New Album Review: Dierks Bentley- Gravel & Gold

Dierks Bentley- Gravel & Gold

Label: Capitol

Producers: Dierks Bentley, Brett Beavers, Jon Randall, Ross Copperman, F. Reid Shippen

With a career that now spans twenty years and half as many records, Dierks Bentley remains one of the country chart’s most unassuming, consistently reliable superstars and creatively vibrant mainstays. On opening cut, “Same Ol’ Me”, he asserts that not much has changed with the passing of time, and that’s a declaration that proves itself throughout the course of Gravel & Gold. His sturdy signature sound remains confidently in tact, melding country-rock swagger with an affinity for bluegrass-leaning instrumentation and thoughtful, atmospheric storytelling. Smash-worthy anthems like the chart-topping title track, the contemplative “Something Real”, the sing-along break up tune “All the Right Places”, and the honky rave-up “Beer at My Funeral” are balanced with moody, introspective, road-weary gems like “Sun Sets in Colorado”, “Heartbreak Drinking Tour”, and the beautifully wistful “Walking Each Other Home”. Great collaborative selections, also a deep tradition in Bentley’s catalog, abound as well with guests Ashley McBryde (“Cowboy Boots”) and bluegrass wunderkind Billy Strings (“High Note”), once again illustrating Bentley’s natural ease at marrying the mainstream and underground worlds of roots music. Bentley’s remained a Music City beacon throughout all eras of his career, first as a scrappy new traditionalist, then as one of his generation’s more artistically daring radio darlings, and now as a resilient, gate-keeping veteran. Gravel & Gold provides emphatic assurance that he doesn’t plan to relinquish such status any time soon.

Track Listing:

  1. “Same Ol’ Me” (Dierks Bentley, Luke Dick, Jon Randall)
  2. “Sun Sets In Colorado” (Ross Copperman, Tommy Lee James, Josh Osborne)
  3. “Heartbreak Drinking Tour” (Bentley, Dick, Copperman, Ashley Gorley, Hardy)
  4. “Something Real” (Bentley, Dick, Copperman, Gorley, Hardy)
  5. “Still” (Bentley, Jeff Hyde, Jeremy Spillman, Ryan Tyndall)
  6. “Beer at My Funeral” (Brett Beavers, Jim Beavers)
  7. “Cowboy Boots” featuring Ashley McBryde (Bentley, Casey Brown, Jordan Minton, Hunter Phelps)
  8. “Gold” (Bentley, Dick, Copperman, Gorley)
  9. “Walking Each Other Home” (Bentley, Dick, Osborne)
  10. “Roll On” (Bentley, B. Beavers, J. Beavers)
  11. “All the Right Places” (Bentley, Copperman, Osborne)
  12. “Ain’t All Bad” (Bentley, Brown, Minton, Phelps)
  13. “Old Pickup” (Michael Dulaney, Tony Martin, Neil Thrasher)
  14. “High Note” featuring Billy Strings (Charlie Worsham, J. Beavers)

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