By Liz Ciocher
Staff Writer
Luke Combs released his fourth album, “Gettin’ Old,” on March 24, and with 18 tracks, it’s a country music gold mine.
Combs’ music has shown consistent themes since he began to drop singles — love, gratitude and family. Although this album has a few changes in its sound, the country artist has stayed consistent with these themes.
My favorite song from the album, “Five Leaf Clover,” falls under the love theme category. Combs has produced some of the best love songs to ever face the music industry, and he’s now added another to the collection.
“Love You Anyway” and “Still” are the other two love songs from the album, both written beautifully and sung with such passion it almost made me emotional, but they aren’t the only songs that were stirring up my emotions.
The family themed songs “Take You With Me,” “See Me Now” and “You Found Yours” can also be tear jerkers — especially “See Me Now,” which addresses a relative who’s passed in such a sweet way.
My favorite aspect of the album (and mostly all of Luke Combs’ music) is how easy of a job it makes telling a story. A lot of the songs, like “Tattoo on a Sunburn,” are telling a story to everyone that’s listening, which just makes the music feel more intimate and entertaining.
The most unusual song from the album would have to be “Joe,” not because of its sound, but because of its title. In this song, Combs is singing about living life through a positive perspective (gratitude), but doesn’t have much to do with a man named Joe. I’m sure there’s some hidden meaning behind the name, but it’s not very clear when first listening.
The album also makes tribute to Tracy Chapman, with the song “Fast Car,” which is Combs’ cover of Chapman’s song of the same name. I liked this song a lot — there were only a few words changed and he does a really good job with it. He originally covered the song in concert years ago, and he must have liked covering it so much he wanted to add it to the album. This was a smart decision on his part, as he’s done it really well.
My only problem with the album is how I feel the sound has changed a lot from his previous releases. Although it is still very country, some elements feel like they might be trying to wander their way over to the country-rock genre. However, Combs has gone through a lot of changes over the years, with both the pandemic and becoming a father, so it does make sense that his music would change along with him.
The album cover looks really similar to last year’s album, “Grown’ Up,” which is another cool aspect. It’s essentially the same cover, just mirrored and set with a different background. The titular track of the album nods to this, being titled “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old.” I really like when artists intertwine their releases, so this was something I could really appreciate.
Overall, I like the album a lot. Some of the songs, like “Fox in the Henhouse” and “The Beer, the Band, and the Barstool” might be occasionally skipped (for being a little bit too yeehaw country), but I will definitely be adding the songs to my library.
To narrow down the tracklist, I’d put my top five songs as follows:
“Five Leaf Clover”
“Tattoo on a Sunburn”
“See Me Now”
“You Found Yours”
“Fast Car”
If you’re a country fan, this album is definitely worth a listen. If you’re just beginning to listen to the genre, it’s an even better place to start.
