Currently at the CST blogs
Tim McGraw –
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. Whatever the case, McGraw sounds amazing singing this sincere country ballad. »»»
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Kathleen Edwards –
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. »»»
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The Little Willies –
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. »»»
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Guy Clark –
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. »»»
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David Nail –
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. »»»
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Concert Review: Robert Earl Keen's road goes on –
Robert Earl Keen appeared in good spirits, and the crowd sure was, which the Texas singer/songwriter readily acknowledged with a "congratulations" to them for the big, exciting win by the New England Patriots to launch them into the Super Bowl.
Fortunately, Keen did not pander and make like he was a Pats fan all of a sudden.... »»»
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Chris Isaak travels beyond the sun –
It is an obvious no-brainer that Chris Isaak tracked his most recent full-length, "Beyond the Sun," at the historic Sun Records in Memphis. Although Isaak is famous for his sexy Wicked Game hit, with its even sexier video, along with the natural humor in his witty Chris Isaak Show, this smooth operator is a roots rock guy deep down at heart. With this new all covers album, Isaak heated it up with Ring of Fire and Great Balls of Fire and got his Elvis on with songs like Can't Help Falling in Love. »»»
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The Jayhawks soar again –
Each step of The Jayhawks' resurrection has been a little more unexpected and incrementally better than the last, culminating in perhaps the most unlikely and joyously welcomed result of all - "Mockingbird Time," the first new Jayhawks album in 16 years to feature the band's co-front men Gary Louris and Mark Olson. »»»
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Lydia Loveless proves indestructible –
At an age when most people are contemplating the direction of their life, Lydia Loveless has already blazed an impressive trail. The 21-year-old Coshocton, Ohio native began playing bass with her two sisters in their band Carson Drew when she was just 13 and was playing solo shows at 15. "I was in various bands before that, but I never sang," recalls Loveless from her Columbus home. »»»
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Dave Alvin gets personal –
Listening to Dave Alvin's new "Eleven Eleven" album reveals once again what a great storyteller the man is. His songs are filled with the kinds of details normally only found in your better novels. In some cases, he comes off like nothing less than a historian with a guitar.For example, Johnny Ace Is Dead revisits the death of that beloved performer of yesteryear, while Gary, Indiana 1959 puts the listener right back in the thick of the emerging workers union movement, midcentury. »»»
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Blue Highway sings "Sounds of Home" –
In a business where "job security" is almost a contradiction in terms and bandleaders have been known to fire sidemen on stage in mid-set, Blue Highway remain the very models of stability and continuity after 10 albums, including the just released "Sounds of Home." All five original members remain: Tim Stafford (guitar), Wayne Taylor (bass), Shawn Lane (mandolin), Rob Ickes (Dobro) and Jason Burleson (banjo). »»»
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Terri Clark finds her wings –
After 14 years with a slew of infectious hits - Easy on the Eyes, Boy Meets Girl, Girls Lie Too and Poor Pitiful Men - Terri Clark's 2009 "The Long Way Home" took a different tack. Recorded during her mom's brave, but ultimately unsuccessful, battle with cancer (she passed away on Easter Sunday, 2010) it carried much darker undertones than any of her previous efforts, coming at a time when everything in her life seemed to be falling apart. "'The Long Way Home' was pretty introspective," reflects Clark. »»»
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Eilen Jewell gives country the royal treatment on "Queen of the Minor Key" –
On her four original albums, Eilen Jewell has deliberately given each one a slightly unique feel while maintaining the basic elements that have converted so many fans and critics. Her first two albums, 2005's "Boundary County" and 2007's "Letters from Sinners & Strangers," were ecstatically received, hailed as the work of a legend in waiting, while the reaction to 2009's "Sea of Tears" was decidedly mixed as some reviewers thought it was a logical progression while others felt Jewell seemed to be treading water and not moving forward. »»»
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