CD Reviews - Curt Ryle

Born in Duncan and raised in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, Curt moved to Nashville in 1985 with a few clothes, a few songs and his guitar. He has long since more than earned the title, "Musical Genius". Curt wrote and published the platinum selling title track for Billy Ray Cyrus' Storm In The Heartland. He also wrote, The Real McCoy for George Jones' Too Wild Too Long album. Two of Clinton Gregory's albums feature Curt's songs: Master of Illusion, Dying One Shot At A Time and Sad Out of Saturday Night. Gene Watson recorded Uncharted Mind and Mirrors Don't Lie, which is included on this CD. His co-writers include: Vern Gosdin, Hank Cochran, Mel Tillis, Mell Tillis, Jr., Ray Pennington, Terry McBride, Curtis Wright, Razzy Bailey, Tony Mullins, Buddy Cannon and many others. He's played Lead, Steel, Acoustic and Dobro guitars on records for George Jones, Mel Tillis, Linda Davis, Ronna Reeves, Razzy Bailey, Paul Overstreet, John Michael Montgomery, Pam Tillis, Vern Gosdin and others. With Universal Sound Records Curt is a producer, musician, writer and background vocalist.

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After reading all the writer credits above, I was surprised to find the album kicks off with two songs not written by Curt. The first "Lifetime Guarantee" is a solid country love song, written by another of Nashville's top songwriters, Jerry Abbott and is not to be confused with the John Conlee hit written by Bruce Channel.

"These Boots Were Made For Walkin'" is another song with a familiar title. This is not the Nanci Sinatra hit, but a fine 2 stepper written by Monte Holmes that I challenge you to keep your feet still to. This song has also been recorded by T Jae Christian on his album "Marriage On The Rocks" which is reviewed elsewhere on this site.

A broken heart is the theme for the wonderful "Mirrors Don't Lie", the first of Curt's own compositions from the 9 on this 11 track album. Merle Haggard wrote a song with the same title, but although I am a big fan of Hag, I prefer this one. The song was co-wrtten with Billy Henderson.

Another Curt Ryles/Billy Henderson co-write is the rockin' "Thunderbird Cafe' ". This is a lively tune that is certain to go down well with the linedancers. "Denver" is the story of a rodeo rider choosing his career over the woman he loves. This is another fine self penned song, co-written with Jerry Abbott, writer of the title track.

Converting love into money and living a Beverly Hills lifestyle is the dream in "Rodeo Drive", a funky tune co-written with Lee Bach.
I think we've all been there. The mid tempo "Mending Fences" is a story of trying to save a dying marriage, written with Billy Davidson, while "Mother Of All Heartaches" is another Billy Henderson co-write.

"Shine Your Light" is a funky tune with a 70s feel before Curt gets into a rockin' mood with "Becky Browns Daddy", a story that brings back memories of Clifton Clowers on Wolverton Mountain.

The albums closer "Ain't Gonna Mess This One Up", a co-write with Razzy Bailey, is a country rocker that wouldn't sound out of place on a Restless Heart album.

Curt Ryle has to be one of Nashville's finest songwriters. The fact that he has a darn good singing voice as well makes this an excellent album that I can see doing very well for him. Check out the reviews on other Universal Sound Records artists on this site, for more Curt Ryle compositions.