I am usually not receptive to new country music. So, when told of a new country singer, I was less that ready to hear some whiney hillbilly bellow about his heartaches.Reluctantly, I began playing the CD I was given to review and I discovered the young cowboy I was listening to was not half bad.A compilation of lukewarm love songs is how rising country singer Neal Cotys new album Legacy, titled for its hit single, is being described. Hearing this description, I started getting a queasy John Tesh feeling.Neal Coty (for a mental picture think Luke Perry minus the dimples) released this, his second album, on March 6. A product of Mercury Records, this album explores country musics favorite topiclove.Euphoric, enchanting and nauseatingthis album makes statements about all the stages of love.One can tell Coty sings with emotion. The majority of his songs are heavy on the guitar, though there is good vocal and instrumental variety in his tunes. His music, whether fast or slow, all seem to contain a strong relaxation element. While writing some of his own songs, Coty also sings Sad Eyes by Bruce Springsteen and You Got Lucky, co-written by Tom Petty.My favorite song of the album was not his single, but the very first song of the CD entitled, Right Down Through the Middle of Us. It roughly equates relational separation to being run-over by a semi-truck. I found it to be an interesting analogy.Ironically, Coty was a beauty school dropout. A friend talked him into going to beauty school as a way to meet girls instead of attending college. Some friend! He soon found out he was not cutout for hairdressing and turned to songwriting.If contemporary country is what you crave, Coty is a good choice. The eleven song CD lists for $12.97 and has sold nearly 12,000 copies in the first three weeks of its release. I have a feeling we may be seeing more of Neal Coty in the near future.
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