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Luke Bryan – Mind of a Country Boy

Florian Buechting Media Review No Comments

Luke Bryan - Mind of a Country Boy

Luke Bryan - Mind of a Country Boy
3.5

Rating

 3.5/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Personal stories
  • 14 songs (7 new ones)

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Lacking the magical touch of previous albums
  • Some comparably weaker songs

Luke Bryan is definitely one of the country music artists who influenced me the most. His Play It Again has been a key song right at the beginning of my addiction to the genre and thus made to the Songs of My Life. On 27th September 2024, he is releasing his new album, Mind of a Country Boy. I simply had to have a listen.

 

Luke Bryan – About The Artist

Thomas Luther Luke Bryan was born on 17th July 1976 in Leesburg, Georgia. The US-American country artist looks back to 26 US Billboard Country chart-topping albums. Already his debut album, I’ll Stay Me released in 2002, made it to the second spot of the country album charts in his country. His six most recent albums even topped the domestic country charts, four of them even the overall ones. He is even having quite some success in minor country music countries. His most recent album, Born Here Live Here Die Here (2020) peaked 14th in Switzerland, for example. His 2024 long-play is his eighth studio album overall. There has been a release billed as an EP with the same title track before.

 

Luke Bryan – Mind of a Country Boy – Track by Track

The fourteen track album lasts 47 minutes.

1. Mind of a Country Boy

Half of the songs of the album have already been released before the album. The title track Mind of a Country Boy opens the album and is one of them. The song sounds like a typical Luke Bryan song, but is a bit more reduced on the guitar side. This leaves some space for other instruments like the tootling banjo. The song comes with a nice groove, but is lacking a bit of power.

2. Love You, Miss You, Mean It

The more emotional and romantic Love You, Miss You, Mean It has been one of the key pillars of the Mind Of A Country Boy campaign. It works as a party track on a summer night party as well as what might follow thereafter if you ran into a nice person. A good one.

3. Country Song Came on

Country Song Came on has been the last single release before the album. The song has a comparably intimate and personal touch. 850k streams on Spotify after three weeks is maybe not really what leads to popping champagne on Luke’s team, but I feel the song is quite nice. Maybe “quite nice” is less than you expect of a Luke Bryan song.

4. Pair of Boots

The fourth song Pair of Boots is in fact the first song not previously released on the album. The ballad is touching typical country music emotions and is a heart-warmer for fans of the genre. It warms  my heart as well.

Buy a boy a pair of boots, he’ll wear ’em till he wears ’em out
He won’t know it yet, but he’s a step ahead ‘fore they ever hit the ground
Watch him put ’em on and see the man he grows into
Buy a boy a pair of boots

5. But I Got a Beer in My Hand

Compared to 500 million Spotify songs like Play It Again or Country Girl (Shake It For Me), But I Got a Beer in My Hand (40m streams there) might still be rather limited. But in fact, this song has been one of the to most successful single releases of the album s far. The strong groove driven from the bass and the party style simply makes you move – and potentially long for a cold one. That’s exactly what this song is aiming for.

6. Kansas

In the next song, the Georgia boy is taking us to Kansas. The second new song on this album is in fact a love song – and hits some more US states. I feel it really works out well, especially due to the catching melody of the chorus.

If it’s red dirt, I’ll give you Georgia
Every mile of every backroad
If it’s a shoreline, I’ll give you California
Every wave crashing on that Gold Coast
If it’s a mountain, girl, I’ll give you Colorado
I’ll do anything for ya’, baby, God knows
I don’t know what love is, don’t understand it
But if it’s a wheat field, I’ll give you Kansas

7. Country on

The long span before the album release cannot be illustrated better than with Country on. The song has in fact been released in August 2022 already. But more than two years later, Country on has still a really nice touch and is especially a highlight on Luke’s set list on his regular farm tour shows.

8. Fish on the Wall

Fish on the Wall is a typical, nostalgic praise to the country life. It just feels mandatory to have this kind of songs on a country music album nowadays. We didn’t have much, but we had it all – Bryan is looking back to his past Georgia life. The song is really nice, even though it might never make it on a Best of his songs collection.

9. She’s Still Got It

She’s Still Got It is a praise to a lady. However, it is not about Bryan’s spouse Caroline Boyer, but about a young Luke’s life girl, which he just does not get out of his head. Still got her number, but you never call it, ‘Cause you burned a bridge and can’t get back across it. We all have these kind of memories, don’t we? Thus, the song is quite relatable. I enjoy listening to this story,

10. Closing Time in California

Being released in August 2024, Closing Time in California has been one of the last single releases before the album. The slow and rather intimate atmosphere song somehow feels nice and pleasing when it is running in the background, but it does not really catch me in a way I really get into it.

11. For the Kids

For the kids, I go to work, you stay at home
Do what we do just to get through and watch them grow
We fill this house with love
But somehow lose it between us
We swore we’d never end up like this
Married for the kids

The song is on the one hand a track expressing Luke Bryan’s love for his two kids. On the other hand, it is also reflecting a very traditional family life and all the things you give up for family life. I guess I just miss my blue jean baby and you miss your Friday night man. Thomas Boyer and Tatum Christopher are in their teenage years already. I am not sure whether I would like to listen to lyrics like I know you don’t want it, and I don’t want it like this // Married for the kids from their perspective.

12. Southern and Slow

Compared to the average of Mind of a Country Boy, Southern and Slow is a rather uptempo and rhythmic track. It has a bit of this magical Luke Bryan energy, which gave me so many good memories, listening to songs in the (US) country radio, at home or at one of his shows I attended. But finally, it is just a bit. So the song on the one hand feels good to me, on the other hand it is somehow disappointing.

13. I’m on a Tractor

I watch the sunrise
And the morning dew dry
Chugging alongside some ol’ fence line
I take a sip of
Coffee from a Thermos
Nobody knows where I’m at, but she does

So if you call and I don’t answer I’m on a tractor – the thirteenth song feels very melancholic and longing again. Somehow, I feel that too many songs on this album feel like Bryan is stating “I feel I should have gone for another life”. This makes songs like this feel very personal, but also a bit of immature for a 48 year old artist, who co-defined a major genre for almost two decades now.

14. Jesus ‘Bout My Kids

I used to talk to my kids about Jesus
The same way that my mom and daddy did
I used to talk to my kids about Jesus
Now I talk to Jesus ’bout my kids

Maybe apart from the religious reference, the closing song is a track many parents can relate to. The more your kids grow up, the more you are a bit of afraid, hope you did things right and that they take a good and safe way. The slow and intimate song is a really nice finish of Mind of a Country Boy.

 

Luke Bryan – Mind of a Country Boy – Spotify

Here is the album on Spotify:

 

Luke Bryan – Mind of a Country Boy – My View

Luke Bryan has always be a magical artist to me. He gave me so many good memories, his songs made me feel good, dance, enjoy country music. Mind of a Country Boy is not going into that direction. It is personal, has a very emotional, not too rarely also melancholic and struggling touch. There have been songs like that on previous albums as well – but they overall had another message. His 2024 album comes with some good stories, but is also lacking that magic – and this unique Luke Bryan catch when you listen to him. Thus, I rather see it on the weaker side of his discography.

Favorite Song: Kansas

 

Songs Of My Life

Here are the postings of the personal Songs Of My Life category:

 

Country Music Reviews in 2024

Here are all my Media Reviews related to country music published in 2024:

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