Home at Last (by Billy Ray Cyrus, Country)

With a hard-hitting, thrash-heavy rhythm section and ridiculously over-produced arrangements, HOME AT LAST uses every musical cliché in the book. The album starts out with a few promising tracks: "Ready, Set, Don't Go" describes a loving father's mixed feelings about his teenage daughter's maturity (families who like Disney's Hannah Montana show will enjoy it). "Flying By" is a guided tour of the life cycle from birth to that gravestone on the hill. But then, Billy Ray Cyrus begins a resolute, heavy-booted tromp through some of contemporary music's best-written songs, turning "Brown Eyed Girl," "You've Got A Friend," and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," into unintentional overblown parodies.

Billy Ray Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana's dad) gives us 13 family-safe country tracks that are so overblown and unimaginative that it's hard to conceive of anyone making it to the end of the album. His vocal range covers about four notes, his emotional range is between 5 and 5.2 on a scale of 10, and his songwriting is obvious and pedestrian. Hannah Montana fans who feel some loyalty to her dad might want to download the first couple of songs.

Released on: July 24, 2007
Label: Walt Disney Records
Genre: Country