Big Dreams & High Hopes

Personnel: Dierks Bentley, Patty Griffin (vocals); Jedd Hughes (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, background vocals); Jay Joyce (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, organ, keyboards); Doug Lancio (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, drums, programming); Steven Sheehan (acoustic guitar); Eric Borash, Troy Lancaster, Adam Shoenfeld (electric guitar); Larry Franklin (fiddle); Michael Rojas (organ, keyboards); Ian Fitchuk, Chris Tompkins (keyboards); Steve Brewster (drums, percussion); Chad Cromwell (drums); Georgia Middleman, Todd Cooper, Russell Terrell (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: Doug Lancio; Chris Rowe; A.J. Derrick; Jamie Tate; Jay Joyce; Niko Bolas.
Recording information: Bismeaux Studios, Austin, TX; Blackbird Studios, Nashville, TN; Doug's Basement, Nashville, TN; HEK Productions, Austin, TX; Omni Sound Studios; Ronnie's Place, Nashville, TN; The Love Shack, Nashville, TN; The Padded Room, Nashville, TN; The Rukkus Room, Nashville, TN; The Sound Kitchen Studios, Franklin, TN; The Zone, Austin, TX; Tragedy, Nashville, TN; Wine Cellar Studio.
Photographers: Glen Rose; Ron Roark.
Jack Ingram became an "overnight success" in 2005 with his number one charting country single "Wherever You Are," after toiling for a decade in Nashville's fields. For a long time, Ingram was a poet, albeit one that Nashville bigwigs didn't want to hear from. He writes about the tough spot he felt himself in on BIG DREAM & HIGH HOPE's final track, "In the Corner." Now, it's true that these songs--at least the half or so he wrote on this set--don't much resemble that angry young man who's had a poet's touch and a steely critical eye. They do, however, reflect the sound of a songwriter who knows what it takes to be successful. BIG DREAMS & HIGH HOPES is the sound of contemporary country music and all of its tropes: the big '70s rock production, the sheen, the compressed guitars and over-amped drums, the perfectly punched vocals, the hooky pop choruses and sound effects that feel like they come from the disco era without the rhythm tracks. Still, Ingram wrote or co-wrote the album's best songs. There's the beautiful ballad "Seeing Stars," a duet with Patty Griffin; "Not Giving Up on Me," a midtempo power ballad about wreckage and redemption; and "Barbie Doll" (co-written with Todd Snider), a solid swaggering street rocker that features Dierks Bentley and Little Big Town. The title track is written in Ingram's older style--it's got the elegant simplicity, the simple tune, and the keen insight that brought most of his original fans to his door.