Gordie Sampson

I almost love Gordie Sampson's Almost Beautiful just like I almost love the music that makes up the soundtrack to Grey's Anatomy. It's difficult not to like music that has been produced to a glossy sheen, although the glossy sheen appears at the expense of the heartfelt grittiness that tends to make great country music great country music. Sampson's latest effort doesn't come without its sweet moments though. Particularly adorable are his quite acoustic songs, such as his heartbroken lament in "Fear of Flying" and "Crazy Old Man," wherein Sampson warns a woman who has apparently put his heart through the wringer that she's going to make him into a "crazy old man someday." It's easy to like Gordie Sampson's Almost Beautiful; it's a pleasant, nicely polished album. But it's the flaws that actually make us fall in love, isn't it?