CD Review: Mark Wayne Glasmire – Can’t Be Denied – by Preshias Harris for Country Music News International Magazine & Radio Show
Mark Wayne Glasmire has a voice that could
have easily found him as a member of the Eagles if he’d been around a few
decades ago. Not that he sounds old-style. Simply that he projects an easy,
laid-back vibe that comes across most vividly in “I’ve Got A Feeling,” the
first track on his new album, Can’t Be Denied.
Glasmire doesn’t fit the standard Nashville
mold. In fact, he had made the move to Nashville but found he wasn’t a writer
who could churn out hits on demand. “But I found out pretty quick that you
won’t find success until you’re true to who you are,” Glasmire has said. “Don’t
try to be somebody else. If you’re
constantly trying to be what somebody else wants you to be, you’re in trouble.”
He moved to Arlington, Texas, and found a new energy as both a songwriter and as
an artist.
“Those Nights” is a heart-warming mid-tempo
about the secure feeling that comes from knowing the one you love loves you
too. Similarly, the title track, “Can’t Be Denied,” is sparked by that moment you
know you were truly meant to be with someone. That feeling of instant
connection continues in the jog-along ballad “Alysia,” inspired by a chance
encounter and a single day on a Southern California beach. Love stays a little longer (but once again in
a ‘love at first sight’ song) with “Deep Inside My Heart,” a joyous romp about
anticipating the happy ever after. Yes,
Glasmire is definitely a romantic. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
He switches gears with “Borderline,” an
uptempo western fable from the point of view of a cowboy heading for the border
after a gunfight. Think: Marty Robbins’
“El Paso” reimagined by Crosby Stills and Nash.
“Out of The Frying Pan Into The Fire” is a
flat-out funny honky-tonk rocker about a bad situation that just keeps getting
worse. Whether he’s getting evicted by the landlord or getting caught by his
girlfriend, it’s just not his day! “She found some pink pumps underneath
the chair / I told her I could surely explain / But with a look that could kill /
She said tell me why / There’s lipstick on that glass of champagne.” No
doubt this song gets some hoots n’ hollers from the audience when he plays it
live, but he says his ex-wife found nothing funny about it! Hmmm…
There’s not a dud among the twelve tracks
on this strong outing from Mark Wayne Glasmire who wrote or co-wrote all the
songs. The project was produced by Glasmire and John Albani and was recorded at
Sonic Eden Studios in Nashville, Tennessee.