Classic Rewind: Wild Rose – ‘Listen To Your Heart’

Album Review: Steve Wariner – ‘Steal Another Day’

Following a hit-making three album run with Capitol, Steve Wariner turned next to the indie label SelecTone for his first new release after a three-year hiatus. Steve has used the small label for each of his subsequent releases, including this month’s Guitar Laboratory.

Proving himself once again handy with an ax, the up-tempos here are mostly used to showcase what Wariner learned at the feet of Chet Atkins. Love is the consistent theme on Steal Another Day, be it blossoming, in full force, unrequited, or in the past, these songs all share the same heartstring sentiments. But Wariner has always been able to shake the heartstring branch of the tree without dripping the sap all over you. And he does that here.

Writing or co-writing each of the 11 new tracks, Wariner and co-writers rely heavily on the same mid-tempo melody for many songs, making them interchangeable and forgettable. ‘Welcome To This World’ and the title track are the worst of such offenders. It’s in the jam-session productions that Wariner and company shine. ‘Kiss Me Anyway’ has a swampy blues influence, and tells of giving over to “an addiction, a hopeless affliction” of a love affair. ‘Carmelita’, written with Lee Roy Parnell, swings with precision, while lead single ‘I’m Your Man’ falters with its calypso beat, but the winning charm of the lyric saves it.

‘Snowfall On The Sand’ tells the story of a boy waiting for his father to return “when the first snow came”. It has a touching, if predictable, ending, but plods along at too slow a pace for country radio to take to it. It died as the album’s second and final single. The fiddle-laced ‘I Really Don’t Have Anything’ sounds reminiscent of early-era Alan Jackson, and is the standout among the set’s new songs. In the mostly acoustic ‘Forever In My Heart’, subtitled ‘For Chet’, Wariner sweetly sings of never forgetting those who touched our lives.

As lots of artists do when they team up with a new record label, Wariner re-recorded some of his old hits here. The updated versions feature more modern musicianship than their 80s counterparts, but seem to lack the vocal intensity of the originals. Performing these hits for two decades didn’t sharpen Wariner’s interpretation, and I recommend sticking to the originals for each of the five tracks reprised here. With a generous 16 tracks on the disc, you don’t feel short-changed by their inclusion since we’re still given plenty of new music to go with the redundant retreads.

Steal Another Day didn’t reignite Steve Wariner’s association with radio – neither single charted outside the 50s – nor did it restore him to gold-selling status. But Wariner was never a blockbuster act anyway. He worked best in his own quiet mode, cranking out quality songs, complete with blistering guitar work and his smooth crooning vocals. This album succeeds in doing all those things, and shows Wariner to still be at the top of his game.

Grade: B

Buy it from amazon.

Classic Rewind: Steve Wariner – ‘Holes In The Floor Of Heaven’

Week ending 2/26/11: #1 singles this week in country music history

1951: There’s Been A Change In Me — Eddy Arnold (RCA)

1961: Don’t Worry — Marty Robbins (Columbia)

1971: Help Me Make It Through The Night — Sammi Smith (Mega)

1981: Southern Rains — Mel Tillis (Elektra)

1991: Walk On Faith — Mike Reid (Columbia)

2001: But For The Grace Of God — Keith Urban (Capitol)

2011: Someone Else Calling You Baby — Luke Bryan (Capitol)

Week ending 2/26/11: #1 albums this week in country music history

1966: Eddy Arnold – My World (RCA Victor)

1971: Lynn Anderson – Rose Garden (Columbia)

1976: Various Artists – Wanted: The Outlaws (RCA)

1981: Dolly Parton – 9 to 5 And Odd Jobs (RCA Victor)

1986: Lee Greenwood – Streamline (MCA)

1991: Garth Brooks – No Fences (Capitol)

1996: Shania Twain – The Woman In Me (Mercury)

2001: Various Artists – O Brother Where Art Thou (Official Soundtrack)

2006: Carrie Underwood – Some Hearts (Arista)

2011: Jason Aldean – My Kinda Party (Broken Bow)

Classic Rewind: Johnny Cash – ‘When Uncle Bill Quit Dope’

Classic Rewind: Statler Brothers – ‘Thank You World’

South of Cincinnati

‘Ahm real glad you could meet me here,” drawled my companion for the night’s Kenny Rogers Christmas show. “Ah had about 10 minutes to get ready, and this is whut ah looked like when ah crawled outta the pile.” He went on to excuse the way he looked and thanked me again for meeting more than halfway at the Ashland Towne Center Mall. But he never made any excuse for his slants on the English language. Once, he told me I ‘talk like the people on T.V.’, but that was about all we ever said about the vast differences in our linguistics. What’s even more interesting is that he and I grew up less than 40 miles apart, myself in Portsmouth, Ohio, and he on the southern side of that imaginary Mason Dixon line that is the Ohio River in these parts, in Judds-country in Ashland, KY. Coincidentally, we were travelling even further into Appalachia that night to see Kenny Rogers and Linda Davis – all the way to Huntington, WV. (The wrong-turn parts of West Virginia make up none of my story here.)

I have an extended family on my mother’s side that live right here in the small state of Ohio – northern Ohioans from the big city of Cleveland, and they too, have a unique speech that separates them from us in the southern part of the state. Their speech is faster, peppered heavily with ‘ums’, and longer O’s. The population of southerners who took to the Rust Belt so long ago has seen their dialect generations removed. That doesn’t mean it isn’t alive and well down where it came from. Accents and their origins are a geek-hobby of mine, and these are what I see up close everyday – there are far more interesting examples outside my tri-state area.

Living right on the border of the Mason Dixon line is really a fascinating thing to watch. Kentucky being a commonwealth state allows for much looser laws regarding almost anything, and that readily breeds a yee-haw attitude, especially for outsiders just down for a visit. And it’s certainly interesting to start hitting seek on your car radio as you go south on U.S. 23 or I-75 from here. Country is still number one in those parts, even as we lose more stations in my market (2 gone in a year now). The geography quickly becomes one of an agricultural area in a hurry southbound as well. And, of course, these are just my immediate surroundings. The south is full of metropolitan places.

All those things are fun to watch, but my biggest thrill when I get to head south is U.S. 23 itself. As soon as I cross the Ohio River, it becomes Country Music Highway, with a designated artist for each stretch until you reach the next hometown junction. First up for me is Billy Ray Cyrus – he’s from Flatwoods, about 20 miles from here. Then we come to The Judds portion through Ashland, on through Ricky Skaggs and Loretta Lynn country. Lynn’s sister Crystal Gayle, Grand Ole Opry star Hylo Brown, Dwight Yoakam, and Patty Loveless round out the highway’s best parts. As you enter into the roughest of the coal-mining counties, Gary Stewart Highway takes you the rest of the way.

Signs along the way will point you to some landmark places in country music, including Van Lear and Butcher Holler. You can even stop by Loretta’s homeplace. Then head on to Pikeville, hometown to Loveless and Yoakam, and the place where Ricky Skaggs and a young Keith Whitley teamed up. Keith Whitley’s omission on the highway’s luminous roster is the one flaw in an excellent tribute to the wealth of talent from the area. If you ever get a chance to drive the 150 mile-stretch, be sure to stop in Paintsville at the Country Music Highway Museum and see Dot. She’s great.

I still want to head down to Montgomery and visit Hank Williams’ gravesite, and there are thousands of things I want to see and do in Texas. But I’m just as proud of the heritage from my own local area, even if those guys in Kentucky do speak a little differently.

Classic Rewind: Mark O’Connor and the New Nashville Cats – ‘Restless’ (ft Steve Wariner, Ricky Skaggs and Vince Gill)

Album Review: Steve Wariner – ‘Faith In You’

Steve’s third and last Capitol album was released in 2000. The overall style leans towards the contemporary end of country, with Steve’s smooth vocals and guitar skills to the fore. He wrote or co-wrote all the songs, played various guitars, and also produced the record. The overall style leans towards the contemporary end of country, and it is mostly successful.

The lead single was a duet with Clint Black on ‘Been There’, a likeable but rather throwaway number with a brass section. Clint also produced this track, co-wrote the song, and contributed a generous helping of his trademark harmonica. The song was the album’s only big hit, peaking at #5, and had already appeared on Clint’s 1999 D’lectrified, an all-acoustic return to form for the latter.

The title track was a sweet declaration of true love written with veteran Bill Anderson, with a tasteful string arrangement and tender vocal. It performed surprisingly poorly as the second single, barely cracking the top 30, but is a low-key gem. The last single saw Steve reunited with Garth Brooks on the jazzy ‘Katie Wants A Fast One’, which Steve wrote with Rick Carnes. It too failed to reach the top 20 despite the star assistance, and was his last hit. It’s not one I like much – all sound and no intensity, with the groove seeming more important than the song, and another horn arrangement.

Another famous friend, Rodney Crowell, helped to write the thoughtful ‘Longer Letter Later’, which portrays a man regretting his past decisions and struggling to put his feelings into words for his ex. A faintly Spanish feel to the arrangement, with accordion and castanets, adds musical interest to the quiet melody.

Bill Anderson co-wrote the infectious mid-tempo ‘Make It Look Easy’, which refers to various individuals who are great at what they do, and ruefully compares their skill to the protagonist’s failure to get over a failed love affair. The choice of superstars leans fairly heavily to sports stars; oddly no country singers are named (Ray Charles gets the sole singing spot, although Steve’s mentor Chet Atkins gets a nod for his guitar skills). I’m not sure the metaphor quite hangs together, but the song sounds pleasant enough. Bill, Steve, and Sharon Vaughn co-wrote the cheerful and irresistibly sing along love song ‘Blinded’, which should have been a single.

‘I Just Do’ (another love song) is a charming lightly swinging piece, which showcases the playing of “the Nashville Super Players”. This is the only solo composition, other than ‘Bloodlines’, the completely instrumental cut which closes the album. This is billed as a duet with Steve’s son Ryan and is very much a family affair, featuring Steve and Ryan on electric guitar, with Steve’s brother Terry adding support on baritone guitar, and only drummer Harry Stinson from outside the family.

I also like the attractive mid-tempo ‘It Wouldn’t Be Love’, written with Joe Barnhill, which reflects on the potential pain of love. ‘Turn In The Road’ is a melodic ballad (also with strings) about a mother’s comforting advice to her son in adversity, written with Jim Witter. These are nice but unexceptional songs lifted by Steve’s sensitive interpretation and beautiful voice, as is ‘Waiting In The Wings’ (written with Billy Kirsch). This is a story song about a youngest son marginalized in his own family, whose dreams sustain him.

Opening track ‘High Time’ is a rather dull pop-country number co-written by Steve with Marcus Hummon and Annie Roboff with intrusive backing vocals, but this is the only low point on the record, and even this does have a nice instrumental break to recommend it. Hummon’s songwriting is better showcased with the pensive reflection on relationship breakdown, ‘I Wish I Were A Train’.

Sales were as disappointing as radio play, and this was sadly to prove Steve’s final major label release.

Grade: B+

Cheap used copies are easy to find.

Classic Rewind: Kathy Mattea – ‘Eighteen Wheels And A Dozen Roses’

Album Review: Cumberland Gap Connection – ‘A Whole Lotta Lonesome’

The Cumberland Gap Connection is a little-known bluegrass band, but one who has given me a very pleasant surprise with this album (on Kindred Records). I understand it is their fourth, although it’s the first I’ve come across (thanks to a link posted on The 9513 a few weeks ago). The members hail from Kentucky and Tennessee, and the record was recorded in Cumberland Gap, Tennessee.

Usual lead singer Mike Bentley has an attractive smooth tenor voice, laid back style, and natural understated sense of phrasing, and is also a fine songwriter who was responsible for five of the album’s twelve tracks. He also plays guitar, and his talents provide the band’s focus and the core of the record’s appeal. My favorite of these (and one of the album’s highlights) is the dejected ‘Waiting At the Harbor’, a very well written song with some interesting imagery. One of life’s lost souls, the protagonist of this song has no idea of what to do with his life:

How can you find a home when you can’t move on?
Feels like I’m waiting at the harbor for a train

On a similar theme and almost as good is the opening track ‘Travel All Alone’, which reflects thoughtfully on regret for past choices leading to the loss of a loving home.

The high lonesome sound of ‘Ode To The Mountain Man’ is about a father teaching the protagonist “how to be a good man”, in a way which shows all those country living anthems they might just be missing the point:

It ain’t about where you come from
It’s about where you stand
Just living in the mountains don’t make you a mountain man…

You might live in the city in a mansion doing well
Or you might own a two room shack on top of the hill
The almighty dollar don’t make you good or bad
It’s what’s inside that you let out that makes the mountain man

I assume this is specifically about, and inspired by, Bentley’s late father, who died in 2006 and to whom he dedicates his work on the record.

Classic Rewind: Faron Young – ‘She Went A Little Bit Farther/Wonderful World Of Women’

Album Review: Steve Wariner – ‘Burnin’ The Roadhouse Down’

By the mid-90s, Steve Wariner’s commercial success had begun to wane, causing him to take a hiatus from recording and touring, to concentrate instead on songwriting. He experienced a considerable amount of success during his “down time”, beginning when “Longneck Bottle”, a song he’d written with Rick Carnes, was recorded by Garth Brooks. Garth asked Steve to lend his voice and guitar-playing skills to the record and when it was released as a single, “Longneck Bottle” quickly shot to the top of the charts, spending three weeks in the number one spot. A few weeks later, Clint Black took “Nothin’ But The Taillights”, a song he’d written with Steve, to #1. A month after that, “What If I Said” , his duet with Anita Cochran also reached the top of the Billboard chart. By 1998, these successes caused record executives to take another look at Steve, resulting in a new contract with Capitol Records, and an unexpected late-career resurgence.

His first release for the label was “Holes In The Floor Of Heaven”, which Steve had written with Billy Kirsch. The sentimental ballad struck a chord with radio programmers and listeners, becoming Steve’s career record, some 20 years after he’d released his first record. It peaked at #2, his highest chart performance as a solo artist since “I Got Dreams” reached the top spot nine years earlier. It was also awarded the Single of the Year and Song of the Year awards by the Country Music Association in 1998, marking the first time Steve had won any awards from that organization.

Steve’s debut album for Capitol was Burnin’ The Roadhouse Down, which he produced himself. It consisted of 11 new tracks written by Steve with a variety of co-writers, along with “What If I Said”, which had been originally been included on Anita Cochran’s album. Although there were no huge radio hits to follow “Holes In The Floor Of Heaven”, the album is one of the stronger entries in the Wariner discography. For the title track, a lively Western swing number, Steve reunited with Garth Brooks, but even Garth’s tremendous star power couldn’t propel the record into the Top 20. Too retro for country radio, it stalled at #26 despite top-notch performances from both Steve and Garth. The more contemporary “Every Little Whisper” was chosen as the third single. Though it was more radio-friendly than “Burnin’ The Roadhouse Down”, it is not one of the stronger tracks on the album. It was possibly chosen because like “Holes”, it was written with Billy Kirsch, and the label may have thought they would strike gold a second time. It peaked at #36 and no more singles were released.

There are several excellent tracks — and a few mediocre ones — among the album cuts. My favorites are “I Don’t Know How To Fix It”, which was written with Bill Anderson, “A Six Pack Ago”, which was written with Jim Rushing, and “Big Ol’ Empty House”, which was written with Mac McAnally. “Road Trippin’”, written with Marcus Hummon is a lightweight tune with fluffy lyrics and catchy beat that seems like it would have been a good choice for a single release. “Big Tops”, a circus-themed number which was also written with Hummon, has a folk feel to it and sounds like something Nanci Griffith might have released a decade earlier. The two tracks that fail to deliver are “Love Me Like You Love Me” and “Smoke From An Old Flame”, which are pleasant but slightly dull.

The inclusion of “What If I Said” as a bonus track, under license from Warner Bros., was a pleasant surprise. Though thoroughly contemporary in style, the Anita Cochran-penned and produced track is beautifully written and beautifully sung by both performers. It was Cochran’s first record and only Top 40 country hit, and is on my short list of favorite Steve Wariner tracks.

Though Burnin’ The Roadhouse Down only spawned one big radio hit, it did quite well at retail. Peaking at #6, it was his highest-charting entry on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. It also went on to become his second gold album. I don’t like it quite as much as I Am Ready, but I would rank it a close second.

Grade: A

Burnin’ The Roadhouse Down is available from Amazon and other major retailers.

Classic Rewind: Barbara Mandrell – ‘Years’

Single Review: Kenny Chesney – ‘Live A Little’

With his island-inspired rhythms and lyrics that tell of good times in Mexico, cold beer, sunshine, and most everything else that evokes thoughts of warm-weather fun, Kenny Chesney has positioned himself as the go-to guy for this kind of song over the past decade. After a full minute of residual, chunky guitar explosions, Chesney launches into yet another of his ‘time for a good time’ anthems in his latest single.

‘Live A Little’ isn’t groundbreaking, original, or even all that clever. Actually, everything about this track is generic, and Chesney is just repeating past hits here – several of them are compressed to make the gist of ‘Live A Little’. There aren’t even any memorable lines that dot Chesney’s own like-songs, and the story arc must have come from a focus group. Here’s the basic breakdown: Act one: frustrated man on the interstate, Act two: man resolved to have a good time at a club finds the girl of his dreams, Act Three: reiterate bumper-sticker jargon sprinkled throughout. Set to a groovy and catchy melody, and you’ve got a modern country hit. But what ups this track from being a total snooze is the believability of Chesney’s performance, and how he make it all seem effortless, which it probably is at this point.

This concept continues to work for Chesney because he knows his way around a good-time song. He swaggers through the lines as if they’re something great, and I almost believed him the first time through. That takes talent with a song like this.

Grade: B-

Songwriters: Shane Minor & David Lee Murphy

Classic Rewind: Steve Wariner – ‘There For Awhile’

Week ending 2/19/11: #1 singles this week in country music history

1951: There’s Been A Change In Me — Eddy Arnold (RCA)

1961: Wings Of A Dove — Ferlin Husky (Capitol)

1971: Help Me Make It Through The Night — Sammi Smith (Mega)

1981: Who’s Cheatin’ Who — Charly McClain (Epic)

1991: Brother Jukebox — Mark Chesnutt (MCA)

2001: There Is No Arizona — Jamie O’Neal (Mercury)

2011: Voices — Chris Young (RCA)

Week ending 2/19/11: #1 albums this week in country music history

1966: Eddy Arnold – My World (RCA Victor)

1971: Lynn Anderson – Rose Garden (Columbia)

1976: C.W. McCall – Black Bear Road (MGM)

1981: Dolly Parton – 9 to 5 And Odd Jobs (RCA Victor)

1986: Hank Williams Jr. – Greatest Hits Volume 2 (Curb)

1991: Garth Brooks – No Fences (Capitol)

1996: Shania Twain – The Woman In Me (Mercury)

2001: LeAnn Rimes – I Need You (Curb)

2006: Carrie Underwood – Some Hearts (Arista)

2011: Jason Aldean – My Kinda Party (Broken Bow)

Classic Rewind: Patty Loveless – ‘Lonely Days, Lonely Nights’