EP Review: Tim Allen- “Lifetime on the Road”

Missouri based singer-songwriter Tim Allen released his debut EP, “Lifetime on the Road” on Friday, October 19, and what a first impression he made with the five song collection.

Allen, who started work on the EP as a present for his father who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, leaves no stone unturned, with each song taking listeners on an emotional journey.

That journey begins with the title track, “Lifetime on the Road.” Immediately upon its beginning, an outlaw feel comes through, and Allen’s voice reminisces Willie Nelson’s at certain points in various songs on the project. Writing a song about his 10 hour travels every other weekend to see his children, a sense of sincerity comes through Allen’s delivery of the song.

Allen then moves on to “Looking Up at a Dream,” a personal reflection, written in 15 minutes, about Allen’s journey to artistry. Allen sings that he “worked for it all and took a chance,” and thank goodness he did, because this track serves as one of the standouts of the EP. With steel guitar all over the song and nice build from an acoustic opening to a full on ballad, track two serves as a great jumping off point for the next track, “Bad Side of Me”

A Wayne Mills Band cover, this is the true standout of the EP, proving that sometimes, less is more. With only Allen’s vocal, an acoustic guitar and haunting steel in the background, the emotion of the song pours right through the speakers. Allen, who included the song for his fiancé “to show her how much I appreciated putting up with me,” made a great decision, as this track really can be seen as the defining moment of the EP.

The tempo picks back up again with “Truth Don’t Sell.” As someone who doesn’t typically get involved in politics or political talk, Allen delves into the subject a bit with this cut, venting frustration about news organizations. Though it was written a few years ago, the relevance of this song today is what makes this song so effective. Regardless of political affiliation, this song should hit home with just about everyone, and gives listeners a level of reliability with Allen.

The EP closes with the most personal song to Allen, “Who Am I to Say.” Written in 10 minutes, Allen says the song just poured out of him. The EP takes it up a major notch here, as a choir is brought in to drive him the emotion of the song. Written after the death of his father, Allen delivers his most impressive vocal performance of this track; though he is singing with a choir on some parts of the song, it feels like Allen’s voice comes through very clearly, almost feeling as if he is just singing it to you.

After listening through the entire release, it truly does feel as if Allen has taken listeners on a journey. From being a great father, to career reflections, to a touching song about his father, Allen delivers great performance after great performance.

Major credit is in order for those in the background as well, as their performances truly helped take these songs to the next level:

Cole Porter- Producer, Paul Carabello- Engineer, Jake Stringer- drums, Justin Boswell- Bass, Cody Stanford- lead guitar, Tyler Giles- pedal steel, Drew Harakal- keys, Scotty Sanders- dobro, Stephcynie Curry, April Rucker and Maureen Murphy- Background Vocals.

Though Allen says there will be more music in the future, “Lifetime on the Road” will be the most personal to him. Though these songs have helped heal Allen himself, his ultimate goal is to touch just one person with these songs.

“If one line in one song helps someone else or gives them something they can relate to, then all this work of getting it out to the public was worth it.”