Hello! Welcome back to the Trucking Music Review, where I review music that is (sometimes loosely) about trucking! Yes, again, it is a genre that is very much real and very much exists.

This week, we’ll be reviewing “Bump in the Road,” by Jonny Lang. Lang is a blues, gospel, and rock singer who has had five albums chart on the Top 50 of the Billboard 200. Additionally, he won a Grammy Award for his album “Turn Around”, which is where “Bump in the Road” is from. 

As a revered and award-winning artist, Lang has made a career out of creating soulful music that resonates with its listeners. This also happens to be the case with “Bump in the Road.” 

In this song, Lang does an extraordinary job of paralleling trucking and being on the road with managing the bumps we all face in life. With lyrics such as “I been on the wrong track with the wrong map and I’m trying to find my way home,” it’s easy to see how his hopeful lyrics resonate with truckers.

We all go through stuff, and truckers are no different. So to be able to connect that to something that is familiar to them goes a long way. 

Even while that sentiment is vastly cliched, the song’s lyrics are very clever and hard-hitting, which is only amplified by Lang’s singing ability. 

His passionate performance adds to the song’s uplifting vibe and makes the delivery of the lyrics so much more impactful. 

While the performance and lyrical material are very well done, the instrumentals aren’t as amazing. They aren’t bad by any means, but they’re relatively simplistic and don’t add much to the overall song. 

The chorus could also use some work, honestly. Just like the instrumentals, the chorus is rather simple and doesn’t make the song any better or worse. I feel like there was probably a better way of leveraging Lang’s great voice to make a catchier hook.

Nevertheless, it’s still pretty darn catchy. I’ve been humming it for a couple of minutes now, so I’d take that as a sign that it’s really not that bad.

Overall, the soulful performance and lyrics are great, but the instrumentals and chorus are average at best. Still, the song was enjoyable and a pleasure to listen to so I’ll give this one a 7/10.

So, what do you think about this song? Let us know in the comments or on social media!

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