David Nail
I’m a Fire
If he’s a fire, it’s one that doesn’t burn nearly enough. Three albums in, Nail continues to pair great potential with middling results. Despite having better pipes than most of his contemporaries and a knack for finding some genuinely interesting material each time out, his albums as a whole never quite take off.
On I’m a Fire, the tempos rarely leave mid-territory, and there aren’t enough country flourishes throughout to keep the album out of straight-up AC territory. When he connects with a compelling story song like “The Secret” or has the good sense to record a Brandy Clark co-write (“Burnin’ Bed”), he delivers. But until he can do that on more than a handful of tracks, he’ll keep falling short of his considerable potential.
Recommended Tracks: “The Secret”, “Burnin’ Bed”, “When They’re Gone (Lyle County)”