Album Review: Aaron Tippin – ‘Read Between The Lines’

By 1992 Aaron Tippin was well on his way to becoming a one-hit wonder when his second and third singles tanked at country radio. On the surface, he seemed to have a lot of things working against him: he was slightly older than most new artists and had more twang in his voice than was generally considered commercially viable, even in those days. He also lacked the chiseled good looks that were important in a genre that was becoming increasingly image conscious.

Tippin’s commercial fortunes changed with a song about a car that, with the notable exception of its entertainment system, was a pile of junk. The catchy “There Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong With The Radio”, which he co-wrote with Buddy Brock, was tailor-made for radio and quickly shot to #1, becoming his first chart-topper. It was released one month in advance of his sophomore album, Read Between The Lines, which like its predecessor, was produced by Emory Gordy, Jr. He followed this success with “I Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way”, which could have been titled “You’ve Got To Stand For Something Redux”. It’s a decent but not terribly original, as it is sonically and lyrically very similar to his first hit. Nevertheless, it reached the Top 5.

Aaron stumbled a bit with the album’s third single, “I Was Born With A Broken Heart”. It only reached #38, though it outperformed Josh Logan’s original 1989 version. Like all of the songs on Read Between The Lines, “Broken Heart” is a Tippin co-write. I consider it to be the weakest of the album’s four singles. “My Blue Angel”, though a bit shallow lyrically, was more radio friendly and returned Tippin to the Top 10. It’s less traditional than the rest of the album, but with a voice like Aaron Tippin’s pretty much anything sounds country.

RCA missed an opportunity by not releasing as a single the ballad “If I Had It To Do Over”, which is my favorite track on the album. I also quite like the upbeat honky-tonker “I Miss Misbehavin’”, a co-write with Charlie Craig and Mark Collie in which Tippin takes a nostalgic look back at his younger hell-raising days.

I have to admit that I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to Aaron Tippin during his commercial heyday. I enjoyed most of his radio hits but not enough to make we want to buy any of his albums. Listening to the entire album for the first time more than twenty years after its release, I realize how easy it was in the 90s to take for granted an album like this, which may not have been one of favorites at the time, but would be extremely welcome if released today.

Grade: A-

Singles Round-Up: Pistol Annies, Little Big Town, and Carrie Underwood

Pistol Annies – “Hush, Hush”

 If “Hush, Hush” proves anything, it’s that the Pistol Annies sure know how to cultivate a brand. They’re hell bent on taking the redneck woman from deep in the holler thing as far as it’ll take them, whether it means they take risks thematically or not.

The finished product is good, but the slightly too loud electric guitar compromises the vocals a little too much. Angaleena Presley’s voice is a little thin for this type of thick production while Miranda Lambert sounds as though she’s on twang overdrive; almost overcompensating to prove she’s still a country girl. Only Ashley Monroe sounds perfectly comfortable here and she proves it with a confident vocal that makes Presley and Lambert sound amateurish.

Hell on Heels is going to be a tough act to follow. They may be up to the challenge, but “Hush, Hush” needed a bit more polish before it was ready for release. I’m digging the overall feel of the track but the story seems predictable from them. They’ve set the bar impossibly high, and while they almost reach it, they never quite get there all the way.

Grade: B

Little Big Town – “Your Side of the Bed”

Let’s get it out of the way. “Your Side of the Bed” is a direct rip-off of Gretchen Wilson’s “The Bed” from Here For The Party. Wilson’s song wasn’t a single, but the similarities between the songs are hard to ignore – both songs cover the same ground almost identically.

Little Big Town has turned the concept into a duet between married band members Karen Fairchild (once again singing lead on a LBT single) and Jimi Westbrook. Trading off the verses, they exude the right amount of desperation to make the story work. Jay Joyce also helps by framing them in a hauntingly understated 1970s soft rock tinged production that works nicely in their favor. The track is gorgeous, and the most sonically interesting mainstream single since Zac Brown Band’s “Goodbye In Your Eyes.”

I’m just having a trouble with the seemingly obligatory choral harmonies. They delude the pain Fairchild and Westbrook bring to the song by overcrowding the moments of greatest emotional impact with third parties not connected with the verses. A bit less vocal clutter, and this could’ve been one of the year’s best singles – a direct rip-off or not.

Grade: B+ 

Carrie Underwood – “See You Again”

At first glance there’s nothing wrong with this song at all. “See You Again” has an engaging melody, the strong type of vocal performance that Underwood excels at, and the track is a quintessential earworm, listen a few times, and you’ll be singing it all day.

So where’s the problem? Well, for starters, “See You Again” is classic power pop and bares no resemblance to country music whatsoever. That doesn’t help matters any as the choruses have been reduced to a muffled and bombastic mess that leaves Underwood no choice but to screech her way to next verse and bridge. This was the point in the Blown Away album cycle to change it up, with a “Do You Think About Me” for instance, opposed to sticking with more of the same. Safe filler like this doesn’t do a career any justice in the long term.

At least we’ve been spared “Cupid’s Got A Shotgun,” “One Way Ticket” or “Nobody Ever Told You” getting released. It isn’t saying much, but at least there’s that.

Grade: B-

Single Review – The Band Perry – ‘Done.’

I’ve had Kathy Mattea on the brain lately, thanks in no small part to the life enriching experience I had seeing her live for the first time in late February. I came away stunned by her intellect and grace, but more importantly, her ability to pick songs that have an indelible magic. Her material is ageless and sounds just as good coming from a 53 year old as it did all those years ago when she was in her 20s and 30s.

The power of a great song is lost on much of mainstream country music today but judging from their 2010 eponymous album, I always thought The Band Perry had ‘it.’ I’ve loved all their singles (expect “Hip To my Heart”) to date, and they’ve truly been one of the bright spots on country radio in the past three years.

But there’s something way off about ‘Done,’ the second preview of their soon to be released (April 2) sophomore record Pioneer. What’s allowed them to stand out is an innate ability at mixing a sweet likability with a dark edge. Take that away, and they’re just another mainstream act vying for the attention of fans

At the simplest level, “Done” is so sloppily constructed, it’s beneath a band with this much talent. What struck me first was how juvenile the lyrics were, especially the chorus:

Mama always told me that I should play nice

She didn’t know you when she gave me that advice

I’m through, with you

You’re one page I’d like to burn

Bottle up the ashes, smash the urn

I’m through with you, la ti da

I don’t wanna be your just for fun

Don’t wanna be under your thumb

All I wanna be is…done

Seriously? They couldn’t even find at least one ear catching phrase to make their point? Lines like ‘I don’t wanna be your just for fun’ or ‘I’m through, with you’ are so childish, it’s almost embarrassing. The verses aren’t much better, oozing with the maturity level of a thirteen-year-old girl breaking up with her first love (“It’s gonna hit you hard Til You see stars” and “You play with dynamite don’t be surprised when I blow up in your face”). “Done” is like the reject song Taylor Swift left off her first album, the one that made “Picture To Burn” seem like such a good idea at the time.

I can forgive bad songwriting if I enjoy the track’s production (can’t “Done” just sound even a little country?), a case evident with TBP’s “You Lie,” which was actually clever. But the breakneck speed of “Done” makes the intent feel disingenuous, almost exacerbating the song’s lyrical problems. I give Kimberly credit for putting her sass into overdrive (and her vocal is strong as usual), but this feels like a comedy show, not a biting revenge anthem towards a dead-end boyfriend.

They need to do way better than this if they want to have a catalog of hits worthy of being sung thirty years from now.

Grade: C

Songwriters: Reid Perry, Neil Perry, John Davidson, Jacob Bryant

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Single Review – Jana Kramer – ‘Whiskey’

It was surprising last year when actress turned country singer Jana Kramer broke through the three-woman world of country radio and managed to score the top 5 hit “Why Ya Wanna.” But it was almost shocking that the song was a fiddle, steel guitar, and twang soaked waltz. This almost revelatory move, she’s the first woman since Taylor Swift to see their debut single chart so high, has come with its share of perks – Kramer is one of 10 artists in CMT’s Next Women of Country Campaign and the ACM just nominated her for Top New Female Vocalist.

In similar fashion to “Why Ya Wanna,” a lament about an always-present ex, follow-up single “Whiskey” casts Kramer as a woman being played, this time by a man as addicting and tantalizing as the titular alcoholic drink. Writers Catt Gravitt and Sam Mizell get every detail right, allowing the listener to feel the protagonist’s catch 22; he’s pulling her in even as she sees all the signs to run in the opposite direction.

While it’s nowhere near the league of “Well the cold hard truth revealed what it had known/that boy was just a walkaway Joe” or “I know you don’t think I should go/there’s some things a mama don’t know,” “Whiskey” is a strong defiant woman song and Kramer sings the fire out of it. Her phrasing may be a tad girlish in places (not unlike Jewel at times), but she has a powerful voice and the twang to covey her character’s heartache.

The production is the track’s real achievement, though. Besides Zac Brown Band, there hasn’t been this much audible fiddle and acoustic guitar on a mainstream single in a long time, and she and producer Scott Hendricks deserve credit for not marring the track with any electric guitars or loud crashing drums. I do wish he’d gone further into neo-traditional territory, leaving out the poppish ‘ooohs’ in the intro and adding in steel guitar, but you can’t fault him for slicking it up just enough to get it airplay. In any event, “Whiskey” is allowed to properly breathe, and it’s a refreshing change of pace from the normal mainstream fare (especially that of her fiancé Brantley Gilbert)

I also can’t help feeling that the lyric is a tad lightweight, centering on the sparks felt during a kiss and leaving out any substantial Gretchen Peters-like details of the damage to her psyche as the disintegration of the relationship brings the song to an end. The writers may’ve gotten the push and pull down, but it would’ve been nice to have a few details (more significant than what we get in the bridge) of her condition in the wake of her intuition being proven right.

But the charming production more than makes up for any lyrical deficiencies, easily elevating “Whiskey” into one of the year’s more interesting singles (and my personal favorite from her debut album). It’s a nice slice of addictive ear candy and another winner from a very promising talent.

Grade: B+

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Single Review: Easton Corbin – ‘All Over The Road’

The second single (and title track) from Easton Corbin’s second album is a likeable enough love song. The attractive melody, Carson Chamberlain’s production and Easton’s smooth vocal are all very pleasing, and those alone set it above the mass of songs out there.

But when you listen closely, the lyrics are frankly problematic. The single portrays a man pulled over for dangerous driving thanks to the proximity of his sweetheart. Taken metaphorically, the emotion is quite sweet; but one can hardly take it seriously read literally. The feeble defence of the protagonist that he “don’t want to cause no wreck” are unbelievable; the disclaimer that he isn’t actually drunk is disingenuous. The girl is supposedly all over him while he’s trying to drive, and they’ll be “all over the road” in a literal sense if they’re not careful. You can’t really dismiss this level of irresponsibility as just a fun song. It was written by producer Carson Chamberlain with Ashley Gorley and Wade Kirby.

It does gain points for the sound, which is a nice balance of radio-friendly polish with genuinely country instrumentation, the melody and vocal, but they aren’t enough to make up for the folly of the lyrics. If the track is relegated to background music it’s nice enough, but one of the strengths of country music is that it takes real life seriously. The lyrics of a song almost always matter.

This is one of the (too many) tracks Jonathan Pappalardo dismissed as “lightweight filler” in his review of the album, and it’s hard to disagree. As one of the few traditionally-disposed artists currently welcome on country radio airwaves, and offering some hope for the future of the genre, it’s a real shame Easton Corbin isn’t finding more interesting material. But perhaps that’s what it takes these days, when artists like George Strait and Alan Jackson, who are clearly inspirations to Easton, have seen songs with real substance cast aside by radio.

Grade: C+

Single Review: Charlie Worsham – ‘Could It Be’

The latest newcomer to hit country radio looks like Warner Brothers’ Charlie Worsham, and this single is a very promising start for him. The Mississippi-born multi-instrumentalist made his Opry aged 12 as a child prodigy banjo player, but is now forging out on his own as a mainstream country artist.

Worsham has a light but attractive tenor voice with a slight plaintive feel. His voice is pleasant rather than really distinctive, but it works well on this track, particularly when he is backed u on the chorus by strong harmonies. The multi-tracked first line in particular gives the track a bright opening which grab the audience’s attention and sets out the positive mood (after an adventurous but slightly odd instrumental opening).

The song is contemporary country with a fairly organic production, striking a balance which should appeal to fans of acts like The Band Perry and Edens Edge. The tune is catchy and suits the lyrics’ hopeful approach. The end result is fresh and new while still being recognizably country.

He wrote the well-constructed and tuneful song himself with Marty Dodson and Ryan Tyndell. It presents a bright optimistic sunny look at the possibilities of a new love interest. An evening’s drinking with a friend leads to a change in their relationship:

Who knows, we might go down in flames
Then again I might just change your name
Could it be I’m finally holding what I’ve been hoping for
Could it be the end of “just friends”
The start of something more?
Oh, the way I’m feeling now
It’s worth sticking around to see
Is this love, or could it be?

I was quite encouraged by this debut single and am interested in hearing more from this young artist.

Grade: B

Listen here.

Single Review: Darius Rucker – ‘Wagon Wheel’

Although when he first announced his move into country music, Darius Rucker spoke enthusiastically about his love of tradition, his label persuaded him to play it safe and record a preponderance of happy domestic numbers with polished production. For a while that worked for the artist, who has become the first African American to achieve mainstream commercial success in country music in years. However in recent months the increasing saminess of his material seems to have come home to roost, with the title track to his upcoming third country album, True Believers not making it very far into the top 20 on the country radio chart, and the album’s release date deferred.

In what may be a make-or-break moment for his career, Darius’s newest single is a song which while not traditional country in it the purest sense, is a lot more rootsy and organic sounding – and much better – than anything he has sent to radio so far. It is a song which will be familiar to many country fans, although it has not previously been a chart hit on country radio

The song in its current form was expanded on a chorus and melody by folk legend Bob Dylan, with story verses added by Ketch Secor of the modern old-time string band Old Crow Medicine Show. Old Crow Medicine Show were the first to record the song in its current form, around a decade ago, and that version was recently certified gold, reflecting slow but steady sales. It was covered a few years later in a slightly more polished style by Jeremy McComb, a talented independent artist who has not quite managed to break through despite getting pretty close to the top 40 with his 2008 single ‘Cold’.

Darius Rucker’s version features Lady Antebellum, an unexpected choice as their own music is so often bland, but while their voices are not particularly identifiable here, they make decent background singers. The arrangement is broadly similar to both previous versions, if a little slicker and more radio friendly, with prominent fiddle, banjo and mandolin making this one of the most country sounding records on today’s country radio. The singalong melody is a natural crowd pleaser, and the breezy feel is very attractive and should appeal to radio programmers who like the Zac Brown Band’s music. Fans of the original may feel, justifiably, that Darius brings little new to the song, but on its own merits, this is an enjoyable recording.

The world weary story of a man travelling south through the US to get to his sweetheart suit Rucker’s gravelly voice very well, and he tackles it with commitment and credibility, with his dreams of seeing his beloved giving it a sunny, optimistic feel. I feel I’ve always wanted to like Darius Rucker’s records more than I actually have, but this track has a lot more life than any of Rucker’s previous singles. I really like this single, and hope it does well for him.

But after his last two singles faltered on the charts, this could be a crucial point in his career.

Grade: B+

Single Review – Blake Shelton – ‘Sure Be Cool If You Did’

One of the strongest voices in current mainstream country, Blake Shelton used to be a standout, counted on for some fantastic song choices from the witty and sad, to the romantic and gothic. There was a time, not too long ago, when he actually cared about the quality of what he released to country radio.

Lately he’s been releasing some of the genre’s most mediocre material, elevator music that would put even the elevator to sleep. Ever since he went big, and morphed into the terrific television personality NBC counts on for through-the-roof ratings, he’s stopped caring to put substantial effort into his music career.

“It’d Sure Be Cool If You Did” is the musical equivalent of the marathon runner struggling to finish those last couple miles up hill – you’re out of breath, can’t wait for it to end, and your heart just isn’t in it anymore. There is nothing about this song that screams superstar, nothing to justify his CMA Entertainer of the Year win, nothing to prove he’s earned his spot judging a premier talent competition. There isn’t even anything about the track that’s even remotely country. Except for his usually strong, twang filled vocal. At the very least, he does sing it well. Thankfully, there’s that.

Grade: C-

Listen here.

Single Review: LeAnn Rimes – ‘Borrowed’

Whereas many female artists in her situation would have chosen to ignore the elephant in the room, LeAnn Rimes has tackled the subject of her own infidelity head on with her latest single release. ‘Borrowed’, which was written by Rimes along with Darrell Brown and David Baerwald, is the advance single from her upcoming album Spitfire, which is slated to be released in the spring. It’s a bold move, and one potentially fraught with peril, as country radio and its audience may very well view the record as an attempt to capitalize on her recent tabloid notoriety.

‘Borrowed’ is sung from the point of the view of an unrepentant other woman, who knows her lover doesn’t belong to her, but she doesn’t want to give him back. Putting LeAnn’s personal conduct aside, and judging the song on its own merits, ‘Borrowed’ is the best single that she’s released in years. It’s a much more understated performance than we’re used to hearing from her, with an acoustic guitar and a gentle steel guitar providing the main instrumentation. There is the usual problem of LeAnn’s inability to clearly enunciate her words, but aside from that there’s little here that I can find fault with.

It remains to be seen if country radio will forgive Rimes for her transgressions, but even if they do, ‘Borrowed’ faces an uphill climb, as a quiet ballad sung by a female in atmosphere that prefers loud, redneck anthems sung by men. Another artist without LeAnn’s personal baggage might stand a better chance, but I suspect that there will be a backlash against this song, which is a shame because it’s the first thing that Rimes has done in quite some time that is even remotely interesting.

Listen to it here.

Grade: B+

Single Review: Miranda Lambert – ‘Mama’s Broken Heart’

“Mama’s Broken Heart” was written by some of my favorite songwriters currently working in Nashville. Shane McAnally and Brandy Clark have co-written a handful of my personal favorites in the past few years – LeAnn Rimes’ “Crazy Women”, Reba McEntire’s “Cry”, The Band Perry’s “Better Dig Two” – and the song’s third co-writer Kasey Musgraves is currently on the charts with one of the best country singles in the last ten years. When you figure in the reigning three-time CMA Female Vocalist of the Year Miranda Lambert singing their words, this single is off to a running start with a considerable pedigree. And it almost lives up to all that promise.

Synthetic rhythms and sliding guitar licks frame Lambert as she sings the cheeky verses  - “Word got around to the barflies and the baptists/My mama’s phone started ringin’ off the hook” – that tell of a girl wearing her heartbreak on her sleeve and reacting to it with less than the southern gentility with which she was raised.  It’s off to a good start. But wait for the Wall of Miranda Lambert Sound to blight an otherwise flawless record. The song’s plot is salvaged because the verses are kept to a bare-beat minimum, allowing the quick-on-the-trigger lyric the first draw. Too bad the chorus is beat and whipped until any remnants of what was probably a sweet little melody are long gone.

Production missteps aside, “Mama” will inject a much-needed bit of sinister excitement to country radio’s drab playlists. This is a good thing.

Grade: B

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Jonathan Pappalardo’s Top Songs of 2012

Unlike the experimental nature of my top albums of 2012, this list of singles reflects my nineties country upbringing to the umpteenth degree – I gravitate towards songs that are sincere, understated, and most importantly, unmistakably country. They might not have been huge hits, but that hardly matters anymore. For an even stronger reflection of my tastes, check out my year-end top 40 singles (on my blog) throughout the month.

Chick on the links to hear the songs.

10. Brandi Carlile – ‘Keep Your Heart Young’

In our increasingly adolescent leaning world, it’s easy to forget there is a correct way to keep our childhood innocence – keep our hearts young, before we get too old, before our time is done.

But the most ironic thing about this Bear Creek single is how well she “sells” country music. Carlile gave up her self-penned “Same Old You” to Miranda Lambert on the grounds she couldn’t sell it herself. Turns out Carlile can be quite the convincing country singer when she wants to be.

9. Eric Church – ‘Springsteen’

A long ago romance between a guy, his girl, and the all-American anthem bounding them for life. Oh, the joys of being 17. Here’s where Church went from wannabe to superstar, consistent hit maker to heavy hitter. His artistic triumph is easily one of the most satisfying singles of the year.

8. Zac Brown Band – ‘The Wind’

By evoking the effortless bluegrass meets country fusion that catapulted Ricky Skaggs to superstardom in the 1980s, Zac Brown Band have recorded their greatest artistic achievement to date. The classic rip-roaring lead guitar and flourishing bursts of fiddle help it sound iconic and vintage yet modern and fresh without risking radio expulsion. One of the best country singles of 2012 is also one of the best country singles to come along in years.

7. Julie Roberts – ‘Whiskey and You’

A classic drinking song infused with Roberts’ stunning alcohol soaked vocal, she’s forced to admit her stark reality – quitting the whiskey is the easy part. It’s the man, whom she knows isn’t good for her, who is the real addiction.

6. George Strait – ‘Drinkin’ Man’

Much like Collin Raye’s “Little Rock,” “Drinkin’ Man” is a tale of a life gripped by the bottle – in all its bleak, honest, and raw glory. Strait has crafted one of his finest singles to date by capturing the full essence of this man, worts and all. Sometimes its easier to admit defeat than be bound by the expectation of having to be perfect.

5. Chris Young – ‘Neon’

It’s so not the 1990s anymore. Twenty years ago this neo-traditional gem would’ve been the CMA Single of the Year, a #1 hit single, and on its way to classic status. Young is exceptional on this timeless tale of a man drowning his sorrows in a barroom, underneath the neon lights he now calls home.

4. Don Williams featuring Alison Krauss – ‘I Just Come Here For The Music’ 

Quiet and understated, “I Just Come Here For The Music” is the rare breed that doesn’t come along much anymore, the story song with a heart and soul. He’s itching to buy this woman that crucial next drink, the beginning of mending his broken heart. She says no, not realizing he’s just here for the music (and her company) not a relationship.

3. Joey + Rory – ‘Josephine’ 

A heartbreaking Civil War-themed ballad, it’s the true story of a soldier and the woman named Josephine he left at home. Rory Feek, ever the history junkie, composed the lyrics from letters he found at the local historical society. Set behind a rocking mandolin-soaked production, Feek paints the picture in stunning fashion placing the listener deep within the action, feeling every turn of the plot, wincing at the twist in the final verse.

2. Alan Jackson – ‘So You Don’t Have To Love Me Anymore’ 

It’s been too easy to cast Alan Jackson off as a has-been in last few years, thanks to one mediocre single after another. But he came roaring back to life with this timeless ballad, a near brilliant reflection of a man taking the fall in order for the woman to move on. “So You Don’t Have To Love Me Anymore” is his finest single in over ten years and likely one of the best he’s ever recorded.

1. Joey + Rory – ‘When I’m Gone’ 

A dear friend of the duo, Sally Emory Lawrence wrote “When I’m Gone” following the passing of her mother, and these are the words she’d wished her mother had said to her in the days and weeks prior. Now it’s the message she’s passing on to her husband and son.

In the hands of a lesser vocalist, “When I’m Gone” could easily become an overwrought sentimental confection, but in the gentle hands of Joey Martin Feek it becomes the poignant masterpiece Lawrence envisioned when she wrote it. Feek’s tender yet authoritative vocal hits every nuance of the lyric perfectly, moving seamlessly from near whisper to resounding boom with natural ease.

Like Joey + Rory themselves, “When I’m Gone” seems pulled from a bygone era when the likes of “Where’ve You Been” and “How Can I Help You Say Goodbye” were as commonplace on radio playlists as the latest hit from Garth Brooks or Shania Twain. This type of song, one that hits the heart of human emotion, isn’t found much anymore, and when it is, a weak lyric or bombastic arrangement usually stands in the way of any emotional resonance.

The brutally shortened and ruthlessly competitive playlists of country radio won’t (and didn’t) make room for this, and to deny a song this good the chance at maximum exposure is a tragedy in and of itself, but that doesn’t lessen its power or grace. Joey + Rory’s recording of “When I’m Gone” is the greatest you’re likely to hear all year, and easily one of the outstanding achievements for country music in this century, let alone this decade.

Single Review: Martin Ramey – ‘I Want You To Want Me’

Eighteen months after the release of Brad Martin and John Ramey’s debut single together, ‘Twisted’ (one of my favorites of 2010), Curb has finally got around to a successor. The song is a cover of a rock hit, Cheap Trick’s ‘I Want You To Want Me’. I was initially anxious about this choice, but the duo do a fine job transforming it into a country ballad. It is significantly slowed down from the original, allowing the melody to shine and sound almost soothing, and the lyrics to take center stage.

A touching reading really brings out the emotion of the lyrics. There is a palpable longing in Brad Martin’s tender lead vocal supported by a close harmony from singing partner John Ramey make this a real pleasure to hear. A sensitive, low-key production by veteran Jim Ed Norman is perfect, allowing the duo’s intertwined voices to shine. This is one of the most effective reworkings of a pop/rock song into a country one I’ve ever heard, and I’m getting very impressed with the act in general. Their incredibly tight harmonies are what really set them apart, and I want to hear more. I hope the album they’re working on with Norman will make its way out of the Curb vaults before too much longer.

The single is downloadable from iTunes and other digital sources now, with a radio push to follow soon.

Grade: A-

Listen on Spotify.

Buy the single at amazon.

New singles roundup: McGraw, Band Perry, Strait

Tim McGraw – ‘One Of Those Nights’     Listen

Two singles (not counting his grotesque 2011 holiday single “Christmas All Over The World”) into his first post-Curb career resurrection project, Tim McGraw is proving extremely frustrating. I firmly wrote him off as a has-been after he crammed that “Truck Yeah” garbage down our throats, and vowed never to give him my attention again. But with “One Of Those Nights,” he has returned to the artist he used to be, the hit maker I grew up listening to all those years ago.

It’s almost revelatory to hear a McGraw single these days with a straightforward unprocessed vocal, simple melody, and somewhat interesting story. I only wish the proceedings weren’t so bland, with McGraw coming off sounding pedestrian. He needs far stronger lyrical content coupled with something fresh and exciting in the arrangement if he wants to redeem himself for the poor song choices he’s made in the past six or so years. “One of Those Nights” puts him firmly on the right path, but he still has a long way to go before I can really get excited about his music again.

Grade: B -

The Band Perry – ‘Better Dig Two’    Listen 

The first taste of their highly anticipated Rick Rubin-helmed sophomore project, “Better Dig Two” is signature Band Perry – effortlessly idiosyncratic with an ear-catching melody and a strong attention-grabbing story. Kimberly gives her usually commanding lead vocal, and Neil’s opening banjo licks sound like homage to Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson as much as Home-era Dixie Chicks.

So why am I not liking this as much as I should? Well, something about it feels slightly off. The banging drums throw off the organic vibe of the track and seem like an excuse to make the proceedings loud in places to fit within the constraints of country radio. And the repeating of the opening line at the end feels like an afterthought. But that being said, “Better Dig Two” is still the best mainstream country single released this fall, proving once again that The Band Perry are scary good.

Grade: B+

George Strait – Give It All We Got     Listen

At 60 George Strait is releasing the best music of his career, proving what a little bit of reinvention can do to keep country radio within grasp without slickening up the production to fit in with the Jason Aldeans of the world. But more than that he’s accomplished the near impossible by delivering a love song about bedding a woman all the while keeping the track completely age appropriate. It’s a remarkable feat and he should be rewarded for adequately pulling it off.

“Give It All We Got” is the forward thinking tour de force “Run” was ten years ago and it shakes up his traditional leaning formula just enough (I love the echoing technique in the chorus) to keep him modern and relevant in all the right ways.

Grade: A+

Single Review: Gary Allan – ‘Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain)’

After nearly two years of inactivity following a shake-up at UMG Nashville, Gary Allan’s label home, the singer has finally returned with new music. “Every Storm” is the lead single from a new album titled Set You Free due early next year.  Early in his career, Allan fashioned himself as country music’s resident dark horse, singing songs of the underdog with a delivery that is equal parts been-there conviction and gravelly determination.  That formula translated to magic with songs like “Smoke Rings In The Dark” and “Life Ain’t Always Beautiful”. But can it also sell a light at the end of the tunnel message? Apparently so.

There’s a low-key organ framing the first verse for the obligatory melancholy in a Gary Allan single which gives way to a chorus of inspirational messages. Fortunately, the song latches onto its groove with a steady back beat in the second verse.  Likewise, the female backing vocals remind me of Levon Helm’s contribution to Martina McBride’s “Cry On The Shoulder Of The Road”, adding a weathered texture to Allan’s somewhat lifeless delivery.

Grade: B+

Songwriters: Gary Allan, Hillary Lindsey, Matt Warren

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Single Review – Kenny Chesney – ‘El Cerrito Place’

There’ve essentially been two Kenny Chesneys of late – the artistic mastermind (“You and Tequila,” “Somewhere With You”) and the commercial lightweight (“Live A Little,” “Feel Like A Rock Star”) with each coexisting somewhat seamlessly amongst each other. After three singles categorized as lightweight, it was time for his artistic side to rear its head. But when I heard said single was Keith Gattis’ “El Cerrito Place” I was nervous.

I’ve been a big fan of Charlie Robison’s 2004 reading, with Natalie Maines providing gorgeous backing vocals. Their voices melt together like a pure Texas dream, while the production smartly stays out-of-the-way allowing both to shine. More importantly there’s grit in Robison’s voice that allows him to convey the nuances in the story so that you believe him as the song’s protagonist.

But after ten years of stadium tours and album after album of odes to beachfront life, Chesney has lost the sense of how to appropriately covey a song like this. He sounds completely foreign singing in his lower register, like a comedic actor trying to show dramatic range. He finally morphs into the Kenny Chesney we’re all familiar with by the first chorus, but Buddy Cannon frames him with a bombastic production that turns “El Cerrito Place” into the typical generic single, not the emotionally wrought tale it was in Robison’s capable hands. Even the female backing vocals, reuniting Chesney with his “You and Tequila” partner Grace Potter, are lost in the sea of sound.

It’s all a shame because Gattis’ song is wonderful, and I was so looking forward to Chesney turning in a killer recording that would help to elevate the standards of country radio for the time it was in heavy rotation, in much the same way Tim McGraw and Faith Hill did with “Angry All The Time” in 2001. He’s shown he’s fully capable of turning in phenomenal performances on this type of emotionally wrought material in the past, but I guess those days are firmly in the rearview mirror.

Grade: C+ 

Single Review – Taylor Swift – ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’

Between canoodling with Connor Kennedy in a red and white polka-dotted two-piece, and buying a multi-million dollar estate on Cape Cod, Taylor Swift has found time to return to the spotlight with new music. And in the two years since her highly confrontational Speak Now, she proves she hasn’t softened her scathe towards anyone who does her wrong.

“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” her collaboration with pop songwriter Max Martin and Swedish record producer Shellback, moves the songstress even further away from the founding principles of country music, but what she lacks in down-home twang, she makes up for in overall likeability.

The track works because of its infectious thump, a sunny and bright mix of acoustic guitars and driving beats that recall her early work, especially “Should’ve Said No.” Swift sets the tone with the opening verse:

I remember when we broke up the first time
Saying, “This is it, I’ve had enough,” ’cause like
We hadn’t seen each other in a month
When you said you needed space. (What?)
Then you come around again and say
“Baby, I miss you and I swear I’m gonna change, trust me.”
Remember how that lasted for a day?
I say, “I hate you,” we break up, you call me, “I love you”

She manages to capture the confusion surrounding the end of a relationship perfectly. He says he’ll change; she takes him back, no behavior modification. The second verse digs a bit deeper, and highlights Swift’s instinctively sharp writing abilities:

I’m really gonna miss you picking fights
And me, falling for it screaming that I’m right
And you, would hide away and find your peace of mine
With some indie record that’s much cooler than mine

But that’s where the song goes from interesting to unbearable. As an avid Swift fan, I have a fondness for just about every single she’s released. But her idea that every boyfriend is her “forever” (like she suggests in the bridge here) irks me. That kind of thinking may have been appropriate at sixteen, but it shows a level of immaturity at 22. The ‘phone conversation’ bit is also grating, a further attempt at driving home the song’s overall message that just plain wasn’t necessary.

Swift’s somewhat screechy vocal ability is on full display here and the obvious attempts at masking it (the swooshing production and vocal layering in the chorus) show the producer is trying too hard to make it work. And I can’t forgive the need for a country remix, when Swift is supposedly a country singer who has occasional inroads into the pop market.

But if nothing else, “We Are Never, Ever Getting Back Together” is a first-rate infectious guilty pleasure, that type of ear worm that plants itself in your brain, even if it isn’t healthy. I could go on and on about how it lacks any resemblance to country music, showcasing a genre in a downward spiral towards oblivion, but like those great Shania Twain and Faith Hill records from the late 90s, you can’t help but be transformed into a good mood whenever you hear it.

Grade: B 

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Single Review: Kelleigh Bannen – ‘Sorry On The Rocks’

Listening to Capitol/EMI newcomer Kelleigh Bannen’s debut single sounds like you’re hearing the amalgamation of Martina McBride, Sara Evans, the Dixie Chicks, and virtually every female country act to hit it big at the turn of the century.  The sound here isn’t vintage, but certainly a throwback to the mass appealing sounds of a boom era for females in country music.  A crisp, neotraditional sound leads the Nashville native’s precise singing, and everything about this track reeks of committee planning.

The gist of the confrontation in the lyrics comes from the place where Lee Ann Womack’s “Last Call” meets your garden variety I’m-kicking-you-to-the-curb, frisky female goodbye song (think: “You Can Feel Bad”, “A Little Gasoline”, “Bye Bye”).  A pair of clever lines - ”pretty words don’t mean too much, coming from the bottom of a glass” and “I’ve finally had enough/It’s clear you’ve had way too much” – keep the exchange interesting and make you think ‘hey this girl’s clever and will probably win this argument’.

But on the downside, producer Paul Worley uses those moments to crank the drums way too loud and invites the singer to reach outside her low-register comfort range.  Neither of those sonic missteps is the song’s major liability, however. While the narrating character in “Rocks” comes across and sensible and likable, she lacks the garrulous tenacity demanded on today’s airwaves. After all, she isn’t threatening to shoot, set fire to, or maim this clueless drunk who’s called her up in the middle of the night.  She simply tells him to kiss off. That, coupled with the tired and predictable production snaps is where your commercial liability lies.

Endearing, it is. Pleasing to the ears, it is. A big fat flop at country radio? I’m afraid so.

Grade: C

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Single Review: Gwen Sebastian – ‘Met Him In a Hotel Room’

Before competing on this season of NBC’s The Voice, Gwen Sebastian had already released four albums for the Lofton Creek label and two singles that failed to chart.  Now she’s under Blake Shelton’s wing and on tour with him, and back with her first single release since the network TV exposure.

Her latest finds an acoustic guitar plucking the melody on the verses as the singer narrates the story. Like her Lofton Creek releases, the production here is kept to a folksy acoustic sound, with lonesome fiddle flourishes accentuating the melancholy of the song. Sebastian’s vocal is equal parts Tammy Wynette tear-soaked delivery and Taylor Swift pitch-jumping limitations.

The song’s plot easily trumps the singer’s performance. What begins as an apparent telling of a torrid love affair in a hotel room is actually revealed to be a story of a woman’s intended suicide. There’s a neat one-two punch in the transition from first verse to chorus when the listener is finally let in that she’s not meeting anyone there. No, she came to this “seedy part of town” to end her own life armed with “a bottle full of sleeping pills and a long, long list of sins”.  The lack of a final conclusive act allows the plot to remain ambiguous, as it should be. Listeners are free to decide the narrator walked out of the hotel room with a renewed faith in God, and the more macabre can just as easily conclude she went to on to the afterlife to meet “Him (in a hotel room)” after reading a passage from the ubiquitous hotel Bible and then swallowing that bottle of pills.

Between Sebastian’s less-than-commercial pipes and the song’s heady subject matter, I’m not sure even being under Shelton’s superstar wing can lift this singer to commercial success with the mainstream.  It’s better than most of what’s on radio today, and fits into my own narrow demographic of a good country song.  I’ll be playing it if country radio won’t.

Grade: B

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Single Review: Toby Keith – ‘I Like Girls That Drink Beer’

Toby Keith’s last single “Beers Ago” went off the charts as quickly as it came, and he’s back again singing about the suds with his latest “I Like Girls That Drink Beer”.  But it’s not what you’d expect from the title, especially given Keith’s recent string of throw-away party anthems fueled by booze. He’s singing here about your genial aw-shucks country boy shedding the “high-rise life” for a “little down home lovin”, and using the “girls that drink beer” to personify the kind of woman who will be the antithesis to his current love affair. The song’s lyrics, co-written with regular Keith collaborator Bobby Pinson, are little more than another twist on a reliable country music theme. Yet it still works very well here.

“Beer” kicks off with its freewheeling chorus, and proves why Toby Keith is country music’s reigning king of honky tonk melodies. Keith’s confident swagger carries his vocal performance; gone are the growls, harrumphs and spitted lyrics that have plagued his singles lately. The singer’s winning vocal comes backed by a dyed-in-the-wool country sound where audible steel guitar flourishes are paired with a pair of hoedown-worthy fiddles to frame the track. The men in Keith’s target audience will surely be relating and singing along, and even the ladies don’t have to shed any dignity to enjoy this one.

Grade: B+

Listen here.

Single Review – Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson – ‘Adam & Eve’

Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson, the Australian husband and wife duo behind 2008’s excellent Rattlin’ Bones, are very sneaky. They’ve mastered the ability to create songs that appear simple in construction, yet reveal their true complexities after multiple listens.

“Adam & Eve,” the (sadly Australian only) first single from their forthcoming Wreck and Ruin (due out in October in the States), is just such a song, detailing a fabulous story of forbidden love against the backdrop of the Garden of Eden and “the first man to live and breathe.”

The crisp songwriting is the bedrock here, balancing details of the familiar biblical verse with enough original touches to make it feel brand new. My favorite of these elements is the naughty sense of wrong that penetrates throughout. It gives the track a somewhat slinky feel that’s best exemplified in the couple’s devious move to get out of dodge:

If he could see us

What would he say

But he was resting on that seventh day

She met a serpent right afternoon

He smiled at her and

She broke the rules

Come on we’re leavin’

No time to waste

The Garden of Eden’s

No longer safe

“Adam & Eve” is as much a mini play as a song and I love that it creates it own quirky world for the listener to play in. The prohibited love affair is constructed so ambiguously, that Chambers and Nicholson invite the listener to use their imaginations to fill in the details. Are these star-crossed teenage lovers escaping disapproving families? Or a couple deep into an affair, jetting off after a spouse finds out? That we don’t know is the real genius, as crafting our own reality makes the song that much more enjoyable.

The production only enhances the overall gratification, as it becomes a third character within the story, helping to move along the plot as grows in intensity. The use of swampy banjo is delightful as it perfectly complements Chambers and Nicholson’s vocals while the inclusion of fiddle smartly increases the tension after the couple escapes one reality for another.

If there’s one downside to “Adam & Eve” it’s the length. Clocking in at 3:05, it seems kind of short and could’ve benefited from being drawn out just a bit more. But the brevity also works in the song’s favor by keeping the proceedings simple and clean, a fact lost on most of what passes as music these days.

Grade: A+ 

Listen to “Adam & Eve” here