"Every Road" - Shenandoah & other artists sing about life (Album Review) [English Version]

 Hey 😉

Shenandoah is a music band that was formed in 1984. Their debut album with the same title as the group appeared in 1987 but was not successful. Only the next albums: "The Road Not Taken" (1989) and "Extra Mile" (1990) were granted gold status as the only ones. The last album released by the band is "Good News Travels Fast" from 2016.

The album "Every Road" was released on November 13, 2020 and consists of 10 songs:

 1. I'd Take Another One Of Those - the band performs this song with another famous country band - Zac Brown Band. Cool, relaxed intro. The voices of Marty Raybon (main vocalist of Shenandoah) and Zac Brown (leader of the second music group) complement each other perfectly. It is a nostalgic song in which the narrator "says" that he would love to revisit moments in life that have passed.

2. Make It Till Summertime - this is a duet with artist Luke Bryan. Energetic musical arrangement with catchy words. However, I don't really like this song.

3. If Only - to this song the band invited a talented singer - Ashley McBryde. I like the musical arrangement of the song. Another nostalgic composition with great words. The narrators want life to be as simple as it used to be. I personally like this song and Ashley's voice sounds great.

4. Every Road - Dierks Bentley can be heard in this song. It reminds me a bit of John Denver's "Country Roads, Take Me Home" in terms of musical arrangement. A great composition that reminds you that every road always leads home.

5. Then A Girl Walks In - the band performs this song with singer Blake Shelton. A cool composition that "presents" the story of how life changes after meeting a loved one (girlfriend).

6. High Class Hillbillies - you can hear country artist Cody Johnson here. In terms of musical arrangement, the piece is the most energetic. I like the fast-paced song with catchy words. Great sound of electric guitars.

7. Every Time I Look At You - the band is accompanied by the music group Lady A (formerly Lady Antebellum). It is undoubtedly a song about love. Charles Kelley (member of Lady A) is a great complement vocally with leader of Shenandoah.

8. Life Would Be Perfect - the band performs this song with famous artist and guitarist Brad Paisley. I like the musical arrangement of the piece. Especially the musical instruments used here. The narrators present their vision of an ideal life.

9. I'll Be Your Eeverything - you can hear a new country singer - Carly Pearce. A beautiful and touching song in which the narrators assure their support for a loved one / friend.

10. Boots On Broadway - this is the only song on this album where the band is not accompanied by another artist. A song with a nice musical arrangement.

This was the first time I listened to the band Shenandoah and their album. To be honest, I was prompted by the information that participating in this project were artists that I have known for several years and that I became interested in this music group (previously I knew their hit: "The Church On Cumberland Road" and nothing else). Coming back to the album  I am positively surprised by the effect the band achieved on this CD. I think Shenandoah did a great job of inviting other artists because it makes the songs diverse and interesting. The songs touch on themes typical of the country genre, that is: love, friendship or everyday life. Even though they are mostly calm compositions, they are very nice to listen to. Unfortunately, I don't really like the song "Make It Till Summertime" with Luke Bryan. I think this song is more suited to Luke (the artist is known for this kind of song) than to the group Shenandoah. I was most delighted with the compositions: "If Only" with the wonderful Ashley McBryde, "Then A Girl Walks In" with Blake Shelton and "I'll Be Your Everything" with Carly Pearce.

I encourage you to listen to this CD 😀.

I rate this album: 4.5 / 5.

JP.