Posted on November 3, 2009 by Razor X
In 1990, Tim DuBois, an executive with Arista Records’ newly established Nashville division, introduced two struggling solo artists named Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn and suggested that they record together as a duo. Few, if any, realized at the time that the meeting would result in the formation of one of the most successful [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews, Retro Reviews, Spotlight Artist | Tagged: Asleep at the Wheel, Brooks & Dunn, Don Cook, Garth Brooks, Hank Williams, Tim DuBois | 6 Comments »
Posted on October 26, 2009 by J.R. Journey
Following her exit from long-time label home Mercury Records in 2006, Terri Clark inked a deal with BNA Records just a few months later. Under the Sony imprint, she released two singles to radio, but both stalled just inside the Top 40 on the U.S. Country chart. Both were bona fide hits in her native [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews | Tagged: Bobby Pinson, Garth Brooks, Leslie Satcher, Linda Clark, Terri Clark, Tom Shapiro, Vince Gill | 8 Comments »
Posted on October 17, 2009 by J.R. Journey
This is a clip from Garth’s legendary Central Park Concert in August 1997.
Filed under: Classic Rewind | Tagged: Billy Joel, Garth Brooks | Leave a Comment »
Posted on October 15, 2009 by J.R. Journey
Last week, this article about Taylor Swift’s crossover success got me to thinking about not only Swift, but other country stars who have met with major success in pop and adult contemporary markets. It’s a mixed bag among the genre’s most steadfast supporters, while we welcome all the new listeners and fans to the format, somehow [...]
Filed under: Discussions | Tagged: Brooks & Dunn, Garth Brooks, George Strait, LeAnn Rimes, Lee Ann Womack, Reba McEntire, Sara Evans, Sugaland | 28 Comments »
Posted on October 1, 2009 by J.R. Journey
Reading the comments section on one of the many country blogs I read, I came across a thought that resonated with me. The comment was about when you find an album cut that you love as much or more than the album’s radio singles – the singles are usually the reason you bought the album [...]
Filed under: Discussions | Tagged: Garth Brooks, Jamie O'Hara, Mark Sanders, Raul Malo, The Mavericks, Trisha Yearwood | 17 Comments »
Posted on September 28, 2009 by J.R. Journey
Blue Clear Sky was George Strait’s seventeenth studio album when it was released in 1996. At the time, country music was still riding the wave of the 90s sales boom, and George Strait was right in the thick of things for the duration of that period. This was the first Strait album I ever bought, [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews, Retro Reviews, Spotlight Artist | Tagged: Bruce Bouton, Garth Brooks, Gary Nicholson, Jeff Stevens, Jim Lauderdale, Larry Boone, Mark Chesnutt, Paul Franklin, Roger Springer, Steve Bogard, Stuart Duncan | 5 Comments »
Posted on August 12, 2009 by J.R. Journey
I’ve heard several people say that Gary Allan’s ‘Half of My Mistakes’ should have been released to radio. I’m inclined to agree with them. It was my favorite track on his Living Hard album from the first listen, and has held that spot ever since. While the album housed 3 successful singles, with each declining [...]
Filed under: Recommendations | Tagged: Brad Paisley, Garth Brooks, Gary Allan, Keith Urban | 28 Comments »
Posted on August 11, 2009 by Occasional Hope
I’ve mentioned before that I always enjoy hearing songwriters’ own interpretations of songs which they have written for other artists. The latest example comes from Kim Williams, a name you should recognize if you pay attention to the songwriting credits. Kim has been responsible for no fewer than 16 number 1 hits, and [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews | Tagged: Aaron Tippin, Adam Steffey, Austin Cunningham, Barry Bales, Buddy Brock, Charlie Daniels, Doug Johnson, Doug Stone, Garth Brooks, Gary Allan, Jeff Silvey, Jerry Lassiter, Joe Diffie, Kim Williams, Lance Miller, Larry Shell, Larry Sparks, Larry Williams, Randy Travis, Rob Ickes, Rodney Atkins, Ron Stewart, Steve Gulley, Tim Stafford | 8 Comments »
Posted on July 15, 2009 by Occasional Hope
It’s always about the song in country music. Whether the writer sings the song or not, a topic Razor X raised last week, the song itself is what everything else ultimately depends on. One of the things I love about country music is the range of subjects it tackles, but the thing most songwriters [...]
Filed under: Discussions, Recommendations | Tagged: Alan Jackson, Alecia Nugent, Allen Shamblin, Carl Jackson, Charley Pride, David Allan Coe, David Ball, Dean Dillon, Frank Dycus, Garth Brooks, George Jones, Glenn Martin, Hank Cochran, Jeff Bates, Jimmy Melton, Keith Whitley, Lacy J Dalton, Mac McAnally, Michael White, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Rockie Lynne, Stephanie Davis, The Bellamy Brothers, Thom Schuyler, Tommy Brasfield, Willie Nelson | 12 Comments »
Posted on June 27, 2009 by J.R. Journey
Rainy walks, a midnight talk, dance me on your feet
Hold me close, don’t let go, all I’ll ever need
Is a single rose, a kiss hello, that smile upon your face
The tender way, you say my name takes my breath away
Little things
The first single released from Tanya Tucker’s 1997 album, Complicated, was the romantic ‘Little Things’ [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews, Retro Reviews, Spotlight Artist | Tagged: Bill LaBounty, Craig Wiseman, Delbert McClinton, Dusty Springfield, Garth Brooks, Gregg Brown, Harlan Howard, Jerry Crutchfield, Kostas, Pat Quigley, Reba McEntire, Scott Hendricks, Tanya Tucker | 15 Comments »
Posted on June 8, 2009 by J.R. Journey
Hank Williams recorded under the guise of Luke the Drifter in the early 1950s, Garth Brooks was Chris Gaines, and George Jones as a rockabilly singing duck. These are just a few of the alter egos country music has created. An alter ego is a second self – ‘the other I’. So what drives a [...]
Filed under: Blurbs | Tagged: Chris Gaines, Criss Angel, Dee-Doodle Duck, Ferlin Husky, Garth Brooks, George Jones, Hank Williams, Luke the Drifter, Randy Travis, Simon Crum, Terry Preston, Thumper Jones, Travis Tritt | 6 Comments »
Posted on June 4, 2009 by J.R. Journey
There are some songs that are so closely associated with their original performers that they just sound foreign coming from the mouths of even the best singers. Covers albums can be a blessing or a curse for this reason. And in my opinion, some get it right and some don’t. Some artists make [...]
Filed under: Discussions | Tagged: Alan Jackson, B.J. Thomas, Conway Twitty, Ernest Tubb, Garth Brooks, George Jones, George Strait, Hank Williams, Lynn Anderson, Martina McBride, Patty Loveless, Ray Price, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, Wynonna | 18 Comments »
Posted on June 3, 2009 by J.R. Journey
I miss Garth Brooks too.
Filed under: Recommendations | Tagged: Cledus T. Judd, Garth Brooks | 2 Comments »
Posted on May 14, 2009 by J.R. Journey
It’s raining again today in southern Ohio, and it has been for the better part of a week now. A couple days ago, during a particularly torrential downpour, I was sitting here listening to music and decided to search the word ‘rain’ in my media library. And I have to say I was surprised at [...]
Filed under: Recommendations | Tagged: Alan Jackson, Blackhawk, Clint Black, Conway Twitty, Dolly Parton, Eddie Rabbitt, Garth Brooks, Gary Allan, Gretchen Wilson, Jo Dee Messina, Julie Roberts, Keith Urban, Keith Whitley, Merle Haggard, Reba McEntire, Rodney Crowell, Ronnie Milsap, Sam Moore, Shania Twain, Shelby Lynne, The Judds, Trisha Yearwood, Vern Gosdin, Vince Gill, Willie Nelson | 26 Comments »
Posted on April 28, 2009 by J.R. Journey
Garth Brooks’ debut album is the only diamond-selling Class of ‘89 album. It’s success was eclipsed only by Garth Brooks’ own album releases into the early 1990s. While the album peaked at only #2 on the country albums chart and #13 on the all-genre chart, its singles sent Garth Brooks’ star soaring into the stratosphere, [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews, Retro Reviews, Spotlight Artist | Tagged: Chris LeDoux, Garth Brooks, Jack Clement, Keith Whitley, Lorrie Morgan | 7 Comments »
Posted on April 14, 2009 by J.R. Journey
Sometimes a singer records a song that just completely defines who they are as an artist and a person. Other times an artist records a song that’s not so autobiographical, but the fans embrace it as the truth.
George Strait’s 2008 single ‘Troubadour’ sums up the man and the legend that is George Strait better [...]
Filed under: Discussions | Tagged: Garth Brooks, George Strait, Reba McEntire, Trisha Yearwood | 19 Comments »
Posted on April 10, 2009 by Razor X
Posted on April 8, 2009 by Occasional Hope
Suzy Bogguss is not one of the names usually associated with the “Class of ‘89″, as it was another couple of years before she really broke through commercially, but her debut album Somewhere Between was one of my personal favorite releases of 1989.
The best adjective I can find to describe Suzy’s voice is pure – [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews, Retro Reviews, Spotlight Artist | Tagged: Chet Atkins, Doug Crider, Garth Brooks, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Pam Tillis, Patsy Montana, Rodney Crowell, Susanna Clark, Suzy Bogguss, Vince Gill, Wendy Waldman | 14 Comments »
Posted on April 6, 2009 by Razor X
I remember well the day back in February 1989 that I first heard a new song on the radio called “A Better Man”. I stopped what I was doing to give it my full attention, and thought to myself, “That is the best Merle Haggard song I’ve heard in years. I can’t remember the last [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews, Retro Reviews, Spotlight Artist | Tagged: Clint Black, Garth Brooks, Hayden Nicholas, Merle Haggard | 20 Comments »
Posted on April 1, 2009 by Razor X
1989 was a watershed year for country music, as a number of new acts either made their debuts or enjoyed their first commercial breakthroughs. Some veteran acts experienced reinvigorated careers that year, while others showed signs of declining chart power and were banished from the radio airwaves.
Among the alumni of the Class of ‘89, [...]
Filed under: Spotlight Artist | Tagged: Alan Jackson, Clint Black, Garth Brooks, Lorrie Morgan, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Suzy Bogguss, Travis Tritt | 8 Comments »