REVIEW: Colby Acuff “Enjoy The Ride”

Colby Acuff Enjoy the Ride

Colby Acuff writes and sings great songs. This album is no different except in aiming his arrow for the heartland, he hits us smack dab in the middle of the heart. His new album, Enjoy The Ride takes us out of the deeply personal and into the more deeply familiar. His lyrics connect just as easily when he holds a mirror to the middle as he does to his self. It’s a definitively American album. The struggles, trials, tribulations, and acceptance in each of the songs is very much the truth of the edge between poverty and having anything. Always on the verge of losing it all, praying on a lottery ticket to prevent the fall, each of the 11 songs on the album, provide a contemporary snapshot of the diminishing center of the United States. It’s a compelling portrait. On this, Colby’s 6th full length album, we find an America united, not politically, but in its struggles, slowly plodding forward and just being thankful, “we’ll be okay.”

Enjoy the Ride was produced, recorded and mixed by Eddie Spear in Nashville, TN. It was mastered by Chris Athens at Chris Athens Masters in Austin, TX with assistance by Dave Huffman. Colby runs a tight ship and the musicians on the album are a reflection of that. All of the additional players are key to assisting Colby in shaping his true Americana sound. Colby, Shaun Richardson and Seth Taylor add the acoustic guitar throughout the album as well as the mandolin and banjo; the electric is Colby and Seth. Seth also plays the Dobro and baritone on the album giving it a dusty deep feel. Bass players are Calvin Knowles and Eddie Spear, with steel guitar by Kurt Ozan. The harmonicas and whistles are all Colby, while the fantastic fiddle is played by Avery Merritt. The deep cello –you hear moving you along the heartland — is Emily Nelson. The combination of Knowles on the upright with therhyth, and piano by Eddie Spear keeps the tracks rhythmically consistent and are a fantastic unit! Vocals are primarily Colby with the whole band joining in on the choruses. The echoing background vocals of Jeremy Lister round out the sound. They all hold to the concept Colby’s layer out and have crafted an excellent sounding album.

I’ve been following along with Colby’s career for the past 3 years and bear direct witness to his personal and universal growth. His songs and his personality have evolved in tandem and it’s been remarkable to witness in real time. As he began hinting at new songs and slowly dropped singles from this album throughout the summer, his star has gone from a champion of men’s mental health to a lyrical photographer of the strings that bind the people of America together. His personal growth has coincided with the knowledge and acceptance that he is not alone with his demons. He found it in the stories of Americans throughout the country whose tales are not unique but a shared common struggle. It’s heart wrenching and beautiful like a gorgeous Tuesday afternoon, somewhere in the back a reminder that the beauty is the moment, and we all work on Wednesday.

Each of the songs on this album is derived from conversations Colby had with regular everyday Americans across the southeast. The conversations reveal a humanity behind the tough veneer of Americana. We all struggle. We all accept fate. And we all just try to make it through each and every day the best we can. It is the premise of the song “Average American” but also the premise and theme throughout the entire album. In “Average American” Colby makes the words relatable as the listener gets placed with all of the other American families, caricatures, no different than the stuck figures adorning the back of a mini-van. It’s difficult to not sing along to that track, and pretty much all the others on the album. While all the songs are highlights, “Her Song (Numb to Everything)” and “Simple Little Life” are especially poignant. Colby’s voice is rich and emotionally stretches as far as each song will let it it. It’s an exquisite blend, of songs that cast light to the true spirit of America. Excellent Album!

Find more details here on his website: https://www.colbyacuff.com