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P>Darrell Scott has penned songs for some of country's biggest stars, so no doubt there's a line queuing up at his studio door to see what's available on his new self-produced record. Brad Paisley already laid claim to Scott's Out in the Parking Lot, but hearing Scott and Texas troubadour Guy Clark sing and strum this one, you are immediately transported to a dusty back-road Texas bar. Still, there's plenty left on this 16-song gem, as Scott sings like an love-struck... »»»
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Until now, Kellie Pickler has become known in country circles more for her bubbly, Dolly Parton-esque personality than for her singing. Granted, she has had some strong singles, notably the autobiographical I Wonder, but one could be forgiven for lumping her in the pile of most former American Idol contestants who hover in and around country music, but never really make an impact.
Somewhere after the release of her sophomore album, however, she started mentioning in interviews that she was... »»»
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Tim McGraw is the ultimate country music Zelig. Match him with a great lyric, and he's like the voice of a prophet. But put him with fluff, and he's no better than a news reader anchorman on a slow news day. McGraw is at his best on Better Than I Used To Be, a song as spiritual as you want it to be. It could easily be applied to the New Testament exhortation to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." It can also be taken as a self-help summation... »»»
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Kathleen Edwards made a few changes since her last album "Asking For Flowers" came out. For one, she is in a new working and personal relationship with Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, and for two, she's said this new album is her branching out from the "four-chord" singer-songwriter realm her first three records deliciously reeked of.
Thankfully, her new album might suffer from just one miscue, but one which could scare off some fans. The lead single, Change The... »»»
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There are unlikely supergroups and some that are inexplicable, and then there's the Little Willies. If you randomly sampled the catalogs of slinky jazz/pop chanteuse Norah Jones and atmospheric pop/rock guitarist Richard Julian, any subsequent pondering on the nature of acollaboration between the two would probably not veer anywhere near classic country. Regardless of expectations, Jones, Julian and a crack band of NYC sessioners assembled in 2003 around a collective love of the genre and... »»»
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It could be said that there are actually 2 gospel sides of Jamie Dailey and Darren Vincent presented on this 12-track collection. Having taken the bluegrass world by storm the last few years, it's not surprising that there's a healthy helping of hard-driving bluegrass gospel on the table, but like many raised with the music of Bill Monroe and his disciples, they're also steeped in the world of Southern gospel.
Vincent grew up on stage alongside his sister Rhonda as part of the... »»»
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Tim McGraw brings an international flavor, at least lyrically, to his new holiday single, Christmas All Over the World When the bells start ringing, it suggests, "no matter where you are, it's going to warm your heart," according to McGraw. With its lyric, McGraw names numerous countries and cultures and says a little bit about how each celebrates the season.
Sonically, the song features a big twang-y guitar part, which gives it a kind of wild-west-meets-U2 feel... »»»
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Willie Nelson is acclaimed as both a songwriter and a guitar player, but he has also rightfully earned a stellar reputation as an interpreter of classic songs. On "Remember Me Vol. 1," Nelson takes another successful stab at covering standards, this time from the rich annals of country music history.
There's no focus on a particular time period here, rather the 14 songs cover the vast musical territory between Tex Williams' Smoke That Cigarette from 1947, all the way... »»»
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Lyle Lovett's Christmas EP "Release Me" is only truly jolly to a point. After all, The Girl with the Holiday Smile begins with Lovett storytelling, "I met a hooker at the grocery story." It's not the sort of thing that would fit in either It's A Wonderful Life or Miracle On 34th Street. However, in Lovett's twisted little world, prostitutes belong right alongside Christmas trees and mistletoe.
This short recorded effort is more than just a Pretty Woman Christmas, though... »»»
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Christmas can become an overblown extravaganza if we let it. Christmas music can also suffer the same sad fate if we're not careful. Lindi Ortega understands such tragic possibilities, which is why her "Tennessee Christmas" EP is such a delight. These four songs are all performed with acoustic simplicity, without any glitz or glamour.
The traditional Blue Christmas is performed with fiddle, mandolin, Dobro and acoustic guitar accompaniment. Christmas Carol tells the story of a... »»»
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A notable gathering of alt. country dignitaries celebrate Texas singer/songwriter Guy Clark's recent 70th birthday with this 2-disc collection. Willie Nelson takes a turn on one of Clark's best known tunes with the often covered Desperados Waiting For A Train, which Nelson himself recorded with The Highwaymen. Fellow Highwayman Kris Kristofferson contributes Hemingways' Whiskey, which serves as the title track with the lines "Sail away, sail away, as the day grows dim/ Live... »»»
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It's an instance of truth in advertising that Joe Nichols calls his new holiday album "A Traditional Christmas." Traditions are mostly wonderful things. Few would enjoy Christmas, for example, if it was celebrated completely differently every year. However, Nichols' new traditional album is a little too faithful to these familiar Christmas songs. It's as though he's being so careful, he won't open presents on Christmas morning for fear that he might mess up the wrapping paper... »»»
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David Nail is a rare mainstream country artist who actually stands out from the rest of Music Row's regulars. Instead of leaning towards one of the two dominant styles of Nashville country, pop or rock, Nail blends country with soul and R&B.
When he builds upon his strengths, the songs shine. The single misstep, Grandpa's Farm, sounds like a blend of recent Kid Rock and Dusty Springfield's Son of a Preacher Man; which is as awkward as the comparison sounds... »»»
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There are all different kinds of holiday songs: everything from silly verses about grandparents dying at the hooves of reindeer, to those sad characters that only get home for Christmas in their dreams. DJ Miller's Snowman in Birmingham is the painful kind of song. He sings about a carpenter father that can never build the thing a son most wants, which is a snowman. It's not that his father doesn't have the know-how. Rather, Birmingham, Ala. just isn't a place where snow falls... »»»
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A greatest hits collection released earlier this year helped remind country fans that Joe Nichols has been producing hits for a good decade now. While the sound of country has become much more pop and rock oriented since Nichols started, he has stayed relatively true to the traditionalist sound. While it hasn't always garnered him consistent chart-topping smash hits, it has given him a sizable fanbase - count George Jones and Merle Haggard among his admirers.
"It's All Good,"... »»»
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The Gathering is the combined talents of Laurelyn Dossett (of Polecat Creek), Rhiannon Giddens (of the Carolina Chocolate Drops), Mike Compton (John Hartford Band, Nashville Bluegrass Band, Elvis Costello & The Sugarcanes), Joe Newberry and Jason Sypher. Bluegrass may be the base style of this holiday music collection, but gospel elements also run thick and strong throughout the CD.
For example, Christ Was Born on Christmas Morn is performed with churchy gusto. However, Diamonds in the... »»»
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Go ahead and insert a banjo joke here, the comedic side of me says, since Noam Pikelny won something called the 2010 Steve Martin Prize for excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass, but it's hard to make fun of someone who has taken the oft-maligned instrument to new heights of melodicism and musical invention.
Pikelny is best known these days for his role in the Punch Brothers, the post-Nickel Creek refuge of Chris Thile. His band mates appear throughout this new solo outing and Punch Brothers... »»»
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With the recent announcement that he has left The BoDeans, this release becomes not a side project for Sam Llanas, but serves to launch a full time solo career. While Llanas is best known for the roots rock sound of The BoDeans, this project delivers mellow ballads.
Much of the focus is on lost love and failed relationships. In Cherry O, Llanas laments how bitterness caused him to overreact and inflict pain on his ex ("You know I never meant to hurt you quite as bad as I did/I only wanted... »»»
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It's hard to believe, considering what Vince Gill has accomplished over the past three decades, but the triple threat singer-songwriter-guitar picker may be in the most creative, productive stretch of his lengthy, remarkable career. Five years after Gill's Grammy-winning 4-album 43-song box set "These Days," his latest 12-song release again finds Gill tapping every ounce of his immense talents. The title song sums up his reputation as an ax man worthy of playing Eric... »»»
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In the pre-Beatles era, the term "longhair" was often applied to the world of classical music, and the title of this collaboration between a quartet of stellar string musicians from widely divergent genres suggests that legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma and bassist Edgar Meyer - both among the premier classical musicians of their generation - are letting their hair down for a romp through the bluegrass world in which Stuart Duncan and Chris Thile are equally prominent.
A child prodigy on... »»»
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Chris Isaak has spent the better part of his career clearly showcasing the influence of Sun Studios recording stars like Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley so it shouldn't come as any surprise that Isaak has finally turned back to his influences for "Beyond the Sun." The only real surprise is that it took him so long.
Citing the need to establish his own sound, but clearly tipping his hat to the influences of Sun, Isaak now takes on the raw, early sound of Sun Studios which helped... »»»
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Montgomery Gentry looked like the likely candidate to take over the country duo throne when Brooks & Dunn called it quits. But they disappeared from the scene and pop stars Sugarland filled the void instead. After clearing up some label issues and dealing with the frustration of recording an album that never gets released, the guys are back to represent the rock and roll side of mainstream country. With the recent mega success of guys like Eric Church and Jason Aldean, their timing couldn't be better... »»»
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It's not too difficult to imagine Shelby Lynne producing her last few albums at the dawn of her career. She was fiercely independent even then and every bit as influenced by Dusty Springfield when she started as she is today. And yet, it's almost as if Lynne divined from the universe that she needed to experience the ridiculous corporate soap opera of her first few albums and be galvanized in the forge of label mismanagement and creative experimentation before tentatively finding her... »»»
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You just gotta love Joey + Rory. This may be a duo of traditionalist country artists, but on the act's first Christmas album they find room for Garth Brooks' I Know What Santa's Getting for Christmas, who is no commercial slouch, as well as a few of their own until now unfamiliar holiday songs, including the seasonal overview of It's Christmas Time.
While they're doing this balancing act, Rory Lee Feek wrote Remember Me, which asks celebrants to please remember Christ at... »»»
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Dale Watson may very well have been born at the wrong time. The 14 original songs on "The Sun Sessions," a tribute of sorts to the instantly-recognizable sound of the early country and rock records produced by Sam Phillips at his Memphis-based Sun Studios, are all the proof you need.
Joined for the first time by Chris Crepps (upright bass) and Mike Bernal (snare and muted guitar), a group dubbed The Texas Two in an obvious tip-of-the-hat to Sun Studios legend Johnny Cash and his... »»»
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Martina McBride changes labels for her 11th disc and a bit of a change in approach as well as she goes outside of her comfort zone. McBride still possesses one of the greatest voices out there in country, but she tones it down a lot, generally avoiding the big sweeping vocal songs where she belts it out.
Marry Me, with help from Train's Pat Monahan, is a low-key, mid-tempo effort with a bit of pedal steel and softness in vocals that make the song work. That tender quality comes through... »»»
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After a decade of developing a following as a band with one foot in tradition and the other in more contemporary sounds, Crooked Still plans on taking the next year or so off the road to catch their collective breaths and reflect on what may or may not lie on the road ahead. Three original members remain: lead vocalist Aoife O'Donovan, banjo player Greg Liszt and bassist Corey DiMario, and they are joined on this 7-track EP sendoff by fiddler Brittany Haas and cello player Tristan Clarridge... »»»
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Read the album liner notes and you ca,n't help but to be blown away by newcomer Hunter Hayes' credentials. The Louisiana native plays every instrument on his self-titled major-label debut. He's listed as lead or co-writer on every cut. And he co-produces the record with Dann Huff - heady stuff indeed for a 20-year-old on his initial offering.
Yet, that's where Hayes's impressive debut mostly ends. For one so young, there's nothing daring, innovative or even... »»»
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The Infamous Stringdusters have built up plenty of success since their 2007 debut album "Fork in the Road" - a Grammy nomination, topping the U.S. bluegrass charts and forming their own record label, High Country Recordings. "We'll Do It Live" is their first full-length live album.
One of the best parts of live albums is the possibility for extended solos and improvisations. Well, Well and Hitchhiker excel at this, with flurries of strings that are raucous yet controlled... »»»
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It's a bit surprising that, in a world where hip-hop and power pop tend to rule the airwaves that a mainstream show like" American Idol" has been so welcoming to the country music genre. Yet they have, helping to launch the careers of such stars as Josh Gracin, Kellie Pickler, and, of course, Carrie Underwood. And the latest season upped the ante, with the finishing tandem of Scotty McCreary and Lauren Alaina representing the genre finely while McCreary took the crown... »»»
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Considering American Idol's pop bent and country radio's current flair for the pop and rock-tinged mainstream, not many people would have banked on the viability of a traditional country-leaning winner whose audition song eschewed usual favorites such as I'll Stand By You for neo-traditional '90s mainstay Travis Tritt's Drive in My Country.
Sure, there's been Carrie Underwood - perhaps Idol's biggest success story of any genre - Kellie Pickler, Josh Gracin and... »»»
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Rodney Atkins' breakthrough album, "If You're Going Through Hell," produced the top singles of both 2006 and 2007. His moment in the spotlight was brief, with his follow-up album,"It's America," being largely ignored except for the title track.
From the get go on "Take a Back Road," Atkins comes across as a regular guy, not a detached superstar. There are songs about hanging out on back roads away from the hustle of daily life, getting fatherly... »»»
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"The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams" is a great story before you even start playing the music. Williams, according to the story, used to write down his lyric ideas in notebooks. When he died, there were four notebooks of unreleased or unperformed songs. Over the years, the notebooks remained in the possession of Williams' publishers Acuff-Rose and few knew of them. One who did, however, was longtime Nashville executive Mary Martin, who shepherded this project to its eventual light-of-day... »»»
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Read Merle Haggard's Wikipedia entry. It talks, in the second sentence, of his having helped create the Bakersfield sound, with its "rough edge." Later, it discusses, at some length, his conservative touchstones, in particular Okie From Muskogee. While, in Wikipedia fashion, that may capture the popular perception of the recent Kennedy Center honoree, it doesn't hit at the core of what made him, along with Willie Nelson and George Jones, one of country music's three most... »»»
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This second set of Skaggs Family Records Christmas songs primarily takes a traditionalist approach to celebrating the season. This is to be expected, as Ricky Skaggs' label has always remained committed to making and releasing music that might make Bill Monroe - Skaggs' onetime employer - proud.
There is an even balance between new and old Christmas songs represented on this collection. There's the pretty new ballad What Songs Were Sung, which wonders out loud the tunes performed... »»»
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Bearfoot members Jason Norris and Angela Oudean are well-used to the tribulations and vagrancies of the professional bluegrass world. Founders of the at-one-time Alaskan-based troupe of bluegrass youths, the pair has seen vocalists and musicians arrive and depart with recent recordings. Yet, Bearfoot's sound remains individual and identifiable, freshened by new insights and influences focused about an acoustiblue attitude that is modern and challenging. With the addition of Nora Jane... »»»
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Buck Owens had not yet developed the style that would make him a superstar in the '60s when he recorded the songs in this collection for small California labels Pep, Chesterfield and La Brea Records between 1953 and 1956. The Hank Williams influence is heard in the balladBlue Love, Owens' first known recording, as well as early Owens compositions Right After The Dance, Down On The Corner Of Love and It Don't Show On Me.
Other impressive Owens compositions are the George Jones... »»»
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Among female singers in country music, with the possible exception of Martina McBride, no one can touch LeAnn Rimes' voice for purity, grace, power and tone. Nowhere is Rimes' vocal prowess more evident than on her latest record, a 14-song collection of hits not by the women of country, but by a cross-section of all-star male country singers. Perhaps the best thing about this collection is that Rimes puts her own stamp on each song. That's easier said than done, since these are some... »»»
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The opening track of Junior Sisk's new disc is one of those 'state of bluegrass' songs that reminds the listener from the start that Rambler's Choice is a traditional bluegrass band, not one of those contemporary hybrids that are A Far Cry From Lester and Earl, as the chorus says in reference to Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs of the Stanley Brothers and their own fame. Never mind that Flatt & Scruggs were one of the most successful charting bluegrass acts ever, popular with... »»»
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Given the important position that the Wilburn Brothers occupy in country music history - as performers and recording artists, hosts of one of the most famous of the many country music television shows that popped up in the 1960s, and as players on the business side - it is somewhat astonishing that, apart from a compilation or two, none of their recordings have been reissued on CD.
This release from British reissue label Righteous begins to rectify that state of affairs... »»»
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