Track Listing

1. Waitin' In The Country
2. I Can Sleep When I'm Dead
3. Alyssa Lies
4. Lookin' At You
5. No Good In Goodbye
6. Livin' Our Love Song
7. Anywhere USA
8. Honky Tonk Friends
9. Love Won't Let Me
10. Angel Of Broken Hearts
11. Let It Rain

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2988 in Music
• Released on: 2007-02-06
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
Jason Michael Carroll's debut, already distinguished by the single "Alyssa Lies," an affecting ballad about child abuse, is a take-no-chances, radio-ready smorgasbord aimed mostly at the testosterone-fueled, truck-revvin' set. Carroll, a 28-year-old father of four and the son of a North Carolina fundamentalist preacher, hits those Piedmont consonants hard, and looks like a cross between a contemporary Christian singer and a devotee of Trace Adkins, whose speaker-rattling baritone is an obvious inspiration. With producer Don Gehman (John Mellencamp) mixing Carroll's sensitive originals with hearty commercial songs from proven Nashville hitmeisters (Craig Wiseman, Casey Beathard, Jeffrey Steele), it's hard to get a good fix on Carroll's persona, and he lives and dies by the material. One schizophrenic moment: "No Good in Goodbye," his duet with Nashville convert Jewel, who co-wrote the song with Carroll and Shaye Smith. The fading pop icon has no idea how to phrase a song like this, and the singers' interaction never sounds believable. To quote a line from another tune here, "Something like this just don't exist/Between a backwoods boy and a fairytale princess." Carroll's ability to balance the realism of "Alyssa Lies" with such obviously calculated fare (check out the Toby Keith-ish "Honky Tonk Friends") may ultimately set his fate. --Alanna Nash

Customer Reviews

Amazing. QED.
Ok, not only is he absolutely gorgeous, but his songs are equally amazing, as well - and his voice is just guh.

+ "Waitin' In The Country" - Love this song. The second verse is love, but the whole song's snazzin'.
+ "I Can Sleep When I'm Dead" - "I've got a closet full of Red Bull and Visine to hide the red." You'll laugh, even if you don't want to. xD
+ "Alyssa Lies" - The first song I heard from him on the radio, 'n I still cry every time I hear it.
+ "Lookin' At You" - Sweet and funny, perfect combination.
+ "No Good In Goodbye" - One of my favorite tracks, 'cause he's singing with Jewel (love her) and the song is just gorgeous. ("And I know it can't be over, 'cause I still wake up reachin' for you in the night...")
+ "Livin' Our Love Song" - So sweet, and swoon-worthy (for a hopeless romantic, at least).
+ "Anyhwere USA" - I can't even say how much I love this song. xD It just makes you wanna dance 'n sing along, 'n it's just great.
+ "Honky Tonk Friends" - Silly and fun with a ring of truth to it; very nice.
+ "Love Won't Let Me" - Love this song way too much. It's gorgeous, it's shippy, and an overall guh.
+ "Angel Of Broken Hearts" - It's got this music to it that you wouldn't quite expect, but it adds to a nice, "Ok, I'm tired of being miserable over her - can I move on now, please?" sort of feel to the song.
+ "Let It Rain" - Beyond gorgeous. He sings it higher than the rest of the songs, and it just adds to the song's charm. Gorgeous post-break up song.

Better than expected!
I knew I liked the songs played on the radio, but the others were better than expected. I recommend this cd to country music fans. This is a good cd beginning to end.

Great Purchase
This album is really strong. My favorite song is "Angel of Broken Hearts" but the entire album is strong.

Jason Michael Carroll has a deep rich voice that commands attention both in his album and his live performances. He has an amazing amount of energy in both. The one song that really lacks appeal on this album for me is "Honky Tonk Friends." It seemed like a forced faked song and failed to follow the flow or feeling of the rest of the album. I did find Anywhere USA to be very catchy among other songs that weren't released as singles.

If you get a chance to catch him live its a good show but he still hasn't quite captured the art of holding the audience and moving them.