Big and Rich Album: “Horse of a Different Color”

Some reviewers have complained about the sound and the lyrics that Big and Rich are selling us. OPEN YOUR MINDS! This is NEW country, not your old fashioned Hank Williams/Willie Nelson brand of music. Not that old fashioned country music is bad. But times change and so does the music. Big and Rich have introduced a whole new sound to country music, a much overdue style.

As far as the lyrics being "empty and mindless", as one person wtote, they must not have listened to "Saved" or "Holy Water". Both these songs, among several others, have real heart and soul to them. The lyrics are very thoughtful and meaningful.

As for some of the other songs like "Rollin'","Kick My Ass" and "Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy", these are just plain fun to listen to and even dance, if your'e in the mood. As for the video for "....Cowboy", it's a mix of City Slickers meets Rocky Horror Picture Show meets the girls from "Addicted to Love" video meets Moulin Rouge. It's awesome and very creative, but most of all, it's FUN!!!

That's what the whole cd is, fun. The guys can really harmonize great together and in the song "Live This Life", sound almost like Simon and Garfunkel. There are so many different kinds of music and styles going on, it'd be hard not to find something you liked on this cd.

Like other reviewers, I, too, bought this for the "Save A Horse.." song, and wound up loving EVERY song on the cd.There's ballad, rock and rollers, a little funk/hip-hop/rap, and plain old country music.

These guys are enormously talented and you can tell they are having fun making their own style of music. If your'e a fan of good music, of any kind, I promise you won't be disappointed with this cd.

Big and Rich is just what country music needed, a real shot in the arm with a dose of NEW music.

This album has got to be, by far, one of the best albums I have ever heard.

"Why they tryin' to complicate, the simple music that we make, ah, 'cause if it moves my soul, I'm goin' to keep on Rollin', Rollin'"

That lyric from the song Rollin' (The Ballad of Big & Rich), is one of my favorites. It's country, it's rock and roll, it's real, and it's amazing.

You get bar room tracks from "Kick My Ass", "Drinkin' 'Bout You", and "Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy)" to songs that hit home for some listeners, like "Holy Water." "Love Train" is a song about coming together and leaving our differences behind.

I could call these two lyrical geniuses, they have a way with words, which in turn makes for some great music.

I strongly recommend this CD for anyone who loves music. Big Kenny and John Rich are a couple of "crazy son-of-a-BAD WORDS"!!!

Never before has a new artist been able to define who they are so well on a debut album. Sometimes it takes years for any artist to gain a clear identity. Big & Rich has personality and musical chops in spades.

This album kicks off with the rocking "Rollin'" (which manages to be an unabashed country party while throwing in a touch of bilingual hick-hop) and journeys to its conclusion with "Live this Life" (featuring haunting lyrics and Martina McBride doing her thing). By the time you get there, you have been on a musical ride like nothing you have ever heard before. Both of those tracks are instant classics, but this is no musical buffet where you pick and chose a couple and discard the rest: This is a flat out great album.

Let's see, what does it take to break boundaries and make a great record these days: Lyrics? Strong Vocals? Visionary Production Values? Variety? Musical Prowess? It's all here.

You have got to buy this album and it must be listened to in it's entirety. It's amazing this album even got made, as it is so groundbreaking and manages to be different and familiar at the same time. This album is ballsy and bluesy, country and rocking. It will make you dance, inspire a party, and might even make you cry tears of joy. I have heard the future of music and the future of music is Big & Rich.

This is possibly the best CD I own...

I am a 19 year old girl that is relatively new to country music- I just started getting into it about a year ago- and when I heard "Save a Horse" I liked it so I figured I would pick this CD up. I am sooo impressed. I figured it might all be fun stuff like "Save a Horse" but this CD has a wild variety of songs. The fun is in how different every song is. The guys really showcase their talent and range...From the second I heard "Rollin" I knew I would love this CD- it's just one of those albums that makes you feel good. Big&Rich...what can I say? These guys are very talented. Every song on this CD is good, and I mean that. There are a lot of CDs I love that I skip tracks on...but this is not one of them. I love every single song on this CD! I really look forward to a second album from these guys- and I hope it will be as good as this is.

I'm also a fan of Gretchen Wilson, Tim McGraw, and SHeDAISY, so if you like them, I think you'll like this too. I bought this CD and Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dyin" at the same time and I could not tear myself away from "Horse of a Different Color"...oh yes, it's just that good. Worth the money, so just go ahead and get it already.

Big and Rich's Horse of a Different Color is a loud, upbeat set of songs that show that the duo have no interest in confining their music to any particular genre. Right from the opening track ('Rollin', the Ballad of Big and Rich') the tracks include some serious crossing of musical tastes - Rollin' includes some rap from Cowboy Troy; 'Kick My Ass' also ends in a rap bit. Other tracks veer towards modern pop and would not sound unusual on a Top 40 station. For the most part, the experiments result in bold, interesting music, though the occasional track falls flat.

Purists are going to hate this CD. This is not twang, does not involve steel guitars, and lacks the narrative strength that makes the likes of Johnny Cash and George Strait so popular. There's a strong pop influence on every track on the CD, and if you are the kind of person who can't get into Shania Twain because she's not old-school enough for you, you will not like Big and Rich.

Similarly, if you are looking for a sentimental, downbeat CD Horse of a Different Color is not for you. The tempo on most of the tracks is upbeat and Big and Rich are clearly interested in keeping the mood light - there is no other explanation for a song with lyrics like 'Why Does Everybody Want to Kick My Ass?' or 'Save a Horse/Ride a Cowboy.' Particularly if you listen to the lyrics Big and Rich are clearly feeding off of the main themes of country music - 'Saved' in particular is about temptation and faith. Similarly, it is easy to see how the guys singing 'Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)' would morph into someone singing Toby Keith's 'I Ain't as Good as I Once Was' in ten years' time.

If there is a weakness here, it's hubris, as I'm not sure that any artist as new as Big and Rich can really have a ballad all their own. Several tracks have Big and Rich referring to themselves in the third person, which I find odd and a little off-putting, but that's a personal preference.

Although 'Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)' is by far the biggest hit from this album, I thought that 'Deadwood Mountain' (the most traditional country track on the album), 'Wild West Show,' and 'Holy Water' were all decent. The only track I really didn't care for was 'Real World,' which is a pale shadow of Brad Paisley's 'Celebrity.'

Overall, whether you like this album or not will depend far more on your personal musical tastes than the talents of Big and Rich. If you are open to new variations on country music or are someone who likes both country and other genres, you are probably going to like Horse of a Different Color. If you are a traditionalist, this is not the CD for you.