I'm a Fire

Personnel: George Marinelli (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, electric slide guitar); Jerry McPherson (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, baritone guitar); Ilya Toshinskiy (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, bouzouki, mandolin); Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Jerry Douglas (dobro); Mike Rojas (piano, Hammond b-3 organ); Jeff Roach (keyboards); Chris McHugh, Matt Chamberlain (drums, percussion); Eric Darken (percussion); Jonathan Singleton, Gene Miller , Jaren Johnston, Aubrie Sellers, Lee Ann Womack, Little Big Town, Micah Wilshire, Neil Thrasher, Chris Rodriguez , Sarah Buxton (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Chuck Ainlay.
Recording information: Ben's Studio; House Of Blues; Jane's Place; Jaren Johnston Studios, Nashville, TN; Noisy Neighbors; Ronnie's Place, Nashville, TN; Sound Stage Studios; Starstruck Studios.
Photographer: Jim Wright .
Always on the verge of a breakthrough success, David Nail swings for the fences on 2014's I'm a Fire, his third full-length album. Nail's gifts suggest he's a blue-collar patriot, a working man happy to churn out anthems for the unsung, but he's a bit more subtle than that, identifying exceptional songwriters and never succumbing to the good-time bro-country that is a golden ticket to the top of the charts. His attraction to Shane McAnally songs is a strong evidence of the former -- he cuts two of the hot songwriter's tunes, "Burnin' Bed," which also bears a co-credit by Brandy Clark, plus "Brand New Day" -- but he also spots a sleek little crossover number in "Kiss You Tonight," an adult contemporary tune co-written by American Idol finalist David Cook. Nail's gift is how he avoids bombast -- some of these songs could be delivered with a sledgehammer but the singer chooses to relax and that light touch resonates -- and he makes his connection to the country-pop past explicit through a cover of Jimmy Webb's "Galveston," popularized by Glen Campbell. Nail never seems as casual as Campbell -- he seems to measure every word -- but he nevertheless prefers to undersell his material, which makes I'm a Fire insinuating, not insistent. It may not deliver a knockout punch but it's not intended to be powerful; it's a grower, sounding better with repeated exposure, repeated listens revealing the craft in the songs and the subtlety in Nail's execution. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine