Easton Corbin is on a roll, after he took home all three of the "Breakthrough Artist" awards at the inaugural American Country Awards, comes out of the gates with a new music video for the third single "I Can't Love You Back" off his self-titled strait-laced traditional debut album. "I Can't Love You Back" is as good a song as its pedigree would lead you to expect, but you need to watch the entire video to understand just what Corbin is feeling when he sings "I Can't Love You Back." It will definitely remind you to not take for granted the ones you love. You never know when they might be walking out the door for the last time.Fresh off a pair of mid-tempo countrified hit singles, Corbin slows it down and shows his versatility with the broken heart ballad "I Can't Love You Back." The song has a universal message of loss and is about a man whose love can accomplish anything but bringing her back that is, and clinging on to his feelings despite the absence of the loved one. The song doesn't really rely on catchy witticisms to grab you, instead Corbin pours out his heart and bears his emotions and grabs you with a convincingly heartbreaking performance. He said: "When I heard the melody, I thought, 'that's a hit.' The song can mean different things for different people. She could have died, she could have left him—people can interpret it the way they feel."
The narrator goes through all the ways he wants to love his significant other except for the fact that the she is not returning to him. The emotion expressed is a straightforward one: no matter how much he continues to love her, that will not bring her back to him. It is very nicely presented, with Corbin's nicely understated vocal still sounding very reminiscent of a meld of George Strait and Alan Jackson. The tasteful production adds greatly to the effect, with Paul Franklin's sweetly slithering steel guitar underlining the delicate sadness of the mood. This alone makes this track a welcome breath of fresh air on country radio.
Corbin is the country throwback of the 2010s. His sound reflects back to the early 1990s sound that found the genre booming. "I Can't Love You Back" follows a tried and true formula: a simple song with a heartfelt message and a flawless execution. It is a mirror image of the style Corbin's early career has taken, and the simple yet strong execution of his songs has managed him quite a following, as many eagerly look forward to the blossoming of what is poised to become a successful career. He now knows it's over and seems to have finally accepted that fact, which in the tone of the song seems to be both freeing and depressing. Corbin eloquently weaves from wistful longing on the verses to the heartfelt plea of the chorus' making a strong emotional connection with the listener.
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