Country music from a fan's point of view since 2008
Ralph Mooney, who died on Sunday, was one of the most distinctive steel guitar players ever in country music. His work for Wynn Stewart, Buck Owens and Merle Haggard helped to form the Bakersfield Sound, and his later years backing Waylon Jennings helped to keep the Outlaws rooted in country tradition. He wrote the classic ‘Crazy Arms’, and just last year Marty Stuart showcased Mooney’s playing on an instrumental version of the song on his aclaimed Ghost Train.
For a nice tribute to him, read this. For a musical tribute, listen to this song from independent artist Shane Worley.
Here he is backing up Waylon on a cover of Haggard’s classic ‘The Bottle Let Me Down’:
One of Terri’s biggest hit singles never appeared on a studio album, but was one of the new tracks included to persuade fans to purchase a Greatest Hits compilation in 2004. It can now also be downloaded individually. It was her second #1, but sadly her last really big hit single.
Answer songs have a long tradition in country music, but have fallen out of favor in the past 20 years. But at least thematically, this hit single was definitely an answer song to Tracy Byrd’s hilarious 2003 hit ‘The Truth About Men’ (written by Paul Overstreet, Rory Lee Feek and Tim Johnson), which revealed some of the white lies employed to keep gender relations on an even keel within a romantic relationship.
Written by Connie Harrington, Kelley Lovelace and Tim Nichols, this sardonic response putting the feminine point of view is a bit heavy-handed in comparison, and has a less interesting tune and rather loud production. Where the original didn’t take itself altogether seriously, but combined a self-deprecating sense of fun with a grain of truth which most men and women would recognise, this song feels as though it is trying a little too hard to prove a point. Terri’s energetic and committed vocal helps to sell the song, perhaps better than anyone else could have done, but despite being one of her biggest radio successes, it is not one of her best moments on record.
Byrd’s record recruited Blake Shelton, Andy Griggs and Montgomery Gentry to help out, and perhaps Terri’s song would have worked better with a similar playful chorus of female stars.
Grade: B
But the song at amazon.
My Kind of Country 