"Contemporary Country Classics, Volume 3" is the third installment of singer/professor Distillery Dave's covers of classic country songs that bridge the gap between traditional and contemporary country music. Distillery Dave fashions his sound with crooning vocals at once similar to Conway Twitty and George Strait and layered arrangements with piano, steel guitar, violin, and great backing female vocals. Many of these elements are true to the traditional country form, through Dave adds modern elements with contemporary arrangements and rock-influenced guitar solos. The lyrics these classics offer are timeless, witty and clever, often adding an aura of humor to otherwise sad songs about love and heartbreak, loneliness and drinking. The production quality of "Contemporary Country Classics, Volume 3" sounds great and professional, simultaneously true to the traditional and modern country sounds. "Somebody's Needin' Somebody" opens the album with a song popularized by Conway Twitty featuring that subtle interplay of witty humor and sadness, great vocal layering and backing female vocals, and a catchy chorus. "That's the Way Love Goes" is a song about finding and keeping love popularized by Merle Haggard that invokes cliché images of luckiness – horseshoes, rainbows, four-leaf clovers. Overall, "Contemporary Country Classics, Volume 3" is a solid and enjoyable album that takes country classics and intelligently refashions them to combine traditional country music with contemporary country music. Fans of either of these genres interested in witnessing their interplay should give Distillery Dave a listen.
-RadioIndy Review TeamCheck out Distillery Dave 's music on RadioIndy.com with link to purchase and links to popular sites
