Country music from a fan's point of view since 2008
It seems harder and harder to find great new music as the mainstream gets more pop oriemnted. However, some good music is still out there, and here are my favorite full-length albums this year.
10. Junior Sisk – ‘Brand New Shade Of Blue’
My favorite bluegrass album this year. Sometimes witty, sometimes lonesome, but a great listen.
Download now: ‘By Now I Would Be Dead’, ‘Ain’t Nothing Wrong With That’, ‘The Whiskey & The Guitar’
9. Josh Turner – I Serve A Savior
The best religious album of the year.
Download now: ‘I Saw The Light’, ‘Great Is Your Faithfulness’, ‘I Pray My Way Out Of Trouble’, ‘Me And God’
8. Jason Eady – ‘I Travel On’
The troubadour takes a bluegrass twist with this year’s fine set.
Download now: ‘She Had To Run’, ‘Below The Waterline’, ‘I Travel On’, ‘I Lost My Mind In Carolina’
7. Randall King – ‘Randall King’
I’m afraid I didn’t get around to reviewing this promising debut album, but it’s a strong introduction with a 90s neotraditional country vibe.
Download now: ‘Reason To Quit’, ‘Mirror, Mirror’, ‘Dent In It’
6. Dillon Carmichael – Hell On An Angel
Sometimes sublime, sometimes a bit too heavy on the Southern Rock, this remains the debut of the year.
Download now: ‘That’s What Hank Would Do’, ‘Dixie Again’, ‘Hard On A Hangover’, ‘Natural Disaster’
5. Courtney Patton – What It’s Like To Fly Alone
Courtney Patton produced my favorite album of 2015. This year’s follow up was not quite as good, but still extremely rewarding.
Download now: ‘Devil’s Hand’, ‘Round Mountain’, ‘Words to My Favorite Memory’, ‘Red Bandana Blue’, ‘Open Flame’
4. Josh Ward – ‘More Than I Deserve
Solid traditional country from Texas.
Download now: ‘One More Shot Of Whiskey’, ‘Say Hello To Goodbye’, ‘The Devil Don’t Scare Me’, ‘More Than I Deserved’
3. Adam Harvey – The Nashville Tapes
Great neotraditional country from the deep voiced Australian who was our last Spotlight Artist.
Download now: ‘What A Song Can Do’, ‘When Willie’s Gone’, ‘We’ll Have To Drink Our Way Out Of This’, ‘I’d Rather Be A Highwayman’, ‘Three Rivers Hotel’
2. Loretta Lynn – ‘Wouldn’t It Be Great’
The legend returns with a fabulous mix of sassy growing old disgracefully and emotional ballads.
Download now: ‘Ruby’s Stool’, ‘Lulie Vars’, ‘Another Bridge To Burn’, ‘Wouldn’t It Be Great?’
1. Kayla Ray – Yesterday & Me
The Jason Eady-helmed project allos an excellent singer songwriter to shine.
Download now: ‘Once A Week Cheaters’, ‘Things Only Years Can Teach A Woman’, ‘Fair Warning’, ‘Rockport’.
Bonus selection: Tim Culpepper – DUI
I omitted this fabulous traditional honky tonk projct as it has only eight tracks. But what there is is outstanding.
Download now: ‘Under The Influence’, ‘Another Way To Try’, ‘She Only Loves Me’, ‘Sad Ole Country Song’
Josh Turner’s deep religious faith has underpinned his career, from his astonishing debut single ‘Long Black Train’. It comes as no surprise that he has now recorded a gospel album – or indeed that ‘Long Black Train’ makes another appearance.
Josh wrote the title track with Mark Narmore. It is quite a nice song set to a gentle melody in which he sets out the story of salvation and affirms his own commitment. It is one of only two new songs on the album, although some choices are less familiar than others. The other is actually the album’s one misstep. ‘The River (Of Happiness)’ was written by Josh’s wife Jennifer and son Hampton, and the whole family sings along live (apart from Josh himself). The song itself is not bad. Unfortunately the children can’t all sing In tune.
My favorite track is a measured, deeply sincere, reading of the Hank Williams classic ‘I Saw The Light’, backed by the sweet harmonies of Sonya Isaacs. I also loved the less well known ‘I Pray My Way Out Of Trouble’, a charming song written by Loretta Lynn and Teddy Wilburn. It was recorded by the Osborne Brothers in the 1960s, and Bobby Osborne contributes harmonies to this version.
There is a solid version of spiritual ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot’ which allows Josh to showcase the furthest reaches of his deep voice. ‘Without Him’ Is from the Southern Gospel tradition and has an emotional soulful vocal.
Classic hymns ‘Great Is Your Faithfulness’, ‘How Great Thou Art’ and (the best of the three) ‘Amazing Grace’ are all performed with reverence to tasteful arrangements. A more unusual inclusion is the short (very short if you’re thinking of it as a song, at only 42 seconds) ‘Doxology’ composed In the 17th century by Bishop Ken. Josh sings this quite simply and completely acappella. Really, this ought to close the set, but a retread of the sunny ‘Me And God’ (from Your Man) follows it.
Impeccably sung, arranged and produced, if not very original, this is a fine record with appeal for fans of Josh Turner or Christian country music.
Grade: A-
Released in April 2003, Cowboy Dreams was Adam’s fifth album and the second to be certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association signifying sales of 35,000 albums.
The album opens up with the “Love Bug”, the Wayne Kemp-Curtis Wayne penned hit for George Jones in 1965 and George Strait in 1993, both top ten records. It’s a silly song but Adam handles it well.
Next up is “Call It Love” a nice ballad that I could see George Strait having a hit with in his prime
Just Lookin Back On The Life We’ve Made
The Things We’ve Lost The Words To Say
A Million Words Are Not Enough
Call It LoveI Know That Sometimes I Put You Through
More Than I Should Ask Of You
There Must Be A Reason You Don’t Give Up
Call It LoveI Don’t Know What Else To Call It
When All I Wanna Do
Is Grow Old With You
What Else On Earth Can It Be When Every Time You’re With Me
A Simple Touch Tears Me Up
Call It Love
“When Lonely Met Love” is a nice up-tempo dance floor number:
He was empty as a bottle on a Saturday night
She was sweet as a rose that grows in a garden getting good sunlight
As fate would have it, the unlikely happened
In a parking lot, two worlds collideWhen lonely met love, they hit it off
Dancing on the ceiling, couldn’t peel them off
Now they’re real tight, it feels real nice
Lonely ain’t looking, lonely no more
Love started popping like a bag of popcorn
When they opened up, when lonely met love
Those good old ballads of booze, women and cheating have been largely banished from modern country music so “Hush”, so this mid-tempo ballad is a refreshing change of pace
He’s looking in the mirror checking out his hair, putting on his cologne
He ain’t shaved since Tuesday but tonight every little whisker’s gone
He’s going out with the perfect wife but she ain’t his ownChorus:
Hush…can’t talk about it
Hush…dance all around it
Everybody’s doing it old and young
Don’t breath a word cats got your tongue
HuushShe makes the kids breakfast, packs their lunch, sends them on their way
Makes all the beds and cleans up the kitchen loads the TV tray
But that ain’t coffee in the coffee cup gets her through the day
“She Don’t Know It Yet” is a wistful ballad about a man who has not been able to convey to his woman just how much he really loves her
I really love western swing and “Cowboy For A Day” is a nice example with a subject matter similar to Conway Twitty’s “Don’t Call Him A Cowboy” but with a more upbeat message and taken at a much faster tempo. This would be a great dance number
Adam’s voice is in Trace Adkins / Josh Turner territory but the structure of the album reminds me of many of George Strait’s albums, with a nice mix of slow and up-tempo songs.
My digital copy of the album did not include any information concerning songwriting credits, but it is fair to assume that where I haven’t commented, that Adam had a hand in the writing. I really liked “A Little More To It Than That” and “Little Cowboy Dreams” which I assume are Adam’s compositions. The latter is a really cute song, a father’s words to his son:
Dust off your boots, take off your star
Whistle your rocking horse in from the yard
Take off your hat you’ve tamed the wild west
But son even heroes need to get restClose your eyes little man it’s been a long day
And your worn out from riding it seems
Let your work in the saddle
All drift away
Into sweet little cowboy dreams
Old-timer that I am my favorite song on the album goes way back to 1965 when Lefty Frizzell recorded the Hank Cochran-Chuck Howard song “A Little Unfair”. Adam doesn’t sound like Lefty and doesn’t try to sound like Lefty but doers a very effective job with the song:
You want me to love just you while you love your share
Ain’t that being a little unfair
It’s me stay home while you stay gone till you decide to care
Ain’t that being a little unfairI can’t see how it can be anything for me
What’s mine is yours but what’s yours is yours
That’s how you wanted to be
You want me to wait for you till you decide to care
Ain’t that being a little unfairI can’t see how it can be anything for me
What’s mine is yours but what’s yours is yours
That’s how you wanted to be
You want me to wait for you till you decide to care
Ain’t that being a little unfair
This is a very country album – fiddle, steel guitar, thoughtful lyrics and everything else you would want in a country album.
Grade: A+
The latest country music themed movie, Forever My Girl, featuring an acting role for Travis Tritt, is really more of a romantic drama. I don’t know what the film is like, although it doesn’t sound particularly good, but my attention was caught by the official soundtrack album. This is already available on iTunes, and includes some new songs by artists including the aforementioned Tritt and Josh Turner.
Most of the songs are co-written by one Brett Boyett, the film’s music director, presumably either to fit emotional moments in the plot, or for the country singer characters to perform. British actor Alex Roe, who plays the country singer male lead in the film, is surprisingly convincing singing a brace of tunes which are presumably his character’s hits. ‘Don’t Water Down My Whiskey’ is typical contemporary pop-country (which is to say not recommended). Rather better is ‘Enough’, quite a nice love song, although it leans AC rather than country. It is reprised at the end of the set as a suet by Little Big Town’s Phillip Sweet and Lauren Alaina; their take is glossier and even less country sounding, better sung but somehow with less character.
The best of Roe’s tracks is ‘Smokin’ And Cryin’’, one of the few not written by Boyett. This is rather a good song about a woman undergoing heartbreak, written by Jackson Odell (who also helps with a number of Boyett’s songs here) and Caroline Watkins, with an acoustic arrangement. The worst, ‘Finally Home’, would actually be a decent song if not for the ghastly, out of tune duet vocal from a child actress in the film which is quite unlistenable.
Pop-country starlet Alaina makes a solo appearance with the contemporary sounding ballad ‘Wings Of An Angel’. She has a strong voice, and although it’s not quite my cup of tea it is well done of its type.
The best track is probably ‘Can’t Tame A Fire’, a very good song ruing a heartache, performed by Dan Tyminski. Josh Turner sounds good on ‘Back From Gone’, a fairly strong song but on the more contemporary sounding side.
Travis Tritt has a role in the movie, and sings a new song called ‘Slowing Down’, which Boyett wrote with Paul Overstreet. It’s a good song, but Tritt’s voice is sadly showing the signs of age – very disappointing. Another Overstreet co-write, ‘Who Needs Mexico’, sung by the unknown (at least to me) Mason James, is more effective and I rather enjoyed this.
Another newcomer, Destin Bennett, is pleasant but forgettable on ‘Wild And Free’. Canaan Smith, who was a rising star for Mercury a few years ago but has faltered since, is horribly over produced on ‘Always And Forever’, which is typical of today’s radio hits and provides the film title. Mickey Guyton’s ‘Caught Up In Your Storm’ is blues rather than country.
Producer Boyett takes on one lead vocal himself, and shows on ‘Solid Ground’ he has a rather limited voice, but it is not unsuited to the wearied lyric.
Alongside the new songs, the set includes what is perhaps Miranda Lambert’s worst recording, ‘Little Red Wagon’, and a number of very pop leaning Little Big Town cuts, the best known of which is ‘Little White Church’.
So there are a few worthwhile tracks, but on the whole this soundtrack is not very inspiring.
Grade: C
Produced by Wayne Thorose, Robert Mizzell’s latest offering was released late last year. As usual, there is a heavy reliance on cover material, although he largely avoided covering song that have been overdone already. That complaint aside, there is little to gripe about here; this is a solid collection of the kind of country music that rarely gets made anymore on this side of the Atlantic.
The title track is Sawyer Brown tune dating back to the band’s 1992 Cafe on the Corner album. Mizzell also covers Lefty Frizzell (“Gone, Gone, Gone” written by Harlan Howard), Johnny Cash (“Greystone Chapel” from 1968’s Live at Folsom Prison), Mel Street (“Borrowed Angel”) and Kris Kristofferson (“Why Me Lord”), as well as more contemporary artists such as Josh Turner (“Firecracker”) and Phil Vassar (“Like I Never Loved Before”). He acquits himself nicely on all of these, although “Firecracker” is not one of my favorite Josh Turner songs. “Like I Never Loved Before” is a pop-tinged power ballad, and though well done, seems out of place on this otherwise very traditional album. However, the best cover on this album is “Her Carried Her Memory”, an obscure Bradley Walker number dating back to 2006. This is a great song that deserves to be better known than it is.
“Day Job” was written and originally recorded by Gord Bamford, an Australian country singer who was raised in Canada and has enjoyed some success there. Mizzell’s version enjoyed some success on the Irish charts. It’s a fun song, whose central theme is one to which most of us can relate:
This crazy day job, it ain’t no thrill
But it makes those ends meet and pays my bills
I ain’t complainin’, but it ain’t right
‘Cause my old day job, is ruining my night life.
This is a song that could have bit a big hit in the US for someone if it had come along 20 years earlier.
There is also a decent amount of original material on the album, the best of which is “She’s On The Way” an upbeat number that Mizzell wrote himself about his new wife and daughter. This was the first time he recorded one of his own compositions and I look forward to hearing more in the future. “John Deere Beer” is a fun and somewhat lyrically light summer song that was hit for Robert in Ireland in 2015. On a more serious note, “City of Shreveport” is a nice tribute to Robert’s hometown, and “Two Rooms and a Kitchen” is a typical Irish country song about spending time at Grandma’s house. It might pass for an American country song if its references to digging spuds and drying turf (to fuel the fire) didn’t betray its origins.
The album closes with a remake of Mizzell’s 2010 hit “Mama Courtney”, his tribute to the foster parents who raised him in Louisiana. The tempo is slowed down considerably and it’s done as a piano ballad but the new arrangement is quite effective.
Although Travelling Shoes contains a fair amount of remakes, they are all well done, and thanks to its generous 15 tracks, there is also a decent amount of new material. The album comes across as a bit incohesive — at times it seems like a hits compilation since the songs don’t always share a common theme; however, I enjoyed listening to this more than anything else that I’ve heard lately, with the possible exception of Zephaniah OHora’s album. I’m very glad to have discovered Robert Mizzell and I will make it a point to continue following his career.
Grade: A
When the group here at My Kind of Country opted to focus on Irish country acts, I certainly was not displeased as I became quite familiar with the Irish version of American country music during my years living in London (1969-1971). Unfortunately, before the days of the internet, it was nearly impossible to keep up with the more contemporary Irish artists. For the most part, the Irish artists I recall are deceased, retired or else really old. Louisiana-born Robert Mizzell is the exception to that statement in that a friend of mine brought back three Robert Mizzell cassettes for me after a visit to the emerald island some years ago. Since I rarely listen to cassettes anymore, I had forgotten about them. I pulled them out, listened to them and decided to digitize them.
Robert Mizzell is indeed an exceptional singer, so I was looking forward to reviewing his newer material. I Don’t Want To Say Goodbye was released in December 2013; unfortunately, music purchased via digital download does not come with liner notes (or any other useful information for that matter), so while I suspect that a few of these songs may be original to Robert Mizzell, I recognize most of these songs as exquisitely performed covers.
The album opens up with “Louisiana Red Dirt Highway”, a 1990 solo endeavor by William Lee Golden. The song did not chart for WLG but it was a video hit, an excellent song and worthy of revival:
Pulled out the driveway
Passed an old tar paper shack
Standing at her mailbox
An old woman waves as I look back
I’m going to miss my family
And I’ll need all the letters that they’ll send
It’s going to be a long time before I travel doen this red dirt road againLouisiana Red Dirt Highway
I’ve been down a million times
Where the tin barns and the pine trees
I’m going to take them with me in my mind
I’m gonna take them to the city
Where a man could make good money so they say
I’m already pretty lonesome and my tires ain’t even swung off all the clay
“Little White Line” is not the Shooter Jennings song of a few years ago but it is a well performed mid-tempo song of youthful indiscretion.
“The Colour Of Your Dreams” is a gentle ballad about the loss of a brother.
“Wham Bam!” was as featured as a Buck Owens duet with son Buddy Alan on the 1972 album Too Old To Cut The Mustard. The song is given the same up-tempo treatment that Buck gave it.
“Your Man” was a 2005 US hit for Josh Turner. While Mizzell’s voice is not as low pitched as Turner’s, he does have a nice resonant voice and does an outstanding job with the song.
Baby, lock the doors and turn the lights down low
Put some music on that’s soft and slow
Baby, we ain’t got no place to go
I hope you understand
I’ve been thinking ’bout this all day long
Never felt a feeling quite this strong
I can’t believe how much it turns me on
Just to be your man
Travis Tritt and Marty Stuart had a fine recording of “The Whiskey Ain’t Workin’ Anymore”. Mizzell keeps the buddy feel of the song with duet partner Chuck Owens
“Loving You Could Never Be Better” comes from the George Jones song bag, a #1 (Record World) hit for George in 1972. Doing George Jones material can be tricky – the shadow of the Possum tends to hang over the material, particularly when covering the more familiar material. This was not one of George’s more famous (or best remembered) songs so the shadow is lessened. Mizzell does a very good job on this song, which will undoubtedly be new to many listeners. George’s recording was given the full ‘Nashville Sound’, which is missing here.
Well here we are, again, tonight alone just us two
Where the lights are dim and true love is comin’ through
There’s no one else in this whole world as far as we’re concerned
We’ve built ourself a fire, so let it burnWhen you look at me like you do right now I go to pieces
Because I know what’s on your mind, it’s just me
You’ve got that love-me-look in your eyes like you’ve had so many times and how
Loving you could never be better than it is right now
“I Love A Rainy Night” was a #1 pop and country smash for the smiling American of Irish descent, Eddie Rabbitt. Rabbitt, who died much too young at age 57, seems largely forgotten. While retaining the basic rocking rhythm of Rabbitt’s recording, the instrumentation is much more country.
Another George Jones classic “Wild Irish Rose” is next up. Whether the song is considered anti-war or is simply the story of a combat vet who returned as damaged goods, I will leave up to the listener to decide:
They sent him to Asia to fight in a war
He came back home crazy and asking, “What for?”
They had him committed oh, medals and all
To a mental hospital with rubber wallsThey cut off the funding oh, they cut off the lights
He hit the street runnin’ that cold winter night
Now the streets are the only place he can call home
He seems, oh so lonely, but he’s never alone
“One More Last Chance” was a 1993 Vince Gill hit. Mizzell’s voice is pitched lower than Vince’s and it doesn’t seem to work as well on this song. Don’t get me wrong, Mizzell’s recording is quite decent but pales next to the original:
Give me just a one more last chance
Before you say we’re through
I know I drive you crazy baby
It’s the best that I can do
We’re just some good ol’ boys, a makin’ noise
I ain’t a runnin’ ’round on you
Give me just a one more last chance
Before you say we’re through
I never saw the film Brokeback Mountain, but my wife said she recognized “I Don’t Want To Say Goodbye” from the movie so I looked it up and found that the song was written by Teddy Thompson. It’s is a nice ballad sung well by Robert Mizzell
“Sweet Home Louisiana” may be original material. The song is upbeat, up-tempo and has a definite Cajun feel complete with accordion. I really liked the song.
“Down On The Bayou” is another upbeat up-tempo Cajun-flavored song. This is not the Creedence Clearwater Revival song, but perhaps original material.
This album is excellent. I wish I knew the names of the musicians so I could give them proper credit. The musicianship is both real country and excellent. Robert Mizzell has a great voice and knows how to use it.
I look forward to hearing more from him.
A
After numerous delays, Josh Turner fans finally have a new album to listen to, nearly five years after the release of his previous effort Punching Bag. Deep South, produced by Turner’s longtime producer Frank Rogers, arrived last week.
The current climate at country radio is a difficult one for traditional-based artists. MCA was reluctant to release the album until they were sure they had a hit single on the charts. As a result, I awaited this release with some trepidation, expecting it to be a compromise to the demands of the label and radio and not necessarily the album Josh would make if left to his own devices. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what it sounds like, although after learning that Turner wrote or co-wrote five of the album’s elven songs, it’s difficult to say for sure exactly where the blame lies.
The underperforming lead single, 2014’s “Lay Low”, which climbed to #28 sounds like a bland Keith Urban song,and the follow-up single about a “pretty little homegrown Hometown Girl”, currently residing at #10 on the charts is a similarly trite effort. I recognize that songs like this are a necessary evil for artists to get on the radio so that their albums can be released. But I do expect that when the album eventually appears that there will be some deeper cuts, and that is where Deep South falls short. The Turner-penned title track is a funky-sounding list of cliches about Southern life — fried chicken, back roads,et al. “All About You”, another Turner composition, is much the same, with the word “girl” used gratuitously throughout the song. “Southern Drawl” combines the southern life and hot chick themes:
She’s as pretty as South Georgia peaches
And as hot as any Tennessee June
She’s a treasure underneath that Carolina kudzu
She still outshines a Mississippi moon
When she walks into a roomHer kiss sure drives me crazy
I melt when she says my name
Just one touch can make this old heart sing
But it ain’t the blue sky in her blue eyes
It ain’t good looks at all
It’s the way she says I love you that makes me fall, y’all
In that sweet, soft, slow southern drawl
I was bored by most of this album, which would have put me right to sleep in the hands of a less capable vocalist. It’s disappointing that after a five-year gap between albums that Turner apparently has so little to say. These songs are shallow, dull and cliche-ridden. It wasn’t until the final track “Hawaiian Girl” that I found a song that I could truly enjoy. It’s not deep either, but it has a throwback sound with plenty of pedal steel and is at least a change of pace.
I’ve long maintained that Josh Turner was a gifted artist who was continually let down by less than stellar material. Deep South unfortunately does nothing to change that assessment and if anything, is a big step in the wrong direction.
Grade: C+
1956 (Sales): Don’t Be Cruel/Hound Dog — Elvis Presley (RCA)
1956 (Jukebox): Don’t Be Cruel/Hound Dog — Elvis Presley (RCA)
1956 (Disc Jockeys):Crazy Arms — Ray Price (Columbia)
1966: Open Up Your Heart — Buck Owens (Capitol)
1976: You and Me — Tammy Wynette (Epic)
1986: Just Another Love — Tanya Tucker (Capitol)
1996: Believe Me Baby (I Lied) — Trisha Yearwood (MCA)
2006: Would You Go With Me — Josh Turner (MCA)
2016: Setting the World on Fire — Kenny Chesney featuring Pink (Blue Chair/Columbia)
2016 (Airplay): It Don’t Hurt Like It Used To — Billy Currington (Mercury)
1956 (Sales): Don’t Be Cruel/Hound Dog — Elvis Presley (RCA)
1956 (Jukebox): Don’t Be Cruel/Hound Dog — Elvis Presley (RCA)
1956 (Disc Jockeys):Crazy Arms — Ray Price (Columbia)
1966: Blue Side of Lonesome — Jim Reeves (RCA)
1976: The Games that Daddies Play — Conway Twitty (MCA)
1986: Both to Each Other (Friends & Lovers) — Eddie Rabbitt with Juice Newton (RCA)
1996: Believe Me Baby (I Lied) — Trisha Yearwood (MCA)
2006: Would You Go With Me — Josh Turner (MCA)
2016: Forever Country — Artists of Then, Now & Forever (MCA)
2016 (Airplay): It Don’t Hurt Like It Used To — Billy Currington (Mercury)
Josh Turner is one of the few surviving traditionally inclined holdouts on a major label, but he has been struggling with radio in recent years, and as a result his label has been delaying releasing new music.
His new single does not boast the deepest of lyrics, but it is a pleasant enough, if rather cliche’d, paean to a woman who has spent time in the big city but returned to the humble small town she grew up in. The protagonist seems to have followed the same trajectory, searching “all over the world” for love, only to find it back home. There is an attractive melody and reasonably restrained though not very inspired modern production, which is. Josh’s voice is as good as ever, and the end result is quite a nice little record. To be perfectly honest in another era it would be regarded as inoffensive but forgettable filler, but set against most of the fare on today’s “country” radio it’s a blessed relief.
The song was written by Marc Beeson and Daniel Tashian.
Grade: B
Country singer Josh Turner is shown in Nashville, Tenn., Oct. 9, 2007. At a time when much of Nashville seems to be retreading classic rock and pop, Turner has found success with sticking to traditional country music. While he’s not the only country singer with a traditional sound, he’s one of the few selling millions of records. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
1956 (Jukebox): I Forgot to Remember to Forget — Elvis Presley (Sun)
1956 (Disc Jockeys): Why Baby Why — Red Sovine & Webb Pierce (Decca)
1966: Waitin’ in Your Welfare Line — Buck Owens & The Buckaroos (Capitol)
1976: Good Hearted Woman — Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson (RCA)
1986: Think About Love — Dolly Parton (RCA)
1996: I’ll Try — Alan Jackson (Arista)
2006: Your Man — Josh Turner (MCA)
2016: Die a Happy Man — Thomas Rhett (Valory)
2016 (Airplay): Break On Me — Keith Urban (Capitol)
Six years after his last album was released John Anderson has been in the recording studio again. He wrote or co-wrote almost all the material, produced with his fiddle player Joe Spivey, and the album is on his own Bayou Boys label. Freed of any record label demands, the result is a sometimes eccentric, often somber, but always enjoyable collection designed for Anderson and his fans.
John wrote a couple of the new songs with Josh Turner. The title song is a nice, straightforward love song, which Anderson delivers with great warmth. The funky ‘I Work A Lot Better’ is also about a romantic relationship but more overtly sexy than one normally associates with Turner. ‘On And On And On…’, another love song, was written with the Statler Brothers’ Jimmy Fortune, but is unfortunately a bit dull.
Anderson joined with John Rich to write the pleasant sounding and idealistic ‘Don’t Forget To Thank The Lord’, rattling off a too-obvious list of people to be grateful to. Veteran songwriter Buddy Cannon co-wrote ‘Song The Mountain Sings’, a stately tribute to traditional Appalachian mountain music. Solo Anderson composition ‘I Will Cross O’er The Water’ is a Celtic-styled ballad about death and the prospects of heaven, with a pretty melody and intense vocal.
The opening ‘Freedom Isn’t Free’ is a gloomy sounding tribute to US soldiers. It is one of three songs written with the comparative unknown James C Hicks, senior. Love song ‘Happily Ever After’ also has a downbeat melody. ‘You All Are Beautiful’ is more cheerful, as Anderson thanks his fans for their support.
‘Back Home’(written with another unfamiliar name, Jimmy Stephens) is a downbeat story song about a dying woman longing for home and family, with a little twist I won’t give away. Stephens also co-wrote perhaps the strongest song, the serious ‘Holdin’ On’. This depicts a man in desperate financial and personal straits, with debts he has no idea how to repay and a woman who is obviously cheating on him:
These days you know it’s all that I can do
Holdin’ on to what I’m holdin’ toI thought I had a grip on things
Then it slipped away
Now I just keep on fallin’ every day
A steel-laced arrangement supports the song perfectly.
The one cover is a playful Merle Haggard story song, ‘Magic Mama’, which Hag wrote while in hospital with pneumonia a few years ago. Equally quirky is ‘Louisiana Son Of A Beast’, the story of catching an alligator, which Anderson wrote with Bill and Jody Emerson
This is a solid album from a great singer who has been much missed, and one which always sounds good – but it does lack real standout tracks, other than ‘Holdin’ On’. I would still recommend it to John Anderson fans.
Grade: B
I was disappointed when Shelby Lynne abandoned country music as she had seemed to have so much unrealised potential. But just as she did so, her younger sister emerged, with just as good a voice but a more rootsy sound and more subtle approach. She was launched upon the public with her song ‘A Soft Place To Fall’, a beautiful ballad which appeared on the soundtrack of Robert Redford’s film The Horse Whisperer, and its Oscar nomination gave Allison a national platform when she performed it at the awards ceremony. A tenderly delivered song about seeking temporary comfort in an old love, it is, quite simply, beautiful with a melancholic undertone.
Allison Moorer’s debut album was launched on MCA in 1998, produced by her husband and regular cowriter Doyle “Butch” Primm and Kenny Greenberg. Allison and Primm wrote the majority of the songs together. The overarching mood is gently sad, and the majority of the songs are melodic ballads with steel guitar prominent in the tasteful arrangements.
‘Pardon Me’ is an excellent pained country ballad with lovely steel about struggling to understand a breakup, with the occasional tart line:
You say you’ve lost the love you felt for me
Well baby, you won’t find it if you leave
She is defiant again in ‘Set You Free’ as the ex is on his way out the door – or is it mere face-saving bravado?
In ‘I Found A Letter’ (a standout), the protagonist finds herself a betrayed wife who knows the sweet love letters were based on a lie. Later, in deeply melancholic mood, she decides it’s ‘Easier To Forget’ than dwell on the heartbreak of the past, backed up by the weeping sadness of the steel guitar. The loungy ballad ‘Tell Me Baby’ is less country, but very well performed, and another take on love and loss.
‘Call My Name’ dwells on the ongoing sorrow from a long-gone love (possibly dead). The album closes with the most downbeat song of the lot – the bleakly funereal ‘Is Heaven Good Enough For You’, which may have been inspired by her parents’ tragic death, although it does not address it specifically.
The up-tempo shuffle ‘The One That Got Away’ (a co-write with Kostas) is much more upbeat musically, with Allison sounding quite cheerful although it’s another song about a broken heart.
The wearied ‘Long Black Train’ (not the Josh Turner hit) is about struggling to make it in Nashville, and being ready to give up the dream and head back home. The wistful title track also yearns for home.
This is not a happy album, but it is a great one which deserves to be better known. I wish Allison had kept on in this vein.
Grade: A
It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly five years since Chris Stapleton gave up his gig as lead vocalist for The SteelDrivers. Since then, in addition to writing hits for the likes of Kenny Chesney, Josh Turner, George Strait Darius Rucker and Miranda Lambert (among others), he briefly fronted the rock band The Jompson Brothers before being signed as a solo act to Mercury Nashville in 2013. “Traveller”, which was sent to radio yesterday is his second single for Mercury and the title track of his upcoming solo debut album which will become available one week from today.
The mid-tempo “Traveller” is decidedly more mainstream than the music Stapleton made with The SteelDrivers, yet it still has an Americana feel to it that makes it different from anything else that is played on country radio stations these days. Part of that is due to Stapleton’s soulful and somewhat gravelly voice, which at times is reminiscent of Travis Tritt. However, that voice is accompanied by acoustic guitar, plenty of pedal steel and a beautiful harmony vocal from an unidentified female singer, all of which should appeal to fans who are tired of arena rock masquerading as country, even if this is a little more left-of-center than what those fans usually listen to. Thematically (though not sonically) it is similar to Merle Haggard’s “Ramblin’ Fever.”
Unfortunately for Stapleton — and for country music in general — neither he nor his music is what radio is generally looking for today. With his Jamey Johnson-style long hair and beard, he is no pretty boy, and while that shouldn’t matter, in this day and age good looks trump talent almost every time. Additionally, his voice is probably a bit too rough for many fans who are used to more cookie-cutter singers. I don’t expect it to be a huge commercial success, but it will likely get some attention in the Americana world as well as from followers of The SteelDrivers as well as fans who have learned to look beyond the mainstream for decent entertainment.
Listen to it here.
Grade: A
Just after the release of the very similarly titled tribute I reviewed recently comes another project, this one featuring the man himself, produced by Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale. Mostly the guests sing lead with Dr Ralph harmonising, but some are true duets too.
There is some overlap in personnel (of those associated personally and professionally with Dr Ralph) but almost none with songs. The smooth-voiced Nathan Stanley duets with his grandfather on ‘Rank Stranger’ to great effect. Ricky Skaggs shows up again here with Carter Stanley’s ‘Sweethearts In Heaven’ and combines plaintive emotion with a solid driving rhythm.
The big country names all do a fine job. Josh Turner delivers a solid lead vocal on the joyful ‘We Shall Rise’. Dierks Bentley is excellent and sounds very authentic on the high lonesome ‘I Only Exist’. Lee Ann Womack is exquisite leading on ‘White Dove’.
The producers join Ralph on a three part harmony on ‘I Am The Man, Thomas’ with Stanley on lead vocal. Americana favourites Gillian Welch and David Rawlings join Dr Ralph on the traditional ‘Pig In A Pen’, which is very enjoyable.
I’m not much of a fan of Robert Plant, but his voice combines surprisingly well with Ralph’s on the ethereal ‘Two Coats’, and the effect is very haunting. Rock singer Elvis Costello has never had much of a voice, and while his duet with Ralph on ‘Red Wicked Wine’ isn’t at all bad, it is more or less saved by Stanley’s emotional heft, and the fact that Costello mostly doesn’t get to sing solo.
Fellow bluegrass veteran Del McCoury joins Ralph on the Jesse Winchester tune ‘Brand New Tennessee Waltz’. Modern jug band Old Crow Medicine Show join Ralph on ‘Short Life Of Trouble’.
‘Hills Of Home’ is a mostly-spoken eulogy to Ralph’s late brother, the troubled Carter Stanley, which is genuinely moving.
This release is currently a Cracker Barrel exclusive but hopefully it will get a wider relase at some point.
Grade: A
It seems that every year it becomes more and more difficult to compile a list of the year’s ten best singles. I don’t listen to country radio very much (OK – at all) anymore, so when one of my favorite artists releases a new album, I’m not always aware of which tracks have become singles. In fact, many veterans on independent labels no longer bother releasing product to radio. That being said, there were some worthwhile single releases this year and the following were my favorites:
10. All Alright — Zac Brown Band
The Zac Brown Band had been one of the few consistent bright spots at country radio in recent years. This tune has a great melody and a strong vocal performance, and I would have rated it higher had it not been for the over-the-top guitar solo that mars an otherwise very good record.
9. Like A Cowboy — Randy Houser
In another era, Randy Houser might have been a superstar. He’s one of the genre’s best vocalists but like many of his contemporaries he has struggled to consistently select strong material. This pop/rock-with-steel-guitar power ballad is not a timeless classic, but it’s one of the relatively few songs that didn’t either bore or annoy me. Yes, the bar has been lowered that much. That’s not to suggest that I didn’t enjoy this song, just an admission that it probably wouldn’t have made my Top 10 list in a stronger year.
8. Lay Low — Josh Turner
Turner is another artist whose talent often far exceeds the quality of the songs he sings. The lyrics don’t have a whole lot of depth but Turner’s vocal performance is enough to make this an enjoyable listen.
7. Bad Girl Phase — Sunny Sweeney
After a three-year hiatus, Sunny Sweeney returned this year, feeling feisty and letting everyone know that she’s not just the girl next door in this unfortunately non-charting effort.
6. PrizeFighter – Trisha Yearwood ft. Kelly Clarkson
Trisha Yearwood is another one of my long-time favorites who made a comeback this year. While not the strongest entry in her discography, “PrizeFighter” is a good, though not great, record.
5. A Million Ways To Die — Alan Jackson
Radio totally ignored this song from the film A Million Ways To Die In The West. This retro-sounding effort totally different from anything Jackson has ever done and is reminsicent of something Johnny Cash would have enjoyed sinking his teeth into. A fun listen if you don’t take it too seriously.
4. Who I Am With You — Chris Young
His latest album found Chris Young moving in a more pop direction. While I prefer his more traditional efforts, he is such a strong vocalist, it’s difficult not to like his music. On this track, he often sounds like a young Randy Travis, though the song itself is a far cry from Randy’s brand of country.
3. That’s What Dreamers Do — Travis Tritt
This is a very nicely crafted ballad, from a film about the life of Walt Disney. Tritts’ voice sounds a little more worn than it did back when he was a staple on country radio, but this song holds its own with the best of his 90s ballads.
2. Blue Smoke — Dolly Parton
This bluegrass-flavored single and the album from which it came marks Dolly Parton’s strongest effort since her bluegrass albums for Sugar Hill. At nearly 69 years of age, Dolly sound fresh and energetic and is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.
1. The Way I’m Livin’— Lee Ann Womack
A lot of big names returned from long hiatuses this year, but Lee Ann Womack’s was the one I was most excited about. This non-charting record is an example of what country music used to be all about. It’s the first release of the post-major label phase of her career. I hope that her association with Sugar Hill is a long one and that she’ll begin releasing music more frequently than she has in the past. Country music needs more Lee Ann Womacks.
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.
My Kind of Country 