A 28-year-old newcomer from Kentucky, Shannon Lawson promises more than he delivers on his debut recording. Produced by Mark Wright (Lee Ann Womack , Brooks & Dunn, Trisha Yearwood), Chase the Sun is a showcase for Lawson's big, powerful voice, which calls to mind that of former New Grass Revival vocalist John Cowan. Lawson got his start playing bluegrass in an eclectic Louisville bar band called the Galoots, and several songs on Chase the Sun, including the driving "Bad Bad Bad," feature traditional bluegrass instruments: mandolin, banjo, Dobro, and fiddle. But the overall sound is Nashville Slick, with a paint-by-numbers overproduction style that is sadly endemic these days on Music Row. The single "Goodbye on a Bad Day," about a romance gone bad, is the most glaring example--it's a power ballad cluttered with too many layers of strings, drums, and distorted electric guitars. Lawson wrote or cowrote 10 of the album's 11 songs, but the best one is the only cover, a soul-meets-bluegrass take on Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On," which features a cool Hammond organ and a blistering mandolin solo. A few more like it would have made Chase the Sun stand out from the pack.

TRACKS

1. This Old Heart
2. Chase The Sun
3. Dream Your Way To Me
4. Goodbye On A Bad Day
5. Bad Bad Bad
6. Superstar
7. Where Would I Go
8. Who's Your Daddy
9. Slow Down Sunrise
10. Are You Happy Now
11. Let's Get It On
12. And He Never Said A Mumblin' Word
 
UPC: 008817023328