Aaron Raitiere might not be too well-known at first sight, but especially as a songwriter, the Kentucky-origin artist has gained quite some reputation. The highlight of his career so far was winning a Grammy Award for I’ll Never Love Again, which he co-wrote with Lady Gaga, Hillary Lindsay and Natalie Hemby. On 6th May 2022, he is releasing his debut album as a solo artist, Single Wide Dreamer.
Aaron Raitiere – About The Artist
Aaron Raitiere is a 30 year old artist from Danville, Kentucky. He is active as a songwriter since many years. For the A Star Is Born soundtrack, for example, he collaborated on three songs. Aaprt from Look What I Found and Is That Alright?, he was part of the writing team of I’ll Never Love Again, which finally lead to winning the Grammy Award. He already worked with artists like Ed Sheeran or Miranda Lambert. He started to release songs as a solo artist in 2020. Single Wide Dreamer is an album about the absurdity of life.
Aaron Raitiere – Single Wide Dreamer – Track by Track
The twelve song album lasts 39 minutes.
1. Single Wide Dreamer
He’s a shoulda, coulda, woulda,
Maybe still he oughta be a,
Preacher or professor of highfalutin philosophy,
He’s as easy as that breeze a blowin,
Up the skirt on Marilyn Man-rowin,
And a floatin’ and a tokin’ down that stream
Already the opener is setting the direction for this album. Single Wide Dreamer comes with a very special groove and sound – and a big portion of humor and irony. Nice way to describe the people in the this song.
2. Everybody Else
The second track nicely connects to the Single Wide Dreamer. The distorted guitar sound of the guitars gives a nice indie touch. In adition, lyrics like I won’t be lonely when I go to hell, you can find me with everybody else in the chorus lets you listen to the song with a bright smile on your face.
3. For The Birds
For The Birds is one of three feature songs of the album so far. The song is creating a nice country-alike groove with the indie feeling of other tracks on the album. Cool one.
4. Cold Soup
Cold Soup nicely describes the thoughts of a broken person, a beggar. This person is enjoying his Cold Soup – hilarious storytelling!
5. At Least We Don’t Have Any Kids
Has a breakup ever been described in a song in that way? The song is about splitting up, a tattoo with you love on it, all the feelings and issues like this:
So I covered you up with the state of Kentucky,
You got the dog, I got the canoe,
Maybe it’s sad, maybe it’s lucky,
Maybe we did all we could do,
I call it redneck, white and blue
Finally, the song ends with But at least we didn’t have any kids Great one!
6. Dear Darlin’
I like practically all lyrics of the album, but this track, which is even comes with a snoring-alike background sound, is simply my favorite:
Dear Darlin’,
You smell like Aunt Teresa,
Cigarettes and pizza,
Perfume and white wine,
Dear Darlin’,
Your lack of ambition,
And abundance of bitchin’,
Is a total waste of time
Hope that none of you is meant by these words.
7. Your Daddy Hates Me
The song does not have a country music soul at all at first sight. Raitiere just uses scattered synth sounds to create a dramatic background for this song. Finally, a really good and very special listen.
8. Worst I Ever Had
Love is a good thing,
And goodbyes are bad,
You were the best and,
Worst I ever had
Do I need to say more about it than the very first lines of the track? Again, Raitiere just knows how to tell the stories. The melodic side? Deep, very melancholic. The La Da Da ease of the chorus cannot change that.
9. Can’t Rain All The Time
Like the song before, Can’t Rain All The Time is a rather short song. This one comes with a rather present rhythm. The chorus turns into a 1970’s style sound with strong melody lines in the background. One of my least favorite songs of the album.
10. Tell Me Something True
Many songs which include lines like You tell me you love me might face a rather romantic direction. Not here, of course. A few lines later, Aaron Raitiere states Tell me something true. I more and more wish that his lyrics are fictional. Poor guy.
11. You’re Crazy
The second last track has a strong groove, almost has a bit of a reggae vibe. The song is a bit of crazy, indeed, but I love to listen to it.
12. Time Will Fly
The last song of the album is the longest one as well – and it is very melodic. A touch of folk music in this track. A good track to sway to the music and say farewell to Aaron Raitiere’s debut.
Aaron Raitiere – Single Wide Dreamer – Spotify
Here is Single Wide Dreamer on Spotify:
Aaron Raitiere – Single Wide Dreamer – My View
Single Wide Dreamer features a bunch of examples for excellent songwriting and storytelling. Sometimes, the artist goes a bit too far beyond the limits and is too experimental for me. But I enjoy the good moments more than I struggle here and there. Good listen.
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