JOEY + RORY > The Life of a Song

Once music passes through the homogenizing, star-making gauntlet of televised competition, whatever charm it may have once had is lost. Joey + Rory may be the sole exceptions to that rule. The husband/wife duo were finalists on CMT’s Can You Duet; yet they’ve also recorded a sturdy, no-frills country album that takes its cues from the country of a much earlier generation.Label: SUGAR HILL
[Rating: 3.5 STARS]

Once music passes through the homogenizing, star-making gauntlet of televised competition, whatever charm it may have once had is lost. Joey + Rory may be the sole exceptions to that rule. The husband/wife duo were finalists on CMT’s Can You Duet; yet they’ve also recorded a sturdy, no-frills country album that takes its cues from the country of a much earlier generation. Straightforwardness and simplicity rule on The Life of a Song, from the opening track’s honky-tonk complaint about strategizing country songs to death, to the mainly acoustic arrangements. Joey Martin sings about “Sweet Emmylou,” but sounds more like Dolly, and Rory Feek-the more accomplished songwriter of the two-shadows her with cozy, subtle harmonies. The tough-talking romp “Cheater Cheater” may be the song they’re best known for, but country ballads are in the majority here. Some are classic-sounding, some contemporary, some sentimental nearly to a fault, but all evoke a slower, simpler way of life.