Paul Sammon first connected with Eli Young Band on a trip to Nashville in 2008 and he has kept them on the radar ever since. Here, he gives his thoughts on the band’s new album Love Talking.
I was lucky enough to see these guys in 2008 at the Ryman Auditorium and I knew then they were a band to keep tabs on. Over the years Eli Young Band have toured… toured a bit more and just kept on touring while throwing fans a bone here and there to keep us sweet on this side of the pond.
2020 brought all that to a halt, of course, so they put pen to paper and hit the studio after creating over 100 songs.
Love Talking, however, is a small collection of only seven new tracks plus an album home for Love Ain’t and an acoustic arrangement of the title track.
Check out my interview with the band https://sixshootercountry.com/2022/06/07/interview-eli-young-band-talk-platinum-hits-and-staying-anonymous/ to find out why so few have been sent our way for now, but carry on to read my thoughts and ponderings of their latest project.
Love Talking is a nice tempo confession, telling us he wouldn’t normally act this way or say these things. “Must’ve been the love talking.” Keeping with the band’s sound that we’re used to and that we like. A gentle “in” to the album.
As I mused to the guys, Lucky For Me could be an Old Dominion track. Reminiscent of Shoe Shopping with the fast-paced, tongue-tripping if you’re drunk type lyrics leading into the song. It describes his dream lover and how he’s so happy and lucky he met her that night. Just what he was hoping and wishing for. Definitely a toe-tapper and a really nice love song.
Now we’re at the other end of the relationship with Break Up In A Bar. But in true EYB style it’s a happy break-up song. Turns out this is some of the guys’ favourite track, too. What better place to be given your marching orders than somewhere you can get a drink straight away or even find a pretty girl to get your ex off your mind? Softens the blow, I guess?
Already a platinum single, Love Ain’t was included here to give it a proper home. Previously, back in 2018, it just sat as part of a greatest hits collection. The band included it to remind us of their older sound and it stands the test of time. If you’re not familiar with it, our singer is telling a young lady that, pretty much, she seems to be in the wrong relationship, based on how her other half is treating her. With a nice rocked up chorus, he can’t tell her what love is, but he “Sure knows what love ain’t”
If you’re coming off a break-up, chances are Chances Are will really strike a chord as the track tells us of him thinking about her and pondering what are the chances she’s thinking the same things too. We’ve all been there, right? No? Just me then? Still a nice track though, even if you can’t personally relate.
I like clever lyrics and it passed me by for the first few listens but there’s a line in Live With It that’s just spot on. The song is a message from the singer to his new love, suggesting she try different things for a while as they ease into their relationship. Basically, try it all on before you decide. See if you can live with it. The lyric in question is [I’ve] “Got a Silverado worth its weight in gold with a good first gear if you wanna go slow” Smart word play. Love it.
Written in what we all thought was the midst of the pandemic that actually turned out to be just the beginning, as the world seemed to be falling apart. We needed reassuring that it was all going to be ok and this song is that sentiment as given by Mike Eli’s good lady. We often lean on our loved ones and sometimes it’s enough just to hear it from them all will be right with the world. With such a focus on mental health currently, I feel Tell Me It Is could resonate with anyone, anywhere that might be having a tough time of it.
More of the above with A Good Thing. “It’s getting’ tough to find a silver linin’ but on the other side of the clouds, the sun is always shinin’” Damn right and what a way to end the album. Despite being similar to Tell Me It Is, this is more a message from the guys, and they have proved over the years that they live this song. They do work hard; they don’t give up and their clear love of their families shows that love will always get you through.
There’s an acoustic arrangement of Love Talking at the end which I find an odd placement. If you have the album on repeat and, with the full track not being dramatically heavy, there isn’t much difference between the two. However, I feel I’m nit-picking, when I have to say, although there’s only a few tracks here, this is a great album. It’s nice, gentle and it flows with the EYB vibe of old, including the twist all artists should be delivering from our experience with the lockdowns and work stopping, giving rise to more family time and more time to love, think and appreciate the good things we do have.
Let’s hope the band hold true and it’s not too long before we get the next offering from Eli Young Band.
Eli Young Band – Love Talking (The Valory Music Co.) available now on all streaming platforms.
- Love Talking (Mike Eli, Eric Arjes, Jeffrey East)
- Lucky For Me (Mike Eli, Jimmy Robbins, Laura Veltz)
- Break Up In A Bar (Ashley Gorley, Ben Johnson, Hunter Phelps)
- Love Ain’t (Ross Copperman, Ashley Gorley, Shane McAnally)
- Chances Are (Mike Eli, Eric Arjes, Jordan Minton)
- Live With It (Mike Eli, Josh Osborne, Daniel Ross)
- Tell Me It Is (Mike Eli, Jon Nite, Jimmy Robbins)
- A Good Thing (Mike Eli, Eric Arjes, Jeffery East)
- Love Talking (Acoustic) (Mike Eli, Eric Arjes, Jeffrey East)