Keith Urban plays it so safe on Defying Gravity, you'd think he got a musical lobotomy when he went to rehab. The album depicts an idyllic America, where young'uns suffer innocent heartache like so many Fifties teenagers. There's no economic crisis, no war and only one track ("Thank You") that hints at his marriage to Nicole Kidman and his highly publicized relapse. Instead, we get couples kissin' on a porch swing ("Sweet Thing"), a dusty old boardwalk (" 'Til Summer Comes Around") and slick guitar solos that are ready–made for the arenas. If this wasn't the same guy who put out the ambitious Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing three years ago, you could blame Nashville. But Urban has proved that he's capable of much better.   read more »