Enter a zip code
CD
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | |
| 7 | |
| 8 | |
| 9 | |
| 10 | |
| 11 | |
| 12 | |
Billy Dean opens Let Them Be Little with a thundering, urgently delivered appeal to make the most of every moment we have on earth, and he puts this philosophy into practical application throughout the disc. Positive and upbeat, the tunes celebrate living, loving, the country life, family, childhood, and friends, their themes fueled by aggressive country rock in arrangements laced with thundering drums, scorching guitar licks, keening fiddle interjections, and some tasty keyboard and organ underpinnings. Vocally, Dean attacks the songs with conviction and no small amount of ferocity. He also co-wrote all but one track -- a kicked-up version of John Denver's "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" -- and Dean's inspired performance makes it pretty clear that he believes every word he sings. The fleeting nature of childhood informs the title song's balladic plea, with soaring, string-laden choruses taking off from subtly rendered, vividly detailed verses describing the tactile joys of child rearing. Other standouts here include "Eyes," a banjo- and fiddle-fired ode to new love; "Good Love Gone Bad," a rare foray into heartbreak, country-rooted with an '80s power ballad shading; and the go-for-it stomper, "Swinging for the Fence." Apropos of his meaty topics, Billy Dean leaves the listener with a lot to chew on. David McGee, Barnes & Noble