Christian Simmons - Welcome To Nashville West

Growing up in Oklahoma isn't a hard life, no more than it is anywhere, but Broken Arrow (Outside of Tulsa) didn't seem to have everything to offer for a young Christian Simmons. Off to college, home of the Cowboys and Cowgirls, didn't exactly have all an impressionable young man wanted either, after acting in a couple plays, Christian Simmons though he found a way to leave his mark, acting. Off to Hollywood, appearing in Dr. Pepper or AT&T Commercials, or appearing in a recurring role of "Bruce"  on The Young and The Restless were fine, as were the smaller movie rolls, but Christian Simmons still hadn't found himself.

As far as the acting not being the calling, I think that may be a good thing for fans of country music. Christian Simmons plays honest, down to earth country music with a bit of a kick. This is not your average Country Music coming out of California, it has a more refined sound than that. Christian Simmons can tear at your heart strings, pack the floor on an upbeat number, and add a sense of humor. In short this is good country music.

The only real flaw I hear here is this, there are a few tracks here that really deserve to be belted out with some more energy, which Christian Simmons proves he can do on other tracks. It seems that he is trying to hold back, he doesn't always let the music escape with the energy it needs. That is a small beef, and I may not have even brought it up if I hadn't heard the potential on other tracks. Welcome To Nashville West has some great moments, and the songwriting is strong and often intelligent.

"Days Back Then", "What Did I (Do To Tick You Off This Time)", and "Adios" are the real upbeat winners, they race to the front. The other side is the more laid back side, and you can really hear that on the last track "Help Us All" that is Christian Simmons take on the problems that face the world today, telling us about the sometimes senseless violence and chaos. All in all a good outing from Christian Simmons, and I will look forward to the advancements on his next project.

( 4 Stars Out of 6 )

  Play MP3 clip of Christian Simmons "What Did I Do ..."

  Play MP3 clip of Christian Simmons "Adios"