That's Life (CD - 2005)

Personnel: Eric Silver (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, baritone guitar, wah-wah guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, shaker, background vocals); Eric Silver (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Louis Rodriguez (acoustic guitar, background vocals); Lou Rodriguez (acoustic guitar); Scott Dixon, Jerry McPherson, Scott Dixon, Brent Mason (electric guitar); Shane McDaniel (steel guitar, background vocals); Shane McDaniel (steel guitar); Pamela Sixfin, David Davidson , David Angell (violin); Steve Auby Auburn (fiddle, background vocals); Steve Auburn (fiddle); Kristin Wilkinson (viola); Anthony LaMarchina (cello); Matt Rollings (piano); Todd Stewart (keyboards); Michael Rhodes , Lorne O' Neil (bass guitar); Lynn Massey (drums, background vocals); Lynn Massey (drums); Mathieu Britton (steel drum); Thomas W. Roady (percussion); Lorne O'Neil, Andrea Zonn, Wes Hightower, Bekka Bramlett, Bryan White (background vocals); Troy Lancaster (guitar, electric guitar); Bob Britt (electric guitar); Sonny Garrish (steel guitar, lap steel guitar); Michael Rojas (piano, synthesizer); Jeffrey Roach (synthesizer); Wayne Killius (drums, percussion); Chuck Butler (drum programming).

Audio Mixer: Patrick Murphy.

Recording information: Ocean Way Studios, Nashville, TN; Quad Studios, Nashville, TN.

Photographers: Erick Anderson ; Les Martines.

Arranger: Neal McCoy.

With THAT'S LIFE, Neal McCoy delivers a sharply crafted record that, while sonically a textbook example of mainstream Nashville country, lyrically serves as a vivid reflection of the everyday lives of his listeners. "Last of a Dying Breed" is a catalog of colorful rural characters, including "overall wearers" and "VFW Hall dwellers," while "Billy's Got His Beer Goggles On" describes a familiar but friendly drunk who insists on singing every word of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird" despite his tone deafness. Aside from the homespun imagery, though, THAT'S LIFE is a polished album full of rolling Bruce Hornsby-like piano licks and big, heartland-rock guitar sounds. With feet firmly planted in two country camps, this album should find a home everywhere from honky-tonks to iPods. minimize