My Life's Been a Country Song

iTunes Review

Ever hear the joke about what happens when you play a country song backwards? You sober up, get your wife back, find your dog, your truck gets fixed, and you get rehired by that mean old boss-man. The title of Chris Cagle's fourth long-player suggests that he's lived the clichés found in such songs, but the album's first hit "What Kinda Gone" plants a tongue into the cheek of twangy songs that touch on redneck relationships gone south. "Little Sundress" is more of a beachy Blake Shelton-esque ditty about appreciating your loved one while surrounded by temptation during a Cancun vacation, and the galloping title-track cleverly name checks Merle Haggard, George Strait, George Jones, and Johnny Paycheck as Cagle confesses that his life is so unapologetically hayseed, it could pretty much be summed up in any good country song. Having some of Nashville's A-list songwriters at his disposal makes for a perfectly enjoyable fourth album, but Cagle's endearing drawl and earnest inflections are what make this outing more believable.