Somebody Wrote Love (CD - 2006)

George Canyon is quite the happy man. He's content with who he is, with his family and his music. All that is easy to tell from listening to his third album, Somebody Wrote Love. Canyon, who borders on neo-traditionalist country and contemporary country, has a great voice and he's got heart. The album features songs emotionally touching enough to bring the listener to tears of joy -- "Madi's Song (The Man She Thinks I Am)" is about Canyon's daughter; as he writes in the liner notes, "she has me tied around her finger so tightly I can barely breathe but I love it" -- or tears of sorrow and grief with the true story of a woman struggling to get beyond the loss of her husband to an untimely accident in "I Want You to Live." Canyon's rich tenor vocals and his friendly, down-to-earth persona come through nicely on the album, making his music accessible and pushing him closer and closer to being a major star in the Nashville scene. Though many of the songs are sentimental and even somber, "Drinkin' Thinkin'" is a humorous neo-traditionalist honky tonk number about the effects of alcohol ("that's just drinkin' thinkin'/liquor logic in a can/your brain cells parted and your body/ believes you're superman") and has star quality. Somebody Wrote Love is intimate, heartwarming, and fun, and Canyon gives off the sense that he wants his listeners to know him, a sentiment not often felt through a lot of often over-processed contemporary country. He might not have attained a sound that sets him apart from his peers yet, but his songwriting, vocals and personality -- traits that will hopefully all get better in time -- seem to make him stand out . ~ Megan Frye minimize