Search - Andy Griggs :: This I Gotta See

Knockout performance

Hrundi V. Bakshi | Ft. Walton Beach, FL | 11/10/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Recently I saw Andy Griggs in concert in NW Florida not long after Hurricane Ivan. He was a great encouraging and healing presence for all of us who had suffered through the storm and its aftermath. He is as real and genuine a person in country music as there is today. And, man, can he sing! He sang a number of songs from THIS I GOTTA SEE, which really connected with the crowd. If you haven't heard this CD yet, all I can say is that it is filled with great music. BILLBOARD calls Andy one of the finest singers of ballads alive today, and there are some songs on this CD that back that up, such as "She Thinks She Needs Me" and "Be Still," plus the soul-stirring and beautifully moving new single "If Heaven." Yeah, Andy knows how to pick up the pace a bit, too, like on the awesome song "Hillbilly Band," which, in concert, had the crowd in Florida shouting for more. He's got that bluesy sound down good, too, with "I Never Had a Chance" and "Long Enough" and especially the rocking "No Mississippi." A lot of people know about Andy, as evidenced by his growing collection of Top 5 radio hits, but a whole lot more folks are going to know about him as the years go on...he is definitely for real and this is one of the best country CD's you can hear this year."

Excellent Album from Amazing Artist

Jacques Flournoy | Bayou La Batre, AL | 08/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Andy Griggs stays at the top of his game with THIS I GOTTA SEE, which continues his winning streak of great albums. The CD is well-produced and is very deep in superb songs and potential hit singles. His magnificent voice, as always, is up front and center, and he sings the heck out of these tunes.



Prime Cuts:



"This I Gotta See" - Romantic uptempo ballad with nice imagery



"She Thinks She Needs Me" - One of the great love songs of the new millennium, giant sound, big vocals, lots of passion



"Be Still" - Another perfect romantic ballad, this one is a quiet-but-passionate powerhouse with some very pretty and intricate vocal arrangements



"Hillbilly Band" - Very fun rocking road song, especially when Andy says, "Naw, that's the Opry son."



"I Never Had a Chance" - Intense and blues-influenced, another amazing vocal performance



"If Heaven" - Maybe the best song on the album, a poignant ballad with moving and comforting lyrics for anybody who has ever experienced the loss of a loved one. It's touching without being mushy or overly sentimental.



"Long Enough" - Pure outlaw country, stomp your boots in the sawdust, gutsy declaration of love



"Why Do I Still Want You" - Sort of a blues/bluegrass fusion, great harmonies on this slow burner



Weaker Songs:



"My Kind of Beautiful" - a little bit too "leery" for me



"Careful Where You Kiss Me" - Too much information



"No Mississippi" - Too over the top with background vocals



Still, even the "weaker songs" are all done with a lot of energy, and would be pretty darn good for a lot of artists. For me, they just weren't "Andy" I guess.



I really love this CD overall and the incredibly good songs more than make up for a couple of mis-steps. If you like great country music, or even pop, blues, or traditional rock, you will probably like this album.





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You gotta hear this ... loaded with great tracks

U.A. Wood | State of Mind | 08/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Andy Griggs has a deserved reputation as a great singles artist: he's given us some of the best tunes on the country charts over the past six years or so. But behind all of these great individual songs are three very strong albums, "You Won't Ever Be Lonely," "Freedom," and now "This I Gotta See"



Let it be said right up front that Andy Griggs has several things going for him:



1) Personal and artistic integrity. Andy is the real deal when it comes to being a genuine good guy who loves his fans and gives them 100%.



2) An amazingly strong voice. In fact, it's not a stretch to say he has one of the strongest voices in country music, with a lot of range and depth, and just enough rough edges to keep it real.



3) Great songwriting skills. Andy is an excellent writer, although for some reason, he only recorded two of his own songs for this CD. That's one of the only complaints I have about this project.



4) Good instincts for choosing songs. Since he didn't use much of his own material here, it's a good thing that his ear for a good song doesn't fail him, for the most part. There are some really superb tracks on this CD.



5) Men know he's a hunter, a fisherman, and a heckuva funny storyteller; and the women think he's cute. My wife made me type that last part.



One thing that strikes me after many repeated listens to his latest work is how rich it is in great songs. Let's start with the obvious ones: "She Thinks She Needs Me" is a fantastic, classic "big" country song...the kind of showstopper that a lot of singers can only dream about recording even once in their careers. This song hit the Billboard Country Singles Top 5 and was on the charts forever...I suppose that makes it a standard, in many ways, because it really had some serious airplay endurance. The fact is, I still enjoy hearing it every time I do.



"If Heaven" is one of those incredibly poignant and "close to home" songs that could make a grown man cry. A tough grown man at that. Ask me how I know. Hey, the fact is, if you can listen to this song and not really feel it down in your gut, then you are not human. The sad-yet-hopeful lyrics floor me every time, and when Andy sings it, you can tell he's feeling it. This was yet another Top 5 Country music single in Billboard.



It looks like the well-produced, mid-tempo title track is going to be a hit, too. I'm hearing it on the radio more often now. It's a keeper, with instantly relatable lyrics and an impassioned vocal from Andy. He makes you believe that he really is in a hurry to get home. And, another track that has excellent airplay potential is "Be Still," which is a beautiful, superbly arranged ballad.



The only uptempo "loose" song on the album is "Hillbilly Band," which is a lot of fun and helps vary the pace. I would like to hear Andy do more of these kind of songs, even though I recognize that he is a master of the ballads. "Long Enough" suits Andy to a "T" as well. It reminds me of something Waylon Jennings would have done, as does "Why Do I Still Want You," a nice country-blues gem. Another radio-friendly cut, "I Never Had a Chance," seems tailor-made for Andy's gritty and altogether believable plea. "No Mississippi" is a wailing, rocking blues number.



When my children are in the car, we tend to skip "My Kind of Beautiful" and "Careful Where You Kiss Me" which are uncharacteristically steamy, compared to most of Griggs' other work. Both are credible country songs, well performed, although not exceptionally memorable (beyond their PG-ish steamy themes). Still, that's a minor complaint given all of the great attributes the album has.



This CD has been on the charts for more than a year, and with all of these great songs, it's easy to see why. If you haven't heard it yet, give it a spin. You won't be sorry."