Single Review – The Pride and the Passion – Bryan Cole
15 years ago Liv Carter Comments Off on Single Review – The Pride and the Passion – Bryan Cole
Songwriters: Michael Stover and Bryan Cole
Bryan Cole starts the countdown to his upcoming album with the release of new single, ‘The Pride and the Passion.’
Announcing its intention right from the off, the song opens with a chorus of hey-hey-heys; the backbone of the track. A fine contemporary country sound is created courtesy of, among others, fiddle, banjo, and acoustic guitar.
The song’s strength is in the music. The tight production makes for a very solid footstomper. But it’s the lyrics which let this tune down.
When someone asserts they are a patriot of my hometown, that doesn’t seem to make all that much sense. The chorus starts out: What you wanna say/It’s our pride and our passion that’ll take us all the way. It’s not at all clear who the first question is directed at, and equally so as to where exactly ‘all the way’ is. Nor do we ever find out exactly what he is being proud or passionate about. There’s the seemingly obligatory mention of the red, white and blue, but nothing here even tries to go below the surface. The second verse adds very little and explains nothing with lines like Cause when we come to party/Everybody wants to play/Let’s get this whole thing started/We can shout all night and day. They feel like filler lines when they could be adding meaning to the chorus.
It’s a shame because as an anthem, this could work, but only as an anthem. Its status as such has been solidified by the Pittsburgh Pirates adoption of this song for their TV ads.
Bryan Cole is one heck of a vocalist and here’s hoping the rest of the new album will allow him to showcase his full talent.
Liv Carter
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.
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