People Like Me
MyTexasMusic.com Album Review
May 25th, 2011 Back to News
When you have talent, the potential for a good album is high. When you surround yourself with award-winning talent, a great album is eminent. Justin Haigh’s PEOPLE LIKE ME boasts an extensive list of Texas Music Awards recipients. Three songs are written by two-time Song of the Year writer, Kevin Higgins. One track is penned by TMA nominee Jeff Posey and 2006 Producer of the Year, John M. Greenberg. Haigh’s producer is Lew Curatolo, a MyTexasMusic Industry member who produced the 2006 Album of the Year by the Dust Devils who received the 2006 award for Vocal Group of the Year. Haigh now joins Higgins, Posey, Greenberg, and the Dust Devils as a member of the Academy of Texas Music, Inc. and you should look for his name in the 2012 award nominations. Haigh’s voice is award-worthy, as is the production, the album, and a good number of the musicians and songs on the disc. Disappointment will reign if Haigh fails to get a nod in the 2012 Texas Music Awards process.
The opening track sets the tone with clever writing by Haigh, writer of two of the album’s cuts. Hands down, the best track is “Monahans” as Haigh puts a stellar performance to the Higgins tune. Every track is expertly performed and perfectly orchestrated, a testament to the outstanding studio team assembled by Haigh and Curatolo. Justin Haigh follows my first rule of debut albums by staying within genre while managing to display diversity and dynamics throughout. There is absolutely nothing standing between Justin Haigh and superstardom except a little luck and being heard by the right person at the right time. If you get a chance to catch a show you would be crazy to pass it up.
Outstandingly presented by Apache Ranch Records, Justin Haigh is destined to be a country music sensation in no time. Haigh’s voice is country to the bone, deep and true, yet extended and modern, with the ability to capture tradition when necessary. This one of the best albums I’ve heard this year and one of the best debut albums I’ve heard in several years. Justin simply needs to follow the formula and put in the time it takes to garner a massive career.
Most people don’t know that you can actually purchase points of a performer’s career for cash. I’m afraid that Justin’s points are already too expensive for most of us. One listen and you’ll be hooked, wishing you could dip into savings for a couple of points of a career that is going to bring returns beyond belief. Haigh wraps up the disc with the third Higgins tune, the title track from the 2006 Album of the Year recorded by the Dust Devils and produced by Curatolo, a fitting finish to what might certainly contend for the 2012 prize. A lyric from the song proclaims, “I’ll go where the music takes me” and that’s all Haigh really needs to do at this point. His foundation is set. Let the palatial building begin. The double meaning of the title takes on singular purpose when you realize there actually are no people like Haigh, but people really do like him. Oh, people most certainly like him. Order quickly, this one will be hard to keep on the shelf.