Neal McCoy’s twelfth album, XII, came out on March 6th 2012. Produced with the help of his friends Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert, McCoy released XII as his first country album in almost seven years. The famous pair also makes an appearance as back- up singers on the album. Despite his rather long leave of absence from the music industry, McCoy proves he still has what it takes: his relaxed style is as present as ever in his newly released album.
McCoy’s first track on the album “A-OK” is an upbeat song that begins with a soothing whistle. It is the most radio friendly song on the album, and will always leave listeners with a smile on their faces. The new album definitely coincides with McCoy’s previous ones, which includes equally uplifting and catchy songs like “Wink.”
There are many different styles of music mixed into the album. For instance, blues, soul, and country mixed with some swing all appear in the album. “Real Good Feel Good” shows the blues side of McCoy, while also including some fun hooks and great vocals. “Judge a Man by the Woman” has a bit of soul to it, and it was also earlier done by Heartland. McCoy dedicated that particular track to his long time wife, Melinda. A fun twist of swing pops up in another sure to be hit entitled “Mouth.” This track written by Jamey Johnson and Barry Tolliver has a trace of humor in it when speaking of making a blunder of sorts, making it relatable to many people because everyone messes up sometimes .
The album ends with a rather downhearted song called “Van Gough”. Although it has amazing vocals and great feeling it ends the otherwise optimistic album on a gloomy note. However, it is hard to say anything too negative about the track because it is incredibly well sung, and beautifully played on the piano.
Overall, XII is a great comeback album for McCoy and has many potential radio worthy songs. It is strong and obviously well backed by both Shelton and Lambert. This new album will definitely put McCoy back on the country scene and is bound to bring in new fans. It seems like those seven years away from producing country music brought McCoy back stronger than ever.
