Country (Rock) Music Jesus

OVER the decades Country and Gospel music has been closely linked and so it is not unusual, even in the Rock-style new Country music of today, that the number one album in the US Billboard charts Chief would have a track titled Country Music Jesus sung by Eric Church who says he is a singer on a mission. But his mission seems to be extending the borders of modern Country music into areas where it will attract more new fans, even into the realms of Country-Rock Gospel music with songs such as the aforementioned Country Music Jesus or another track on his new album titled Like Jesus Does. It may be far too Rocky to sound anything like the old Country Gospel songs such as I'll Fly Away or How Great Thou Art but there are some similarities between the messages conveyed by such songs and Country Music Jesus. 'There'll be fire on the mountain There'll be revival and banging drums There'll be screaming and there'll be shouting When my Country music Jesus comes.' You might expect someone coming off their first two Top Ten country singles and an Academy of Country Music award for Top New Solo Vocalist to lock down the formula and go for more of the same as in his previous albums, but with this third album, Chief, Eric Church is trying something bolder and using the opportunity provided by his success to push his music even further. His 2006 debut album, Sinners Like Me, established him as one of the most acclaimed new songwriters in country music. The follow-up, 2009's Carolina, includes the singles Love Your Love the Most and Smoke a Little Smoke, which took Eric to the top ranks of today's new Country stars in the US. At a time when Smoke was still peaking on the charts, Eric decided to take a step back to give some thought to his next creative direction. The songs that resulted illustrate his impressive vocal range. Some of the titles like Drink in My Hand or Hungover and Hard Up instantly show that he's still comfortable with the expectations of his rowdy live audience. One of the tracks, Springsteen seems to be about how Eric and some of his buddies, in an old jeep, drove to Bruce Springsteen's house, just to have a look around, and it also tells about how he admired the Rock star so much that he had his name tattooed on his arm. One of the Gospel songs, Like Jesus Does, reveal complicated emotions and sophisticated song structures but perhaps the bravest track on Chief  is the first single from the album Homeboy.  It's a provocative appeal from one brother to another to get back on track and make peace with his family. Though Eric Church's focus is on looking forward rather than looking back, he does acknowledge that the surprising success of Smoke a Little Smoke allowed him to explore and experiment with his new songs. 'This was the first time I picked a single because of the reaction on the road and it paid off,' he says. The desire to capture the intensity of his live show on record is indicated right in the title of the new album. Chief was my grandfather's nickname, and it has become my nickname on the road,' he added. If there is one thing Country music needs more of, it's the attitude that is driving Eric Church, the approach behind every song on Chief, the fearlessness that lets an artist swing for the fences and try to leave a mark on the music history books. 'There were safer choices I could have made for sure, but I just can't feel that helps anybody,' he says. 'If you have any respect for the music, you'll use each chance you get to try to be one of the ones who moves the flag,' concluded Eric. He certainly has moved the Country music fences into other fields with this album. â€â€ T.G.