Country music from a fan's point of view since 2008
Jon Pardi covers a George Strait classic:
20-something newcomer Dillon Carmichael from Kentucky (a nephew of John Michael Montgomery and Montgomery Gentry’s Eddie Montgomery) has just released his much-anticipated debut album, produced by Dave Cobb for Riser House, an Sony-backed independent label. His family pedigree suggests a mixture of traditional, 90s country and a bit of southern rock, and that is exactly what you get. Dillon co-wrote 8 of the 10 tracks, but the real star here is his rich deep baritone voice.
Initially I was a bit disappointed that it omits last year’s fabulous ‘Old Songs Like That’, a wonderful steel-laced tribute to great country songs of the past which I strongly recommend downloading in its own right. Also jettisoned but available separately is ‘Made To Be A Country Boy’ from early this year, a nice relaxed reflection on the influence of his childhood on him.
The album opens rather unexpectedly with the sound of a tornado warning siren as Dillon then launches into ‘Natural Disaster’, a brooding lonesome ballad about life’s failures. Written by Anthony Smith and Chris Wallin, it is one of only two tracks not co-written by Dillon, but makes for a magisterial introduction. The other outside song, Jon Pardi co-write Country Women’ is a lyrically cliche’d country rock number.
The title track ventures further into southern rock territory on the theme of ‘Mama Tried’, and is really not my cup of tea. ‘Old Flame’, which Dillon did write and is in fact his only solo composition here, is a slow, bluesy number which builds into southern rock.
Much more to my taste, the lead single ‘It’s Simple’ is a pretty ballad about the simple pleasures of life. ‘Dancing Away With My Heart’ is a lovely love song which I liked a lot.
Dillon’s mother helped him write ‘Hard On A Hangover’. This is a very good song about a man’s sneaking round which is punished when his wife leaves him:
I woke to the sound of a door slam
She left her wedding ring on the nightstand
With a note that told me it was over
That girl sure is hard on a hangoverI then realized my new-found freedom
And I pawned the wedding rings ’cause I don’t need ’em
And I blew the cash down at the Whiskey Barrel
And then I headed to the house, my honky tonk specialAnd then I woke to the sound of a tow truck
She said, “That car’s in my name, so you’re out ofluck”
I thought when she left, it was over
That girl sure is hard on a hangover
Even better and more traditional is ‘That’s What Hank Would Do’, a presumably autobiographical song about the life of an aspiring country songwriter which becomes a tribute to Hank Williams, set to a deeply authentic arrangement. This is really wonderful:
I pulled into Nashville writin’ songs for the radio
But chasin’ a sound didn’t work
I had to stick to what I know
And then I asked myself
What would Hank do?
He’d say “In with the old and out with the new”He’d shoot you straight like his whiskey
Put pedal steel on everything
Write a song with three chords and the truth
Make you believe it when he sings like he’s talkin’ straight to you
That’s what Hank would do
’Might Be A Cowboy’ is the reflective and convincingly sweet love song of a rodeo rider:
I might be a cowboy, but I’ll never ride away
The record closes with ‘Dixie Again’, a slow bluesy piano ballad about losing and finding oneself:
I lost my direction but I kept pushin’ on
Took a left at the right and a right at the wrong
I’ve shot for redemption and I missed every time
Got to get back to someplace south of the line
This is an impressive debut from an artist with a great voice and some strong country instincts.
Grade: A-
While it does become harder and harder to assemble this list each year, it always amazes me that quality country music does exist, even if the upper echelon of the airplay chart screams otherwise. Sit back and enjoy what I consider the ten best singles released this year:
10. Tanya Tucker – Forever Loving You
Go online and you’ll find countless videos of Tucker where she details the volatility of her relationship with Glen Campbell. She freely admits to the drug and physical abuse that defined their union, which became a cornerstone of her early 20s. Even after they split, and she went onto some of her greatest success, she clearly never truly got over him.
More than a tribute to Campbell, “Forever Loving You” is an exquisite love song. Tucker is in fine voice, which makes the longing for new music all the more aching. Why does this have to be a standalone one-off and not the lead track to a new album?
9. Alan Jackson – The Older I Get
Easily Jackson’s greatest achievement since “So You Don’t Have To Love Me Anymore.” He’s in a contemplative mood, looking back in the year he received induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. If this is any indication, I look forward to whatever he chooses to do next.
8. Jon Pardi – She Ain’t In It
The best mainstream single of 2017 comes from the newly crowned CMA New Artist of the Year. The lyric isn’t earth-shattering, but the drenching of fiddle and steel more than makes up the difference. With his solid foundation in traditional country and his willingness to stay true to himself no matter the cost, Pardi’s future is bright. As of now, he’s one of the good guys.
A housewife is begging her husband to engage with her. He won’t bite except to dismiss her feelings or downright ignore their partnership. She’s exhausted from their loveless marriage, and the part he’s playing in it, so much so she wonders, “either I’m a fool for asking or you belong in Hollywood.” The first of two songs in this vein comes with that killer hook and Womack’s equally effective performance.
Krauss revives a somewhat obscure Brenda Lee hit from 1965 and knocks it out of the park. The covers album that followed is just as rich and deeply satisfying.
5. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – If We Were Vampires
If life didn’t come with an expiration date, would we love as hard? Isbell asks that central question on the stunning centerpiece from That Nashville Sound. He proves mortality is actually a good thing, not something to be feared. For my ears, “If We Were Vampires” is the love song of the year.
4. Chris Stapleton – Either Way
In my more than twenty years of seriously consuming country music, no song has stuck with me as long or had as great an impact on my psyche as “Either Way.” Lee Ann Womack brought it to life eight years ago in what still remains the song’s definitive version. Stapleton sings the fire out of it, too, but his greatest achievement is being the man who wrote it. He’s easily among the upper tier of the greatest country songwriters of his generation.
3. Brandy Clark – Three Kids No Husband
Clark teamed with Lori McKenna on an anthem for the women who assume all titles without a man to even the score. Both have recorded it, but it’s Clark who found the subtly within the lyric and ultimately drove it home.
2. Sunny Sweeney – Bottle By My Bed
Many songs have been written about the struggle for a woman to conceive, but none are as achingly beautiful as Sweeney’s tale of heartbreak in the wake of a miscarriage. A powerful and universal tale for anyone who has suffered the same fate.
1. Erin Enderlin – Ain’t It Just Like A Cowboy
I didn’t have a clear favorite single this year until I played these ten songs back-to-back when considering the rankings. Enderlin blows away the competition with her story of a wife realizing how foolish she is for staying with the cheating bastard who probably never loved her in the first place. A true country ballad for the ages.
1957 (Sales): Gone — Ferlin Husky (Capitol)
1957 (Jukebox): There You Go/Train of Love — Johnny Cash (Sun)
1957 (Disc Jockeys): Gone — Ferlin Husky (Capitol)
1967: Walk Through This World With Me — George Jones (Musicor)
1977: Lucille — Kenny Rogers (United Artists)
1987: Ocean Front Property — George Strait (MCA)
1997: (This Ain’t) No Thinkin’ Thing — Trace Adkins (Capitol)
2007: Beer In Mexico — Kenny Chesney (BNA)
2017: Body Like a Back Road — Sam Hunt (MCA)
2017 (Airplay): Dirt On My Boots — Jon Pardi (Capitol)
1957 (Sales):Young Love/You’re The Reason I’m In Love — Sonny James (Capitol)
1957 (Jukebox): There You Go — Johnny Cash (Sun)
1957 (Disc Jockeys): Young Love — Sonny James (Capitol)
1967: Walk Through This World With Me — George Jones (Musicor)
1977: Southern Nights — Glen Campbell (Capitol)
1987: Small Town Girl — Steve Wariner (MCA)
1997: How Was I To Know — Reba McEntire (MCA)
2007: Beer In Mexico — Kenny Chesney (BNA)
2017: Body Like a Back Road — Sam Hunt (MCA)
2017 (Airplay): Dirt On My Boots — Jon Pardi (Capitol)
1957 (Sales):Young Love/You’re The Reason I’m In Love — Sonny James (Capitol)
1957 (Jukebox): Young Love — Sonny James (Capitol)
1957 (Disc Jockeys): Young Love — Sonny James (Capitol)
1967: I Won’t Come In While He’s There — Jim Reeves (RCA)
1977: Southern Nights — Glen Campbell (Capitol)
1987: I’ll Still Be Loving You — Restless Heart (RCA)
1997: We Danced Anyway — Deana Carter (Capitol)
2007: Beer In Mexico — Kenny Chesney (BNA)
2017: Body Like a Back Road — Sam Hunt (MCA)
2017 (Airplay): Dirt On My Boots — Jon Pardi (Capitol)
1956 (Sales): Crazy Arms — Ray Price (Columbia)
1956 (Jukebox): I Walk The Line/Get Rhythm — Johnny Cash (Sun)
1956 (Disc Jockeys):Crazy Arms — Ray Price (Columbia)
1966: Almost Persuaded — David Houston (Epic)
1976: Bring It On Home to Me — Mickey Gilley (Playboy)
1986: Strong Heart – T.G. Sheppard (Columbia)
1996: Carried Away — George Strait (MCA)
2006: If You’re Goin’ Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows) — Rodney Atkins (Curb)
2016: H.O.L.Y. — Florida Georgia Line (Republic Nashville)
2016 (Airplay): Head Over Boots — Jon Pardi (Capitol)
When reviewing new music, I always try to follow two basic rules: (1) not to expect too much and (2) not to read any other reviews until I’ve had a chance to listen to it myself, so as not to be influenced by anyone else’s opinion. I didn’t initially expect to review Jon Pardi’s California Sunrise, so I’d already inadvertently broken Rule #2 by the time I decided to do it. The generally favorable reviews I read caused me to break Rule #1 and raise my expectations — which set me up for a huge disappointment.
Hailed as an album that tries to steer country music back towards it roots, California Sunrise is the most uninspired collection of songs that I’ve heard so far this year. I do give Pardi and producer Bart Butler for avoiding the EDM elements that have infested country music in recent years and for mostly avoiding bro-country cliches. They also make more use of country instrumentation – i.e., fiddle and steel – than is usually the case these days and that is appreciated, but ultimately the country elements are drowned out by too-loud electric guitars and hick-hop rhythms. Pardi’s vocals, which remind me of a blend of Brad Paisley and early Gary Allan, are also drowned out by the too-loud production.
Pardi is credited as a co-writer on eight of the album’s twelve songs, which partially explains why listening to the album seems like playing the same song over and over. One exception is the lead single “Head Over Boots”, which he wrote with Luke Laird, which really isn’t bad but it’s not great either. Pardi did not the album’s two most noteworthy songs: “She Ain’t In It” and “Dirt On My Boots”, which are the album’s best and worst cuts respectively. The former, written by Clint Daniels and Wynn Varble is the only song on the album that I truly liked — the one bonafide country number about a protagonist trying to resume his social life after a bad break-up. The bro-countryish “Dirt On My Boots” comes to us courtesy of Rhett Akins, Jesse Frassure and Ashley Gorley is downright terrible (I’m guessing it will be the next single), but to be fair “All Time High” written by Pardi, Bart Butler and Brice Long isn’t a whole lot better.
The remaining songs are bland, lyrically light and tend to all bleed together and aren’t worthy of individual commentary.
Jon Pardi is a talented but not exceptional vocalist, who has a lot of potential if he can only find better material. California Sunrise is not a traditional album, though it certainly comes closer than most of today’s other mainstream releases. If Pardi can tone down the rock elements and volume, and lean a little more on those country roots, he may release a great album one day, but he’s not there yet. Download “She Ain’t In It” and skip the rest.
Grade: C-
Country radio may be going from bad to worse with the arrival of the likes of the obviously non-country Sam Hunt, but there have been some superb singles released this year, particularly from female artists. A few of them have even made an impact on radio, proving there is still hope. Among the singles that just missed the cut for my top 10 were the charming first two singles from Kacey Musgraves’ second Mercury album – ‘Biscuits’ and ‘Dime Store Cowgirl’; Sunny Sweeney’s dead-marriage duet with Will Hoge, ‘My Bed’; and Chris Young’s sexy ‘I’m Comin’ Over’.
10. Jon Pardi – ‘Head Over Boots’
Sunny and catchy – this is country rock done exactly right. It’s currently working its way into the top 40.
9. Chris Stapleton – ‘Nobody To Blame’
Singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton’s unexpected triple victory at this year’s CMA Awards was the pleasantest surprise I’ve had at an awards ceremony in years. Showing why he deserved it, his November single release is an excellent song imbued with his bluesy soulful brand of country music.
8. Cam – Burning House
I hear Camaron Ochs as more folky pop rather than a country singer at heart, but I’ve really liked her two 2015 singles, the upbeat ‘My Mistake’ (about embarking on a one night stand with no regrets), and the gentle melancholy of ‘Burning House’. The haunting melody makes this my favourite of the two, and for a change radio agrees with me, as this has proved to be her breakthrough, with the track at #11 on the country radio chart as of early November. Her debut album is due this month.
7. Maddie & Tae – ‘Shut Up And Fish’
An irresistibly catchy tune from the effervescent duo, which uses its comic trappings to dress up a serious message about sexual harassment.
6. Jason James – ‘I’ve Been Drinkin’ More’
Perhaps the most obscure of my top 10 singles is this solid barroom shuffle, which sounds like a forgotten county classic:
I’ve been drinkin’ more
Since you’ve been lovin’ me less
5. Jana Kramer – ‘I Got the Boy’
Disappointingly the album it heralded turned out to be otherwise terrible, but I still like Jana Kramer’s mature reflection on the passing of teenage romance, written by Connie Harrington, Tim Nichols and former child TV star Jamie Lynn Spears. Her vocal ability may not stand up to the other women who made my top 10 this year, but on this song at least, she has an appealing warmth. It was another genuine hit, and is still rising.
4. Trisha Yearwood – ‘I Remember You’
The second single from Trisha Yearwood’s 2014 mixture of hits and fine new songs, Prize Fighter, is an impeccable song, written by Canadians Kelly Archer, Ben Caver and Brad Rempel. My review said it was “as close to perfect as it gets”, and it is an exemplary example of understated subtlety in both the vocal and the production.
3. Jamey Johnson – ‘Alabama Pines’
Jamey Johnson has not been very forthcoming with new music even now that he has launched his own label. But he did share this single with us earlier this year, even initially allowing it to be downloaded free. A beautiful, steel laced melody, it looks back on his southern childhood and the dreams of a life in music who took him away.
2. Ashley Monroe – ‘The Blade’
For most of this year, the title track of Ashley’s latest album has been the song I’ve returned to over and over again. When I reviewed that set I called this a truly outstanding song, and my feelings have not changed. Written by Marc Beeson, Jamie Floyd and Allen Shamblin, produced by Vince Gill and Justin Niebank, and sung by the delicately vulnerable Ashley Monroe, this is a beautiful depiction of the pain of love which lasts longer on one side than the other:
That’s the risk you run when you love
When you love and you give it all you’ve got to give
Knowing all along there’s a chance
There’s a chance you’ll reach and they won’t
You’ll bleed and they don’t
For you, it’s over; for me, it’s not
I kept tryin’ and you just stopped
Now I know how you can sound so brave
Cause you caught it by the handle, baby
And I caught it by the blade
It wasn’t a hit of course – it was far too good for country radio: too country, too subtle, and too female.
1. Lee Ann Womack – ‘Chances Are’
I thought Ashley Monroe’s single was going to make #1 on my list until I heard late in October that Lee Ann Womack had issued the best song on her critically acclaimed 2014 album The Way I’m Livin’ as its third single. A world-wearied and desperately lonely soul still has hope for love and happiness:
Chances are I took the wrong turn
Every time I had a turn to take
And I guess I broke my own heart
Every chance I had a heart to break
And it seems I spent my whole life
Wishin’ on the same unlucky star
As I watch you ‘cross the barroom, I wonder
What my chances areWell, I know you’ve been around
And you’ve seen what you needed to see
And at night when you’re dreamin’
You’re probably not dreamin’ ‘bout me
Oh, it’s safe to say I’ve stumbled
But I’ve managed to make it through this far
As I take one step and then another
I wonder what my chances areI have watched the world go by
Hand in hand and wondered why
I’m still so alone
Could I lay down my foolish pride
Maybe finally find my heart a homeThe band has started playing
A simple song I used to know
I take your hand and walk you out
Dance to the rhythm way down low
Every heart has got a story
Mine just has a few scars
But they could heal if you would hold me and tell me
What my chances are
Well, they could heal if you would hold me and tell me
What my chances are
I first heard this excellent song sung by its writer Hayes Carll a few years ago, but LAW’s version of this excellent Hayes Carll song is quite exquisitely beautiful: beautifully sung and interpreted like a masterclass in country music, and tastefully produced with lovely steel guitar dominating the mix. Her unexpected but well deserved nomination as the CMA’s Female Vocalist of the Year probably won’t gain her airplay for this stunning record, but it’s unmissable.
The engaging young country rocker Jon Pardi heralds his upcoming second full length album with this single. He needs a hit, as only one of the singles from his last album made a real mark on the charts.
The nicely grooving and catchy mid-tempo tune is a straightforward love song, which Pardi wrote with Luke Laird. It’s well constructed and while there isn’t a lot to say about it, the whole thing is highly likeable. The object of the singer’s affections would surely be charmed by this approach.
The production is understated and sunny, while the singer’s youthful insouciance lets him get away with the playful title. It sounds radio friendly, and will hopefully be a big hit for the Capitol artist.
Grade: B+
Every year the pickings on country radio seem to get slimmer and slimmer, with fewer slots available for anything really country, or for material with any lyrical depth. But there are still some gems out there, and a few of them are even hits. So here is my personal pick of the year’s singles.
10. All Alright – Zac Brown Band
The arrangement is a bit rock-oriented for my taste with fuzzy guitars but this is a great song with a very strong melody and plaintive vocal from Zac, so it just squeezes into my top 10 ahead of Josh Turner’s current single ‘Lay Low’ which I liked a lot but didn’t feel had a lot of depth. ‘All Alright’ underperformed on country radio, just scraping into the top 20, perhaps because the band have cut their ties with Atlantic and lost some promotional muscle.
9. Bad Girl Phase – Sunny Sweeney
Sunny rocks out and exercises her wild side.
8. Hungover – Brandy Clark
One of the best songwriters in Nashville (she also co-wrote ‘Bad Girl Phase’), Brandy is also a fine singer, and this single comes from my Album of the Year of 2013. A jaundiced depiction of a marriage failing thanks to one party’s drinking, while the other moves on, unnoticed, it is a brilliantly observed slice of life. Brandy has recently signed a deal with Warner Brothers which may get her music wider recognition.
7. I’ll Be Here In the Morning – Don Williams
One of the biggest stars of the 1970s and 80s revives a deeply romantic song reminiscent of his best, written by the legendary Texas songwriter Townes Van Zandt. Warm and tender in all the right ways.
6. That’s What Dreamers Do – Travis Tritt
The 90s star at his ballad-singing best, with a sensitive and thoughtful lyric about rising past hard times. It was written for a Walt Disney biopic, but its genuinely inspirational message is universal. Tritt’s vocal is excellent, sweet and tender, and backed by a tasteful arranagement.
5. What I Can’t Put Down – Jon Pardi
The young country-rocker’s third single (written by himself with Brice Long and Bart Butler) peaked just outside the top 30 – a disappointment following his top 10 breakthrough in 2013. The singer’s youthful energy sells the cheerful confession of over indulgence in sinful pleasures. Highly likeable.
4. I Wish I Still Smoked Cigarettes – Ronnie Dunn
Technically this came out at the end of 2013 (and Razor X listed it in his top 10 singles for that year), but I’m counting it as a 2014 single. A melancholy reflection on growing older which was written by Lori McKenna, Luke Laird, and Barry Dean, Dunn’s vocal is perfectly judged with a wistful yearning for the lost innocence and carelessness of youth, “When I didn’t know what wasn’t good for me, but I knew everything else for sure”. Unfortunately it was far too good, and adult, for country radio to give it the time of day.
3. Girl In A Country Song – Maddie & Tae
This smart and funny satirical take on bro-country was a big surprise, coming from a pair of unheralded teenagers. It’s still on the poppy side aurally – but the clever and punchy lyrics work so well I don’t care about that for once (and the production is relatively restrained). They remind me quite a bit of the shortlived Wreckers. I’m interested in seeing what they come up with in future – and this song making it big on country radio is a great sign.
2. Blue Smoke – Dolly Parton
A delightful confection from another veteran who still has the goods. Dolly wrote the bluegrass-tinged tune as well as performing it with her customary zest.
1. What We Ain’t Got – Jake Owen
This is a beautifully understated and philosophical sad lost love song written by Travis Meadows based on his own bitter experiences. Jake has gone on record to declare this the best song he has ever recorded, and he is dead right. It’s also the best mainstream single by anyone for quite some time. It’s still rising slowly up the charts, and may not be the smash hit it deserves to be: but it’s the song of the year as far as I’m concerned.
I was unconvinced by Capitol newcomer Jon Pardi ‘s first pair of singles: the mediocre ‘Missin’ You Crazy’ failed to make any impact on me, and not much on the chart, just sneaking into the top 30. I don’t much care for current hit ‘Up All Night’ with its moderately catchy but poppy melody and horribly cliched’ lyric, although I can see why it is doing well for him. Unexpectedly his full length album release delivers an energetic set of country rock which is actually rooted in country, and most of the songs (all but one co-written by the artist) are much better than the singles would suggest. In many ways he is reminiscent of a less obnoxious Eric Church without the latter’s excesses, with a little Dwight Yoakam thrown in. He also sounds very like Church vocally and with his melodic choices as a songwriter.
He opens with ‘What I Can’t Put Down’, a solid country-rocker about the battle with various kinds of addiction which is pretty good. ‘Empty Beer Cans’ is good too, about setting fire to an ex’s possessions to underline a final goodbye after half a dozen false starts. Perhaps those previous attempts to get back together are documented in ‘When I’ve Been Drinkin’, a vivacious tune about drunk dialing a bad news ex; I enjoyed this one quite a bit.
The title track is a little jerky rhythmically, but has a youthful effervescence as he talks about being a touring musician. ‘Trash A Hotel Room’ (the only song not to be co-written by Pardi) has a similar youthful feel. ‘Chasin’ Them Better Days’, an optimistic take on his hopes of hitting it big some day, is well written and enthusiastically performed, but sounds a bit more cluttered. I did love the bluesy gospel style piano outro, though, and could have done with that throughout the song.
There are just a couple of slower songs. ‘Love You From Here’ and ‘Happens All The Time’ are slightly dull, but I liked ‘That Man’, which is a sincere declaration of unconditional love whenever the object of his affection is ready for it.
This album was quite a pleasant surprise from a young artist who shows a lot of potential. Pardi is not traditional country, but as modern country rock goes, he uses a more understated production palette than most. There is a bit of lack of variety as the tempo is nearly always fast, but the electric guitar soloes are never ramped up too high in the mix. On this evidence he is definitely shaping to be one of the better mainstream artists – rather like I hoped Eric Church would be at the beginning of his career.
Grade: B
My Kind of Country 