Brian McComas - Brian McComas

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Reviewed by Matt Bjorke

As the old saying goes, the "third time's the charm" for Brian McComas. In 2002 McComas released two singles to radio. While those singles, "Night Disappear With You" and "I Could Never Love You Enough," both making the Billboard Top 50 but failing to garner enough attention to see the CD get released. Luckily for Brian, his label gave him the choice of releasing his CD as is without much support or wait a bit, record five more songs and see where those songs go. Changing producers, from Leon Medica to Leigh Reynolds, McComas found the hit song he was looking for in "99.9% Sure (I've Never Been Here Before)." The song, about a guy who is experiencing true love for the first time, has been on a steady climb since its spring radio debut and is now officially Brian's first Billboard Top 10 hit.

From listening to the rest of the album, I can see why Lyric Street Records, during a time in which many artists get dropped from labels after one failed single, stuck with Brian and allowed him to search for some new material. That being said, Brian still manages to have four of his own, self-written songs (two of them the previous singles) on the CD.

"Sixteen Again" is a special song. Written by former Mercury Records artist Neal Coty and Phillip White and Jimmy Melton (Neal and Jimmy have written the songs "She Was,' "Every Friday Afternoon" and Neal wrote "Playboys of the Southwestern World"), it is a piano laden ballad about regret. It's a song that finds a man reflecting on the wild and innocent, nothing can hurt us attitudes that all teenagers have. The song features a moaning steel guitar and some fine mandolin work intertwined with the piano. The song's last verse finds the singer regretting the day he let his friend drive home drunk. This song is a hit and has a strong story and a message, something that country music is all about.

Shane Minor was a recording artist for Mercury Records and Jeffrey Steele has recorded albums for Curb and Sony Records. They team up with Chris Wallin for the infectious groove filled "You're In My Head." Brian's deep tenor voice fits the song well and it sounds like something off of Shane's only record. This is a song that will have you tappin' your toes to the beat while singin' along with it. It's a cool driving song and probably will be a single.

"Baby Let Me Be Your Man" is a well-written song and is one of those four songs McComas wrote by himself. It has a delicious melody that has some cool guitar pickin' mixed in with Dobro, mandolin and fiddle. This is probably the most traditional sounding song on the record. The lyrics are pretty much similar to "99.9% Sure" yet this ballad sounds a bit more authentic. It is an earthy song that, should it see the light of day as a single, could be a smash hit.

The other song Brian wrote by himself is the fun "Never Meant A Thing." It's a coming of age song about the way we all grow up and don't realize how lucky we were to have lived the childhoods we have. The melody and lyric sound like something that Mark McGuinn would’ve written and sang. Actually McComas even sounds like McGuinn on the chorus to the song.

Rounding out the CD is a sleeper hit in waiting. Much like the way Rascal Flatts ended their debut CD with "I'm Movin' On," McComas ends his CD with a song that features a touching lyric about a touchy subject: teenage pregnancy. It doesn't get preachy nor does it approach the topic Tim McGraw's "Red Ragtop" hinted at. It's a song about a brother who is so close to his sister that he proclaims that he'll be with her every step of the way. This is a song that needs to be heard.

Brian McComas may have had to wait a full year to see his debut CD get released but the wait was definitely worth it for he found some more songs that have made this a complete album and one that is worth listening to from start to finish. It is a rare debut CD that has two or three more singles in it after the first big hit and the two minor ones.

Song List:

1. 99.9% Sure (I've Never Been Here Before)
2. Come With Me
3. Night Disappear With You
4. You'd Have Never Said Goodbye
5. Sixteen Again
6. You're In My Head
7. Baby Let Me Be Your Man
8. Never Meant A Thing
9. Straight To You
10. I Could Never Love You Enough
11. I'll Always Be There For You