Recommendation: Live songs & albums

So being the Sugarland freak I am, I went to Wal-Mart to get Live On The Inside the morning it came out- before they had even put it on the shelves. I had to find a worker to get the box of new CDs open to get me one so I could have it. Not being a fan of live CDs, I was worried, but Live exceeded all my expectations. With superb singing of both Sugarland’s hits and mostly great covers, I was very happy. So for my recommendation this week, I’m going to recommend 3 tracks from 3 live albums that I’ve enjoyed:

“Better Man” by Sugarland (Originally by Pearl Jam)
Playing this for friend, he remarked the bridge wasn’t energetic enough and listening to the original, he was right, but Sugarland does a good job here. This song has themes that belong in country music, and the mostly acoustic arrangement works out to make a cool cover. This is one of my favorites from Live On The Inside, as well as “The One I Love” and “Circle”. Watch a preview of it on Youtube.

“Poison & Wine” by The Civil Wars (Original song)
Thanks to this article from Country Universe, I discovered their free live album, Live at Eddie’s Attic (You can still download it for free here). I was pleasantly surprised to find two very talented singer/songwriters making very good music, “Poison & Wine” being my favorite. It’s a gorgeous song with driving piano that underlies it’s sadness. Watch it live on YouTube.

“Rated X” by Neko Case (Originally by Loretta Lynn)
A #1 hit for Loretta Lynn, this controversial song does well in the hands of Neko Case, still sounding country, but all Neko. I almost got to see Neko Case live in New York City this year, but unfortunately I didn’t get to go. Sadly you can’t hear this song anywhere, but iTunes has Neko’s excellent live CD, The Tigers Have Spoken here.

These three albums have made me like live albums more, now I want yours.

What live albums or tracks would you recommend?

Here comes semi-goodbye

I’ve been here since the beginning, namely this past December. J.R. asked me on the forums over at The 9513 if I wanted to be a part of a new blog, and I quickly said yes. I never expected that it would go anywhere, but we’ve seen some amazing growth- and it’s all thanks to you guys, the readers. From my first post to all the ones in between, this blog has been fun to work on, and I thank all of you for reading and caring about what we have to say.

So as you read this, I’ll be at college, the wonderful Brigham Young University, as a freshman! Unfortunately, that means I will not have time to post very much, or not at all. I just wanted to thank you all for listening to what I had to say. I don’t want to be distracted, obviously, so college has to take priority. I’ll be around, but just don’t expect to read much from me. Today’s recommendation will be my last post for a while, and I’ll be gone.

Thanks, and I’ll see you all around! Kind of …

Album Review: David Nail – ‘I’m About To Come Alive’

Missouri’s David Nail has been on the fringes of success for a while. He first saw chart action back in 2002, when his Mercury single ‘Memphis’ failed to gain traction, faltering outside the top 50, and David was unceremoniously dropped, leaving an unreleased album (produced by Alan Jackson’s producer Keith Stegall) to languish in the vaults. David gave up music for a while, but unlike many artists in his position, he was lucky enough to get a second chance when MCA signed him.

Unfortunately, I don’t like I’m About To Come Alive at all, for two reasons: the production (by Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke), which is surprisingly heavy-handed, and David’s voice, which has a slightly nasal tone I just can’t warm to, as well as sounding highly processed at times. The overall feel of the album is Rascal Flatts meets James Otto, a comparison underlined by the presence of a song co-written by Gary LeVox, ‘Summer Job Days’, which sounds like a Rascal Flatts reject. This probably means David has a genuine shot at radio and sales success. He is currently basking in the success of his very first top 30 hit, ‘Red Light’. This is not a bad song (co-written, incidentally, by another up and coming artist, Jonathan Singleton), and I would probably like it in the hands of a more compelling vocalist. Sadly, I don’t feel an emotional connection in David’s version, or believe him when he sings about his world crashing down.

The album was originally due to be released this time last year, but was delayed when the lead single, the title track, failed to catch on with radio programmers. It’s a cover of an alt-rock song, and not a very interesting one, with no country elements I could detect in either the music or the production. Indeed, it is evident from the opening track, the pretty piano-led homesick ode to ‘Mississippi’ (which has one of David’s better vocals), that this is far from a traditional country record, and it stays in much the same vaguely soulful groove throughout. ‘Mississippi’ is written by Scooter Carusoe, David Colehour and Chuck Leavall.

Carusoe seems to be a favorite writer for David, and the pair collaborated on two songs here, of which ‘Again’, a nostalgic look back at youth, is the better. ‘Clouds’ was less interesting. Carusoe also wrote ‘Turning Home’ with Kenny Chesney; this one starts out as a pleasant ballad with piano-dominated backing, with one of David’s more emotionally convincing vocals, but halfway through the production gets out of hand and completely overwhelms the song.