Scotty McCreery Makes a Strong Debut With Clear As Day

I have watched nearly episode of American Idol’s ten seasons and watched many contestants bloom throughout the competition, but only three captured my attention whole-heartedly, rising far above the others to become my primary reason for watching week after week. Those were season two’s almost-winner Clay Aiken, season seven’s sunny 70s-ish singer-songwriter Brooke White and this year’s winner, Scotty McCreery.

Scotty surprised me a bit because, while country music is always well represented on the show, I tend not to gravitate toward those singers. However, the startlingly deep voice of this young man, 17 when he won the competition, got my attention. He sounds like he was born to sing country, and good old-fashioned throwback country, the kind I prefer. While his voice and youth put him on my radar, it was Hollywood Week that turned me into a die-hard fan.

After he was finally accepted into a group – an exhausting ordeal that the show made even more complicated than usual this year – its leader decided to evict one of its previous members at the last minute, almost leaving him without a group at all. Tormented over not having spoken up in his defense, Scotty publicly apologized, demonstrating a depth of integrity that he carried forward with him over the remaining weeks. The combination of his firm principles and distinctive sound made me latch onto him and root for his success, and I knew that I’d be buying his debut album. Happily, Clear As Day is a perfect vehicle for his talent.

Out of Summertime - The album kicks off with this musically upbeat but lyrically downcast song by Tim Nichols and Jonathan Singleton. With the accompaniment of banjo and driving percussion, Scotty recounts a too-familiar tale of summer love between two people who will be separated in the fall. Their youth makes the 300 miles about to separate them even more painful, though they’re about to be seniors in high school; if they’ve developed such a deep relationship by this point, I would think they could keep it up long-distance for a year and then head for the same college… Still, it’s a nice song loaded with nostalgic summery images. “Oh, she coulda been mine, but we ran out of summertime.”

I Love You This Big - This earnest tune by Ester Dean, Brett James, Jay Smith and Ronnie Jackson reminds me of Randy Travis’s My Love Is Deeper. The longest song on the album, its speaker is a simple guy with a lot of love who isn’t quite sure how to express it. The track, heavy on the whining electric guitar, sounds even more thoroughly country-ish than the first, especially with Scotty putting deliberate emphasis on his drawl. “I love you to the moon and back. I love you all the time. Deeper than the ocean and higher than the pines.”

Clear as Day - This title track by Casey Beathard, Phil O'Donnell and Adam Wheeler offers a series of “clear as day” memories involving the girl to whom the song is addressed. The fiddle and mandolin provide a poignant undercurrent that seems at odds with the upbeat feel of the song until the final verse, when it abruptly switches gears, casting the preceding verses in a new light. “You hold to what you love; some things never fade, and that night’s still clear as day.”

The Trouble with Girls - This reflective song by Phillip White and Chris Tompkins makes me smile, particularly in the first verse, because it reminds me of Talkin’ to the Wrong Man, Michael Martin Murphey’s wonderful duet with his son. I prefer that song about a young fella and his dad bonding over their confusion over women to this one, which is more generic and not as funny. Still, I like this slightly melancholy number with its piano backing and its ruminative tone. “The trouble with girls is they’re a mystery. Somethin’ about ‘em puzzles me. Spent my whole life tryin’ to figure out just what them girls are all about.”

Water Tower Town - Written by Cole Swindell, Tammi Kidd and Lynn Hutton, this shortest track is an ode to the delights of small-town living. It’s basically just a list of characteristics that many tiny country towns have in common, and the banjo and bits of front porch-style percussion accentuate the theme. “Nobody eats till you say ‘amen’ and everybody knows your mom and them. You can see who loves who for miles around in a Water Tower Town.”

Walk In The Country This song by Keith Urban and Vernon Rust has a bit of a hard edge to it. Those guitars sound really electric this time around, and Scotty starts off almost hollering, though his voice gets more melodic as the song goes along, a reflection of the good that being out in the country does him. His voice takes some interesting turns here, and the song in general has a different sound to it than most on the album. Thematically reminds me of John Denver’s I Guess He’d Rather Be in Colorado. Also, assuming the allusion is intentional, cool points for referencing one of my favorite books. “Come on, let’s point our toes where the red fern grows. Take a little walk in the country with me.”

Better Than That - This uptempo number by Chris DeStefano, Jess Kates and Craig Wiseman covers the same basic territory as I Love You This Big. I think I actually like it better because the images are more creative: fishing in the dark, driving a Chevy for the first time, “the way it felt to sing along to some words that were scribbled on my soul.” Another song that gives me a strong Randy Travis vibe. I also like the chorus of voices that chimes in on the main line. A very sweet and down-to-earth song. “One day, years from now, when I’m old and gray, I’m gonna smile about how life has been so good, but your love is better, better, better than that…”

Write My Number On Your Hand - This breezy song by Thomas Rhett, Jeremy Stover and Jamie Paulin feels totally laid-back and relaxed. Like Out of Summertime, it deals with a summer romance that geography threatens to make short-term, but these two seem determined to put in the effort to make it last. The ukulele adds a very distinctive touch to this song, and the little “yeehaw” Scotty lets loose at the end is a fitting capper to this easy-going story-song. “So we shared a Coca-Cola sittin’ on a log, and I was wantin’ to kiss her like an old bullfrog. ‘Did you say you’re only here for a couple of days? Well, all right, we ain’t got much time to waste…’”

Dirty Dishes - This gentle reflection by Neil Thrasher, Michael Dulaney and Tony Martin may be my favorite track on the album. A simple song of gratitude backed by acoustic guitar and fiddle, it paints a picture of a warm home stuffed with love and chaos in equal measure, reminding me of the wonderful Weasleys in the Harry Potter series. The nicely harmonized chorus consists of the tired but contented mother’s table grace and would make an excellent song for Thanksgiving. “I wanna thank you, Lord, for noisy children and slammin’ doors and clothes scattered all over the floor…”

You Make That Look Good - Honky-tonk piano and electric guitar have prominence on this upbeat song by Rhett Akins and Lee Thomas Miller. This one makes me think of Neil Diamond’s Forever in Blue Jeans; simple pleasures are really all this guy needs. More to the point, though, the presence of the woman he loves makes everything seem better than it already is. Just as sweet as Better Than That. “It’s a little banged up, a little too much rust, but when you’re sittin’ beside me in my old truck, you make that look good, honey, better than it should. Might as well say Cadillac there on the hood.”

Back On the Ground - This song by Neil Thrasher, Beathard and Tony Martin makes a perfect complement to Dirty Dishes, this time showing an adult son coming to more deeply appreciate his mother after time away. Acoustic guitar and piano help give the verses a mellow feel, while the chorus take on a slightly rockier, more plaintive sound as he recalls his rebellious youth. A touching tribute to the mother-son bond. “Ain’t it funny how it all comes back around? I remember when I couldn’t wait to get out of her hair and ditch this town. I was restless, time to move on, now it’s any reason to go back home…”

The Old King James - The album concludes with this quiet ballad by White and Mark Nesler. Throughout the American Idol competition, Scotty, a devout Baptist, wore his faith on his sleeve, from the cross necklace always around his neck to his choice of several songs with a Gospel flavor. Hence, this tale of a family Bible passed down from the speaker’s grandpa, who received it as a child and toted it to war with him, to his mother, who turned to it in times of crisis, and finally to him feels like a very fitting conclusion. Some interesting instrumentation here, particularly the accordion, and I love the way Scotty speaks a few particular words for emphasis as he spins this heartfelt tale about one book that binds a family together. “But when life would take a sharp turn every now and then and she would just start missin’ him, I’d see her pick it up, and now the cover’s torn and the leather’s worn on that old King James.”

Scotty McCreery has a powerful instrument and, despite his young age, he possesses that all-important storyteller quality that marks the greats of the country balladeer tradition. To me, it’s Clear As Day that he is headed for a great career.