Eli Young Band made their major-label debut with Jet Black & Jealous, an album that stretched the definition of contemporary country music to include pop melodies and rock & roll guitars.
The band does the same on this follow-up release, but the new tracks don’t pack the same punch as “Radio” and “Throw and Go,” two songs that elevated Jet Black above the rest of the Nashville pack.
Perhaps it’s because Eli Young Band is now one of countless country bands who take their cues from other genres.
Or maybe it’s because these songs simply aren’t as memorable, trading genuinely affable hooks for a paint-by-the-numbers approach to country-pop.
By a long shot, the best song here is the opening number, a revamped version of Will Hoge’s “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” that smoothes down the original’s rough edges and beefs up the chorus with three-part harmonies.
The band sounds far too even-keeled for this sort of chest-swelling anthem, though, and the song never really gets off the ground.
The rest of Life at Best is similarly beached, with songs that target the band’s female fans (“Crazy Girl”) or evoke Sister Hazel (“Every Other Memory”) with semi-solid results.
Life at Best isn’t a bad album; it’s just a step backwards.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Even If It Breaks Your HeartWill Hoge, Eric Paslay | Eli Young Band | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 2 | Crazy GirlLee Brice, Liz Rose | Eli Young Band | Play | 03:20 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 3 | Every Other MemoryChris DeStafano, Catt Gravitt, Josh Kear | Eli Young Band | Play | 04:44 | 10 MB | 34 MB |
| 4 | On My WayScooter Carusoe, Jon Jones, James Young | Eli Young Band | Play | 03:26 | 7 MB | 24 MB |
| 5 | SkeletonsMike Eli, Sean McConnell, James Young | Eli Young Band | Play | 03:21 | 7 MB | 25 MB |
| 6 | I Love YouLee Brice, Kyle Jacobs, Jon Jones, Chris Thompson | Eli Young Band | Play | 03:21 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 7 | The FightNatalie Hemby, Tim Putnam | Eli Young Band | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 32 MB |
| 8 | My Old Man's SonMike Eli, Blu Sanders | Eli Young Band | Play | 03:42 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 9 | RecoverMike Eli, Kyle Jacobs, James Young | Eli Young Band | Play | 02:58 | 6 MB | 21 MB |
| 10 | The FallingMike Eli, Ryan James | Eli Young Band | Play | 03:38 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 11 | War on a Desperate ManMike Eli, Blu Sanders | Eli Young Band | Play | 04:06 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 12 | Say GoodnightKatrina Elam, Melissa Pierce, John Paul White | Eli Young Band | Play | 03:08 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 13 | How Quickly You ForgetMike Eli, Natalie Hemby, Daniel Tashion | Eli Young Band | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 14 | Life at BestMike Eli, James Young | Eli Young Band | Play | 02:51 | 6 MB | 22 MB |
| 50 mins | 116 MB | |||||
| 50 mins | 356 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heather Bohn | Publicity |
| 2 | Lee Brice | Composer |
| 3 | Scooter Carusoe | Composer |
| 4 | M. Brady Clark | Art Direction |
| 5 | George Couri | Management |
| 6 | Jeremy Cowart | Photography |
| 7 | Eric Darken | Percussion |
| 8 | Chris DeStafano | Composer |
| 9 | Mark Dobson | Digital Editing |
| 10 | Richard Dodd | Mastering |
| 11 | Katrina Elam | Composer |
| 12 | Eli Young Band | Primary Artist |
| 13 | Mike Eli | Composer, Group Member, Guitar, Vocals |
| 14 | Fred Eltringham | Percussion |
| 15 | Catt Gravitt | Composer |
| 16 | Brittany Hamlin | Production Coordination |
| 17 | Kree Harrison | Vocals (Background) |
| 18 | Natalie Hemby | Composer, Vocals (Background) |
| 19 | Brian Hill | Booking |
| 20 | Will Hoge | Composer |
| 21 | Kyle Jacobs | Composer |
| 22 | Ryan James | Composer |
| 23 | Allison Jones | A&R |
| 24 | Jon Jones | Bass, Composer, Group Member, Vocals (Background) |
| 25 | Nick Kallstrom | Assistant |
| 26 | Josh Kear | Composer |
| 27 | Gina Ketchum | Grooming, Stylist |
| 28 | Greg Leisz | Guitar (Steel) |
| 29 | Frank Liddell | Executive Producer |
| 30 | Sean McConnell | Composer |
| 31 | Larry Murray | Art Direction |
| 32 | Tony Obrohta | Guitar |
| 33 | Russ Pahl | Guitar (Steel) |
| 34 | Eric Paslay | Composer |
| 35 | Melissa Pierce | Composer |
| 36 | Jenn Poppe | Management |
| 37 | Tim Putnam | Composer |
| 38 | Liz Rose | Composer |
| 39 | Blu Sanders | Composer |
| 40 | Daniel Tashion | Composer |
| 41 | Chris Thompson | Composer, Drums, Group Member, Percussion |
| 42 | Oran Thornton | Guitar |
| 43 | Eric Tonkin | Assistant |
| 44 | Michael Webb | Hammond B3, Keyboards |
| 45 | John Paul White | Composer |
| 46 | Mike Wrucke | Engineer, Guitar, Guitar (Steel), Harmonica, Mandolin, Mixing, Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 47 | James Young | Composer, Group Member, Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals (Background) |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |