Album Review - Keith Urban - Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing

On his latest outing Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing, Keith Urban 
doesn't make any dramatic alterations to his style. Of course, this 
shouldn't come as a tremendous surprise given the platinum-level sales 
that he has been achieving as well as the various music industry awards 
that he has been accumulating since the release of his self-titled solo 
debut. Yet, despite the fact that it's the country charts that he's been 
climbing and the country trophies that he's been winning, his music 
bears only the faintest hint of Nashville twang. The only difference 
between Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing and his previous efforts is 
that, on the new album, he has moved even further into a pop-rock vein, 
a notion that is emphasized fully by the crisp, thunderously propulsive 
rhythms provided by drummer Chris McHugh.

The biggest problem with Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing, however, 
lies with Urban's execution.  Ultimately, his bid to be an amiable 
superstar keeps him from achieving something greater, and as a result, 
Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing is merely a pleasantly innocuous 
effort rather than the bold artistic statement of which he clearly is 
capable of making.

This is an excerpt.  To read the complete review, please visit:

http://www.musicbox-online.com/reviews-2006/keithurban-lovepain.html