Greatest Hits: 18 Kids

by Keith Urban

Overview

Keith Urban had a rough go of it in late 2006, when the tour for his brilliant Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing was delayed for health-related reasons. Urban has nonetheless been a road dog in 2007, and this greatest-hits package couldn't have come at a better time. Covering eight years, these are not merely album cuts, but in most cases, the actual radio edits of hit singles -- album lengths are generally longer -- so these are the actual versions of tunes that made country radio and the video channels and don't replicate previous collections. From "I Told You So" and "Making Memories of Us," it goes right on through to the far more powerful version of "Days Go By" and "Where the Blacktop Ends." The 16 catalog tracks top what is the norm for compilations like this, which usually stop at ten or twelve cuts. But there's a bit more; a lot more actually. There are two new tracks that lead this baby off, and the first one's a doozie. "Romeo's Tune" was written by Steve Forbert who, back in the mid- and late '70s, was the next up-and-comer on the songwriting scene (and who appeared on an early Cyndi Lauper video), who has been compared to both Bob Dylan and John Prine, but at the time, his brand of easy, open rock was far more refreshing than that of either of those comparisons. The song is a great fit for Urban, whose voice has just enough graininess in it to recall the original, but it also rocks harder. Urban is faithful to the original but lets his guitar do plenty of talking in the mix. This should be released as a new single to country radio, and hopefully there'll be a video coming to boot. The other bonus is "Got It Right This Time (The Celebration)," which was self-penned. It begins with a B-3 and a Fender Rhodes, a slippery drum loop, and one of those trademark, midtempo love ballad hooks that Urban can write all day long. Given his travails over the past few years, this sounds like a love song for his new wife, Nicole Kidman. That's conjecture, but given that it was written in 2006, it's a pretty good bet. When the guitars open up and the snare starts to crack, Urban's croon glides over this soulful, easy rocker and builds to a killer bridge where the electric six-strings, percussion, organ, and piano swell to the bursting point and it's all joy. Bottom line: it's one of the great romantic rockers of 2007. Equal parts Tom Petty, Don Henley, and Bob Seger, it's a country-pop song that will go down as one of his best. Clocking in at almost 76 minutes, this is a comp for the fans, and for the uninitiated as well. [This is the slightly extended version of the compilation, featuring the bonus track "You Look Good in My Shirt."] ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	08/19/2008
Label:	Capitol
UPC:	5099923471320

Tracks

1. Romeo's Tune
2. Got It Right This Time (The Celebration)
3. I Told You So
4. Stupid Boy
5. Better Life
6. Making Memories of Us
7. Once in a Lifetime
8. Tonight I Wanna Cry
9. You're My Better Half
10. Days Go By
11. But for the Grace of God
12. You'll Think of Me
13. Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me
14. Raining on Sunday
15. Where the Blacktop Ends
16. Your Everything
17. Somebody Like You
18. Everybody
19. You Look Good in My Shirt [2008]

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Keith Urban   Primary Artist,Banjo,Piano,Vocals,Soloist,Slide Guitar,Fender Rhodes,Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Chris McHugh   Featured Artist,Drums
Tom Bukovac   Featured Artist,Guitar (Electric)
Steve Nathan   Piano,Featured Artist,Organ (Hammond)
Perry Coleman   Featured Artist,Vocals (Background)
Jimmie Lee Sloas   Bass,Featured Artist
Dann Huff   Featured Artist,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Jerry Flowers   Featured Artist,Vocals (Background)
Charlie Judge   Keyboards,Featured Artist
Russell Terrell   Featured Artist,Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Ty Lacy   Composer
Deanna Bryant   Composer
John Shanks   Composer
Dennis Matkosky   Composer
Justin Niebank   Mixing,Engineer
Rodney Crowell   Composer
Mark Nesler   Composer
Richard Marx   Composer
Matt Rollings   Producer,Audio Production
Radney Foster   Composer
Sarah Buxton   Composer
Dann Huff   Producer,Audio Production
Dave Berg   Composer
Monty Powell   Composer
Drew Bollman   Assistant,Overdub Engineer
Darrell Brown   Composer
Adam Ayan   Mastering
Steve Forbert   Composer
Bill Bernstein   Photography
Chris Lindsey   Composer
Pat McGuire   Management
Jane Wiedlin   Composer
Mark Hagen   Overdub Engineer
Daniel Miller   Management
Andrew Southam   Photography
Joanna Carter   Art Direction
Bob Regan   Composer
Sandra Westerman   Management
Mike "Frog" Griffith   Production Coordination
Torne White   Design,Art Direction
Russ Harrington   Photography
Juan Pont Lezica   Photography
Duane Clark   Management
Denise Arguijo   Art Producer
Robin Carson   Management
Gary Borman   Management
Betsy McHugh   Management
Allen Shamblin   Composer
Steve Wariner   Composer
Keith Urban   Composer,Producer,Audio Production
Charlotte Caffey   Composer