Brantley Gilbert is a textbook case of an artist who gets unfairly criticized due to many of his bigger hits being some of his weakest material, case in point being his current album Just As I Am, a mostly outstanding project that has been miscast as bro-country dreck due to the first two singles being “Bottoms Up” and the Thomas Rhett and Justin Moore collaboration “Small Town Throwdown” (he did however release the outstanding “One Hell of an Amen” third, which is currently top 20 and climbing.) Now it’s looking like the four new deluxe tracks off his the new Platinum edition of his album will suffer the same fate, as “Same Old Song”, which was released to iTunes before the album release, has taken the spotlight, despite two of the four new recording being absolute gems.
Now, that’s not to say “Same Old Song” doesn’t deserve criticism, because it certainly does. It’s basically a bro-country advertisement, claiming that if folks lived like badass Brantley, they would understand why every solo male artist has insisted on singing about this lifestyle to no end over the past three years. The words dirt road, tailgates, tan lines, corn rows, moonshine, moonlight, bonfires and summer nights are all mentioned before the first chorus even hits (when we’re greeted with the following phrases: “Friday night”, “jacked ’em up”, “Hank” and “sippin’ on a little something”.) We’re also greeted to a song titled “Do What the Night Wants”, which, while not nearly as bad as the title suggests, is still relatively bland and doesn’t bring anything to the table that hasn’t been done before.
However, do not, I repeat, do not write off this new set of tracks because of the two aforementioned cuts. The remaining songs, “Stone Cold Sober” and “Just As I Am” are raw, emotional tracks that are among the best in Gilbert’s discography. The former is well written, passionate number about a man who spilled out his heart while drunk, but when he wakes up hungover, he realizes that it was all true, and phones her up begging her to come over. Anchored by a big hook and a dynamite chorus, it’s a record that hits all the right marks. “Just As I Am” is a less mainstream affair, but is likely better than the aforementioned “Stone Cold Sober”. Talking about a man struggling with alcoholism, something Brantley has had personal struggles with, “Just As I Am” is a piano-driven ballad centered around the narrator asking God for forgiveness. Giving a performance that sounds as if he’s on the verge of tears, Gilbert delivers arguably his most emotional, personal performance to-date, helping the track reach elite heights.
All in all, we get a couple of clunkers in between two absolute gems. The bad ones are almost embarrassing, while the great ones are jaw-dropping. The good outweighs the not-so-good with these bonus tracks, but you have to pick and choose the ones that are download-worthy, and which ones to leave on the table.
Top Tracks: “Stone Cold Sober”, “Just As I Am”
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