Classic Rewind: Vern Gosdin – ‘Is It Raining At Your House?’

Who will win the CMA Awards

We shared our wishlist for this year’s CMA awards with you of last week. Now for the hard part – this is where we go out on a limb and try to predict who will actually walk home with a CMA award this year. We collectively sucked at prediction the last time we tried it, but we hope to do better this time – although we’d be happy to be wrong in some cases.

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

• Kenny Chesney
• Brad Paisley: Chris, J.R. Journey, Meg, Occasional Hope, Razor X
• George Strait
• Taylor Swift
• Keith Urban

We all want Brad to win this category, and it looks like we all think he will.

J.R.: This is the hardest one to predict, because I think it could go either way with Brad or Taylor, and maybe even Chesney again. But my money is on Brad.
Razor: I think it may be Paisley’s turn this year. Chesney, Urban and Strait haven’t done anything too exciting during the past year and I just can’t conceive that the award would go to Swift under any circumstances.
OH: I really think it’s Brad’s turn to take home the trophy. I think the voters will feel that it’s his turn, plus he’s had a good year commercially. There is an outside chance they might give it to Taylor Swift as it has been a great year for her commercially, they’ll want to give her some recognition of that, and making her Female Vocalist would rightly attract derision. Especially if she sings live on the telecast.

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

• Kenny Chesney
• Brad Paisley: Chris, J.R. Journey, Occasional Hope
• Darius Rucker: Razor X
• George Strait: Meg
• Keith Urban

J.R.: I just think it’s Brad year.  I expect a Paisley and Jamey Johnson sweep at the ceremony.
Razor: I’ll go with the new face in the crowd on this one.
Meg: I think George will win this one due to a good year vocally and as an echo to the Artist of the Decade.

Classic Rewind: Jimmy Fortune with Dailey & Vincent – ‘Elizabeth’

OK, this clip may not be old enough to qualify as a classic, but this is one of my favorite Statler Brothers songs, performed here by member Jimmy Fortune, who wrote the song, along with the bluegrass duo Dailey & Vincent.

Week ending 11/7/09: #1 singles this week in country music history

1949: Slippin’ Around — Margaret Whiting & Jimmy Wakely (Capitol)

1959: The Three Bells — The Browns (RCA)

1969: To See My Angel Cry — Conway Twitty (Decca)

1979: You Decorated My Life – Kenny Rogers (United Artists)

1989: Ace In The Hole – George Strait (MCA)

1999: I Love You — Martina McBride (RCA)

2009: Toes – Zac Brown Band (Atlantic)

Week ending 11/7/09: #1 albums this week in country music history

1984: Willie Nelson – City of New Orleans (Sony)

1989: Randy Travis – No Holdin’ Back (Warner Brothers)

1994: Mary Chapin Carpenter – Stones In The Road (Columbia)

1999: The Dixie Chicks – Fly (Monument)

2004: George Strait – 50 Number Ones (MCA)

2009: Tim McGraw – Southern Voice (Curb)

Classic Rewind: Lee Ann Womack – ‘Ashes By Now’

Classic Rewind: Kenny Rogers – ‘Coward Of The County’

Rosanne Cash speaks to The Wall Street Journal

Rosanne Cash recently discussed her new album The List with The Wall Street Journal’s Christopher Farley. She spoke about her famous father, and admitted when asked that she doesn’t listen to country radio (sounds like my kind of gal). You can read the interview and view some exclusive live performances by clicking here.

Album Review: ‘Hank Williams Revealed: The Unreleased Recordings’

A year after the arrival of the Time-Life first box set of previously unreleased Hank Williams performances comes a second set. Like the first set, all the material comes from a series of pre-recorded performances Hank did for sponsor Mother’s Best in 1951, which were then broadcast ‘as live’. This edition, however, is different from its predecessor in several ways.

What isn’t different are the production values, which are outstanding. The remastered sound is amazing. The liner notes by Colin Escott are remarkably detailed, providing information about every song, and trying to untangle some of the more dubious copyright attributions. The booklet is ilustrated with some archive photographs of Hank and others associated with him. I particularly like a picture taken for Mother’s Best which has Hank and the Drifting Cowboys wielding a range of sacks of the company’s produce (flour and animal feed)alongside their instruments. There are also some reproductions of printed memorabilia, sheet music etc.

The first set included three CDs worth of material, but the contents were fairly cohesive, with the song selection concentrating on songs Hank never recorded commercially, including many covers of contemporary hits by other artists and some of the hymns and traditional songs he would have grown up listening to, interspersed with some of Hank’s own songs. It made for a great record to listen to on its own terms. This one is perhaps of more historical interest, and gives each of its three discs a specific and distinct identity.

The first disc, sub-titled ‘The Hits… Like Never Before’, has excellent live versions of a dozen of Hank’s big hits. The fact that several of these songs had been written and first recorded within a year or so of these performances reminds us just what an astonishing talent he was. All-time classics like ‘Cold Cold Heart’, ‘Lonesome Whistle’ (possibly better known as ‘I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow’, and ‘I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still In Love With You)’ were all brand new songs in 1951, and others were not much older. The songs chosen here range from the intensely personal songs apparently inspired by his troubled relationship with wife Audrey like the aforementioned ‘Cold Cold Heart’ to more light hearted numbers on the same theme like ‘Move It On Over’ and ‘I Just Don’t Like This Kind of Living’ and less personal material like ‘Mansion On The Hill’. Most of the songs on this disc are Hank’s own compositions, with the exception of Leon Payne’s lovely ‘They’ll Never Take Her Love From Me’. The tracks in this part of the box set are outstanding, and I will be returning to this disc repeatedly over the next few months.

Every Mother’s Best show closed with a sincerely delivered religious number, and Disc Two, entitled ‘Southern Harmony’, which takes its name from a 19th century hymnal, displays a selection of these. Most of these were hymns or Southern gospel songs, although one or two are Hank originals. The famously dissonant Audrey was present for one session, and duets with Hank on ‘Something Got A Hold Of Me’. It actually isn’t that bad, even though Audrey’s voice is higher than Hank’s in the mix, but on a box of this kind, it feels right that their work together should be acknowledged. Nevertheless, I’m relieved it was restricted to one song. She wasn’t around for the version included here of ‘Dear Brother’, which they had recorded togther in 1949, and the result is better for it. These songs were clearly very important to Hank, but they don’t stand out as much as the best of his secular material. I like ‘I Am Bound For The Promised Land’ the best of the hymns here, and ‘Jesus Died For Me is my favorite of Hank’s gospel songs. I also like the slow emotional story song of Judas and his ‘Thirty Pieces Of Silver’, which is set to the tune of teh ld folk song ‘On Top Of Old Smoky’, Hank’s version of which appeared on the first box set.

Disc Three is subtitled ‘Luke The Drifter’, and looks at Hank in his ‘Luke The Drifter’ persona, in which he delivered sentimental, religious and sometimes comic narrations and talking blues. Only a handful of the tracks here are actually Luke songs, of which my favorite is the wryly optimistic take on life’s disasters in ‘Everything’s Okay’. Hank covers T Texas Tyler’s hit narration ‘Deck Of Cards’, which is along much the same lines, but notwithstanding the title, this disc also includes a handful of more conventional songs which would not have fitted into either of the other two, but none of these is particularly memorable. A very playful version by the Drifting Cowboys of ‘Orange Blossom Special’ does stand out.

Each of the three discs also features one entire ‘Mother’s Best’ show, which really give a picture of what they were like. They were all fairly short, and followed the same formula. Every single show opened with ‘Lovesick Blues’, which during his lifetime was Hank’s monster hit, which everyone wanted to hear at every show. Then there was another secular song, an instrumental interlude or two from the Drifting Cowboys (all well-known tunes), and the spiritual number. The songs on these particular shows include ”Nobody’s Lonesome For Me’, ‘My Sweet Love Ain’t Around’, ‘I Dreamed About Mom Last Night’, and Hank’s best gospel song, ‘I I Saw The Light’. In between the songs there is some agreeable banter and (naturally) unashamed advertising of Mother’s Best products. The set actually ends with Hank singing the Mother’s Best theme tune and another commercial.

Although this set has been given the title ‘Revealed’, in some respects I feel that first volume was more revelatory because of the range of material covered. In addition, beacuse the shows were pre-recorded for subsequent broadcast, they don’t really give us a glimpse into Hank off duty. That said, the music is great, and this is a must-have for anyone really interested in the history of country music.

Grade: A-

Classic Rewind: LeAnn Rimes – ‘Blue’

From the 1996 CMA Awards:

Album Review: Brooks & Dunn – ‘Hard Workin’ Man’

Following the mega success of their debut album, Brooks & Dunn released their sophomore effort, Hard Workin’ Man in early 1993.  Like its predecessor, Hard Workin’ Man proved to be a critical and commercial success and furthered the pair’s status as the new superstar duo in country music following The Judds’ retirement in 1991.   Indeed, their second album would provide the musical formula that has continued to work for Brooks & Dunn for the next decade and a half.  Debuting at #2 on the Country Albums chart – while Billy Ray Cyrus’s Some Gave All had a tight hold on the top spot – Hard Workin’ Man would spawn 5 hit singles, all of which hit the top 5 on the Country Singles chart, with 2 going all the way to the top.  Since its release, the album has also sold over 5 million copies.

To try and regain some of the momentum gained by the dance-floor classic, ‘Boot Scootin’ Boogie’ from Brand New Man, the first single sent to radio was the high-octane title track.  Ronnie delivers a solid vocal on what is a half-decent lyric on the first listen or two.  It’s essentially a track for the band to jam on, so I think the lyrics were secondary.  Kix takes his own turn with some of the duo’s blandest lyrics for the final single.  ’Rock My World (Little Country Girl)’ sounds like a Toby Keith song-prototype to me.  I wondered where Toby found all his girls.  It was in Brooks & Dunn singles from this era.  See also: ‘Little Miss Honky Tonk’ and ‘Mama Don’t Get Dressed Up For Nothing’.

Those two missteps aside, there are some great songs on this album.   The second single was the driving ‘We’ll Burn That Bridge’, which finds two people on the edge of a good time, with the narrator hoping to earn his chance at this woman’s heart, ‘We’ll put our your old flame, we’ll build a bigger fire/I’ll pick up where he let you down, and take you so much higher‘, he promises.  It’s a great listen, with plenty of steel mixed in with the drums and electric guitars.  Ronnie Dunn wrote the song with Don Cook, and it sailed to a #2 peak on the Country Singles chart.  All but two of the album’s eleven tracks are from the combination of Ronnie Dunn, Kix Brooks and Don Cook, with the following breakdown: 4 written solely by Dunn, 2 Brooks/Dunn co-writes, 2 by the three-man team of Brooks, Dunn, and Cook, 1 Kix Brooks song, and 2 written by ‘outside’ writers.

Classic Rewind: Brooks & Dunn – ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone’

Who should win this year’s CMA Awards

This year’s CMA Awards are due to be announced on November 11th. There are bound to be a few surprises, with unexpected winners or losers. We’ll share our best attempts at prediction with you next week, but first we thought we would let you all know not who we expect to win, but who we think should win, out of those nominated.

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

• Kenny Chesney
• Brad Paisley: Chris, J.R. Journey, Meg, Occasional Hope, Razor X
• George Strait
• Taylor Swift
• Keith Urban

We’re unanimous on this category.
J.R.: Kenny Chesney has become boring and predictable in this category. It’s high time for a new winner, and I do think this year will be it. The strongest contenders are Brad Paisley and Taylor Swift. I would choose Brad Paisley. He had a strong album release, toured relentlessly, and is on a serious hot streak. Ten number-ones in a row, now isn’t it?
Chris: Kenny’s been too boring lately, and Brad deserves the win, with Taylor in second.
OH: It sounds like Brad puts on a great live show, and he’s been knocking at the door of this award for a while now. I think it’s Brad’s turn.
Meg: Though King George has his decade award, and Kenny’s not going to tour again next summer (some might say this should be his last year to get this one), I’d vote for Brad. He’s more country than Keith, has had great songs with some emotional depth, consistently great performances and he’s an amazing musician from his vocals to his guitar licks. It’s his turn. Taylor is certainly an entertainer, but obviously needs work on those live vocals! Can’t believe she’s nominated for this at this stage.

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

• Kenny Chesney
• Brad Paisley: Chris, J.R. Journey, Meg
• Darius Rucker
• George Strait: Occasional Hope, Razor X
• Keith Urban

We’re divided between Brad and old favorite George Strait here:
J.R.: For all the reasons from the Entertainer race.
OH: George Strait is my favorite singer among the nominees, and although I disliked the single he released over the eligibility period, I wasn’t as sold on Paisley’s latest album as most people seem to be. Although I like Darius’s voice, his material has been largely underwhelming (especially the singles), and it’s a bit soon for a win in this category. Keith has moved too far away from country lately for me, and of course Kenny’s still stuck on that beach.
Meg: Though I do like Darius Rucker’s voice and he’s had a great year, it’s a little too soon for him to win this one. Dare I say it – Kenny’s wearing a bit thin due to oversaturation and not enough variety in my opinion. Again, I’d vote for Brad.

Classic Rewind: Connie Smith – ‘Nobody But A Fool Would Love You’

Album Review: Brooks & Dunn – ‘Brand New Man’

In 1990, Tim DuBois, an executive with Arista Records’ newly established Nashville division, introduced two struggling solo artists named Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn and suggested that they record together as a duo. Few, if any, realized at the time that the meeting would result in the formation of one of the most successful and enduring partnerships in the history of country music.

Brooks & Dunn were an immediate success. They debuted on the Billboard country singles chart in May 1991, with their debut single “Brand New Man”. Written by the duo along with their producer Don Cook, the uptempo and energetic tune is sung from the point of view of a former “love ‘em and leave ‘em” type who reforms his wild ways after meeting a woman who proves to have a taming influence over him. “Brand New Man” was an instant hit with country radio; climbing all the way to #1 shortly after an album of the same name was released. This was the first of twenty (to date) Brooks & Dunn singles to top the charts.

Brand New Man, the album, was released in August of 1991. At least one member of the duo had a hand in writing each of the album’s ten tracks. Their next release was “My Next Broken Heart”, which is one of my favorite Brooks & Dunn songs. Like its predecessor, it peaked at #1, as did the next two singles, “Neon Moon” and “Boot Scootin’ Boogie”. The latter tune, written by Dunn, had previously been recorded by Asleep at the Wheel. It is credited — or blamed, depending on one’s point of view — for renewing interest in line dancing. It is not lyrically deep or profound, and clearly was never intended to be taken too seriously. However, it is arguably the duo’s best known song and near the top of my list of guilty pleasures.

By 1991, the neotraditionalist movement was on the wane; Garth Brooks had established himself as the hottest act in country music and had begun incorporating more pop and rock influences into his recordings and live shows. Brooks & Dunn, at this particular time, provided an interesting bridge between traditional country and the more rocked-up style which would soon become dominant in their music and country music in general. The variety of musical styles found on the album was probably not intentional; more likely it is a result of experimentation as the the newly-formed duo tried to find their niche. It’s also interesting to note the differences in styles between the duo’s two members, with Brooks’ contributions to this album tending to be more traditional than Dunn’s.

Critics have often accused Brooks & Dunn of being a solo act masquerading as a duo. Ronnie Dunn has rightly been hailed as one of the best male voices in country music, while Kix Brooks’ contributions to the duo have been somewhat overlooked. While Dunn has provided the lead vocals on the overwhelming majority of the duo’s single releases, in the beginning, both members of the duo started out on more or less equal footing, with Brooks providing lead vocals on half of the album’s ten tracks. Though not as gifted as his partner, Brooks proves himself to be a more than adequate vocalist. Only one of the songs featuring Kix’s lead vocals, “Lost and Found”, was released as a single. Unfortunately for Brooks, it broke the duo’s string of consecutive #1 hits, peaking at #6. Also among the gems featuring Brooks on lead vocals are “Cheatin’ On The Blues” and “I’m No Good”, both of which have overtones that are reminiscent of Hank Williams, and “Still In Love With You”, the stellar closing track.

Though at times the duo seemed to be unsure of what musical direction to take, Brand New Man was a solid debut effort, full of energy and enthusiasm. Providing what was at the time, a fresh, new sound, it was well received not only by radio, but also at retail, where it ultimately was certified six-times platinum. It is interesting to take a look back at how far this duo has come, and for those who are only familiar with Brooks & Dunn’s radio hits, it provides an added dimension that isn’t always apparent in their single releases.

Brand New Man is available digitally at Amazon MP3 and iTunes. Though out of print in CD form, inexpensive new and used copies can be purchased at Amazon.

Grade: B+

Classic Rewind: Mel Street – ‘I Met A Friend Of Yours Today’

70s star Mel Street with a top 10 hit which was later covered by George Strait.

 

Album Review: Joe Nichols – ‘Old Things New’

A few years ago, Joe Nichols looked to be one of the brightest young country stars, with an interestingly textured voice and a sound with genuinely country roots which still worked on country radio, thanks to some very good songs. His career seems to have gone off track since them – no doubt not helped by a spell in rehab just after the release of his last album, Real Things, two years ago. That album produced a couple of top 20 singles, but no major hits. In some ways, then, this album is something of a comeback attempt. It is mainly produced by Joe’s longterm producer Brent Rowan, with three tracks courtesy of Mark Wright.

Leadoff single ‘Believers’ performed relatively poorly, peaking at #26 on Billboard, despite an obviously sincere vocal praising those with faith in something, whether that’s a matter of politics, love or religion, with some gospel-style backing vocals on the last chorus which fortunately do not overwhelm it, and are at least in keeping with the subject matter. The song might have more impact if it concentrated on one of the three stories it touches on. The current single, the oddly spelt ‘Gimmie That Girl’ (co-written by 90s chart artist Rhett Akins with Dallas Davidson and Ben Hayslip) is a warmhearted but over-produced love song lauding the narrator’s girlfriend au naturel. It is one of three tracks produced by Mark Wright, and is as close as the album gets to pop-country (with one glaring exception, of which more later).

‘The Shape I’m In’ is another Akins/Davidson/Hayslip song produced by Wright, but is much better than the single. The protagonist is suffering both a literal hangover and a metaphorical one, the after-effects of a failed relationship, but is starting to feel better, commenting:

I’m doing alright
For the shape I’m in

The third Wright-produced track is ‘Man, Woman’, written by Shawn Camp and Marv Green, a midtempo song about a guy who realizes his heartbreak is worse than he had thought it would be, with some nice fiddle from Aubrey Haynie. Joe does have a engagingly warm and fairly distinctive voice with inflected edges which can make average material sound better than it is, and he does that on songs like this pleasant if undistinguished song. Similarly, ‘We All Go Home’, written by Jimmy Melton, Neal Coty and Michael Mobley, is quite a nice song about being reminded of one’s childhood home. It doesn’t break new ground, but is very well sung, which also features Mac McAnally on acoustic guitar,and is another possible single. Its main flaw is unnecessary and slightly overpowering gospelly backing vocals at the end.

‘This Bed’s Too Big’, written by Gary Burr and Victoria Shaw, is a tenderly sung love song about needing to stay really close to the protagonist’s loved one, but it sounds a little dull.

CD Giveaway: Patty Loveless Set

Congratulations to Karin for winning the Patty Loveless CD’s.  Thanks for reading and we’ll be emailing you soon.  And thanks to everybody for sharing their Halloween stories.

We’ve spent the better part of October telling you about the music of Patty Loveless.  If you’re a new fan, we sure hope we’ve given you enough reason to add another artist to your collection.  And if you’re a long-time Loveless fan, we hope you’ve learned something new or at least enjoyed this walk down memory lane with us.  To cap off the month we’re going to give away a Patty Loveless collection with her 16 Biggest Hits CD as well as her latest Mountain Soul II.  The hits collection includes all of Patty’s best-loved numbers, spanning her years at MCA – ‘Timber I’m Falling In Love’, ‘Chains’, to her Epic superstardom – ‘Blame It On Your Heart’, ‘You Don’t Even Know Who I Am’, ‘Lonely Too Long’, to her most recent hits – ‘That’s The Kind of Mood I’m In’ and ‘Lovin’ All Night’, plus many more.

Since the deadline for commenting is October 31, all you need to do to enter is share a Halloween story with us.  It can be why you love (or hate) Halloween, a memory from the past, a favorite prank  … Do you spend the night going to costume parties, or stay home and watch horror films?  Leave us a comment by 11:59 PM October 31 to be entered.  One lucky winner will get both Patty Loveless CDs.  Good luck and Happy Halloween everybody!

In case you missed it, read Razor’s review of Mountain Soul II.

Spotlight Artist: Brooks & Dunn

In addition to hosting the show in 2004-2006, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn are also the two winningest artists in CMA Awards history. As a duo, they have collected 18 trophies, a tie with Vince Gill. But Ronnie Dunn’s solo win in 2006 for ‘Believe’ as Song of the Year tipped his total wins to a very impressive 19 total, making him the artist with the most CMA Awards. Brooks & Dunn have also won more accolades from the Academy of Country Music than any other artist in the organization’s history, as well as countless awards from Billboard, the American Music Awards, as well as two Grammy’s.  But all this came only after two unlikely partners were put together by one shrewd record executive.  Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks had been paying dues for years to reach that level of superstardom.

A teenager from a long line of church dignitaries, Ronnie Dunn first believed his true calling was in preaching the word of God around the West. He began attending Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas in 1974. It wasn’t long before his desire to play music took over and the psychology major soon found himself fronting a band playing clubs around the Abilene area. This wasn’t looked upon favorably by the University, who gave Dunn an ultimatum: stop appearing the clubs or leave the school. Ronnie Dunn soon moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he played for several years, honing his songwriting and singing in the smoky Oklahoma dives. It was after winning a singing competition sponsored by Marlboro that Dunn became serious about his music career and moved to Nashville.

Leon ‘Kix’ Brooks began his life in Shreveport, Louisiana, surrounded by the honky-tonk sounds of the Louisiana Hayride and the Cajun music scene. It was Kix’s neighbor, Johnny Horton – who died when Kix was just a boy – that he learned to appreciate country music and dream about what he could achieve. Seeing all the gold records and awards Horton has acquired set a fire inside the young man to do the same, and he was soon performing with Horton’s daughter, Nina. After brief stints in Alaska and Maine, working various trade jobs, Kix returned to Nashville in the early 1980s at the urging of his father. Kix would spend the rest of the 1980s as a staff songwriter for Tree Publishing before releasing a solo album on Capitol Records in 1989, which didn’t yield any success.

Classic Rewind: Barbara Mandrell – ‘Midnight Angel’