Big Machine Label Group
Release Date: September 29th 2023
Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre
Thomas Rhett – 20 Number Ones (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Track Listing:
- It Goes Like This (from It Goes Like This)
- Get Me Some Of That (from It Goes Like This)
- Make Me Wanna (from It Goes Like This)
- Crash and Burn (from Tangled Up)
- Die A Happy Man (from Tangled Up)
- T-Shirt (from Tangled Up)
- Star Of The Show (from Tangled Up)
- Craving You (feat. Maren Morris) (feat. Life Changes)
- Unforgettable (feat. Life Changes)
- Marry Me (feat. Life Changes)
- Life Changes (feat. Life Changes)
- Sixteen (feat. Life Changes)
- Look What God Gave Her (from Centre Point Road)
- Remember You Young (from Centre Point Road)
- Beer Can’t Fix feat. Jon Pardi (from Centre Point Road)
- Be A Light (feat. Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott, Chris Tomlin, Keith Urban) (non-album single)
- What’s Your Country Song (from Country Again: Side A)
- Country Again (from Country Again: Side A)
- Slow Down Summer (from Where We Started)
- Half of Me (feat. Riley Green) (from Where We Started)
- Angels (Dont Always Have Wings) (Bonus Track) (from Where We Started)
Everyone knows Thomas Rhett. Or at least I reckon everyone should. One of the male vocalists within the realms of country music that I feel has been writing albums on a very consistent basis quality-wise ever since his debut album released in 2013; Thomas has been providing us songs of hope and encouragement, of solace and lament, as we see arguably one of country music’s most honest and relatable male artists over the last few years (alongside others like Luke Combs, Chris Stapleton, Keith Urban & Tim McGraw, to name a few). Thomas has been within and around country music for a while- ever since his debut album in 2013, he’s been on a path at delivering chart-topping songs with a powerful message that people can relate to. A song like ‘Die a Happy Man’ reminded us that the love people have for each other in both a romantic and relationship capacity, as well as a friendship capacity, will amount to so much more than what material offerings can bring in this short, insurmountable life; while ‘Life Changes’ is a powerful reminder of how life, in every sense of the word, rolls along at a very fast pace, sometimes to the point where you may not even know yourself by the end of it. Life changing in a way that you don’t expect, may force us all to look within ourselves to see if there are things about us that we know we need to fix; before it’s too late for us to even try.
Thomas has always been the artist to work continuously at his craft- there’s always some song somewhere in his discography that people can relate to. He’s the artist that everyone, regardless of which music genre you affiliate to and enjoy, can find some song to call their own, so much so that we as a site decided to unveil a blog post about Thomas and his music that we wrote in 2020, as we detailed his storied and impactful career thus far, and reminded listeners why we thought his music was considered impactful and influential to people now, and in the upcoming years ahead. Since that time of writing that blog post, Thomas has been a very busy boy. He unveiled his 2021 album Country Again Side A, of which we reviewed on the site, while also unveiling standalone singles ‘Redneck Be Like’, ‘Things Dads Do’ and ‘Be a Light’, all of which were expounded along and written about for the site as well. It’s been a ride and a half for Thomas to come to this point, and so, while also on the heels of his highly successful Country Again Side A, Thomas unveiled Where We Started in 2022- we as a site reviewed the album here, where we explored the album as a whole, reminding listeners that Where We Started showed us themes like standing up for beliefs, being candid and real about relationships, and realising we all need grace, forgiveness and mercy, themes universal and very much needed at this point in time in culture and society. Where We Started continued to showcase Thomas’s prowess as a singer-songwriter, delivering powerful songs like ‘Death Row’, ‘The Hill’, ‘Church Boots’ and ‘Angels’ in the process. Now here we are in 2023, and…Thomas is at it again. No, it’s not Country Again Side B (though I’m sure that’ll come later sometime next year), but it’s…drum roll please- 20 Number Ones, Thomas’s first greatest hits album, due to be unveiled on September 29th 2023.
So…is this review of this compilation Thomas Rhett album even worth it, in the age of Spotify? Maybe not. Is the album even necessary from a release standpoint? Probably not, as well. But having said that, maybe there’s something nostalgic at having a greatest hits album, as maybe, just maybe, wer’re reminded through Thomas’s release, of the days of old and of yesteryear, when streaming wasn’t a thing, and greatest hits album were a way of introducing newer fans of said artist, to the best-of-the-best of that particular artist’s discography. In the age of Spotify where you skip songs at the drop of a hat, it’s nice for Thomas (or maybe in this instance, Thomas’s label) to unveil a greatest hits album that showcases his singles and standout songs from 2013 to now. Yes, people may not buy this album because they can ‘stream it on Spotify’. And they probably will. But that’s beside the point. Thomas’s new album is indeed a ‘best-of-the-best’, and considering that in Australia, Thomas Rhett albums a pretty much a rarity to find at CD Stores around Sydney, I myself am definitely looking forward to picking this one up when it releases in a couple of weeks. With standout songs on the album, from ‘Angels’, ‘Remember You Young’, ‘Die A Happy Man’ and ‘Marry Me’, to ‘Life Changes’, ‘Country Again’, ‘Be a Light’ and ‘Cravin’ You’ (to name a few); 20 Number Ones is a must for any Thomas fan (like myself), fan of country music in a more traditional sense, or a fan of both. Well done Thomas for these 21 songs (the only downside is there’re no new tracks). Looking forward to when Country Again Side B comes around, whenever that may be.
5 songs to listen to: Angels, Remember You Young, Die A Happy Man, Marry Me, Life Changes
Score: 4.5/5
RIYL: Old Dominion, Lee Brice, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Dan + Shay, Mitchell Tenpenny