Album Review Mitch Rossell 'I Got Dressed Up For This'

Mitch Rossell, originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee, made the move to Nashville in 2009 when he graduated from college. In 2011, he performed with Eric Church and is currently a regular in Music City’s most popular establishments, such as Tootsies and Third and Lindsley. On April 15th, he released his album I Got Dressed Up For This.

I Got Dressed Up For This is a collection of twelve thoughtfully crafted songs ranging from ballads to country rockers that will make you think, feel, dance and even chuckle. Overall the sound is contemporary country, but it most definitely does not forget its roots with plenty of twang, pedal steel, banjo and fiddle present throughout the record. Thematically, Mitch covers heartbreak, love, family and religion all delivered by a voice that is clear; with a gentle, soothing emotive quality that makes the lyrics he sings believable.

Not many people would start off their album with a portion of the Our Father, but Mitch makes that brave choice with "God, Girls and Football." The song reminisces about the simpler times earlier in one's life when things revolved around God and going to church (salvation), girls (temptation) and football.

"Today's The Day" could easily fit nicely on any Brad Paisley record. It is a humorous song about one’s wedding day told from the male perspective. He sings about hanging back and letting his bride soak up the spotlight because "today's her day, but tonight's my night."

The emotional, touching ballad, "A Soldiers Memoir," looks at what a soldier faces when he returns home; how he may look the same, but if his mama saw inside of him it would "scare her to death."

The romantic ballad "Any Girl" is about being that guy that would never stay around too long, never change his ways or fall too far for just any girl, but the girl he is with now is "not any girl."

"Up To Something" reminds us that our story is constantly being written so we may have to experience rough patches in life to find the silver lining and that even when you're down to nothing "God's up to something."

In "Every Part of Me," he may be undecided about whether to drive a Cadillac or a truck, but he definitely knows that every part of him loves every part of her.

The sadness is palpable on "Piece of Heaven" a ballad about the dissolution of a relationship due to the fact that he could never love himself or let himself be present. “You can’t hold a piece of Heaven if you keep dragging it through hell.”

The fun, relatable, "Seemed Like A Good Idea," has him looking back on things that seemed like good ideas at the time, from drag racing to fighting to getting caught with the boss’s daughter in the storeroom closet.

"Wishful Drinkin" and "Seeing Her" both deal with heartbreak. In the latter, he sings about not knowing "what pushes the knife in further, seeing her without me or seeing her with him."  In the former, he is wishing to reunite with an ex. "It ain't just a buzz that's coming on.....with every sip I take it's got me thinking you're coming back girl, you're coming back girl, but that's just wishful drinking."

"Pawpaw’s Song" is a tender ode to all that he learned about life from his Pawpaw while sitting at the base of his recliner.

Drums, guitar and fiddle merge seamlessly on the rockingest track, "Whoever Thought of Whiskey" a tune in which he wonders about the inventors of such things from pistols and double wides to cell phones and whiskey. "But whoever brewed that first batch of 90 proof, must have loved somebody like you."

In addition to the twelve tracks, there is an acoustic version of "A Soldier's Memoir" as well as a monologue at the end in which Mitch tells you his journey to get to where he is today. Both require listening.

I Got Dressed Up For This is an album full of songs that belong on country radio. Definitely seek it out.

4.5 Stars
For more information visit Mitch's official website

---