Jack Ingram - 'Big Dreams & High Hopes' Review

_{Jack Ingram - Big Dreams & High Hopes
© Big Machine Records}

Big Machine Recording artist Jack Ingram released his third studio album for the label on August 25. The album was scheduled to be released earlier this year, but Ingram wasn't happy with the results, so he went back in the studio to make changes, tweaking things here and there until it became something he could be proud of. The result is Big Dreams & High Hopes, and it reflects the journey the Texas country artist has taken to get to where he is today.

The album starts off with this mid-tempo "Free," which talks about the things that we have in our lives that we sometimes might not think about. Things that are free, like the air we breathe, the sunset, the arms of our loved one around us. Jack sings in the chorus that even though these things are free, they are the things that he wouldn't trade anything for.

The summer anthem, and current single, "Barefoot and Crazy" is the second track. Nearly everyone loves the summer, with its warm weather, and endless, fun things to do. The song is Jack's latest Top 10 hit, and will surely climb even higher in the coming weeks.

The first single off Big Dreams & High Hopes was the mid-tempo story song, "That's a Man," which tells the stories of three men who work hard to help their loved ones and friends, and make a difference in people's lives.

One of the highlights of the album has to be the acoustic duet with Patty Griffin called "Seeing Stars." Like many of the songs on the album, the song reminds us to keep dreaming our dreams.

Ingram decided to re-record "Barbie Doll," which was a song he had originally included on his 1999 release, Hey You. The song was popular at his live shows, and he invited a few friends to come along and provide backing vocals, with Dierks Bentley and the LBLBUFFTF choir, which consists of James Otto, The Lost Trailers, Little Big Town and Randy Houser.

If you slip the CD into your CD Rom, you can watch videos for "Barefoot and Crazy," and "That's a Man."

All in all, this is a good album. Nothing screams out at me as a huge radio hit, but I do think that "Barbie Doll" would be a good choice for another single. The album has got a lot of the country rock that fans expect from Ingram, and that to me sounds like a winning combination. I give this 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

If you'd like to receive an email each time I add new content to the site, click on the "Subscribe link near the top of the page to get added.

Looking to contact me? Feel free to send Shelly an email.