Like most of his albums, Gary Allan’s latest was rolled out to near unanimous critical acclaim. The 9513, Country Weekly and Slant each gave Get Off On The Pain four stars out of five, and I gave it 4 and ½ stars in my review for American Songwriter.
But, like most of his albums, Get Off On The Pain has achieved only a splinter of commercial success, due in large part to country radio’s typically tepid reaction to its first two singles, “Today” (which peaked at #18), and the title track (which squeaked its way into the Top 30).
The third release from the project, “Kiss Me When I’m Down,” isn’t likely to cause a sudden spike in Allan’s chart trendline. But if there were any justice in country music, it would.
Written by Andrew Dorff, Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins, “Kiss Me When I’m Down” is a masterpiece of a song about missing someone so much that you’ll let them use you, regardless of the emotional cost. “Tell me lies I won’t believe/Just don’t wake me when you leave,” Allan sings. “Come on over, kick me to the ground/Kiss me when I’m down.”
These lyrics are great. Not good, great. And while the record could do without the melodramatic strings that swell in all the typical places, Allan’s yearning vocal—as organic and gritty as ever—sounds fully connected to the pain-stricken soul of this song.
Allan’s singing on “Kiss me When I’m Down” is emotionally charged, and brilliantly draws out the song’s embedded masochism. He’s addicted to this woman like a junkie’s stuck on dope; he knows taking her in will cause him more suffering, but it’s worth it for the brief reprieve her presence offers.
Allan sells it all with the conviction of a man who’s lived it.
Performances and songs this good are rare, and finding both on one record is even rarer. “Kiss Me When I’m Down” deserves every single bit of acclaim and attention it will receive—and, no doubt, a whole lot more.
This song kills me – it might be my favourite from the record. The nuance Gary can wrap in a vocal still amazes me after all these years.
Seems a fine choice for a third single.
It’s criminal that this will all but certainly be lost in the shuffle.
I have to say I wouldn’t be surprised if Allan has the last laugh, though, and “Get Off On The Pain” enjoys slow and steady longevity sales-wise in a similar vein Jamey Johnson’s “That Lonesome Song” has. The acclaim may be enough to buoy an otherwise unforgivably overlooked record.
I LOVE this song–hope it gets some notice from country radio, but it probably won’t. that’s why I don’t listen to the radio–they are only interested in force feeding us what they want us to hear (or what they are getting paid to play)
BTW, Get Off on the Pain peaked at #16 on the charts
From the first time I heard him debut this song at his 2009 birthday concert, I knew this song was a rare gem, and repeated listening since then has only endeared it to my heart. Who hasn’t at least thought about asking that one who got away to come back one more time even when you know it will hurt in the long run? And yes, sadly many radio stations will skip playing something edgy and genuine like this in order to satisfy the “masses” who want fluff. But for those of us who seek ernestness and ART in our country music artists, Gary Allan is our treasure to savor. I want him to get the success he deserves, but even if he doesn’t, I support and value him immensely. Keep up the great work, Gary!
I have to say, I think you guys might be wrong about this not making much noise with radio. It’s well written – which you would THINK immediately disqualifies it from radio play – but it’s also incredibly catchy and sing-a-longable, and it’s not a very complicated concept to latch on to on the surface. I can just see people humming “Come on ovvvver, drink my wiiiiine…” as they walk into walk from their parked cars. It’s the new “On Again Tonight”!
I’ll go ahead and predict top 10, with my fingers crossed.
You are so right about GARY and about this song.. so hoping others will “get HIM” and just see how fine a performer and artist HE is. KYLE—know what you mean about “On Again,Off Again Tonight.” KMWID is one of those kinda songs.
Kiss Me When I’m Down is probably my fav song off this CD and I’m predicting a top10.. Love this song and if you haven’t caught a live show recently with him performing it, you’ve so missed out!! Pain did hit #16 on Billboard.
I’m not wild about the album in general and I really dislike the production on this song. I guess, along with the swelling chorus, it sounds more like a power pop ballad to me.
Gary is a great artist that does not get the public attention he deserves. The first time I listened to the CD I picked this song as the biggest hit. If anyone other artist released this song it would climb to number one but the industry does all it can to ignore him. Who did he piss off?
Another artist trying to make it is being ignored as well. Lee Brice has clawed his way into the top 5 with no help from his lable and grass roots effort.
Let’s find a way to do the same for Gary!!!
The production is awfully heavy on this track, but I still find digestible, and Gary’s performance more than makes up for it. He clearly is fully connected with the song’s lyrics.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this song. The first time I heard it I stopped what I was doing and had to really listen to the song, over and over again. It’s a #1 song in my book.
For me, this is one of the weaker tracks on ‘Get Off on the Pain,’ but I like it. The only one I don’t is “Today.”
In fact, ‘Get Off on the Pain’ is one of my absolute favorite albums this year, right up there with ‘The Guitar Song’ and ‘Up on the Ridge.’
My favorite albums seem to be what everyone’s favorite albums are, which is unusual, but maybe these were just obviously good albums with a broad enough appeal to people who like to analyze music. Idk.
I agree with your sentiments about “Today” being the one blemish on the disc, but as I noted in my review for American Songwriter, that’s sort of a pattern in Gary’s music–he’s been able to stay alive by consistently delivering at least one hit from every release. Even Tough All Over spawned a big single.
I actually thought “Today” wasn’t a wise choice for a lead single in that, even though it fits the album’s central theme well as an album track, on its own it sounds like a generic overblown ballad that would make many listeners indifferent toward what is truly an album with lots of heart and depth. And while I really enjoyed the title track and believe it was a wise choice for release in that it sets the stage for the album’s central themes, it doesn’t exactly “Wow!” the listener either, or leave a lasting handprint in the listener’s heart.
“Kiss Me When I’m Down”, I believe, is his best bet at sealing the deal with listeners and giving this album a much-deserved once-over. Lyrically it hits home emotionally at how masochistic affection can truly be and the complexity of attraction, and musically it has some of the polish of “Today” but, unlike that track where the production tends to outweigh the heart of the track, it’s the opposite here, where the strings actually work to the song’s advantage and don’t overburden the listener………..pulling at heartstrings but not yanking them.
Allan has yet to garner a true hit this era, unlike his other eras to date, and I believe this is both his best, and last, bet at getting one.
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