In 21st century popular music, any a cappella group outside of the classical genre is, unfortunately, an anomaly. The formally trained singers who make up Minnesota's
the Home Free Vocal Band
(aka
Home Free
) --
Chris
and
Adam Rupp
,
Rob Lundquist
Tim Foust
&
Austin Brown
-- are one such entity. After five independently released offerings ranging from rock and pop classics to Christmas albums, they won a
Sony
contract after winning The Sing Off with an interesting arrangement of
Hunter Hayes
' "I Want Crazy." They're structured as a barbershop quartet -- bass, high tenor, tenor, and baritone singers -- with a twist: a fifth member providing vocal percussion and beatboxing sounds. It works well live, too. But on
Crazy Life
Darren Rust
's overly slick production neutralizes their organic charm to shoehorn them into contemporary country's confines (the
Oak Ridge Boys
this isn't). Opening single "Any Way the Wind Blows" is an adult contemporary version of country pop; unfortunately, the mix makes
's overdubbed beatboxing effects resemble a thin snare drum and overly stiff bassline. It sounds like the group is singing to a metronome. The reading of "Your Man" should be a dream cut for a vocal group. But given the excessive use of late doo wop's "ooo-ooo-ooo" cliches, blurry harmonies and a wooden rhythm that removes the country swing
Josh Turner
imbued it with on his hit version, this is a watered-down amalgam of the bad Amerrican pop tropes.
June Carter
's classic "Ring of Fire"--with guest
Avi Kaplan
--is arranged for a calypso rhythm. It sounds like Auto-Tune was used in the finished version -- even if it wasn't. The medley of
Hayes
' songs, including the studio version of "I Want Crazy" -- is the set's hinge, but their TV version is superior. The drum loops and banjo that worked to make
Keith Urban
's single "A Little Bit of Everything" such a clever pop song have been replaced by faux-classical falsettos against a lazy reggae rhythm and near-sterile production. There isn't any doubt that
have real chemistry vocally; they've proven it time and again. (Check 2009's
Kickin' It Old School
or 2012's
Live: From the Road
). On
, their organic spontaneity and groove were sacrificed to serve commercial ends.
paid too dear price for a major-label record deal . ~ Thom Jurek