Golden Road

1	Somebody Like You 5:23
2	Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me 4:15
3	Whenever I Run 3:39
4	What About Me 3:52
5	You'll Think of Me 4:53
6	Jeans On 3:33
7	You Look Good in My Shirt 3:47
8	You're Not Alone Tonight 3:31
9	You Won 5:21
10	Song for Dad 3:56
11	Raining on Sunday 4:45
12	You're Not My God 8:31

Barnes & Noble

No sophomore slump here: Keith Urban's second album kicks off with "Somebody like You," a solid, driving paean to the rejuvenating joys of new love. The song boasts not only catchy lyrics and an expressive vocal but banjo sorties that add a nice rustic feel to it -- and Urban, who's one hot guitar picker, amps it up with some incendiary licks. Urban sacrifices none of his flash and exuberance on Golden Road -- which he co-produced and for which he co-wrote most of the songs -- but he does get a little more introspective, thanks largely to his two songwriting collaborations with Rodney Crowell. One of those, "What About Me," finds Urban sounding a lot like the young Rodney in an anxious, mid-tempo reflection on finally realizing he's been giving of himself without taking time to nurture his own heart. The other, "You Won," is a bit of an epilogue to "What About Me," its surging, edgy sound and bristling guitar lines framing a tough lyric about a guy who survives his self-destructive impulses and finally learns to love himself. The Aussie heartthrob takes a sensitive turn on the rousing, self-penned anthem, "Song for Dad," written from the perspective of a son learning to appreciate the sacrifices made by the head of the family and hoping to live up to his fine example. Edging into hard country, Urban then delivers an urgent reading of the Darrell Brown/Radney Foster tune "Raining on Sunday," a roiling, metaphor-heavy account of salvation sought skin-to-skin. There's also hidden bonus track, a tasty acoustic number that makes a most persuasive case for Urban as a country balladeer par excellence. In the end, Golden Road may wind up with a platinum tint. David McGee

All Music Guide

Keith Urban's sophomore issue on Capitol is an early yet devastatingly original piece of work that pointed the way toward his later albums. Urban is partially responsible for the diverse musical traditions that make their way into the contemporary country music scene of the 21st century. While others like Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Travis Tritt and the like modeled a sound that included Southern and '70s rock, Urban brought bluegrass, Top 40 pop stylings, and drum loops into the mix as well, and made them all work in his own songs as well as those he covered. Produced by Urban and Dan Huff, Golden Road is the first place listeners really get to hear the monster guitar slash and burn that he is well known for in his live performances. The album contains two Urban originals in the beautiful, lithe ballad "You're Not Alone Tonight" and the shuffling soft rocker "Song for Dad," both of which showcase the blend of sounds he would later employ as his own trademark mix. The set also contains a pair of excellent cuts by Rodney Crowell, which are particularly suitable, and perhaps were even tailor-made for Urban in "You Won" and "What About Me." The ballad "Raining on Sunday," was a single written by Darrell Brown as was the other single "You'll Think of Me." Tony Martin's "You Look Good in My Shirt," is a delightful stinging rocker, and Monty Powell's "Who Wouldn't Want to Be Me" is another, with Urban playing the strings off his banjo as well as electric guitar. While his later records were bigger hits, this one is consistent enough and full of such charm and personality that it's difficult to believe Urban didn't write everything here. That he owns these songs as if he did write them makes Golden Road a lasting early achievement. Thom Jurek

Entertainment Weekly

A largely introspective album about faith, familial love, and the curse of addiction. (B) Alanna Nash