If you’re a fan who’s caught Frankie Ballard’s outstanding live show, this is the song you’ve been waiting for. Frankie’s fierce guitar playing, high-octane road band and strong gravelly tenor voice have been on the scene for a few years, and recently brought to the larger public eye with two straight #1’s in “Helluva Life” and “Sunshine and Whiskey.” The disconnect though has been this dirty secret: for an artist originally signed for his rock’n’roll potential (his first album was produced by Michael Knox of Jason Aldean fame), those two breakout singles, while excellent ear worms, were anything but amped up.
“Young & Crazy” finally shows off some of that side for the Battle Creek, Michigan native. Penned by hit makers Rhett Akins, Ashley Gorley, and Shane McAnally (check out our feature on Shane’s demos and writing), this single is ready to rock and perfectly timed for Frankie, as he is embarking on a multi-date tour with Florida Georgia Line and Thomas Rhett. Even if you’re listening through your iPhone earbuds, it’s easy to imagine Frankie and his band turning this into a big ol’ arena sized rock jam.
With male artists beginning to face a crossroads between bro-country fluff and authentic, real world writing, Frankie appears to be standing in a great spot. His upcoming tour partners not withstanding, Ballard’s tunes have always carried a little more substance and featured some of Nashville’s best writers. Much like Jake Owen, Frankie bridges a gab between the outliers of country music and keeps cranking out strong, catchy yet still relatable hit singles. While no one would look at his catalog and see a rebel prophet in the making of Eric Church, Frankie is yet to feature a song that relies on the truck bed, tight jeans, advertise-a-liquor-brand-by-the-2nd-verse type cliche. Thank God.
Not that “Young & Crazy” isn’t fun and light hearted. In this lyric, he talks about a young man considering his future while living a hard-charging, pedal-to-the-firewall life, ultimately arriving at the sly conclusion, “how am I ever gonna get to be old and wise, if I ain’t ever young and crazy?”
It’s not hard to picture an older version of Frankie Ballard sitting at on a front porch at 80, still smirking about his glory days with a glass of bourbon and a beat-up Les Paul guitar leaning against the wall. While this song won’t challenge for song of the year, it should follow up nicely to the momentum Frankie Ballard and his promotion team at Warner Brothers have going for them. And it will sure be fun to hear Frankie rip up that guitar solo live this winter.