Classic Rewind: Radney Foster – ‘Nobody Wins’

Album Review: Diamond Rio – ‘Close To The Edge’

Diamond Rio’s second album was rush-released in October 1992. It was produced as before by Monty Powell and Tim Dubois along broadly similar lines to its predecessor. Although not quite as consitently high quality as the songs on their debut, the chosen material showcases the band’s trademark harmonies and sparkling playing well. Although, apparently they had only a month to pick the songs, and felt they had fallen short of their debut, everything is presented with verve and I think it stands up well today.

The first two singles had downbeat lyrics about failed relationships. The ballad ‘In A Week Or Two’ (one of my favorite tracks) was received well at radio and hit #2. The rueful protagonist has been blindsided when he kept on putting off those romantic gestures, only to find his lover loses patience and leaves him. Equally regretful in the face of a vanished lover, the bouncily catchy ‘Oh Me, Oh My Sweet Baby’ was another top 5 hit, with particularly strong harmonies and picking. The perky ‘This Romeo Ain’t Got Julie Yet’ about a thwarted teenage couple (co-written by the lead guitarist Jimmy Olander), the slightest of the album’s singles, did less well, peaking at an unlucky 13.

My favorite of the singles then disappointingly failed to crack the top 20. Set to an understated but pretty tune, it offers a pensive reflection on the lost innocence of childhood:

When we knew Jesus was the answer
And Elvis was the King
‘Blue Suede Shoes’ and ‘Rock Of Ages’
Were the songs we learned/loved to sing
Innocence went out of style
We just watched it go
Yesterday got left beneath
The dust of Sawmill Road

We learn the protagonist’s brother was mentally destroyed by service in Vietnam, and he keeps minimal contact with the sister, who now has three failed marriages behind her. Only the narrator remains living in the eponymous ‘Sawmill Road’, where the three siblings “were raised up on the path of righteousness” so long ago. The song was written by the band’s keyboard player Dan Truman with Sam Hogin and Jim McBride.

It leads appropriately into an appeal to the lonely and lost in life, ‘Calling All Hearts (Come Back Home)’, an idealistic number written by Monty Powell, Kent Blazy and Wade Kimes, which I also like a lot.

My absolute favorite track, though, is the high lonesome ‘Demons And Angels’. Written by former singer Judy Rodman and Ronnie Samoset, the song portrays the intense struggle of a man(and his wife) fighting his addiction to alcohol,

He swore it was over and all in his past
A few hours later his hand’s round a glass
A voice on the left says,
“There’s peace in the wine”
From the right a voice whispers,
“Don’t do it this time”
When he looks for the answer
Down in his heart
Demons and angels tear him apart

…

There’s not much that’s sweeter
Than a new life begun
Ain’t much that’s sadder
Than a promise undone
He stares at the bottle,
Longs for her arms
While demons and angels tear him apart

‘Old Weakness (Coming On Strong)’ is not the song of that title recorded by both Tanya Tucker and Patty Loveless, but an intensely sung ballad about struggling with the thought of encountering an old flame he’s not really over, written by Powell with Chapin Hartford. A cheery riposte to old friends comparing the fun of bachelor life to the protagonist’s newlywed happiness, ‘It Does Get Better Than This’ is unremarkable lyrically, but is lifted by the charming vocal and instrumental performance, and could be a hit today.

The love songs ‘I Was Meant To Be With You’ (co-written by Dubois and Powell with Debi Cochran and Diamond Rio’s lead singer Marty Roe) and Jimmy Olander’s ‘Nothing In This World’ (co-written with Eric Silver) are pleasant filler, performed exceptionally well. The upbeat title track (written by the band’s mandolin and occasional fiddle player Gene Johnson with Carl Jackson) is also fairly forgettable lyrically, but it has a great groove and lets the band show off their chops , closing the album on a high.

The record has been certified gold, so it did not sell quite as well as their debut. However, despite the band’s own misgivings about the quality of the material, I think it compares pretty well, and there are some outstanding moments. Cheap used copies are easy to find, and it is also available digitally.

Grade: A-

Classic Rewind: Barbara Mandrell – ‘Crackers’

Album Review: Scott Holstein – ‘Cold Coal Town’

The last musical recommendation I got from the late lamented 9513 was Scott Holstein, who Brody Vercher pointed out a few weeks ago. His independent CD Cold Coal Town has been produced by Scott himself alongside dobro player extraordinaire Randy Kohrs. Impressively, the entire album was recorded in one night (in Kohrs’ studio in Nashville), and great credit goes to the very accomplished band. Bluegrass backings and a soulful fusion of bluegrass-country-blues in Scott’s passionately smoky voice set this record apart. The songs, all written by Scott, are mainly rooted in his West Virginia coalmining family background, and the quality is exceptionally high.

‘The Spell’ opens the set with the protagonist railing against the woman he loves despite her “wicked ways”. It seems quite appropriate for it to lead into ‘Walls Of Stone’, the blues-infused lament of a prisoner sentenced to 99 years in gaol after killing his unfaithful wife. The sprightly instrumental ‘Leavin Charleston’ showcases the band’s tight, sparkling musicianship. Their more lyrical playing comes to the fore in another instrumental cut, the stately ’The Holstein Waltz’, which is lovely. Scott does not play an instrument on the album, but composed the tunes.

‘Boone County Blues’ is one of those cheerful sounding expressions of deep sadness which are common in bluegrass, again with really great picking. It is, perhaps, the least exceptional song here, but is still very good. The charming ‘Clinch Mountain Hills’ is a tribute to the Stanley brothers, written by Carter Stanley’s graveside and channelling his voice. Don Rigsby provides the high tenor harmony counterpoint to Scott’s gravelly baritone.

I don’t remember ever seeing a country song with a Latin title before. ‘Montani Semper Liberi’ is the official motto of Scott’s home state of West Virginia (meaning “mountaineers [are] always free”), and the song tells a dramatic story, with a young man choosing not to take sides in the Civil War, just as the state was formed in June 1863, declaring:

Mama stitched my uniform
But no colors do I choose
They’ll never take this mountain
The gray nor the blue

Cause mountaineers are always free
And almost heaven’s good enough for me
Upon this land I’ll state my creed
Mountaineers are always free

The grim reality of life in the coal towns fuels much of Scott’s best work. The title track has the protagonist leaving his childhood home for a better future, and reminiscing about the hardworking miner father who “left one day and came back dead”, having advised his son not to follow him into the mines. In ‘Roll, Coal, Roll’, meanwhile, the protagonist is a weary trucker moving coal down from the mountain mines.

The acappella Black Water quietly and compellingly tells the true story of a fatal flood caused by a coal company’s unsafe practices in the 70s, when several communities were destroyed and over 100 people were killed at Buffalo Creek, West Virginia by coal slurry after a dam broke. Perhaps the highlight of a very fine record, this sounds like a traditional folk song, and has Don Rigsby and Randy Kohrs on harmony:

Coal company said “God is to blame”
They built the dam “but He brought the rain”
Truth was known throughout the land
Never do trust a company man

Black water, black water
So black and so deep
And under black water forever I’ll sleep
Death angels are calling out to me
Black water is rolling down Buffalo Creek

Death was the scene even high in the tree
Fathers and children and mothers to be
Nowhere to run as black water comes down
And so is the lie of a coal mining town

A similar flood seen from the first person, this time caused by a coal company’s reckless clearance of tree cover on the mountain, sees locals seeking refuge, but there ‘Ain’t No Higher Ground’ to run to.

This is a fantastic record, and definitely my favourite of the year so far. I’ll be very surprised if it doesn’t make my end of year top 10.

Grade: A+

You can currently purchase the CD from Scott’s website, although I understand wider distribution is being sought.

Classic Rewind: Larry Cordle – ‘Mama Don’t Forget To Pray For Me’

The songwriter shares his version of the classic Diamond Rio hit single:

Happy Mothers’ Day.

Week ending 5/7/11: #1 singles this week in country music history

1951: The Rhumba Boogie — Hank Snow (RCA)

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

1971: Empty Arms — Sonny James (Capitol)

1981: Rest Your Love On Me — Conway Twitty (MCA)

1991: Rockin’ Years — Dolly Parton with Ricky Van Shelton (Columbia)

2001: Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You — Brooks & Dunn (Arista)

2011: Live A Little — Kenny Chesney (BNA)

Week ending 5/6/11: #1 albums this week in country music history

1966: Buck Owens – Roll Out The Red Carpet for Buck Owens and His Buckaroos (Capitol)

1971: Lynn Anderson – Rose Garden (Columbia)

1976: Wille Nelson – The Sound In Your Mind (Columbia)

1981: Willie Nelson – Somewhere Over The Rainbow (Columbia)

1986: Alabama – Greatest Hits (RCA)

1991: Garth Brooks – No Fences (Capitol)

1996: Brooks & Dunn – Borderline (Arista)

2001: Brooks & Dunn – Steers & Stripes (Arista)

2006: Rascal Flatts – Me and My Gang (Lyric Street)

2011: Alison Krauss & Union Station – Paper Airplane (Rounder)

Classic Rewind: Red Foley – ‘Tennessee Border’

A thank you note to The 9513

Sometime in the first half of 2008, I was browsing the web for country music news, and stumbled upon The 9513′s daily news roundups.  That first article I read wasn’t easy to track down, but I found it, remembering it having to do with CMT Can You Duet winners Caitlin & Will, because at the same time I was led to Country California and C.M. Wilcox’s (then using the pen name John Maglite) musings about the duo’s future at country radio with their similarities to Lady Antebellum. Right then, Country Universe was in the midst of their 100 Greatest Women countdown, so I had the good fortune of discovering 3 excellent country music-related sites in quick succession, all thanks to The 9513.

From the comments on articles and the forum discussions (remember the comment corral?), I got to know many great people, and after seeing the common ground some of us had, I had the brainstorm to create this humble blogsite, with contributors pulled directly from The 9513′s readership. We launched here in December 2008, with 3 writers. (Chris Dean has since departed to attend college, and is now a missionary in Italy. We wish him luck, and await his return.) From the same pool I plucked my first 2 fellow contributors later came this site’s greatest assets: Razor X and Occasional Hope.

So, thanks to The 9513, we were off and running. But their contributions to our success were far from finished. Brady and Brody Vercher’s daily news roundups sent many new readers our way, and I can’t thank them enough for loaning us an audience. It’s hard to put into words the feeling a green blogger like myself got when I saw my name and my words linked from their news roundups, the column that started it all for me. That first mention must be how country singers feel when they debut on the Grand Ole Opry. More than allowing us to spin-off and sending us readers, the excellent crop of talent at The 9513 influenced me to start on the path to the job I have today as a columnist for American Noise. With the likes of Jim Malec, Blake Boldt, Juli Thanki, Chris Neal, and so many others, setting a standard I could never reach. They continue to up the bar, and I keep trying to catch up.  I’m saddened to see the site retired, and the three of us here at My Kind of Country want to thank the Verchers for creating and maintaining the standard for country music websites, for countless hours of entertaining reads, and for being the stalk from which we sprouted.

- J.R. Journey

Like all its readers, I’ll miss reading The 9513 as part of my daily routine. The breadth of its coverage, from mainstream to bluegrass to Americana/alt-country, means it really did cover the whole of country music in a way no other site could really equal. More than that, though, I feel I can say it changed my life. I would never had begun blogging myself if I hadn’t found the 9513 in, I think, the spring or early summer of 2008. Before that, I felt pretty isolated as a country fan, because I knew hardly anyone in real life who shared my tastes in music at all. The 9513, and the associated forum that started in the summer of 2008, made me feel like part of a community, and that gave me the confidence to write about the music I love. And when I accepted J.R.’s invitation to join the team here, I was overwhelmed by the generosity of their links to many of our posts.

- Occasional Hope

I originally found The 9513 via a Google search, and it quickly became my favorite country music website. The quality of the writing was always superb, and I admired the fearless honesty that characterized their music reviews. More importantly, I forged a lot of new friendships with the people who frequented the site. I never imagined that it would lead to the opportunity to write for this blog. I greatly improved my knowledge of country music thanks to The 9513 and will miss it terribly. Its absence will create a void that will be impossible to fill, despite our best efforts to do so. So to Brady and Brody I offer a heartfelt thanks and my best wishes for your future endeavors.

- Razor X

Classic Rewind: Porter Wagoner and Merle Haggard – ‘I Haven’t Learned A Thing’

J.R. Journey’s American Noise excerpts #1

For the past 5 weeks, I’ve been lucky enough to get to share my thoughts on 10 of the latest country singles in my Weekly Country Songs Roundup column at American Noise.  I have to first say a very big thanks to Jim Malec for giving me the chance, and a first-rate venue, to review the newest releases to country radio.  This is the first in a bi-weekly installment where I’ll share few excerpts from the past few weeks, some of my critics picks.

Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter – “You and Tequila”

Listen here

Kenny Chesney and Vermont rocker Grace Potter offer my favorite Chesney single since “Better As a Memory” with this sparse and brooding number, written by Matraca Berg and Deana Carter. The two lament the liquor and the love that make them crazy on the song’s winning chorus, with Potter’s silky vocal being the perfect match for Chesney’s smooth crooning. The verses tell of the willingness of the narrator to self-destruct for one more night flying high, offering a bit of self-realization along the way (“It’s so easy to forget, the bitter taste the morning left”) as the acoustic rhythm guitar that makes up the bulk of the production plays on.

Grade: A

Zac Brown Band featuring Jimmy Buffett – “Knee Deep”   

Listen here

At this point in their ascension to country’s reigning supergroup, Zac Brown and Band have earned the right to show off their musical chops a bit, and even to flaunt their famous friends. From the snazzy opening to the solo verse performed by island king Jimmy Buffett, this reggae-infused number allows these six talented musicians some jam time on-stage, while the singer “searches for paradise.” There’s little else to the lyrics than that utopian pursuit, but it’s warm now, and with a melody like this nobody’s pondering the lyrics anyway.

Grade: B

Emmylou Harris – “The Road”

Listen here

Addressing the loss of Gram Parsons directly in song for the first time since the epic “Boulder to Birmingham,” Emmylou Harris’ self-penned “The Road” is more an open elegy to her late mentor than song of heartbreak. It’s swelling alt-country sound doesn’t lend itself to quiet contemplation as much as it marks a turning point when wounds begin to heal, and forging ahead is inevitable, even though you never forget. Harris’ emotive skills are on full-display here and she sounds utterly despondent at crucial moments, such as when she sings, “So I carried on, you can’t be haunted by the past/People come and people go and nothing ever lasts.” Still, she always brings the listener back to that place of peace she’s found.

Grade: A-

Martina McBride – “Teenage Daughters”

Listen here

Leading off an upcoming album for Republic Nashville, Martina McBride offers this tongue-in-cheek take on child-rearing, made all the more believable because we know Martina has teenage daughters of her own, but also because she has carefully cultivated an image of being a fellow soccer mom to her female listeners. Far from being just another tale of unconditional love between parent and child, “Daughters” focuses on the often funny, always chaotic period when teenagers begin to assert their independence by avoidance of their parents at all costs. As she sings of remembering when her daughter “used to think she was cool” and bemoans the current state of their relationship which has left her “tired,” “crazy,” and “in need of a drink,” McBride offers up her most restrained vocal in years. Chunky and scattered rhythms make the track melodically clunky, but that is salvaged by the smart message and a to-the-point vocal.

Grade: B+

Classic Rewind: The Judds- ‘Have Mercy’

Album Review: Diamond Rio – ‘Diamond Rio’

Diamond Rio’s eponymous debut album was released 20 years ago this month.  The disc catapulted the band to country stardom when their first single, the infectious “Meet In The Middle” became the first chart-topping debut by a group in the history of Country Singles chart.  Four more singles hit the top 10 and the album went on to sell more than a million copies.  It also introduced the melodic energetic sound of Diamond Rio, and showcased the band’s tight musicianship on record.

“Meet In The Middle” features Tim DuBois’ bouncy production in a lyric that simply celebrates compromise, and uses the sweet story of a boy and girl meeting halfway between their homes as the analogy of meeting halfway once again as a means to end their future squabbles.  Marty Roe’s solid vocal hits as hard as the snappy drums and Gene Johnson’s mandolin make for a great track, which sailed to #1 for 2 weeks.

Also making waves at radio was the bluesy “Mirror Mirror”, with its clever wicked queen hook it became the band’s second top 5.  Also hitting the top 5 is the blistering “Norma Jean Riley”, with its dry humor and talking instruments, it recalls the best of Alan Jackson’s similar witty tunes.  Sandwiched in between that pair at radio is the elegant “Mama Don’t Forget to Pray For Me”, which recounts a traveling musician calling home to talk to his folks.  It’s memorable melody and heartstring subject matter pushed it to #9 on the charts.

The final single – and my favorite track – is the smart and direct second person narrative “Nowhere Bound”.  This mid-tempo gem sounds like it would be at home in Mary Chapin Carpenter’s songbook, right down to its wry lyrics:

Where to now, do you know?
One thing’s for certain, gonna reap just what you sow
And all you planted was heartache and pain
Don’t look now, but it looks like rain

“Nowhere Bound” was written by co-producer Monty Powell and Jule Edders, and went to #7 on the singles chart in 1992.

Also notable are the tale of two top-notch musicians dueling for the title of “best around” in the fast-paced “Ballad of Billy and Conley (The Proof’s in the Pickin’)”, which allows the boys to show off their dexterity with their respective instruments, much like the closing instrumental track “Poultry Promenade”.  The driving “Pick Me Up” tells of a man who feels lower than bottom – “pick me up so I can fall again” – and is set to another infectious melody.

Produced by Tim DuBois and Monty Powell, Diamond Rio’s debut album served to not only kickstart the band’s hit-making career, it also served as the template that would come to characterize the band’s sound, with their own crack musicianship in the studio, tight harmonies, and breezy melodies.  Diamond Rio is a great showcase of ’90s country at its best.

Grade: A

Buy it from amazon.

Classic Rewind: Diamond Rio – ‘The Ballad Of Conley And Billy (The Proof Is In The Picking)’

Single Review: Terri Clark – ‘Northern Girl’

Country music has always been very closely associated with the American South, and we’ve become accustomed over the years to hearing our favorite singers pay tribute to their hometowns and states of origin, whether their homes be in Alabama, the Tennessee mountains, or the great state of Texas. As such, we sometimes lose sight of the fact that country music is enjoyed around the world, and it can be a bit of a jolt to hear about different locales and customs in songs such as Terri Clark’s latest offering, “Northern Girl” in which she jubilantly sings about driving on black ice, tunneling through snow and trying to survive the frigid Canadian winters. All in all, it’s a refreshing change from songs about tractors, the Georgia rain and steamy southern summer nights, and provides for Terri’s strongest single release in recent memory.

Although the opening electric guitar riffs and the percussion are a bit too loud for my liking, there is plenty of steel guitar throughout the track to compensate. The chorus is somewhat reminiscent to the song “Country Girl”, which was the theme song to Barbara Mandrell’s 1980-82 variety show. In a version included on her 1981 live album, Mandrell sang:

I’m a country girl from head to toe
Came a long way down that country road
I came to town to see the sights,
Big skyscrapers and neon lights
Now I can find my dreams around the world,
But I’ll always be a country girl.

Clark likewise sings:

I’m a northern girl, wild and free
I’ve got four strong winds to carry me
I’ve been east to west
And all around the world
But I’ll always be a northern girl

Similarities notwithstanding, “Northern Girl” is a nice change of pace from the usual fare and better than anything on Terri’s last album The Long Way Home. It’s off to a strong start in Terri’s homeland, debuting at #26 on the Canadian charts, but the Canadian references and lack of major label support in the US will probably doom the record to languish in obscurity south of the 49th Parallel. It is, however, available for download at both Amazon and iTunes, so American fans will be able to hear the song while waiting for Terri’s next album to be released.

Grade: B+

Classic Rewind: Alabama – ‘Mountain Music’

Single Review: Randy Houser – ‘In God’s Time’

I loved Randy Houser’s debut single, ‘Anything Goes’ in 2008, but was then disappointed by the remainder of the material on his album of the same title, and only partially won over by his follow-up. Now the lead single for his third album, due later this year on Show Dog-Universal, has succeeded in recapturing my interest in him as an artist.

He wrote the song with David Lee Murphy and Shane Minor, both one-time major label artists who, like Randy, faced frustration in their careers. This may have formed the common ground which led to this song. Togther, they came up with some thoughtful lyrics urging patience in the face of adversity. They may not be groundbreaking, but are nicely put together and offer a salutary rebuke to those expecting instant gratification in general, and instant answers to prayer:

Oh, but no one knows, not you or me
It might be tomorrow – or it might never be
Oh, but don’t lose faith
Put it in His hands
Cause it might be that He might have a bigger plan than you had in mind
Miracles happen – in God’s time

A quiet understated vocal allows the message of the song to take center stage. The subtle, acoustic production of the first verse swells to something a bit louder in later portions of the song, but it is not overwhelming and remains recognisably country, and allows Randy’s rich voice to shine as it has not done since ‘Anything Goes’. Regardless of its commercial prospects, I think it’s a good song and an excellent record.

Randy’s music has had a mixed reception at radio, with only the rowdy ‘Boots On’ making real inroads, and nothing from They Call Me Cadillac doing well. Religious songs aren’t for everyone, but they have often found a receptive home at country radio, particularly if they have a comforting message. This sincere and warmly sung example seems like a good bet for Randy to return to the airwaves. It’s also a promising sign for his new album, which I am now anticipating with interest.

Grade: A-

Listen here.

Classic Rewind: Forester Sisters – ‘Old Enough To Know’

Spotlight Artist: Diamond Rio

Diamond Rio’s run of platinum albums and chart-topping singles was a success story that almost ended before it started.  Tim DuBois acquired the group for the new Nashville division of Clive Davis’ Arista imprint in 1989, but various and serious accidents and health problems kept 3 of the band’s members out of the recording studio for nearly a year.  Then, in 1991, their first single made history by becoming the first ever debut single by a group to hit #1, and started the rise of one of the most successful groups in country music history.

The group’s traces its roots back to Opryland’s now-defunct theme park, following a meeting of lead singer Marty Roe and keyboard player Dan Truman.  The pair formed a bluegrass band, and as the lineup increased from 2 to 4 to 6, the name was shuffled from The Grizzly River Boys to Tennessee River Boys, and finally to the one that stuck, a misspelling of the Diamond-Reo truck manufacturer.

Bouncy rhythms and three-part harmonies characterized the band’s singles, but their generous use of mandolin and inclusion of bluegrass instrumentals on their albums reveal their more traditional leanings.  Between 1991 and 2002, they earned 16 top 10 country hits, including 5 #1′s, and notched 3 U.S. Top 40 hits.  More impressive is that every one of the band’s country albums has earned a gold or platinum certification, as did their 1997 Greatest Hits, for combined sales of over 12 million.  Diamond Rio was also named the CMA’s Vocal Group of the Year 4 times, and won the same prize from the Academy of Country Music

After parting with Arista in 2006, the guys signed with Nashville-based contemporary Christian label Word Records, and released their first gospel album in 2009.  The Reason went on to win 2 Dove Awards, and the band’s first Grammy.

Throughout the month of May, we’ll be revisiting the songs that made Diamond Rio the most popular group during country’s booming 90s, so be sure to stop back and reminisce with us.

Classic Rewind: Marty Robbins – ‘El Paso’