Brand New Me

by John Michael Montgomery

Product Description:

Personnel includes: John Michael Montgomery (vocals, guitar); John Willis (acoustic guitar); Dale Oliver, J.T. Corenflos, Troy Lancaster (electric guitar); Scotty Sanders (lap steel); Tommy White (steel guitar); Paul Franklin (dobro); Larry Franklin, Glen Duncan (fiddle); Bobby Ogdin (piano); Randy McCormick (Hammond B-3 organ); Larry Paxton (bass); Chad Cromwell (drums); Wes Hightower, Dennis Wilson, Curtis Young, Alison Krauss, Melonie Cannon, Kim Fleming, Liana Manis, Garnet Imes (background vocals).

Producers include: Buddy Cannon, Norro Wilson, John Michael Montgomery.

Recorded at SoundShop Recording Studios and Emerald Sound Studios, Nashville, Tennessee.

New Country superstar John Michael Montgomery has a definite element of pure pop appeal in his sound, but however far he steps out of the tried-and-true country mold, he generally returns to his roots quickly enough to keep the attention of the country audience that drew him to its collective heart. Despite the touches of steel guitar and fiddle, the album's title cut could easily be the work of some high-octane pop-rocker like Bryan Adams, with electric guitars chugging and drums pulsing insistently along. Montgomery soon settles back into his cowboy duds though, as we're led directly into "Bus to Birmingham," a ballad that's pure Nashville.

Subsequently, Montgomery honky-tonks it up on the light-hearted "Weekend Superstar," which includes all your favorite country tropes, from pick-up trucks to bartenders. In the final analysis, BRAND NEW ME finds Montgomery ably straddling the line between tradition and rebellion.