Classic Rewind: Kenny Rogers – ‘Lucille’

Album Review: George Strait – ‘Twang’

The title of George Strait’s 26th studio album for MCA suggests that it is a collection of hardcore honky-tonkers, so listeners may be a bit surprised to discover that Twang is one of the more eclectic offerings in his catalog, ranging from honky-tonk and Cajun to polished ballads and a Mexican folk song sung entirely in Spanish. With longtime co-producer Tony Brown once again on board, Strait attempts to step out of the box just a bit, with varying degrees of success. Strait seems to be walking a tightrope, making just enough concessions to fit in with radio’s demands, without sacrificing artistic integrity or alienating longtime fans.

The lead single, “Living For The Night”, which is currently rising up the charts, is noteworthy because it marks the first time iin his major-label career that Strait has had a hand in co-writing one of his singles. In fact, it marks the first time he’s recorded one of his own compositions since 1982′s “I Can’t See Texas From Here”, which appeared on his second album Strait From The Heart. The song was co-written with Srait’s son Bubba, and Dean Dillon, who has written countless George Strait hits over the past 28 years. The song is somewhat less traditional and a little more slickly produced than what we normally expect from Strait. It is not my favorite song on the album and probably would not have been my choice as the single to launch the album, but it has performed well on the charts. It is currently at #7 in Billboard and rising.

Recommendation: Should have been a hit

I’ve heard several people say that Gary Allan’s ‘Half of My Mistakes’ should have been released to radio. I’m inclined to agree with them.  It was my favorite track on his Living Hard album from the first listen, and has held that spot ever since.  While the album housed 3 successful singles, with each declining slightly from their predecessors in quality and success, I was still hoping for ‘Half of My Mistakes’ to be released right up until I heard that he had a new single from a new album coming out.

I still haven’t given up all hope.  Brad Paisley and Keith Urban recently released singles from albums that were a couple years old and Garth Brooks took a track from a decade-old album to the top 10 in 2000.  So there’s still a chance that Gary’s team could pull this song out and release it to radio.  That would make me happy.

What songs from recent albums do you think got looked over and would have been hits?  And what do you think about an artist digging back into their catalog to release a radio single anyway?

Classic Rewind: George Jones – ‘Choices’

Album Review: Reba McEntire – ‘Reba’

This album is not even in my top ten Reba albums, though there are individual songs I dearly love on it. However, Reba’s 14th studio album was significant for Reba and her career for a number of reasons.

Reba reflected a time of important transition in her personal life. Her divorce became final in November of 1987, and as she says in her autobiography, Reba: My Story,

Something was shifting inside of me. Maybe the reason was my new freedom as an unmarried woman – for the first time in my life, not having to answer to anyone but myself; or maybe it was the sense of confidence that came from restructuring my organization and putting some of my long-held pet ideas into practice. Whatever the reason, in 1988, I found myself drawn to the old Aretha Franklin hit “Respect.” It just seemed to connect with my mental outlook at the time.

Reba talked with her producer, Jimmy Bowen, about using it to open the new 1988 show. Though he was a bit surprised she liked that one, Bowen suggested she record it as one of the needed up-tempo numbers for her next album. She did, along with others that were more R & B, jazz or pop.

Reba was released in April of 1988 and received more negative criticism from traditional country circles than any of her previous albums, though it stayed at #1 on Billboard’s Country chart for 8 weeks that summer and she continued to receive awards such as Favorite Female Country Artist (AMA), Favorite Female Vocalist (TNN), etc. She had previously been so outspoken about loving her country roots and recording traditional country music that it came as somewhat of a surprise she recorded an album with no fiddles and no steel, more keyboard and more synthesizer.

Her previous career-making album, “Whoever’s In New England,” had also had some numbers that many considered more cross-over songs. But Reba said about that one (again in her autobiography),

I never set out to record a “crossover” record. As I’ve said, I’ve always considered myself a country artist and never wanted to abandon my roots. I had simply come to the conclusion that it would be better for me just to do good material, and if it happened to reach across the pop charts – well, fine – that would be an unexpected little extra.

She similarly defended “Respect” on this album. In a segment on “Respect” in CMT’s “Reba McEntire: Greatest Stories,” Reba talks about the reaction she got when she performed it as a dance number on the CMAs that year. People asked her afterwards if she’d thought about the fact that she was doing a pop number on a country awards show and she said no, she really hadn’t. It was up-tempo and she loved the song and was a big fan of Aretha Franklin. Plus, she was excited to show people she could move after years of standing behind a microphone.

And “Respect” is certainly a great song. Rolling Stones rated Aretha’s version #5 on their 2004 list of the Top 500 Songs of All Time.  However, many of the other cuts on the album aren’t great and seem more like filler and actually detract from the other good songs in the set.

Single Review: Lady Antebellum – ‘Need You Now’

Reading the other day, I was surprised that Lady Antebellum was already promoting a new album- after three hit singles from their debut album. Lady A’s trade mark is slick pop-country, like their most recent hit, “I Run To You” (Read the review here), something that can be good if done right.

Thankfully, their new single “Need You Now” is not overproduced like “I Run To You” was, but it ends up being an enjoyable slice of pop-country. Driven by acoustic and electric guitars accented by some pretty piano fills, the song is a good sounding mid-tempo track. “Need You Now” continues the duet-style vocals of their last two singles, but here Hillary Scott takes most of the lead vocals, something a little different from Lady A’s first 3 singles. This makes them feel more like an equal partnership vocal duo, something unique in today’s market. With Sugarland being the mostly-Jennifer-Nettles show and Brooks & Dunn being mostly Dunn (Not for long, though…), it’s nice to hear Lady A. split the lead vocals mostly equally. Luckily Scott succeeds in giving a great performance that never becomes bombastic, but stays reserved and calm.

While this song doesn’t sound very country, it’s a sad song with a similar story line to Lee Ann Womack’s “I May Hate Myself In The Morning”, only not as good. After a nasty break-up and a few drinks, early in the morning they realize that they need each other and make that tricky call. It’s a plot that keeps this song slightly tethered to country music, and makes for good music, while not really being novel. This song is much more interesting than the rest of the material on their first album, so hopefully this will bode well for their sophomore album that is due out in 2010.

Listen to “Need You Now” on Lady A’s blog and Last.fm, or buy it off iTunes.

Grade: B+

Written by: Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Josh Kear

Classic Rewind: Crystal Gayle – ‘Talking In Your Sleep’

Album Review: Kim Williams – ‘The Reason That I Sing’

I’ve mentioned before that I always enjoy hearing songwriters’ own interpretations of songs which they have written for other artists. The latest example comes from Kim Williams, a name you should recognize if you pay attention to the songwriting credits. Kim has been responsible for no fewer than 16 number 1 hits, and many more hit singles and album tracks over the past 20 years. Now he has released an album containing his versions of many of his big hits, together with some less familiar material.

The album is sub-titled Country Hits Bluegrass Style, although the overall feel of the record is more acoustic country with bluegrass instrumentation provided by some of the best bluegrass musicians around: Tim Stafford (who produces the set) on guitar, Ron Stewart on fiddle and banjo, Adam Steffey on mndolin, Rob Ickes on dobro, and Barry Bales on bass, with Steve Gulley and Tim Stafford providing harmony vocals. Kim’s voice is gruff but tuneful, and while he cannot compare vocally to most of those who have taken his songs to chart success, he does have a warmth and sincerity which really does add something to the songs he has picked on this album.

Kim includes three of the songs he has written for and with Garth Brooks, all from the first few years of the latter’s career. ‘Ain’t Going Down (Til The Sun Comes Up’), a #1 for Garth in 1993, provides a lively opening to the album, although it is one of the less successful tracks, lacking the original’s hyperactivity while not being a compelling or very melodic song in its own right. ‘Papa Loved Mama’ is taken at a slightly brisker pace than the hit version, and is less melodramatic as a result – neither better nor worse, but refreshingly different. ‘New Way To Fly’, which was recorded by Garth on No Fences, also feels more down to earth and less intense than the original, again with a very pleasing effect.

The other artist whose repertoire is represented more than once here is Joe Diffie. The lively western swing of ‘If The Devil Danced In Empty Pockets’ (written with Ken Spooner) with its newly topical theme of being well and truly broke is fun. Although ‘Goodnight Sweetheart’ (from the 1992 album Regular Joe) was never released as a single, this tender ballad about separation from a loved one has always been one of my favorite Joe Diffie recordings. Kim’s low-key, intimate version wisely avoids competing vocally, but succeeds in its own way.

One of my favorite hit singles this decade was ‘Three Wooden Crosses’, a #1 hit for Randy Travis in 2002, which Kim wrote with Doug Johnson. A movie based on the story is apparently in development. I still love Randy’s version, but while Kim is far from the vocalist Randy is, this recording stands up on its own terms, with an emotional honesty in Kim’s delivery which brings new life to the story.

Breaking news: Brooks & Done

As reported today in The 9513 forums, Kix Brooks & Ronnie Dunn are calling it a day.

For more information, check out the Brooks & Dunn website or CMT.com.

Classic Rewind: Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton – ‘Before I Met You’

Album Review: Reba McEntire – ‘The Last One To Know’

In 1987 a controversy surrounded Reba McEntire; not unlike the controversy that surrounds LeAnn Rimes and her husband today. The singer has never spoken much about her divorce in interviews. What the public knows for a fact is that Reba filed for divorce from Charlie Battles, her husband of eleven years, and two years later married her manager Narvel Blackstock. Gossip rags said they started going out with each other before they divorced their spouses, but this has been denied by both parties. Regardless of what happened, 1987 was a year of sadness for Reba, and so The Last One To Know resulted from this sadness. Called her “divorce album” by Reba herself, The Last One To Know is an album that focuses on breakups and the uncertainty of the future, both of which are reflected in the title-track, which was also the lead single:

Why is the last one to know
The first one to cry and the last to let go
Why is the one left behind
The one left alone with no one to hold
The last one to know

Penned by Matraca Berg, this tale of a woman whose man has left her for another woman is particularly aching, mostly due to Reba’s vocal and Berg’s sharp pen. It became a #1 hit, and so did the follow-up “Love Will Find Its Way To You”; the only song on the album that brings forth a feeling of hope. Unfortunately it’s also the weakest track, with throwaway lyrics like  ‘So you’ve got to let your love shine through Your eyes, your smile/You’ve got to let somebody know how you feel inside/Your heart, you’ll find/Somebody wants to be a part of your life.’ It’s a theme that’s been done before with much better results, and the modern production feels out of place on an otherwise relatively traditional album.

While this is an album that has very few ‘happy’ songs, it doesn’t lack tempo. In “I Don’t Want To Mention Any Names” Reba is telling a’ friend’ to back off and stop flirting with her boyfriend, but she’s telling it in a sly fashion, as she doesn’t explicitly tell the woman to back off, but instead tells the story to her as if she was a casual confidante. While the subject matter is ‘serious’ enough, the song is filled with clever lines and winds up as a very humorous and amusing track. “Someone Else” is similar in theme to “No Such Thing”, a track from the predecessor to this album: What Am I Gonna Do About You. Reba is firmly assuring her man that she’s not out running around, and that if there was someone else, she wouldn’t be there with him. She almost growls at times here, and the song is very much a track with attitude.  It’s a worthwhile listen, but not the best track on the album as it gets repetitive at times.

Classic Rewind: Linda Ronstadt – ‘Tracks of My Tears’

Week ending 8/8/09: #1 singles this week in country music history

1949: I’m Throwing Rice (At The Girl I Love) — Eddy Arnold (RCA)

1959: Waterloo – Stonewall Jackson (Columbia)

1969: All I Have To Offer You Is Me — Charley Pride (RCA)

1979: Suspicions – Eddie Rabbitt (Elektra)

1989: Why’d You Come In Here Lookin’ Like That — Dolly Parton (Columbia)

1999: Amazed – Lonestar (BNA)

2009: Alright – Darius Rucker (Capitol)

Sampling a little Mountain Soul

Amazon has some preview clips from Patty Loveless’ upcoming Mountain Soul II album, which will be released on September 29th on Saguaro Road Records. She’s re-recorded quite a few songs that appeared on previous albums, such as “Handful of Dust”, “Half Over You”, “Big Chance”, “Blue Memories” and “Feelings of Love”, in addition to ten brand-new ones.

This is going to be a very strong contender for best album of the year — in my book, anyway. I can’t wait until it’s available. Click here to listen.

Classic Rewind: George Jones – ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today’

Week ending 8/8/09: #1 albums this week in country music history

1984: Hank Williams Jr. – Major Moves (Warner Brothers)

1989: Reba McEntire – Sweet Sixteen (MCA)

1994: Tim McGraw – Not A Moment Too Soon (Curb)

1999: Shania Twain – Come On Over (Mercury)

2004: Jimmy Buffett – License To Chill (Mailboat)

2009: Taylor Swift – Fearless (Big Machine)

Classic Rewind: Reba McEntire – ‘Whoever’s In New England’

Album Review: Reba McEntire – ‘Whoever’s In New England’

In February 1986, just seven months after Have I Got A Deal For You, Reba released her tenth studio album. She was to release yet another (What Am I Gonna Do About You) that fall. This level of productivity – unthinkable today – was commonplace in the mid 80s, and in this case at least did not result in any dilution of quality, or indeed in commercial appeal. Whoever’s In New England was another almost faultless set, and her biggest seller to date. It was her first chart-topping album, and her first album certified gold. It eventually sold over a million copies. It is hardly surprising that she was to be named the CMA Entertainer of the Year in 1986; she remains one of very few female artists to have held this title.

With not much more than six months between albums, there was only time to issue two singles (both #1 hits), but at least half the tracks here could have had potential at radio. The title track (written by Kendal Franceschi and Quentin Powers) is one of Reba’s best remembered hits, and one of her finest recordings, with a beautifully nuanced vocal as the protagonist voices her suspicions of a husband’s infidelity on his all-too-frequent business trips up north, and promises she will still be there when it’s all over and “‘Boston finds better things to do”. The dramatic storyline was perfect fodder for Reba’s first ever music video.

The second single, ‘Little Rock’, is a very radio-friendly mid-tempo number about a woman deciding being a trophy wife is not enough. The rock of the title is the wedding ring she’s planning to ditch along with her rich but uncaring husband. The strength of this album rests in the ballads, whereas its predecessor had focussed on the uptempo, and ‘Little Rock’ is one of only three faster tracks, with ‘Can’t Stop Now’, which opens the album, the one dispensable track on it. The best of the uptempo numbers is the cheery western swing of ‘One Thin Dime’ as a wife tells the husband who is leaving her all he has to do is phone to get her back.

The rest of the album consists of one superb ballad after another. The production is a little less hardcore country than the previous two, but the change is barely noticeable.

The material is quite adult at times. The delicately sensual ‘You Can Take The Wings Off Me’ (apparently also recorded by Tammy Wynette but never released) has a woman relinquishing her good-girl image. In ‘Don’t Touch Me There’ (a top 20 hit for Charly McClain in 1987), the protagonist is open to physical intimacy, but thanks to past heartbreak, rejects the emotional kind:

“You can lay your head on my shoulder
Maybe even get a little bolder
But when it comes to my heart
Don’t touch me there.”

Reba raided the vaults again for this album, covering the exquisite melancholy of ‘I’ve Seen Better Days’, recorded by George Jones and Tammy Wynette on their Golden Ring album from 1976. This sad post-divorce song was probably a little too downbeat for radio play even in the days when sad and slow was the heartbeat of country music.

Almost as sad is ‘I’ll Believe It When I Feel’ (written by Chris Waters, Tom Shapiro and Bucky Jones), as the protagonist refuses to accept her friends’ promises that she will love again:

“They say he’s out there
They say that someday I’ll forget
I’ll believe it when I feel it
But I haven’t felt it yet.”

The narrator of ‘To Make That Same Mistake Again’ (written by Roger Murrah and Richard Leigh) has also been unlucky in love, but is less beaten down by the experience, defiantly refusing to learn from her “mistakes”:

“If loving him too much is why I lost him in the end
I hope that I can live long enough to make that same mistake again.”

She adds tartly,

“I never thought I’d see the day when love would be a crime.”

My favorite track after ‘Whoever’s In New England’ is probably the Diana Rae/Jane Mariash-penned ‘If You Only Knew’, a single girl’s counsel to her unhappy married friend, which feels like a modern reimagining of the old classic ‘Single Girl, Married Girl’:

“If you only knew what a single girl goes through
The long working days and the lonely nights, the empty ‘I love you’s,
Oh, if you only knew what it’s like to be alone
You’d put your anger down, turn around and go back home.”

The album is easy to find both digitally and on CD.

Grade: A

Classic Rewind: Johnny Cash & Charley Pride – ‘I Guess Things Happen That Way’

Rediscovering Tracy Lawrence

There are so many artists and songs I’ve been a fan of over the years, that it’s inevitable I forget about a song or album that at one time I absolutely loved. Especially when you’re constantly adding to your music collection. So, I always like reading the What’cha listening to? thread on The 9513′s forum.  Mostly because somebody will almost always remind me about a forgotten gem. The good folks at Country Universe are also great at pointing out bygone treasures from the past.  Don’t miss their Starter Kits this month since they’re featuring artists from the 1990s – my favorite decade of country music.

Last night I spent the evening here at my desk catching up on emails and doing some writing.  I had my media player on random when Tracy Lawrence’s ‘Today’s Lonely Fool’ came on.  I immediately stopped and listened because I always loved that song.  Tracy gives this tale of a remorseful man a powerful vocal and adds plenty of emotion.  I believe he’s sorry.  So after hearing that, I went to my collection of Tracy Lawrence songs and listened to ‘Time Marches On’, ‘Alibies’ , and my personal favorite, ‘Texas Tornado’.  I always preferred Tracy Lawrence as a ballad singer.

Random playlists have lead me to rediscover, or at least revisit, several artists and songs that had worked their way from my memory.  I like when that happens.  It’s almost like hearing them for the first time, all over again.

So, what artists have you forgotten about? And recently had a reunion with their music?