Posted on November 13, 2009 by Occasional Hope
We didn’t do too well with our predictions of this year’s CMA Award winners. In part, that’s probably because we gave the CMA way too much credit for artistic integrity. Next year, I’m going to take a look at the nominees and predict the very worst person in each category, and I suspect [...]
Filed under: Awards Discussions, Venting | Tagged: Brad Paisley, Brooks & Dunn, Carrie Underwood, Jamey Johnson, Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Zac Brown Band | 38 Comments »
Posted on November 11, 2009 by Occasional Hope
She didn’t link back to it for this recommendation, but Occasional Hope wrote an excellent editorial/review of this song back in February. It’s definitely worth revisiting.
- J.R
Filed under: Everything Else | Tagged: Trace Adkins | 2 Comments »
Posted on November 11, 2009 by Occasional Hope
Former Warner Brothers artist Anita Cochran achieved one #1 hit, ‘What If I Said’, in a duet with Steve Wariner, in 1997. None of her solo singles came anywhere near the top of the charts, and it’s not as if her label didn’t persevere – they released two albums and nine singles over a [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews | Tagged: Anita Cochran, Conway Twitty, Holly Dunn, Jenee Fleenor, Steve Wariner, Tammy Cochran, Terri Clark, Ty Herndon | 1 Comment »
Posted on November 10, 2009 by Occasional Hope
Brooks and Dunn’s third album was released in September 1994. Produced like the first two by Don Cook and Scott Hendricks. In theory, Kix and Ronnie had equal billing, each singing lead on five songs, but Ronnie’s lead vocals were showcased on four of the five singles. This may have been the [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews, Retro Reviews, Spotlight Artist | Tagged: Bill LaBounty, Brooks & Dunn, Chick Rains, Dean Dillon, Don Cook, George Strait, Janine Dunn, Kix Brooks, Michael Lunn, Michael Noble, Ronnie Dunn, Scott Hendricks | 1 Comment »
Posted on November 9, 2009 by Occasional Hope
Posted on November 9, 2009 by Occasional Hope
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 [...]
Filed under: Awards Discussions | Tagged: Billy Currington, Brad Paisley, Brooks & Dunn, Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, Jamey Johnson, Lady Antebellum, Paul Franklin, Randy Houser, Randy Travis, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Zac Brown Band | 17 Comments »
Posted on November 6, 2009 by Occasional Hope
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 [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews | Tagged: Audrey Williams, Hank Williams, Luke the Drifter, T Texas Tyler | 7 Comments »
Posted on November 4, 2009 by Occasional Hope
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 [...]
Filed under: Awards Discussions | Tagged: Brad Paisley, Brooks & Dunn, Carrie Underwood, George Strait, Jamey Johnson, Joey + Rory, Lady Antebellum, Lee Ann Womack, Miranda Lambert, Paul Franklin, Randy Travis, Reba McEntire, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Zac Brown Band | 14 Comments »
Posted on November 2, 2009 by Occasional Hope
70s star Mel Street with a top 10 hit which was later covered by George Strait.
Filed under: Classic Rewind | Tagged: George Strait, Mel Street | 1 Comment »
Posted on November 2, 2009 by Occasional Hope
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 [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews | Tagged: Aubrey Haynie, Ben Hayslip, Bill Anderson, Brent Rowan, Brock Stalvey, Buddy Cannon, Colt Ford, Dallas Davidson, Gary Burr, Hank Williams, Jamey Johnson, Jimmy Melton, Joe Nichols, Mac McAnally, Mark Nesler, Mark Wright, Marv Green, Michael Mobley, Neal Coty, Paul Overstreet, Rhett Akins, Rick Tiger, Shawn Camp, Tom Shapiro, Tony Martin, Victoria Shaw, Vince Gill | 8 Comments »
Posted on October 30, 2009 by Occasional Hope
Patty Loveless was dropped by Epic following disappointing sales and minimal airplay for her last album for the label, Dreamin’ My Dreams. She was in no hurry to make her next move, taking some time off the road to move down to Georgia, and dealing with family deaths and illness, but in 2008 she signed [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews, Spotlight Artist | Tagged: Carl and Pearl Butler, Carl Butler, Carl Smith, Carlene Carter, Conway Twitty, Dallas Frazier, Davis Sisters, Dickey Lee, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Emory Gordy Jr., Everly Brothers, Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, Gene Pitney, George Jones, Gram Parsons, Hank Locklin, Hank Williams, Jack Greene, Jedd Hughes, June Carter Cash, Linda Ronstadt, Osborne Brothers, Patsy Cline, Patty Loveless, Porter Wagoner, Ray Price, Skeeter Davis, Sydni Perry, The Judds, Vince Gill, Webb Pierce | 8 Comments »
Posted on October 27, 2009 by Occasional Hope
Tim McGraw has never impressed me as one of the great country voices, but where he frequently has impressed me is in his choice of interesting material, the kind of songs which are worth hearing in anyone’s hands. His tenth studio album is produced by the same production team of McGraw, Byron Gallimore and Darran [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews | Tagged: Aimee Mayo, Byron Gallimore, Casey Beathard, Chris Lindsey, Chris Stapleton, Darran Smith, David Nail, Jamie O'Hara, Joe Doyle, Joe Leathers, Josh Kear, Kenneth Wright, Kyle Jacobs, Lee Brice, Lee Thomas Miller, Marv Green, Pat Buchanan, The SteelDrivers, Tim McGraw, Tom Douglas, Troy Olsen, Warren Brothers | 13 Comments »
Posted on October 19, 2009 by Occasional Hope
Texan country singer Bobby Marquez’s debut album on independent label Grande Star is a good example of solid country music with a Texas feel, underpinned with generous helpings of fiddle and steel. Bobby has quite a light voice but a very listenable one, and he is a very promising songwriter, having contributed to half [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews | Tagged: Anita Cochran, Bobby Marquez, Buddy Owens, Curtis Wayne, Donna De Sopo, Gerald Smith, Jeremy Campbell, Karen Staley, Steve Frame, Terry Bell | 1 Comment »
Posted on October 13, 2009 by Occasional Hope
Living in England, I don’t often get the opportunity to see acts live. Although some artists who have had airplay here do tour (usually small) venues, it’s not often both someone I’m interested in is appearing at a venue that’s very convenient for me to get to. So it was exciting for me [...]
Filed under: Live Reviews | Tagged: Dan Raza, Don Walser, John Lennon, Karen Poston, Michael O'Connor, Rod Picott, Slaid Cleaves, The Beatles | 2 Comments »
Posted on October 12, 2009 by Occasional Hope
After the breakthrough of Honky Tonk Angel, it must have been very frustrating for both Patty Loveless and her label that her career seemed to have plateaued. The next two albums, 1990’s On Down The Line and 1991’s Up Against My Heart, did not sell as well, and although her singles were still charting, [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews, Retro Reviews, Spotlight Artist | Tagged: Alison Krauss, Burton Banks Collins, Carl Jackson, David Wills, Don Pfrimmer, Emory Gordy Jr., George Teren, Harlan Howard, Jerry Salley, Jim McBride, John Scott Sherrill, Karen Taylor-Good, Kostas, Mary Ann Kennedy, Pam Rose, Patty Loveless, Randy Sharp | 5 Comments »
Posted on October 9, 2009 by Occasional Hope
Patty Loveless’ third album, released in 1988, marked her real commercial breakthrough. It was her first gold-seller (and eventually reached platinum status), and it also built on her growing success on country radio. No less than five of the ten tracks were released as singles – an unusually high number at the time. [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews, Retro Reviews, Spotlight Artist | Tagged: Bryan MacLean, Carter Stanley, Claire Lynch, Emory Gordy Jr., Hank DeVito, Kitty Wells, Kostas, Lone Justice, Maria McKee, Patty Loveless, Paul Kennerley, Rodney Crowell, Roger Murrah, Stanley Brothers, Tony Brown, Vince Gill | 9 Comments »
Posted on October 8, 2009 by Occasional Hope
Ron Williams, son of the often underrated Leona Williams and one-time stepson of Merle Haggard, has a nice voice with a warm tone and soft timbre which is very pleasing. His third album, produced by Eddie Kilroy, on Ah-Ha Music Group, is solidly country, with some lovely fiddle from Rob Hajacos, and 80s star [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews | Tagged: Alabama, Becky Hobbs, Bill Anderson, Dave Lindsey, Dene Anton, Don Cook, Duane Sciacqua, Eddie Kilroy, George Jones, Harley Allen, Jake Owen, Janie Fricke, Jim Collins, John Wayne Wiggins, Kim Williams, Larry Shell, Leona Williams, Matt Jenkins, Merle Haggard, Ricky Van Shelton, Rob Hajacos, Ron Williams, Warren Robb | 1 Comment »
Posted on October 6, 2009 by Occasional Hope
Crystal Sands’ debut album last year was one of my favorite recent discoveries. The young Baltimore-born singer has a charming voice and her first album, produced by Wood Newton, consisted of a fine set of songs, and was thoroughly country to boot.
Her follow-up (on the same Texas indie label Ah-Ha Music Group) is not [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews | Tagged: Chris Young, Crystal Sands, Gary Leach, Greg Hunt, Wood Newton | Leave a Comment »
Posted on October 3, 2009 by Occasional Hope
The latest news is that Caitlin & Will, winners of the first season of Can You Duet, appear to have been dropped by their record label, Columbia (along with Keith Anderson).
What went wrong? The label certainly doesn’t seem to have known what to do with the duo, whose excellent single ‘Even Now’ [...]
Filed under: Discussions, News | Tagged: Caitlin & Will, Keith Anderson, Steel Magnolia | 9 Comments »
Posted on October 2, 2009 by Occasional Hope
Billy Yates managed just one top 40 hit with ‘Flowers’ back in 1997, but since losing his major label deal he has released a string of records on his own MOD label, as well as forging a successful songwriting career.
Billy’s music is firmly rooted in mainstream traditional country. His voice is not exceptional, but [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews | Tagged: Bart Butler, Billy Ryan, Billy Yates, Buddy Cannon, Carson Chamberlain, Gene Watson, George Jones, Irene Kelley, Jason Allen, Jeff Stevens, John Raney, Leslie Satcher, Nicole Broussard, Roy Acuff, Sunny Sweeney, Tammy Cochran, Webb Pierce | 4 Comments »