Album Review: Patty Loveless – ‘Sleepless Nights’

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 [...]

Classic Rewind: Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, & Marty Stuart – ‘Where The Soul Of Men Never Dies’ / ‘Shine On Harvest Moon’

Mountain country magic: A tribute to Patty Loveless

When we announced Patty Loveless as our Spotlight Artist, all of us here at My Kind of Country were very excited about the opportunity to write about one of our favorites.  In past months, we’ve brought in Guest Contributors to help out with the reviews.  But this month, all the reviews were snatched up [...]

Classic Rewind: Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, & Emmylou Harris – ‘Silver Threads and Golden Needles’

Album Review: Patty Loveless – ‘Mountain Soul II’

Country radio’s love affair with Patty Loveless began winding down around 1997, with the release of the single “You Don’t Seem To Miss Me”. The record met with resistance by some radio program directors, who requested the release of an alternate version, without the harmony vocals provided by George Jones. Loveless refused to [...]

2009 album recommendations, album previews

2009 has been interesting, a crappy year for mainstream country music overall, but I would say a good year for other genres. Since the year is 75% over, I just wanted to share some of my picks from the year so far (inside country music and out) and a look at a few upcoming albums. [...]

Album Review: Gene Watson – ‘Taste Of The Truth’

Gene Watson is one of my all-time favorite singers, and it is good to report that he is still sounding great at the age of 65. Listening to his new album, his second for independent label Shanachie, is like listening to a masterclass in singing country music, a subtle rendering of understated emotion. [...]

Classic Rewind: Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, & Emmylou Harris – ‘Those Memories of You’

Album Review – John Anderson – ‘Wild And Blue’

Wild And Blue was John Anderson’s fourth album, released in 1982, and it provided the springboard for a major change in his career.
It was produced, like I Just Came Home To Count The Memories, by John with the Canadian Frank Jones who had worked with some of the all-time greats, including, at various times, Lefty [...]

Classic Rewind: Emmylou Harris – ‘Together Again’

Album Review: Tanya Tucker – ‘Tennessee Woman’

Released in March 1990, Tennessee Woman was another consistent album which sustained Tanya’s run at the top, marrying together commercial radio-friendly appeal with artistic merit. Jerry Crutchfield was at the helm once more for another good selection of sassy pop-country and sensitive ballads.
The energetic mid-tempo first single, ‘Walkin’ Shoes’, written by Emmylou Harris’s ex-husband [...]

Album Review: Keith Whitley — ‘Don’t Close Your Eyes’

1985’s L.A. to Miami provided Keith Whitley with some badly needed radio hits, but the slick pop-oriented production didn’t sit well with him. Wanting to return to his traditional country roots, he asked RCA executive Joe Galante to shelve the follow-up album that was nearly ready to release and to allow him to start [...]

1989 Album Review: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – ‘Will The Circle Be Unbroken Volume Two’

Alongside our reviews of albums produced by the ‘Class of ‘89′, we’ve been taking the opportunity to look in depth at some of the other great albums released that year. Perhaps the most ambitious of those was the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s second Will The Circle Be Unbroken project, which harks back to the early [...]

Album Review: Dolly Parton – ‘White Limozeen’

By the late 1980s, Dolly Parton’s career was at a crossroads. She had ended a nearly 20 year association with RCA Records because she felt that she was no longer a priority at the label. Her first release for Columbia Records, a pop album entitled Rainbow was a critical and commercial failure. [...]

Class of ‘89 Album Review: Vince Gill – ‘When I Call Your Name’

Vince Gill was not a new artist in 1989, but it was the year that saw him make his big breakthrough and really established him as the major star he was to be through the 1990s.  He had spent several years signed to RCA, and had released three truncated albums of varying lengths, plus a [...]

Just a recommendation …

I’ve written about this song on various occasions before in comments on other sites.  But, here is my official recommendation for ‘Nashville Girls’. The track was recorded back in March 2008 for Terri’s album, In My Next Life – scheduled to be released April 29, 2008.  It features guest vocals from Reba, Sara Evans, and [...]