One Fantastic Writer, One Mediocre Performer

By Rob Greenwell

To say that I didn't know much about Brett James before his New Faces of Country Music Show at Coyotes on April 26 would be an understatement. I knew that he had a song out before called "Female Bonding," but other than that, zippo.

That didn't last long: I got a real education at his live show. Turns out that he wrote "Who I Am," cut by Jessica Andrews; "Never Love You Enough," cut by Chely Wright; "Blessed," sung by Martina McBride and my favorite non-released Tim McGraw song, "Telluride."

However, his live show was ordinary at best, and that was in spite of those great songs that he wrote for other artists. He also sang his current single, "Chasin' Amy," which pales in comparison to the other hits that he has on his resume. He was very rigid on stage, only standing and singing.

He needs a lot of practice in performing live, if he's going to make a go of it. He has to have that aspect or he may not get the chance to play his music for people. He also needs to keep some of the great songs that he has given to other artists for himself, a point that I think he realizes, as he stated that he is planning on releasing "Telluride" as a single because Tim McGraw did not.

Wise move.