Album Review: Gord Bamford 'Country Junkie'

Having had the pleasure to review, and love, Gord Bamford's latest single and current #1 'When Your Lips Are So Close,' I was anxious to hear the rest of his album Cowboy Junkie. Needless to say my ears were not disappointed.

Gord, who has been called Canada's answer to George Strait, has a voice that was meant to sing country music. He may be new to many in the U.S. 
but he is far from a music newcomer. He has spent 20years honing his craft to get where he is today: a mainstay on Canadian radio and a 16time CCMA awards winner.

Country Junkie is his sixth album and all fourteen tracks make a record which you will listen to over and over again.

The album kicks off with 'Where A Farm Use To Be' a country rocker with lyrics that speak the truth not only to those who make their living farming, but to all of us who drive through the country and see building after building instead of field after field. "A 10acre black top parking lot/A bunch of wild women window shoppin'/A drive thru bank and a Baskin Robbins/Where a farm used to be."

'The Truth' is the second track and his vocals here, as well as much of the album, remind me of Toby Keith. It's a fun up tempo song with clever lyrics about letting a braggart tell his stories and even embellish them a bit, because we can't "Let the truth get in the way of a real good story/If you told it like it is it would just be boring."

'She Gets Me' and 'Unreal' both speak about a woman’s love. In the former, it is in how she understands him and what he is all about. The latter is simply a beautiful ballad about a woman’s love and the way it makes him feel. The combination of the melody, piano and his voice on this song is pretty close to perfect.

'Daughterville' is a funny song that anyone with a daughter can relate to. The song reminds me of something Brad Paisley might sing, but with a little more twang. “I'm up to my eyes in baby dolls/That’s what I get comes with the deal/The life of a daddy in Daughterville.”

'Saturday’s Beer,' 'That’s How We Party' & 'Blue Jeans' are songs perfect to listen to as we “let our hair down” after a long week (or really anytime). All three are songs that successfully mix traditional sounds with the modern. As the line in 'That's How...' says “Crank it up/Hank it up.”

'Groovin With You' is the song on the record that pushes the traditional boundaries. The spoken word/rap reminds you of Colt Ford, but the Spanish melody adds a romantic touch to the song. Gord has said "It's a little risky, but I sure think it would catch on. It's got that great catchy vibe." And that it does. Honestly, it took a few listens, but that catchy vibe will reel you in.

'I Won't Regret That' is a one of my personal favorites on the album. The song is a truly heartfelt one with highly relatable lyrics about how family comes first to this man and how he would never regret making family a priority: “And maybe they will say after I'm gone/For what it's worth/He put the right path first.”

The title track is a duet with Gord’s boyhood country idol Joe Diffe. It is a country-blues guitar driven toe tapper that many fans of country music will agree with: "I'm hooked on a goodtime feeling/I'm a country
junkie til' my dying day/How bout you?"

The album concludes with 'Nights Like You,' a big ballad where he sings "I can do long days like this as long as I've got nights like you”. It’s a romantic song, perfectly suited for his warm voice, about how everything he does all day is made worthwhile as long as he comes home to the woman he loves.

As I wrote with the single, this album is certainly as good as what you hear on American country radio today and deserves airplay. If you like what you hear, call your radio stations and request it. 

And if you are a Country Junkie, this album will definitely satisfy your need for good music.

For more information visit http://www.gordbamford.com/

---