Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing was released on November 7, 2006, just after
country singer and songwriter
Keith Urban entered -- of his own accord -- into treatment for alcoholism. With
Urban having married actress
Nicole Kidman just months before, the timing couldn't be better. After all,
Urban is trying to get well at the very peak of his life -- thus far -- personally and professionally. Be Here, his last album, is, at the time of this writing, at nearly the four-million mark in sales. As fine as that disc is, this one is another giant leap for
Urban as an artist. Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing is slicker than anything
Urban has issued before, but that's because it's more ambitious as well.
Urban is a rocking guitarist, a complete wildman on the electric six-string, and he can combine his tough, unhinged approach to playing guitar with
pop songwriting and utterly brilliant production elements that layer strings, drum loops, fiddles, banjos, E-Bows, and Hammond B-3s. Add a songwriting style that touches on the classic elements of rock,
country, and mainstream
pop, and you have something that hasn't been heard in the
country genre in this way before. That's right -- the album is further proof of his ability to stretch the genre to the breaking point by bringing in more of modern
pop's elements while remaining firmly within it.
This albums feels, song by song, as if there isn't anything he can't do. Co-producing with
Dan Huff,
Urban wrote or co-wrote ten of the album's 13 cuts -- there's a hidden track buried in the CD-ROM portion of the disc. The production is thoroughly modern, but feels like the
country equivalent of
George Martin. It's positively baroque in places, and there is so much packed in that it almost feels claustrophobic, but he makes it work beautifully. No record since
Neil Diamond's brilliant Beautiful Noise -- produced by
the Band's
Robbie Robertson -- has sounded so regal and inviting. The album's first single, "Once in a Lifetime," opens the set; it entered the
Billboard chart at number 17, the highest debuting single since the chart's inception. But the shock is simply that it's not the best track on the record.
Urban has packed this disc with fine writing and excellent, even defining versions of the songs he chose to cover. There are a number of rockers, including "Faster Car," with its smoking, funky bassline and layered power chords on guitars and his "ganjo" that ring above the horn section, and "I Told You So," which uses acoustic guitars, fiddles, and the ganjo to usher in some twisting, minor-key electrics. Both songs are based on tight little hooks; both songs build to the breaking point and allow
Urban's voice to soar above the instruments. On the latter tune, Uilleann pipes and bouzouki are layered into the mix in a melody that brings to bear
celtic cowboy lyric frames and tribal rhythms that just explode near the end when
Urban cuts loose in a serious, distortion-laden guitar wrangle.
"Shine," which begins as a shimmering
country-pop tune, is a another example, as a string section and his unhinged soloing style battle for dominance in the nearly unbearable climax. "I Can't Stop Loving You," written by
Billy Nichols, is another big climax tune, but it becomes one of the great modern
country love songs with its incessant reaching to its crescendo -- provided by an army of strings and big power chords. "Used to the Pain," written with
Darrell Brown, is a stealthy rocking love song that drips with emotion brought out by vocals that swirl all around the instrumental mix and huge drums. The down-home anthem "Raise the Barn," a duet with
Ronnie Dunn, was written in reaction to the destruction done by Hurricane Katrina.
Urban can write a shuffling country-rocker with the best of them.
Urban didn't pen "God Made Woman," but his version makes the track his own. Beginning with a choir (somewhat smaller and yet reminiscent of
the Rolling Stones on "You Can't Always Get What You Want"), the cut quickly becomes a loud and proud
country-rock anthem that celebrates -- not objectifies -- women. "Tu Compañía" is a way funky
country two-step love song driven by the ganjo. Yeah. Funky. The album's final cut, "Got It Right This Time," sounds like a homemade demo by the rest of the album's standards, with
Urban handling drum machine and keyboard chores while singing. That said, it's far from substandard and certainly belongs here, as it showcases
Urban's voice in all its unadorned grandeur and reveals the influence of
soul music on his singing.
Those who wish to decry
Urban as some kind of slick, formulaic songwriter and flavor of the
country music moment are missing it. The man writes honest, beautifully crafted songs that are adult enough to ponder, tough enough to rock, and tender enough to pull -- not tug -- on the heartstrings. As previously stated, there's no better time to get well than when you are at the absolute top of your game. While
Urban's previous records have had their moments and Be Here was his true arrival, Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing is his mature
pop masterpiece -- and for all its wonder and expertise, it feels like it's just a taste of what he will offer in the future. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
Sabrinia P. (