Eric Church has been a staple of modern country rock music for years. His 2015 album, Mr. Misunderstood, is an incredibly well-rounded collection of tunes, featuring energetic instrumentation, contrasting emotions, and meaningful lyrics.
The album begins with a play on words in “Mixed Drinks About Feelings”, expressing a crushing feeling of defeat as he reflects on a love lost: No use fighting the fight / It’s no contest tonight / My figured out’s never been more confused / Having mixed drinks about feelings and you. By starting the album off at a low point, Church details his efforts to return to normalcy and sanity in following tunes, such as “Round Here Buzz”: Lit up like that one stoplight / Across from that welcome sign / Ever since you caught that out there bug / I catch me a ’round here buzz.
Two following songs display how Church finally finds his spiritual revival in music, as he begins to find meaning in his life through these rejuvenating hymns. In “Mistress Named Music”, Church sings: With a guitar full of freedom and a head full of lines / That nightlife full of demons has been a hell of a ride / I got a crazy crazy heart, and I was born to lose it /Married to a dream with a mistress named music. An exhilarating description of escaping from a police chase and relentlessly chasing this musical dream deep inside of him further contribute to Church finding himself in music. With another play on words, “Record Year” redirects this idea back at the initial cause of desperation, his former partner: Quarter notes and Hank’s half time / Are poundin’ on this heart of mine /Song to song, I pass my time /With these speakers on ten. While getting lost in his collection of vinyl records, Church does in fact have a “record” year. He conveys a bittersweet sense of gratitude to his former partner, for giving him a reason to rediscover these records and, in turn, find himself.
Next is a song that I consider to be a top 3 song of all time, Mr. Misunderstood. The gradual increase in tempo and spirit throughout this tune grabs your heart and soul, and can forget a deep connection with most audiences. Church encourages taking your own path and staying true to yourself, no matter what people try to change about you: They tried to file my points / Sand my edges, and I just grew out my hair / I’m Mr. Misunderstood. He also hits home the power of music to lift up and individual: Had an axe to grind, so off I went / Mad at the sun for coming up again / I lost religion, found my soul in the blues / Rubbed that velvet off my blue suede shoes. Church’s message that nobody will understand your journey and intentions as well as you do can resonate with any audience. And so, through this album, Church reminds that no matter how low you get, you have the power to get yourself back on your feet, with a little bit of music to rock with along the way.
While rock is not a genre of music that I’ve really delved deeply into yet, I really like the message that the artist has and how he chose to convey his feelings and emotions through the music itself. The arrangement of the songs in the album tells a story which is very unique in itself since I don’t think other albums are arranged in such a way before. Or perhaps they were and I never noticed before. Again I really like your comments and review, although I wish they’re a bit longer, and I look forward to see your next blog.
Growing up with a dad and his friends who would probably take a bullet for Eric Church, I’m definitely familiar with his work, especially on this album. I can remember when my dad would drive me to school in the mornings in middle school and play “Mr. Misunderstood” every day on repeat. I’m positive it is one of his top-5 favorite songs ever. I’ve listened to it so many times I probably know every lyric by heart. It’s been a little bit since I last listened to it so I’ll have to do that shortly later. I personally became really attracted to Eric Church when he came out because of his uniqueness in the country genre. The twangy, country rock element he implemented was unique and stood out from many of his cohorts. I love your in-depth analysis of this album and am looking forward to more!
As someone who knows absolutely nothing about country rock or Eric Church, I enjoyed reading your blog. Your description of each song was really detailed and in-depth and I really liked how you added a lot of the song lyrics because it made it a lot easier to understand your breakdown of the music. It is interesting to hear how the songs come together and the topics they address. Can’t wait to read more next week!