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Time Flies
Billy Ray Cyrus
Sony Records, 2003
REVIEW BY: Sean McCarthy
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 01/07/2004
In 1992, Billy Ray Cyrus gave the world the inescapable hit"Achy Breaky Heart." Grunge was still in its infancy stage, SnoopDogg hadn't even been introduced to the mainstream and rock musicwas about to die another death before getting resurrected anotherthree or four times.
As many detractors as Billy Ray Cyrus has, you have to admirehim for his resiliency. Many rap, rock and grunge bands have longsince left the scene since 1992. And Billy Ray Cyrus' latest album,Time Flies, is probably his finest hour. Cyrus doesn't havethe breakout, catchy hit like "Achy Breaky" this time around, butthe album contains a restrained modesty that makes the lyricalcheese go down easy.
Time Flies makes no pretense in its lack of risk-taking. BillyRay has about an equal portion of ballads, barroom raisers andemotional confessionals worthy of the most clichéd PAXtelevision specials. In a wince-worthy moment, Cyrus name-drops hisaforementioned hit in "Hard to Leave." Time Flies has a slew of songwriters at its disposal,leaving those who want to hear Cyrus' true voice frustrated.
The album itself is thankfully underproduced. Cyrus seems tohave taken some hints from the alt-country movement, especially ontracks such as "Close to Gone." Unfortunately, Cyrus sticks anunnecessary electric guitar riff at the end of many songs, provingthat some survivors of country music's excesses of the early '90sdon't die easily. A bit more restraint and Cyrus could have had amemorable, if not predictable artistic detour into bluegrass --think Garth Brooks' ghastly turn to glam rock, but with moresuccess.
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