This album is pretty much an also-ran, settling on competence in spite of numerous up-and-coming talents looking to steal guys like
David Kersh's thunder.
Kersh works up a bit of steam on a few cuts, most notably "I Breathe In, I Breathe Out" and "Hello Walls," but the vast majority of
If I Never Stop Loving You is well-covered ground at a time when country needs new voices. Some feel that incorporating rock influences is the key to freshness, but it would be hard to make such a case based on
Kersh's version of the
Eric Clapton classic "Wonderful Tonight," in which he stumbles blindly through the entire song without finding the right emotional vibe. The brighter moments on this album shouldn't take up too much space on a greatest-hits album, but what is achieved is maintained with consistency. ~ Jeremy Ulrey