Bob Lefsetz: Welcome To My World - "Rewind"

I admit it, I got turned on to this track by Rascal Flatts's guitarist, Joe Don Rooney.

Yes, I listened. Come on, who wouldn't?

But the reason Mr. Rooney tracked me down was my love of "Still Feels Good," which still puts a smile on my face today. At least that's what I think.

And at first I was not enamored by the intro, and the verse just seemed a bit too pedestrian, but then...there was that change, that drop down, and THE CHORUS!

Some rules are immutable. If you want to have a hit, you've got to have a hook, something that makes our bodies jump and want to sing along.

The track played through and...I had to hear it again.

And the more I heard it, I couldn't stop, I didn't want to leave the space the track put me in.

Now Rascal Flatts have had a hard go of it. Their record company...was downsized/put out of business, their hits dried up and...

Now they're aligned with Scott Borchetta's Big Machine powerhouse and...just maybe they've got a hit.

It's got that good-timey lyric like Little Big Town's "Pontoon"... Oh, it's more introspective than that, but there's the lowest common denominator reference to George Strait and it's hard not to believe a bunch of people were sitting in a room trying to write a hit.

But the truth is there's that chorus and Gary LeVox's vocal.

Not to minimize the contributions of Joe Don Rooney and Jay DeMarcus, it's just that...too many people believe they can make it without the talent, without the goods, without the ability to SING! Sure, Bob Dylan hasn't got a classically good voice, but he's one of the best lyricists of all time. And both John Lennon and Paul McCartney excelled at singing.

"Rewind" has got the Beatle basics. The great vocal, the great chorus, the great harmonies, the only thing it's lacking is a delectable bridge.

Then again, the Beatles were forever, I don't think "Rewind" is.

But while we're waiting for the next groundbreaking track, let's revel in the professionalism and quality of this workmanlike cut that makes me want to go to the gig, throw my fist in the air and sing along.

That's the experience.

Easier said than done.

Respect.