Mission Temple Fireworks Stand

by Sawyer Brown

Overview

If the cover depicting Sawyer Brown as a bunch of tough yet well-groomed carnies wasn't an indication that their 2005 effort Mission Temple Fireworks Stand captures a rougher, rowdier version of the veteran country-pop band, the opening title cut confirms it. A galloping bluesy rocker, patterned on a gospel-tent singalong but sounding like pure Southern rock, it's a welcome change from the cautious crossover pop of 2002's Can You Hear Me Now and it's a good indication of what the overriding character of the album is. Throughout much of the rest of the album, Sawyer Brown favor loose, lean, humorous country-rockers, whether it's spiking Steven Curtis Chapman's "Tarzan and Jane" with "ooga-chakas" lifted from Jonathan King's take on B.J. Thomas' "Hooked on a Feeling" or doing a spirited cover of the Georgia Satellites' "Keep Your Hands to Yourself." It's as if the group heard the raunchy sounds of Big & Rich and Gretchen Wilson and decided the way to compete was going for straight-ahead Southern rock. Of course, this is Sawyer Brown, the group that first came to fame on Star Search, so they haven't abandoned their taste for big sentiment, and they have two of their most unbearably mawkish numbers to date here: "With You Daddy," a tale of a father dying from lung cancer, and its flip side, "One Little Heartbeat at a Time," a tale about a newborn baby. These are syrupy, drippy tunes, but they don't slow down the album too much, since most of the record moves along briskly -- the hooks are plentiful, the band sounds tight, and the production is uncluttered, making for their best record in over a decade. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	08/23/2005
Label:	Curb
UPC:	0715187887923

Tracks

1. Mission Temple Fireworks Stand
2. Tarzan and Jane
3. They Don't Understand
4. With You Daddy
5. Your Faith
6. Keep Your Hands to Yourself
7. Ole' Kentuck
8. All I Want Is You
9. One Little Heartbeat at a Time
10. Ladies Man
11. There Was a Time
12. Tryin' to Find (A Way to Make It Last)

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Sawyer Brown   Primary Artist
Joe Smyth   Drums
Hobie Hubbard   Vocals (Background),Vocals,Keyboards
Joe Erkman   Guitar,Guitar (Rhythm)
Shayne Hill   Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Jim Scholten   Guitar (Bass)
Logan Miller   Choir/Chorus
Mark A. Miller   Vocals
Hunter Miller   Choir/Chorus
Madison Miller   Choir/Chorus
Gunnar Miller   Choir/Chorus
Will Franklin Chapman   Choir/Chorus
Caleb Chapman   Choir/Chorus
Joe "Curley" Smyth   Drums

Technical Credits

Sam Hewitt   Audio Engineer,Engineer
Jeff Balding   Mixing
David Bryant   Mixing Assistant
Billy Maddox   Composer
Steven Curtis Chapman   Composer
Paul Thorn   Composer
John Lewis   Engineer
Richard Dodd   Mastering
Dan Baird   Composer
Dale Oliver   Composer,Engineer
Glenn Sweitzer   Design,Art Direction
Greg Hubbard   Composer
Marina Chavez   Photography
Dean Chance   Composer
Amanda Friedland   Wardrobe
Elaine Schock   Publicity
JC Montarosa   Assistant Engineer