http://www.countrystandardtime.com/cdreviews.asp Country music CD reviews from CountryStandardTime.com Copyright 2007, Country Standard Time 6 Nov 2009 09:21:05 GMT 6 Nov 2009 09:21:05 GMT 60 http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4297 http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4297 From Sweet Appalachia to his girl leaning on a car fender in all of her Barbaric Splendor, Del McCoury reminds us his music and rural life is far from unsophisticated. The songs range from the straight bluegrass of Hello Lonely to the near swing tune I Remember You sung in high lonesome. There are waltzes, breakdowns, gold rush story songs and odes to moonshine in The Revenuer's Blues. ... Country Music News http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4292 http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4292 Rosie Flores is the last person that needs more spunk, but somehow producer Jon Langford found a way to add a few more ounces of bounce to this rockabilly firebrand's stride. Flores might be small in stature, but she sure works up a big, bold sound throughout this excellent release. She rocks out with I Ain't Got You and... Country Music News http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4268 http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4268 After his previous efforts with Heavy Trash, singer/guitarist Jon Spencer has tossed aside the spontaneous blues-meets-garage rock experiments and explosions for a tighter but at times unfocused slab of quirky tunes. Sure, there's the blasts of earlier albums sprinkled in between, but Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray are like a '60s one-hit... Country Music News http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4234 http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4234 Joe Nichols' life has taken some dramatic turns since the release of his last record, "Real Things." Ironically, the 2007 album's title was a perfect fit for this offering as those turns have led Nichols to record some of the most personal songs of his career. Nichols' whirlwind last few years included getting married,... Country Music News http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4309 http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4309 Over the course of 99 tracks on 4 discs, RCA/Legacy Recordings has given music fans a concise and nearly complete snapshot of Dolly Parton's considerable impact on country music with the release of the new box set - a task not accomplished by any other collection. The set covers all the career-defining hits you would expect like... Country Music News http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4295 http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4295 In 1998, Lyle Lovett released "Step Inside This House," a 2-disc salute to Texas songwriters and, by extension, the spirit and pull of his home state. Lovett's place must have had a mighty big foyer as the writers invited in numbered 10 strong, including Willis Alan Ramsey, Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, whose song gave the... Country Music News http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4285 http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4285 Two years ago, the trio of mandolin player Alan Bibey, Dobro/slide guitarist Phil Leadbetter and vocalist Steve Gulley joined forces to form Grasstowne. Joining this dynamic trio were Jason Davis on banjo and Travis Greer on bass. Following up their initial success, Grasstowne now releases another tradition laden record. With a mixture of up-tempo high steppin' songs, stories of sorrow and woe, along with inspiring gospel, Grasstowne does an exceptional job.... Country Music News http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4238 http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4238 Tim McGraw knows what works for him on a bunch of songs tending to look at the human soul and the choices one makes in life. The sadness of Good Girls comes through loud and clear in a tail of friendship gone deadly wrong. McGraw gets ultra-introspective on If I Died Today. On the one hand, it's morbid, of course, but on the other, McGraw challenges the listener to consider how they live their lives and want to be remembered.... Country Music News http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4219 http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4219 As a founding member of New Grass Revival, ace mandolin player Sam Bush played a key role in helping to develop a progressive bluegrass voice that broke away from the strict guidelines and conventions of traditional bluegrass music. Although he is primarily known for his spirit of innovation, Bush's latest release, his eighth as a solo artist, is notable because it embraces the traditional roots that first steered him toward bluegrass music.... Country Music News http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4280 http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4280 The only weakness of James McMurtry's "Live In Europe" is its brevity, clocking in at just over 40 minutes. Recorded in The Netherlands and Germany, McMurtry focuses primarily on songs from his excellent 2008 release "Just Us Kids." Amongst the stronger tracks are Just Us Kids , a somewhat fatalistic view on aging... Country Music News http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4303 http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4303 If charcoal could sing, it'd sound like vocalist/songwriter/guitarist Ben Nichols of Lucero: driven by a steady heat that can flare up when needed, and raw-throated from the smoke. It's a voice that fits the Memphis quartet's sound, which places them on the roughed- and rocked-up outer fringes of alt.-country's back forty alongside the likes of fellow rule-breakers Two Cow Garage and the periodically resurrected Slobberbone.... Country Music News http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4302 http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4302 Despite coming away empty handed during this year's Polaris Music Prize (Canada's equivalent to Britain's Mercury Prize), Toronto band Elliott Brood's latest effort is slowly making inroads in the U.S. And for good reason - it's a solid, foot-stomping, roots-y, rockabilly-tinged hoe down, something they lovingly dub "death country."... Country Music News http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4294 http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4294 "Aged and Confused" is the sound of Bill Engvall not aging gracefully, but going into middle age gently kicking and screaming. Much of this comedy release explores how it feels to be reluctantly 50, in a youth-driven world. For instance, a bit titled Clubbing at 50 expresses the utterly uncomfortable atmosphere of aging men clearly out of place among the bright lights and electronic music of modern day clubs.... Country Music News http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4289 http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4289 Four years ago, singer/songwriter Tom Gillam had the third and most serious of his three heart attacks, an event that finally forced him into a lifesaving sobriety. Although there was a certain spirit of reprieve to Gillam's subsequent 2007 album, "Never Look Back," it was there by virtue of perspective; the bulk of the album was... Country Music News http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4265 http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4265 As his latest 12-song outing demonstrates, few singer-songwriter's craft a commercial hook song as well as Toby Keith. Combining the by now standard mix of rock guitars with honky-tonk instrumentation, Keith largely eschews political ideology in favor of sincerely rendered romantic moments ( Are You Feeling' Me, Tender As I... Country Music News http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4263 http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4263 When Rosanne Cash was 18 years old (and primarily interested in rock music) her father, Johnny Cash, gave her a list of 100 essential country and western songs, which included everything from Jimmie Rodgers to Bob Dylan, and now her 12th studio album contains Rosanne's version of 12 of those essentials.... Country Music News http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4244 http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4244 The sparse, mesmerizing Sound of Coming Down is one of many standout tracks on Exene Cervenka's first solo album in nearly 20 years. And perhaps the song title also is a good description of this low-key effort after the more frequently, well, loud work of X, Auntie Christ and the Original Sinners.... Country Music News http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4225 http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4225 "Do I turn you on and on when I kiss you baby? Does the sight of me wanting you drive you crazy?" Luke Bryan's debut single off his sophomore album, Do I is narrated from a point of insecurity, but it comes from a voice that's potentially watching a relationship collapse before his very eyes. It's the stage where... Country Music News http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4298 http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4298 Western North Carolina's Malcolm Holcombe is a unique performer. He takes to the stage with a chair that he might as well kick away 30 seconds in and with a stare that looks a mile past you even as it's lasering through your core. He's got a 1950 Gibson guitar that can moan the most mournful country blues or hum the most joyous love song. And he's got the long-journey voice to handle both.... Country Music News http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4278 http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4278 Patty Loveless' first venture into bluegrass, "Mountain Soul," along with a performance slot on the popular Down From the Mountain tour in 2001, helped Loveless to find a spotlight of her own in bluegrass. Eight years later, Loveless lends her still supple voice to a blend of bluegrass songs, traditional gospel tunes and even several self-penned songs, with solid, if not superb, results.... Country Music News