Country music from a fan's point of view since 2008
The title of Josh Turner’s latest single suggests that it is a ballad about someone lamenting over an ex-lover who has moved on, but judging a song by its title proves to be a mistake, at least as far as this rollicking, upbeat tune is concerned. In the opening line, we are told that the weather forecast is “for a hot one”, so Turner decides that a day on the water is called for. He instructs his girlfriend to grab her shades, string bikini and Coppertone 45 and join him for a day of boating and an evening by the campfire. Though the destination is a spot down by the river underneath a sycamore tree, the imagery of sunglasses, swimsuits and sunscreen conjures up associations with the beach,. This is entirely appropriate, since this release was clearly timed to be ascending the charts by summertime.
The second single from Turner’s Haywire album was produced by Fred Rogers and written by Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson, and Ben Hayslip. It opens with some honkytonk-style piano and drums, which set it apart from much of the bland fare that will be surrounding it on the radio airwaves. The piano and drums are quickly joined by the electric guitar with some banjo thrown into the mix much later in the song. The intent seems to be to make the record sound contemporary without sacrificing its country identity. In that respect it works, but the guitar riffs are somewhat overbearing. Instead of gradually building up in intensity, which is the usual practice, the listener is hit over the head with them near the beginning of the song.
In the long term, ‘All Over Me’ is unlikely to be remembered as a standout entry in Turner’s catalog, but in the short term, it’s a fun, lighthearted summer song that is enjoyable to listen to, despite the slightly heavy-handed production.
Grade: B
‘All Over Me’ is available for download at iTunes and Amazon.
My Kind of Country 
The last paragraph pretty much sums up my thoughts on this single as well. I like it, it wouldn’t make me change the station if it came on, but it’s nothing special or memorable.
I’ve always thought Josh Turner didn’t record material that was up to par with his vocal talent. This is another good example of that: unremarkable and forgettable.
I agree with your comment, especially the last part about his material. That’s why I don’t buy his cds. I just occasionally buy one of his songs on I-Tunes. I won’t be buying this one.
I’ll join the chorus. Josh has a great, great voice, but with some exceptions is not as good at picking material worthy of it. I have this CD in my regular rotation atm – and I still can’t remember this song. Better than a lot of current radio fare, though.
Ditto to the rest of you, though I do have all of his albums. I actually thought most of Your Man was quite good.
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I personally was quite disappointed with this single. Josh Turner has given us some truly memorable songs in the past, but “All Over Me” doesn’t come close to his previous standards. Lines like “Bring on the sunshine, bring on the good times,” are totally forgettable. A few beach party goers may briefly find it engaging, but this pitiful song will never find a place among the timeless classics of country music. Granted, there’s nothing wrong with a country song being just plain fun, but I still think Josh could have done a better job than this.
I love his ‘Haywire’ album, and at first I was a little disappointed that he had released this as his next single, since the album is full of better songs
Although I think this was the perfect song and the perfect time for it… this should assure him 2 back-to-back #1s, like he did with “Your Man” and “Would You Go with Me”