Search - Josh Hoge :: Everything She Was

Finally hits the big time

Edward Hoge | Midlothian, VA USA | 09/12/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"We've been waiting for a major-label release from Josh for a while, and with Everything She Was, he's made it more than worth the wait. Josh had an album on Epic ready to go when the label unceremoniously dumped quite a few execs and artists (in what had to be a nasty internal shakeout), so in a lot of ways, Josh had to go back to the drawing board, but with the extra time and effort, he's managed to put together a multidimensional collection with input from some of today's best talent, like Ryan Tedder, Ne-Yo, Dave Barnes, and others. Some of the songs on Everything She Was are old favorites of Josh's fans, rearranged and filled out, but my highlight right now is "Space," a bluesy yet romantic duet with soulful Caitlin Crosby. It's got so much atmosphere and personality that you'd expect there to be a script written around it. Throughout the album, Josh's voice takes center stage, sometimes a raspy whisper, sometimes a bell-clear wail, but always laying it DOWN. Also, like his brother Will and his co-writers on this album, Josh's songwriting is always accessible and easy to enjoy. Buy this one and spread the love."