Alex Miller, left, will be performing at the Lyric Theater in Lexington Monday night. (Photo by Moore Media)
Alex Miller of Garrard County is not only a die-hard University of Kentucky sports fan, but also a rising country music singer. Freelance journalist Robert J. Cannon has written for AOL/Moviefone.com, People.com, Musician, country.com, Disney Adventures, New York Daily News and others. Here he reviews Miller’s new album.
By ROBERT J. CANNON
If country radio of late has made you feel a little bit ill about country music’s future, Alex Miller’s debut album Miller Time just may be the antidote. The 18-year-old Kentuckian stunned the American Idol judges and audience last year with his deep baritone, aw-shucks manner and an impressive mastery of traditional country.
The album kicks off with exuberant “Breaking The Bank,” which sounds as though he might have time-traveled to 1965 and written it backstage at the Opry. Miller’s versatility shines through on his current single, the lovelorn ballad “Through With You,” which spotlights his resonant vocals and his knack for from-the-heart lyricism.
After that, Miller settles into a deep Texas swing groove, starting with the album’s hilarious first single, “Don’t Let The Barn Door Hit Ya,” with its echoes of vintage Asleep at the Wheel or George Strait. A second dose comes with the sly wit of “The Girls Must Be Clumsy” (“… ‘cause they’re falling for me.”). To complete this Texas trifecta, Miller includes his self-penned “I’m Over You, So Get Over Me,” which left the judges’ agape at his Idol audition.
Miller turns serious, though, offering up an aching vocal on the patriotic “Boys in Uniform,” which points out that “Some can only stand there on the side / Salute the flag as it goes by / But they remember / And we remember.”
From there, Miller picks up the tempo again with the dazzling bluegrass favorite “Freeborn Man” that’s been cut by artists as diverse as Tony Rice and Paul Revere & the Raiders, where Miller and band recall the blistering instrumental work of 1980s-era Ricky Skaggs. For the finale, Miller nails down his traditional bona fides on a cover of the 1951 Hank Sr. gospel number “I’m Gonna Sing,” trading verses with no less than the Oak Ridge Boys.
For sure, Miller is more than the sum of his forebears. And on this crackling debut, he proves that he’s an impressive young talent who may find a golden future by mining the past.
