I am sitting in the 7th Street Entry right now, listening to this band called The Daredevil Christopher Wright. I have to say, they are very cool. Eccentric, but cool. You should check them out if you ever get the chance.

So, I’ve been on this Chris McHugh kick lately.  Man.  Just love that guy.  The recent Keith Urban record is killer, and same with the last two Rascal Flatts records.  However, after much listening, I’m still liking the self-titled Owsley record as mt favorite Chris McHugh performance, as well as Keith Urban’s previous album (Love, Pain, and the Whole Crazy Thing), and I included both of those records on the AEDSK list.

Anyway…

This post is just a presentation of a theory I have after listening to Carrie Underwood’s 2nd album, Carnival Ride.  McHugh plays on that record, which is of course why I’ve been listening to it lately, and why I’ve taken to theorizing about it.  However, the interesting thing about that record is that Matt Chamberlain plays on it too, but the tracks aren’t labeled as to which drummer played on what.  The liner notes read simply, “Drums: Chris McHugh, Matt Chamberlain.”  So, I’ve spent a ton of time trying to decifer which drummer is playing on which track.  Actually, my 4-year-old daughter Betty really likes Carrie Underwood, so the truth is I’ve spent far more time than I care to admit listening to Carrie Underwood.  Let’s just say I know both her albums top to bottom from memory.  And… after all this listening… I’ve come to a conclusion about who is drumming on each track.

I think Chamberlain only plays on track two, the radio single called “All-American Girl.”  That’s it.  The rest of it is McHugh.  I’m saying this because only “All-American Girl” exhibits any Chamberlain-esque playing, and all the other tracks have very signature McHugh moments.  Feel, tones, patterns, sequences, fills… these two players have VERY finger-print characteristics, and I’m pretty confident at this point about my ID-ing track two as the only Chamberlain track.

So, my theory is this: the whole record was tracked in Nashville with McHugh (and all the other usual suspects for A-list Nashville records).  Then, “All-American Girl” was discovered last-minute as a viable song for the record, and it was deemed necessary to be included.  McHugh wasn’t available for the session, so Chamberlain did it.

Makes sense, right?  I think so.  Give it a listen and tell me what you think.