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Eli Young Band: ‘Love Talking’ – Album Review

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Eli Young Band’s brand new album, Love Talking, is out now, June 3rd on all streaming platforms. Take a listen and read our full review below.

For me, Eli Young Band has always been a bit of a “headphones band.” While they sound great on the radio and even better live, there’s just something magical about the band’s sound when listening to them through a good pair of headphones. It’s there that you can truly hear the ways the band stands out in a sea of sameness, blending uniquely Texas instrumentation and tight harmonies with Mike Eli’s trademark twang.

With its first new album in five years, EYB is back with Love Talking, the follow-up to 2017’s Fingerprints. The sixth studio album features “Love Ain’t,” which first appeared on 2019’s This Is Eli Young Band: Greatest Hits, as well as tracks co-written by the likes of Ashley Gorley, Ross Copperman, Josh Osborne, Jimmy Robbins, and Shane McAnally. 

“We really wanted to find the positivity in what we got out of the last two years, so that was one of the main goals for this album,” notes lead singer Eli in a statement. “There was a lot of unknown that was written into some of the music we created during that time, but we all lived it so deeply; we wanted to offer something uplifting with our music.”

On Love Talking, they do just that. The album opens with its breezy title track, a perfect summer single, lyrically putting a twist on the idea of speaking without thinking. “When I let it slip that I // Wanted you for my whole life,” he muses. “And you and me turned into us // That was just the love talking.”

The clearest indicator of the album being a pandemic byproduct is “A Good Thing,” which speaks to love pulling them through the tough times. It can easily be applied to any of life’s trials and tribulations, without being cheesy or too cliche. 

“When it all goes south, it all hits the fan // The sky falls down, that’s a real good chance // To get a little stronger, work a little harder on you and me // Maybe that’s a good thing // When we’ve had about enough, can’t take it anymore // If we don’t give up we’ll be better than before // When life gets rough baby that’s when love’s all you really need // Maybe that’s a good thing.”

One of the album’s clear standouts is “Break Up In a Bar,” co-written by Ashley Gorley, Ben Johnson, and Hunter Phelps. “Right away, you could just hear the melody in the song from the top and know, ‘okay, this is a special one.’ And the spin – it’s one of those songs lyrically you just wish you would have thought of,” reflects Eli. “We know that that’s always the first rule – if you hear something that you wish you would have thought of, it’s worth that second listen. We just started playing it in our live show, and it’s funny to see the audience because they want to know it so bad… That’s a good sign.”

While breaking up is never easy, there are definitely things to make goodbye a little more palatable, including whiskey, beer, and all the good things found in a bar. “Yeah, girl you know I’m gonna miss you // And the way you felt here in my arms // But when somebody breaks your heart,” Eli sings. “Movin’ on ain’t half as hard // When you break up in a bar.”

While most of the album is the mid-to-up-tempo Texas twang that EYB has become known for, the foursome still shine on the slower songs including “Chances Are” and “Live With It.” On the former, which has a stunning guitar solo, Eli admits that chances are high that he’s missing her too. Yet, while “Chances Are” is about lost love, “Live With It” is about the potential of something new, Eli inviting someone seemingly special into his life. “If you live with it for a minute you might,” he muses. “Wanna live with it for the rest of your life.”

For Eli Young Band, Love Talking was about providing an uplifting collection of new music to fans and it does just that. Give it a listen with your headphones, you’ll thank us later.

Love Talking Track List

  1. Love Talking (Mike Eli, Eric Arjes, Jeffrey East)
  2. Lucky For Me (Mike Eli, Jimmy Robbins, Laura Veltz)
  3. Break Up In A Bar (Ashley Gorley, Ben Johnson, Hunter Phelps)
  4. Love Ain’t (Ross Copperman, Ashley Gorley, Shane McAnally)
  5. Chances Are (Mike Eli, Eric Arjes, Jordan Minton)
  6. Live With It (Mike Eli, Josh Osborne, Daniel Ross)
  7. Tell Me It Is (Mike Eli, Jon Nite, Jimmy Robbins)
  8. A Good Thing (Mike Eli, Eric Arjes, Jeffery East)
  9. Love Talking (Acoustic) (Mike Eli, Eric Arjes, Jeffrey East)
Eli-young-band-new-album

Eli Young Band’s new album ‘Love Talking’ is out now.

Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news and announcements about future Eli Young Band releases.

To keep up with the Eli Young Band follow them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Love Talking is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

Eli Young Band Live Performance of “Where Were You”

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On March, 29, Eli Young Band celebrated the 14th anniversary of their extremely successful career by releasing This Is Eli Young, a greatest hits album including 14 of their most popular songs. This album encompasses fan favorites and major hits alike and is the perfect album to blast through your speakers this summer. One of the songs featured on the tracklist is “Where Were You,” an upbeat song the band released as a single in 2018 which details what it is like to start a new relationship and learn about your new partner.

To honor the release of their new greatest hits album, the band took to YouTube, where they uploaded a live performance of “Where Were You.” Set in front of a plain white wall, the members of the band perform as passionately as ever. This live, acoustic version really allows the vocals and instruments being performed by the group to stand out, making the message of the song even more meaningful. The performance is beautifully done, but we would expect nothing less from a band who are well known to be great performers!

In the description of the “Where Were You” live performance video, there is a message that reads,

“You know how it is when you’re first falling in love – absorbing every minor detail of your sweetie’s past becomes an addictive sport. We all live our lives in tiny moments and, in the big picture, maybe none of ’em are actually insignificant. The Eli Young Band’s latest hit captures that process of learning about a new partner…and sharing plenty of personal details along the way. You probably know the story of this hit-making outfit. Texas boys Mike Eli and James Young met in college, started playing together, conquered a big chunk of the local live circuit, got noticed by industry bigwigs, began dropping great albums, made a big dent on the charts and awards shows, and earned themselves innumerable fans. It’s perfectly crafted songs like “Where Were You” that have helped them live their best life, so check this exclusive spin on their latest gem.”

It’s clear that the band is beyond thankful for their fans who have enabled them to do projects like this and release new albums and videos. Just from watching the “Where Were You” video, viewers can see the love and passion the band has for their craft. If you loved the live performance, be sure to check out Eli Young Band on tour this summer! For tour dates head to https://eliyoungband.com/.

To keep up with the Eli Young Band follow them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

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Eli Young Band Releases Great Hits Album

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Eli Young Band

The multi-platinum hitmakers Eli Young Band have something huge to celebrate this week! The release of their newest album This Is Eli Young Band compiles 14 of the bands greatest hits from the last two decades. While putting together a greatest hits album is a huge milestone in itself, the boys have many more where that came from. From performing for troops overseas, winning many awards and receiving nominations, a loyal, supportive fan base, and more, Eli Young Band is stronger than ever.

Prior to releasing the album, they connected directly with their supportive following announcing the new album and preorder details via Facebook Live while in New York City for a tour stop honoring their home state of Texas. (You can check out our recap of Texas’ 11th Independence Day Celebration here!)

Nearly two decades ago at the University of North Texas, four friends got together to form a band. Now, those four friends are celebrating one heck of a career. “This is the first time you’ve ever been able to get some of that older music, new music, and the hits all in one place,” shared EYB’s Mike Eli during the Facebook Live revealing the project.

The collection houses a full-scope of Eli Young Band’s catalog and kicks off with their current single, the emotional and powerful “Love Ain’t.” “Love Ain’t” is their first single since “Saltwater Gospel” was released in 2016 and currently is in the Top 20 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.

The Greatest Hits album includes fan favorites like “Even If It Breaks Your Heart”, “Dust”, and “Always the Love Songs”, along with top radio hits “Drunk Last Night”, “Even If It Breaks Your Heart”, and “Crazy Girl.” You can find the whole tracklist below.

To keep up with the Eli Young Band follow them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Eli Young Band Greatest Hits is now available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released music here on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

This Is Eli Young Band (Greatest Hits) Track Listing:
1. “Love Ain’t”
2. “Even If It Breaks Your Heart”
3. “Drunk Last Night”
4. “Crazy Girl”
5. “Always The Love Songs”
6. “Dust”
7. “Saltwater Gospel”
8. “Guinevere”
9. “Skin and Bones”
10. “When It Rains”
11. “Small Town Kid”
12. “Highways and Broken Hearts”
13. “Where Were You”
14. “Crazy Girl (Acoustic)”

 

 

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11th Annual Texas Independence Day Celebration in NYC

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Country music fans from all over packed Terminal 5 Saturday night, and the majority of them sported Texas gear to celebrate the 11th Annual Salute to Texas Independence Day featuring Texas artists Kyle Park, Aaron Watson, Eli Young Band, and Pat Green.

11th annual Texas Independence Day celebration

It was a jam-packed evening filled with 5 hours of Texas country music that was kicked off by Kyle Park. Aaron Watson continued the celebration singing crowd favorites such as “That Look”, “Kiss That Girl Goodbye”, and “Run Wild Horses.”

Watson paid tribute the heroes in the room and said: “I’ll tell ya, I’ve been around the world making music and we are blessed to live in the greatest nation in the whole wide world. We need to take time to give credit where credit is due, so all the veterans, the act of duty service men and woman, raise your hands. All the law enforcement officers and firemen get your hands up!” Over the cheers of the crowd, he sang “Raise Your Bottle”.

Another special moment was when Watson told the crowd, “Of all the songs that I’ve written this one means the most to me, this was the first song after my wife and I lost our little girl.” He continued, “There might be somebody out there tonight who is just hanging on by a thread, somebody who is having a hard time like I was and just want you to know, I know how you feel, I love you, God bless you, hang in there,” and he sang the beautifully written and moving song, “July In Cheyenne”.

Watson told everyone after he met Pat Green in the ’90s at a 150 person show, it was then he realized “I want to play Texas music for the rest of my life.” He played an ode to Texas with “Bluebonnets”, and “They Don’t Make Em’ Like They Used To” before closing out his set with the hit song, “Outta Style.” Watson said, “Thank you for helping to show country music that cowboys are never going “Outta Style!”

11th annual Texas Independence Day celebration

Next up were the multi-platinum selling artists straight from North Texas: Eli Young Band. A few days prior to the show, they announced they are releasing This Is Eli Young Band (Greatest Hits) album on March 29th. Fans were lucky enough to hear many of the cuts from their upcoming record, and they kept the energy level high as they sang hit after hit with “Always the Love Songs”, “Where Were You”, “Saltwater Gospel”, and “Love Ain’t”.

Young took a moment to dedicate “Skin and Bones” to his wife that was there in the audience, and sang another longtime fan favorite “Guinevere.” Young said, “Still to this day, it is absolutely positively one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written and been a part of writing, it is a song we wrote about a girl named Guinevere.” The crowd loved every minute of their set especially during “Drunk Last Night”, and they sang every word to “Crazy Girl”, and “Even If It Breaks Your Heart”.

11th annual Texas Independence Day celebration

Closing out the night, Pat Green took the stage and said: “If you didn’t know how badass New York City was, you wouldn’t be here at all – NYC is bad to the bone!” The chants for “Pat Green” rang loud throughout his set as he sang favorites like “Take Me Out to A Dancehall”, “Baby Doll”, “Songs About Texas”, and “Texas On My Mind.” Green even treated the crowd with a Springsteen cover of “Atlantic City.” Everyone sang along to his biggest hits “Feels Just Like It Should” and the final song of the night “Wave on Wave.”

Everything may be “bigger” in Texas, but the fans in the Big Apple sure did prove they can throw a huge Texas party alongside Kyle Park, Aaron Watson, Eli Young Band, and Pat Green. Green closed out the show by saying, “Thank you for having us, this is an amazing place, and we are lucky to be here.” All of the artists joined Green on stage and held a big Texas flag for a final goodbye and the crowd loved every second of it!

 

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Battle of the Bones Charity Event in Nashville Feat. Rascal Flatts & more

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Battle of the bones

Photo Via @Tylerrich on Instagram

On October 30th, The BIG 98 held the 6th annual Battle Of The Bones at The Wildhorse Saloon to kick off Halloween. Tyler Rich, Danielle Bradbery, Eli Young Band, and Rascal Flatts performed in their Halloween costumes to get the party started.

Battle of the bones

Photo Via @Daniellebradbery on Instagram

 

Rich & his band started off the show dressed up as characters from the movie Top Gun and performed the hit from the soundtrack “Danger Zone.” He also sang a new song called “Leave Her Wild,” and a few tracks from his EP including “11:11,” Adrenaline,” and his chart-climbing single “The Difference.” Bradbery & her band came out dressed as the from Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’. She came out in a pink-short sleeved dress as the character “Eleven.” The set included her first single “Heart Of Dixie” to her chart-climbing track duet with Thomas Rhett “Goodbye Summer.”

Battle of the bones

Photo Via @Eliyoungband on Instagram

Eli Young Band mentioned they didn’t know they had to dress up, so they took a pre-show trip to Walmart and ended on stage in costume as doctors. They sang some of their hits “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” and “Crazy Girl,” to get the crowd going and also their new single “Love Ain’t.”  The headliner, Rascal Flatts came out dressed up all different costumes. The band was dressed as the aliens from Toy Story, Joe Don Rooney was dressed in an ancient Egyptian costume, Jay DeMarcus dressed simply as a ninja, and Gary Levox in S.W.A.T. costume. They had the crowd singing along to all of their hits from “What Hurts The Most” to “Life Is A Highway.”

The annual Battle of the Bones event was in support of the T.J. Martell Foundation, which is the music industry’s largest foundation that funds cancer research. The foundation was established by Tony Martell’s making a promise to his dying son. T.J. Martell, a high school student battling leukemia. He asked his father to raise a million dollars so that no one else would have to experience what he had gone through. The proceeds of the show will benefit the FTL Sarcoma Fund. If you’d like to learn more or find out how you can help or donate, click here.

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Eli Young Band

#TBT Eli Young Band’s Summer Beach Hit

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After yesterday’s snowstorm, let’s listen to Eli Young Band’s 2017 smash summertime hit, “Saltwater Gospel” to get in the mood for summer 2018.

 

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