Jason Michael Carroll

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Jason Michael Carroll

Jason Michael Carroll "Numbers" album

- Release date : July 2011 -

Numbers is the third studio album released by country music artist Jason Michael Carroll. It is Carroll's first album since he split up with Arista Nashville. It was released on July 25, 2011, exclusively through Cracker Barrel stores.

The first single from the album was the title track, which was the only song on the album Jason Michael Carroll did not write or co-write. With a peak of number 60 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, the song became the first single of Carroll's career to miss the top 40. Also included on the album is "Alyssa Lies," a number 5 hit from his debut album Waitin' in the Country.

"Numbers" album tracks and lyrics

"Numbers" album reviews

After scoring five top 20 hits released from two albums over a four year period, Jason Michael Carroll parted ways with his first record label Arista Nashville and after self-releasing a holiday album last fall, Jason Michael partnered up with former employer Cracker Barrel to record Numbers, his third full-length album.

Chances are if you liked JMC’s brand of country music from either of those albums then you’ll dig what is found on Numbers. The title tune lists off numbers which ‘are all around’ us and while ‘most of them mean absolutely nothing, some of them mean everything.’ It was also the lead-single sent to radio.

Written with Patrick Davis and Dallas Davidson, “Meet Me In The Barn” is a raved-up country rocker that infuses banjo and metal-derived guitars and tells a story of a young couple trying to sneak off to do, well, what Trace Adkins’ “Brown Chicken Brown Cow” song told. And while the sound and story are the same (this was originally gonna be the single sent to radio), “Barn” doesn’t have nearly any of the cheesy lyrics found in the Adkins single.

“This Is For The Lonely” kicks off the album and is perhaps the best song on the record with interesting lyrics about how a guy got to be the way he is, lonely. Songs with “Amen” “Hope” “Hallelujah” showcase that Jason Michael Carroll hasn’t forgotten his roots as a child of a Christian minister (even if only “Hope” mentions God directly).

While the latter part of the record tend to blend together a bit, this likely won’t matter to fans of Jason Michael Carroll but for those hoping for an album with a little more meat, like album ending “Alyssa Lies,” Jason’s first and best hit to date, are certainly going to be a bit disappointed. Still with a voice like his pliable baritone, Jason Michael Carroll is most definitely a singer worth keeping on the airwaves for he helps bring country music an identifiable sound and it’s a sound that cannot be confused for anything but country music.

*** by Matt Bjorke, Roughstock ***

Jason Michael Carroll’s new album ‘Numbers’ is a natural fit for the Cracker Barrel lineup. The singer is a former Cracker Barrel server, who got his start singing as he schlepped chicken-fried steak and dumplings to tables in Henderson, N.C. “A Lady eating in that store overheard me singing as I walked by,” he explains in the album jacket. “After that I started having customers ask me to sing to them, which gave me the confidence to begin my own career.”

The album — his first since parting with Arista Nashville in 2010 — takes a few chances but still rings familiar for longtime fans. One can’t ignore the presences of God, not only in song titles like ‘Hell or Hallelujah’ and ‘Ray of Hope’ (only the latter speaks of religion), but also in the gospel choir he employs during ‘Can I Get an Amen,’ a standout amongst the 11 new songs.

“I believe in equal pay / If the job’s the same why pay somebody less / It don’t make sense / And I believe in women’s rights / But I ain’t gonna lie, I do like a short, tight dress / Oh yes,” he sings.

Carroll is at his best when he’s telling a story — his voice swells with confidence. The opener, ‘This Is for the Lonely,’ tells his story, and ‘Meet Me in the Barn’ is the single listeners were meant to hear before Trace Adkins released the ill-fated ‘Brown Chicken, Brown Cow.’ Both men tell the same rowdy story, but Carroll scrapes away all the cheese Adkins’ version left him apologizing for. The female voice late in the song could make it a potential club hit if it ever makes it back to radio.

Late in the album, he strings together five guy/girl songs before finishing with ‘Alyssa Lies,’ the biggest hit of his career thus far. It’s here that ‘Numbers’ struggles. The heartache songs only emit a sort of vague hurt, like a headache you don’t quite want to medicate. ‘My Favorite’ is an upbeat love song that never really gets past a flat melody. The singer never really figures out how to approach these songs, slipping in his trademark growl at random places, but never really taking ownership of the music.

Carroll brought together a team of talented songwriters to help him co-write many of the songs on ‘Numbers’ (in stores now), and indeed the choruses are tight and lyrics polished. He may do better to employ a few people from outside the current hit crowd for his next album, however. A few loose ends and unexpected surprises could rejuvenate his fanbase.

*** by Billy Dukes, Taste of Country ***