Urban claims top spot
Thursday, February 23, 2012 – Keith Urban claimed the top of the Billboard Country Songs chart for the week ending March 3 with You Gonna Fly. Urban took over for The Band Perry's All Your Life, which fell to fifth. On the albums chart Lady Antebellum moved back to the top with "Own the Night," with last week's chart topper, "Home" from Dierks Bentley, falling to fifth.
Jason Aldean stayed second on the albums chart with "My Kinda Party" The Band Perry may have benefitted from a Grammy appearance, moving from sixth to third with their self-titled debut. Luke Bryan remained fourth with "tailgates & tanlines,"
Taylor Swfit's "Speak Now" World Tour Live CD/DVD" jumped from 33 to 24. "Here for a Good Time" from George Strait was up 5 to 25. A Grammy appearance helped Glen Campbell receive a huge jolt in sales, going from 58 to 34 with "Ghost on the Canvas." Alison Krauss & Paper Airplane jumped 12 to 37 with "Paper Airplane." Thompson Square's self-titled debut moved up 7 to 39.
Kenny Chesney went from four to two on the songs chart with Reality, while Chris Young remained third with You. Bentley is at four with Home.
Swift broke into the top 10 with Ours, up 2 to 9. Zac Brown Band went from 24 to 20 with No Hurry. Aldean's Fly Over States moved from 25 to 22. Time Is Love, the new Josh Turner single, jumped from 31 to 27. The biggest mover by far was Eric Church whose Springsteen skyrocketed from 43 to 28. Rodney Atkins stood at 30, up 2, with He's Mine.
On the bluegrass chart, "Who's Feeling Young Now?" by the Punch Brothers debuted in first, taking over for now number two "The Gospel Side of Dailey & Vincent." Krauss & Union Station were third. "The Goat Rodeo Sessions" from Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile was fourth with "Rare Bird Alert" from Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers fifth.
On the overall top 200, Lady A was 9th, Aldean 15th, The Band Perry 19th, Bryan 22nd and Bentley 24th.
More news for Keith Urban
CD reviews for Keith Urban
Get Closer
In a conversation with John Fogerty on CMT's "Crossroads" show, Keith Urban commented that his goal as a young man growing up was to have songs that people heard on the radio, and they would turn them up and sing along. Following that line of thinking, and the influence of catchy songwriters such as Fogerty, Urban continues to hit his mark on "Get Closer."
The song quality is on par with past Urban releases; the musicianship, as is to be expected, is top notch. »»» |
Defying Gravity
Keith Urban's 2006 album, "Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing" seemed to mirror his life in all its tabloid-baiting chaos, and you can only hope that 2009's "Defying Gravity" does the same. If this album is an indication, Urban has clearly put that chaos behind him, replacing it with the love and joy that comes from marriage and a new daughter. The 11 songs dance along, driven by joyful rhythms and guitar hooks. Even the one song that starts off like a kiss-off, »»» |
Keith Urban Greatest Hits: 18 Kids
Keith Urban subtitles this best of CD "18 Kids," which is a little strange because Urban is not usually noted for his songwriting, even though he gets writer's credit on many of these hits. Instead, it's more common for respected songwriters to describe their compositions as children, whom they appear to love almost as much as their very own offspring. There's so much topnotch material on this collection, however, it's easy to see why Urban speaks of its track list so fatherly. »»» |
Editorial: Walking the talk –
When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today. »»»
Concert Review: Music City goes (Boston) Pop(s) –
On the face of it, the idea of top shelf country songwriters coming up from Nashville to play with the Boston Pops may seem incongruous. The idea of the venerable Boston institution and fixture on the July 4 scene, playing patriotic songs doesn't have all that much to do with country.
The idea isn't without precedent, of course.... »»»
Concert Review: O'Donovan goes home –
Aiofe O'Donovan had plenty of reason to be filled with good cheer. This was a hometown gig, after all, and only three days before the release of her first full-length solo debut, "Fossils."
Joking that the audience was filled with people she knew from high school and her parents' friends, O'Donovan made it clear that Boston... »»»
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Still Fighting the War
Few artists exude pain in their voices the way Slaid Cleaves can, and there are moments during his strong new full-length, "Still Fighting the War," when he seems a little like the male equivalent to Lucinda Williams. With Rust Belt Fields, Cleaves speaks up for most anybody that's been laid low be America's recent recession, from those dealing with home foreclosure to the ones laid off from their jobs. »»» |
Southeastern
Given the fact that Jason Isbell opts for solo billing this time around, it might be assumed that last year's "Live From Alabama," recorded with the 400 Unit, was the band's swan song of sorts. That is, unless one considers the fact that drummer Chad Gamble and keyboardist Derry deBorja are still along for the ride, albeit sans the band billing. »»» |
Fossils
Aiofe O'Donovan has been on a roll. As lead singer of the well-regarded alt.-bluegrass band, Crooked Still, O'Donovan helped put the alt. in the bluegrass with her light, sometimes breathy vocals. She also gained attention for singing on two songs on "The Goat Rodeo Sessions." She's now on her own (Crooked Still is on hiatus) for her first full-length disc. »»» |
Pokey LaFarge
Although Pokey LaFarge is a relatively young 30 years old, his songwriting soul is as old as a Victrola crank. In the past seven years and across seven albums, LaFarge has paid homage to the American music that caught his ear as a teenager (hot jazz, swing, country blues and Appalachian folk), not with an idolator's slavish heart, but with the nervy spirit of an innovator. »»» |
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