiment that being messed up as ‘me’ is something that needs to be championed and glorified… well, I mean it’s not a bad song per se, but it’s just that it doesn’t resonate as much with me as it could’ve. Keith’s songwriting has been so much more resounding and engaging. But I suppose when you’re in the game for 20-odd years, you can afford a few slip ups, am I right?

“Wildside”, a fun, silly and engaging melody, speaks about the persona having a calm demeanour and character during the week, and then letting loose into the ‘wild side’ on the weekend (and is a reminder that we as people should be aware that everyone we meet is only sharing a portion of their lives with you, which undoubtedly over time will open up more and more naturally!); while the hit single and party drinking song “Go Home W U” features Lainey Wilson on guest vocals, and is a track that speaks about the persona wanting to go home with someone at the end of a night of drinking, while the song is also appropriate for mates hanging out in a pub or a girl’s night out, or any chilled and relaxed evening: I wrote “GO HOME W U” in 2020 with BRELAND, Sam [Sumser] and Sean [Small]. We had a blast writing it. It started out as a late-night drum loop, I grabbed a bass guitar and started playing a simple recurring bass line. Before we knew it, we were writing a chorus that could be sung by any drunk person in any bar anywhere in the world. A friend of mine suggested the idea of making the song a duet and I immediately thought of Lainey. Besides the fact that I love her voice, she’s got the swagger and attitude that fit so well with the song. “Chuck Taylors”, a heartfelt and emotional melody about young love persevering through hard times, distance and adversity, is a highlight on an already impressive album; as is “Daytona”, a vulnerable and honest track about trying to get over an ex when you’ve done a sea change and moved halfway around the world, but you can’t seem to forget them and the way they made you feel.

“Love Is Hard”, probably the most honest and relatable song on this album, speaks about the realities that sometimes relationships go through their fair share of difficulties. But through everything that happens, Keith outlines at some relationships are worth persevering with, no matter what. Some relationships are so precious and priceless, that you need to stick it out in the hard times, and this song encourages us all to not take the easy way out and leave, but rather dialogue the issues through with the other person, and come out of the other side all the much stronger and more unified together. “Heart Like a Hometown”, a more traditional country track, speaks about the concept of finding home and your sense of self and belonging in this crazy world we live in (‘Heart Like A Hometown’ is one of the four songs that I kept from my first record that didn’t work out. I loved it when we did it, and I didn’t want to lose that. A hometown for me was my family, my guitar — that very much became my metaphoric hometown, the place where I felt at home, and really a place inside of me. It could be literal, or hometown could be somebody, but some place that you can always go back to when you get lost. You want to have that place where you can recenter and remember who you are, and then you can go back out in the world again. And I love those kinds of songs.); while the frenetic and chaotic banjo and fiddle laden melody “Laughin’ All The Way To The Drank” delves deep into the concept of letting loose and partying at the bar after a hard work week, thus getting a ‘high’ that way from drinking too much.

The album’s final two tracks “Dodge In A Silverado” and “Break The Chain” are arguably some of the best Keith Urban songs I’ve heard in a while. The former track is a story-song melody about the persona falling for a woman who’s a wandering spirit, who loves him and leaves him, quite literally. And while we all can get mad on the persona’s behalf, the song implies that this fictitious person is grateful for the experience and is philosophical about it all, as he knows something better for him will come his way sooner or later. Yet though, “Break The Chain” is Keith’s magnus opus, most definitely. Written as probably a coping mechanism or some way to deal with an alcoholic father, Keith’s song inspires many and reassures people in similar situations that they are not alone as well, and that the sun does rise after the rain and the storms- all you have to do is ride it out.

It’s a lot to do with my dad and being born into a family with an alcoholic father and the challenges that come with that. My job is to now maybe break that chain and do something different. But I never mentioned alcohol in the song once because I didn’t want the song to be about that. It’s really about behavioural patterns that we all learn very quickly to survive in whatever environment that we’re in. I just burst out crying on this guy’s couch [my writing partner Marc Scibilia], just like in a foetal position, like I’m in therapy. He looks over and he just goes, ‘Hmm, must be true.’ And then went back to work. And it was the perfect reaction because it wasn’t judgmental. It was of no opinion. And he just let me stay in it and finish out the song. And then that was it. [But at the end of the day, the song is hopeful], it’s offering hope and a way through a situation that a lot of people might find themselves in, it assures they have the power to get out.

I never, in a million years [would] have thought I’m still dealing with that or still processing it… But that song wanted to come. It’s important because my own feeling on it is that we’re not responsible for where we came from. It’s not our fault… but it’s my responsibility to do something about that or to perpetuate it…. and I had done that long enough. I just went, ‘I would like to try and break the chain if I can and do things differently.’ And that song is far more hopeful than anything else, because it’s never too late to break the chain.

Even though this greatest hit’s project is only ‘alright’, HIGH is a return to form for Keith Urban! On par with THE SPEED OF NOW Pt. 1; kudos needs to be given for Keith’s commitment and passion which is markedly on display. Yes, there’s “Messed Up As Me” that isn’t in the same league as the other songs. But songs like “Straight Line”, “Go Home W U”, “Heart Like A Hometown”, “Dodge In A Silverado” and “Break The Chain” propel HIGH to great heights (no pun intended!), and remind us of the staying power of an artist. Sure, the single before this album (“Let It Roll” with Snoop Dogg for the Garfield movie) was a stinker. But just because this melody doesn’t resonate as much with me now, doesn’t mean that it won’t in the future. And so, I’ll leave you with a question. Do you abandon someone’s discography just because you don’t resonate with one song or one specific body of work? Would you give an artist a chance if you love one song and are indifferent to the rest of their discography? Something to think about and ponder, that’s for sure! Remember, just because I love HIGH doesn’t mean that everyone has to. And that’s ok if it doesn’t. but “Break the Chain” is truly heartbreaking and the song to listen to from this project, no doubt about it!

It’s a one-word title [the album HIGH], and I think that kind of summed up the whole spirit and energy of the record. It ended up also being a word that started appearing in many songs on the record, unbeknownst to me. When I started listening to the record, I went ‘Oh my God, there’s that word again, Oh, there’s that word again. I love how many interpretations go through a person’s head when they hear that word [High], and they’re all spot on. It conjures up different things to different people from a mountain top to just feeling phenomenal, to a Willie Nelson concert, to whatever it is that you want to interpret that word to be. For me, they’re all spot on.

4 songs to listen to: Straight Line, Go Home W U, Heart Like A Hometown, Break The Chain

Score: 4.5/5

RIYL: Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Lady A, Lainey Wilson, Maddie & Tae

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