CD Reviews

Mando Saenz
All My Shame

Texas native Mando Saenz, once part of the burgeoning Austin scene, has spent the better part of the last 15 years as a musician and songwriter in Music City. He delivered three solo albums in that time but "All My Shame" marks his first in eight years. He's also penned songs for Lee ...

Hailey Whitters
Living the Dream

Hailey Whitters has reissued her "The Dream" album as "Living The Dream" with five bonus collaboration songs. With these added treats, it makes a good album even better. The weakest of the new additions is "Fillin' My Cup" with Little Big Town. ...

Sara Petite
Rare Bird

San Diego's Sara Petite wants to make sure you know that she has come up the hard way – no big record deals or over-the-top fawning from industry types. The title "Rare Bird," her sixth studio album, says it as did her previous album, 2016's "The Road Less Traveled. ...

Mac Leaphart
Music City Joke

Nashville-based, South Carolinian singer-songwriter Mac Leaphart is a storyteller of first order, evoking John Prine and Hayes Carll. It's perhaps no coincidence that Carll's producer, Brad Jones, is at the helm for Leaphart's "Music City Joke," filled with wry humor, plenty ...

Rod Abernethy
Normal Isn't Normal Anymore

Sometimes a listener can be humbled to confess little to no knowledge of the artist. So, the first step is to go to the credits. In the case of singer-songwriter/educator/master guitarist Rod Abernethy, we notice Neilson Hubbard (Mary Gauthier, Kim Richey, Wild Ponies) is the producer/drummer and ...

Uncle Walt's Band
Recorded Live at Waterloo Ice House

Originally released in 1982 as a 14-song set recorded at Austin's Waterloo Ice House, this expanded edition of 21 tracks by the trio of Walter Hyatt, Champ Hood and David Ball is an entertaining mix of originals and nicely chosen covers. Hyatt contributes one of the stronger country ...

Pony Bradshaw
Calico Jim

James "Pony" Bradshaw's "Calico Jim" is unlike almost any singer-songwriter album you'll hear due to the imagery he conjures up, but especially by his unique phrasing. It would be downright difficult to imagine anyone other than Bradshaw singing these songs, which ...

Justin Moses
Fall Like Rain

If one were to put together an elite group of acoustic bluegrass players and furnish them with a strong mix of original and cover songs, it would be nearly impossible to surpass what multi-instrumentalist/vocalist/songwriter Justin Moses has created with "Fall Like Rain." The self-produced ...

Willie Jones
Right Now

Willie Jones is promoted as an artist blending country and hip-hop. However, that's not exactly the blend many of us usually want. It's like those that don't like their differing foods touching on their dinner plate. Each of these genres can stand up quite well on their own, thank you very much. ...

The Burnt Pines
The Burnt Pines

The Burnt Pines comfortably fit at the smoother edge always-increasing Americana big tent. With a harmonic vocal style reminiscent of the late-'60s/early-'70s (think Simon & Garfunkel, Donovan) their music is polished in an understated, mostly-acoustic-sounding way. So very appealing to experienced ears. ...

Devin Dawson
The Pink Slip EP

Like many artists who come to Nashville, Devin Dawson had "little more than a truck, a dream and a story to tell" Following up on his solid debut album, "Dark Horse," fans will get their money's worth by EP standards here as "The Pink Slip" has six tracks. ...

Aaron Watson
American Soul

With the title track to this Aaron Watson release, the Texas singer/songwriter raises questions that he doesn't fully answer. In a severely divided country, it's getting tougher and tougher to find commonalities in the American soul. On it, Watson salutes hard workers, while also quoting the ...

Morgan Wallen
Dangerous: The Double Album

The buzz in the industry is that Morgan Wallen is primed to be the next big country music superstar. If prognosticators are correct with this prediction, the man fully deserves all the recognition. Proof positive is his "Dangerous: The Double Album," which is a humongous 30 songs long! ...

Barry Gibb
Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook, Vol. 1

Barry Gibb has gone to Nashville to record an album with multi-Grammy winner Dave Cobb, producer with such artists as Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson and the Highwomen. He did this because as he told the New York Times recently, "I'm a country singer, I'll always be a country singer. ...

Various Artists
The Years: A MusicFest Tribute to Cody Canada and the music of Cross Canadian Ragweed

Recorded live at the MusicFest in Steamboat Springs, Col. on Jan.7-8, 2020 this 17-track collection pays homage to the contributions of singer/songwriter Cody Canada. Many luminaries from the Texas and Red Dirt music scene were on hand to perform several of Canada's more prominent compositions ...

Steve Earle & The Dukes
J.T.

When a child buries a parent, it's the natural order of things. The old make way for the young, hopefully content that they have passed along enough wisdom and strength of character to help them survive and prosper. But when a parent buries a child, the natural order is subverted in tragic ...

Nicki Bluhm
Buno Natale EP

Until now, it seemed like any attempt to challenge Darlene Love's version of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home") – except for U2 and Bono's worthy take – was a waste of good studio time. However, Nicki Bluhm's soulful belting of the song on her "Buon Natale ...

Calexico
Seasonal Shift

Calexico's "Seasonal Shift" is a delightful new holiday album, even though you may not recognize some of its songs nor speak the language for some of its lyrics. As is always the case with Calexico projects, this collection is eclectic. More than that, though, it's extremely heartfelt. ...

Granger Smith
Country Things Vol. 2

Vol. 2 of Granger Smith's "Country Things" leads off with "Man Made" a clever track, which posits that men may have made the world, but the women have made the men. He has a writing credit on five of the seven tracks. Per usual a few are by his alter ego Earl Dibbles. Jr. Typically, Mr. ...

Ty Herndon
Regifted

With "Regifted," Ty Herndon goes the traditional route in creating a holiday album. Even so, though, his collection of mostly familiar carols and seasonal songs includes a few creative turns. The album kicks off with a powerful ballad, "Orphans of God," a duet with Kristin Chenoweth. ...