Send "Keith Urban " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Rollingstone |
 Nicole Kidman's husband is so naturally content that it's a little jarring when he tries to shoehorn some pathos into his albums. His seventh solo disc features good-natured country rock that's as likely to feature a Police bass line as a fiddle. Urban radiates psyched-ness — about his awesome marriage or the gathering power of crossover country — on summer jams and magnolia-scented ballads. Even the marital-tension song, "Shut Out the Lights," has a slick message: Sleep on it, things will look better in the morning....full text |
| Slantmagazine |
| Since he started writing most of his songs about how amazing it is to be married to Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban's music has lost a good deal of the luster that made him one of the biggest and most compelling acts in contemporary country. Urban has always been at his best when his music retains at least a hint of an edge and a melancholic undercurrent, even when he structures his songs with massive, sugar-shock pop hooks. His sixth proper studio album, Get Closer, intermittently hints at a creative rebound and a return to a sound that owes less to Richard Marx and Phil Collins than has his recent output. Urban has never been any kind of a country traditionalist, but what's distinctive about his style is that he often places traditional country string instruments—the banjo, most noticeably—at the foreground of arrangements that would otherwise be straight-up adult pop. Get Closer, thankfully, finds Urban picking up his banjo more often than he has on his last couple of albums. Genre purists will still hate them on principle, but "You Gonna Fly" and "Without You" give Urban ample opportunities to showcase his truly accomplished talents with damn near any string instrument he picks up, and they scan as more firmly rooted in country music's narrative traditions than the songs on the bloated Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing and the wheels-spinning Defying Gravity. Lead single "Put You in a Song" suggests a certain lack of self-awareness on Urban's part, since writing about his marriage has generally resulted in a series of grotesque Hallmark Valentine's Day card poems passed off as songs, but Urban's writing is shaper here than it has been in some time. "Georgia Woods" takes a relatively simple idea for a hook ("I know that I've fallen/'Cause I'm already callin' you 'baby'") and builds it up to a massive, hard-rock climax, while "Without You" is a paean to married life that doesn't turn into some kind of weepy, bathetic power ballad. "Shut Out the Lights" and "You Gonna Fly" are both radio-ready anthems in the same vein as some of Urban's best singles like "Days Go By" and "Somebody Like You."...full text |
| Ultimate-guitar |
| ound: Keith Urban isn't your typical cowboy. The Australian country music star doesn't stray too far from the genre he's enclosed in, but it doesn't necessarily mean he's another ribs-stained musician who loves the sound of a banjo when the sun rises. Urban's seventh studio release, Get Closer, shows just this. The rather short album is lined with country influences intended to captivate twang lovers (see openers "Put You In A Song", "You Gonna Fly") but there's much more on the inside. "Long Hot Summer" plays with a mix of guitar riffs from country radio and 80s' ballads while "Right Back On To You" explains why Urban can easily be classified as an adult contemporary artist, one who isn't afraid to churn out a heartwarming chorus while a speeding guitar solo rips through the airwaves. Then there's the experimental side of the songwriter. The side where, if exposed through singles, it would turn more than a few heads. Aided by a country rock beginning, "Shut Out The Lights" is driven into a flurry of alternative rock rhythms, tapping into an arena rock sound normally found in younger acts like Kings Of Leon. The unusual sidestep seems out of character, but it fits and makes one almost feel as if it's a path Urban should follow instead of stare at from afar. // 7 Lyrics and Singing: The striking similarity between Get Closer and 2009's Defying Gravity is Urban's voice. Though it probably has nothing to do with geological background, the songwriter has always been able to project his voice in a way that it attracts listeners of all ages, not to mention styles of music. Going from sugared-down country tunes to intimate ballads is no easy task but Urban shows no signs of stress. The reason being, Get Closer deals with a topic he's far too familiar with: relationships. All of the eight songs on the record discuss thoughts coming from the heart and push Urban to make his vocals seem desperate, innocent and earnestly raw. "Last night I fell asleep and I saw you dancing in my dreams / Just like the Autumn leaves that have fallen for you," he croons on "All For You", a mid-tempo ballad that pictures the singer in the comfort of his apartment, alone, reminiscing with rain tapping at the window. The scene has been replayed endless times, but the 43-year-old makes it work by touching the softer personality located on the inside. // 8 Impression: Urban's 2010 release may just pass the 30-minute mark and seem exceptionally short for a studio creation, but there's a reason for it. Sometimes words can't describe emotions and with a few records being a bit on the long side recently, Get Closer enunciates it's an album that should be put on repeat. Not because it's a classic, as it only pushes forward Urban's trademark musicianship and doesn't expose other ventures, only a glimmer of alternative rock that's been creeping in the vocalist's veins for quite some time now. Will the country moniker be ripped off of the musician's chest in the near future? It doesn't seem too important to Urban, who's still trying to express the feelings he can't describe through simple words and melodies. // 7...full text |
| Ultimate-guitar |
| ound: Keith Urban isn't your typical cowboy. The Australian country music star doesn't stray too far from the genre he's enclosed in, but it doesn't necessarily mean he's another ribs-stained musician who loves the sound of a banjo when the sun rises. Urban's seventh studio release, Get Closer, shows just this. The rather short album is lined with country influences intended to captivate twang lovers (see openers "Put You In A Song", "You Gonna Fly") but there's much more on the inside. "Long Hot Summer" plays with a mix of guitar riffs from country radio and 80s' ballads while "Right Back On To You" explains why Urban can easily be classified as an adult contemporary artist, one who isn't afraid to churn out a heartwarming chorus while a speeding guitar solo rips through the airwaves. Then there's the experimental side of the songwriter. The side where, if exposed through singles, it would turn more than a few heads. Aided by a country rock beginning, "Shut Out The Lights" is driven into a flurry of alternative rock rhythms, tapping into an arena rock sound normally found in younger acts like Kings Of Leon. The unusual sidestep seems out of character, but it fits and makes one almost feel as if it's a path Urban should follow instead of stare at from afar. // 7 Lyrics and Singing: The striking similarity between Get Closer and 2009's Defying Gravity is Urban's voice. Though it probably has nothing to do with geological background, the songwriter has always been able to project his voice in a way that it attracts listeners of all ages, not to mention styles of music. Going from sugared-down country tunes to intimate ballads is no easy task but Urban shows no signs of stress. The reason being, Get Closer deals with a topic he's far too familiar with: relationships. All of the eight songs on the record discuss thoughts coming from the heart and push Urban to make his vocals seem desperate, innocent and earnestly raw. "Last night I fell asleep and I saw you dancing in my dreams / Just like the Autumn leaves that have fallen for you," he croons on "All For You", a mid-tempo ballad that pictures the singer in the comfort of his apartment, alone, reminiscing with rain tapping at the window. The scene has been replayed endless times, but the 43-year-old makes it work by touching the softer personality located on the inside. // 8 Impression: Urban's 2010 release may just pass the 30-minute mark and seem exceptionally short for a studio creation, but there's a reason for it. Sometimes words can't describe emotions and with a few records being a bit on the long side recently, Get Closer enunciates it's an album that should be put on repeat. Not because it's a classic, as it only pushes forward Urban's trademark musicianship and doesn't expose other ventures, only a glimmer of alternative rock that's been creeping in the vocalist's veins for quite some time now. Will the country moniker be ripped off of the musician's chest in the near future? It doesn't seem too important to Urban, who's still trying to express the feelings he can't describe through simple words and melodies. // 7...full text |
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