The Guitar Song - Jamey Johnson
The Guitar Song Image
Metascore
91 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 9 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.9 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 25 Ratings

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0 out of 10
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  • Summary: Jamey Johnson's latest album is a 25-track double album with the first half, The Black Album, devoted to dark emotions and the other half, the White Album, devoted to more positive songs.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Los Angeles Times
    100
    With The Guitar Song, he's made an ambitious work that goes down easy. Johnson may masquerade as a throwback but what he really aims for is timelessness, and he usually hits his mark.
  2. The A.V. Club
    Dec 21, 2010
    91
    On his audacious, frequently excellent third album, The Guitar Song, Johnson shares his dream of outlaw country becoming as dominant a commercial force as it was in the '70s, over the course of 25 songs rooted in the past, but not indebted to it.
  3. Spin
    90
    Yet if Johnson seems uninterested in Nashville's warm-and-cuddly act, he agrees with its insistence on crackerjack songcraft, and that keeps The Guitar Song from hardening into tough-guy drudgery.
  4. All Music Guide
    80
    Given its wonderfully crafted and performed material and stellar production, it is the country album of 2010.

See all 9 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. MrMadrew
    9
    I generally dislike country music, probably because I am from the city and have never spilled barbecue sauce on my tractor, but this album is so deep and filled with raw emotion that any human can relate to it. The guitar playing is very good and I can play this album again and again… Expand
  2. ScottyB
    9
    Pop country music has always been plagued by cheesy, trite, sentimental songs--the obvious, the ralley-around-the-flag patriotism, the cliche. Serious listeners of music justifiable look down on pop country music, though they make exceptions for artists like Hank Williams, Sr., Johnny Cash, Grahm Parsons, Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Loretta Lynn, and a handful of others. Jamey Johnson joins the ranks of the true country music elite with "The Guitar Song"--a long, rich, powerful epic that gets better with each listen. Though it definitely stands on the depressive side of the street (hence the 9 instead of the 10, which would require a broader range of emotion), it has rockers and sing-along ballads, catchy hooks and compelling covers, brilliant instrumentation, and Johnson's powerful vocals. This is a "country" album for music lovers who generally avoid the genre.… Expand
  3. QA1
    9
    It's got a few clunkers and slow spots, and, especially given the depressive tempos Johnson's so fond of, it's inadvisable to ingest in one sitting. But surprisingly Guitar is packed at least as solid as his last set, and it's less conventional to boot.… Expand
  4. InClass
    8
    The idea of his music is simple, tell a story of my life and lay it out for all to see. Like with his last album Mr. Johnson spins a weary tale of drugs, divorce, infidelity, and pain and is it a story. The two discs (the darker, more rich black album showing the him at his best) contain nothing but a tired, true country boy who loves talking about the blues. Good listen my friends.… Expand

See all 8 User Reviews

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