Doin' Somethin' Right

by Billy Currington

Overview

Billy Currington was helped enormously by his duet with Shania Twain on "Party for Two," a new track on her 2004 Greatest Hits album. She had two versions of the song on the record -- one cut with Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath for the pop audience, the version with Currington for country fans, and it's not entirely a stretch to say that Currington is a country McGrath: good-looking, likeable, entirely comfortable with selling out so he can reach as big of an audience possible, yet kind of ingratiating because he's not only charming, he's good at it. And his second album, Doin' Something Right proves this: while it doesn't take any chances, it's a thoroughly entertaining and satisfying contemporary country album. Despite his protestations that he wants to be a hillbilly on the rocking, twangy opening cut, Currington has as strong a foundation in pop as he does in country. He not only gets a nicely mellow, relaxed Californian vibe on the title track, but he collaborates with Michael McDonald on "She's Got a Way with Me," a song that could have fit comfortably onto soft rock stations in the early '80s, when McDonald provided his signature gruff, soulful harmonies on every other track. Currington also covers Kenny Rogers' hit "Lucille," but he does a neat trick with it, one that illustrates why this album is so enjoyable: he does a harder country version than Rogers, proving that he can pull off both lighter pop and straight-ahead country with one performance. The rest of the record goes back and forth between these two extremes -- sometimes subtlety, sometimes not -- and Currington comes across like a blend of Kenny Chesney, Shania Twain, and Alan Jackson: he has the good looks and frat-boy sensibility of Chesney and the pop sense and common touch of Shania, but it's tempered by a touch of the neo-traditional twang of Jackson. The end is a cheerfully commercial country album, but one with muscle and heart, one that's as enjoyable when it's laid-back as when it rocks out. It's an excellent second album and one that should make Currington a star. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	10/18/2005
Label:	Mercury Nashville
UPC:	0602498645833

Tracks

1. I Wanna Be a Hillbilly
2. Good Directions
3. Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right
4. Why, Why, Why
5. That Changes Everything
6. Little Bit Lonely
7. She's Got a Way with Me
8. Lucille
9. Whole Lot More
10. Here I Am
11. She Knows What to Do with a Saturday Night

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Billy Currington   Primary Artist,Vocals
Ray "Chip" Davis   Vocals (Background)
Paul Franklin   Lap Steel Guitar,Guitar (Steel)
Glen Mitchell   Guitar (Electric),Guitar (Electric)
Eddie Bayers   Drums
David Smith   Guitar (Bass),Bass
Tony Harrell   Keyboards
Stuart Duncan   Fiddle,Mandolin
Brett James   Vocals (Background)
Eddie Boyers   Drums
R. Chip Davis   Vocals (Background)
Troy Lancaster   Guitar (Electric)
Biff Watson   Guitar (Acoustic)
Chip Davis   Vocals (Background),Vocals (Background)
Glenn Smith   Guitar (Electric)
Scott Sanders   Dobro
Paul Leim   Drums
Gary Prim   Organ,Piano,Strings,Keyboards
Wes Hightower   Vocals (Background)
John D. Willis   Banjo,Guitar (Acoustic)
Scotty Emerick   Guitar
Smith Curry   Dobro,Guitar (Steel),Lap Steel Guitar
Michael McDonald   Piano,Vocals (Background)
Brent Mason   Guitar (Electric)
Glenn Worf   Guitar (Bass)

Technical Credits

Carson Chamberlain   Audio Production,Composer,Producer,Executive Producer
Brett James   Composer
Matt Rovey   Recording,Assistant Engineer
Tony Martin   Composer
Patrick Jason Matthews   Composer
Brett Jones   Composer,Composer
Tony Lane   Composer
Debra Wingo   Make-Up,Hair Stylist
Karen Naff   Design
Trent Summar   Composer
Sonny Tillis   Composer
Blair Daly   Composer
Billy Currington   Composer,Producer,Executive Producer
David Lee   Composer
Brian Wright   A&R
Marty Dodson   Composer
Bart Busch   Engineer,Recording,Vocal Engineer
Gary Nicholson   Composer
Casey Beathard   Composer
Lee Moore   Wardrobe
John Kelton   Mixing,Engineer,Recording,Mixing Engineer
Roger Bowling   Composer
Mark Nesler   Composer
Michael McDonald   Composer
Luke Bryan   Composer
Ken Love   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Rachel Thibodeau   Composer
Hal Bynum   Composer