Country music from a fan's point of view since 2008
Today we commemorate the centenary of the end of the First World War, and remember all those who have died in other wars.
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+
1958 (Sales): Oh Lonesome Me / I Can’t Stop Loving You — Don Gibson (RCA Victor)
1958 (Disk Jockeys): Oh Lonesome Me — Don Gibson (RCA Victor)
1968: The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde — Merle Haggard (Capitol)
1978: Every Time Two Fools Collide — Kenny Rogers & Dottie West (United Artists)
1988: I’ll Always Come Back — KT Oslin (RCA)
1998: Bye, Bye — Jo Dee Messina (Curb)
2008: You’re Gonna Miss This — Trace Adkins (Capitol Nashville)
2018: Meant To Be — Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line (Big Machine)
2018 (Airplay): Meant To Be — Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line (Big Machine)
1958 (Sales): Oh Lonesome Me / I Can’t Stop Loving You — Don Gibson (RCA Victor)
1958 (Disk Jockeys): Oh Lonesome Me — Don Gibson (RCA Victor)
1968: Fist City — Loretta Lynn (Decca)
1978: Someone Loves You Honey — Charley Pride (RCA)
1988: I Wanna Dance With You — Eddy Rabbitt (RCA)
1998: Bye, Bye — Jo Dee Messina (Curb)
2008: You’re Gonna Miss This — Trace Adkins (Capitol Nashville)
2018: Meant To Be — Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line (Big Machine)
2018 (Airplay): Singles You Up — Jordan Davis (MCA Nashville)
1958 (Sales): Oh Lonesome Me / I Can’t Stop Loving You — Don Gibson (RCA Victor)
1958 (Disk Jockeys): Oh Lonesome Me — Don Gibson (RCA Victor)
1968: You Are My Treasure — Jack Greene (Decca)
1978: Someone Loves You Honey — Charley Pride (RCA)
1988: Famous Last Words of a Fool — George Strait (MCA)
1998: Perfect Love — Trisha Yearwood (MCA)
2008: You’re Gonna Miss This — Trace Adkins (Capitol Nashville)
2018: Meant To Be — Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line (Big Machine)
2018 (Airplay): Most People Are Good — Luke Bryan (Capitol Nashville)
Paying tribute to George Jones;:
As was the case last year, https://mykindofcountry.wordpress.com/2016/12/30/top-10-hidden-gems-of-2016/ I haven’t compiled a singles list this year, but this list of hidden gems highlights some of the great album tracks from records that didn’t make my albums of the year list. A few were also singles. I have omitted tracks which were singles only, or Alan Jackson’s outstanding new single ‘The Older I Get’ would undoubtedly have vied for one of the top positions.
10. Mike Bentley – ‘The Little T’ (from All I’ve Got)
An absorbing story song from a great bluegrass album which I hope to review in the new year. Bentley, formerly lead singer of Cumberland Gap Connection, is now out on his own, and developing into one of the best current male bluegrass singers.
9. Sons of the Palomino – ‘Outta This Town’ (from Sons Of The Palomino)
Successful songwriter Jeffrey Steele’s latest project was an overlooked gem itself, and this particular cut about feeling trapped in a dying small town is rather lovely. The album version features harmonies from Emmylou Harris.
8. Reba McEntire – ‘Jesus Loves Me’ (from Sing It Now)
Reba’s new religious album was an unexpected pleasure this year. I generally preferred the quiet emotion of the more traditional hymns on the first part of the two-disk set to the more contemporary second half, and this track was the very finest recording for my measure.
7. Martina McBride – ‘Here Comes That Rainbow Again’ (from Various Artists, The Life & Songs Of Kris Kristofferson Live)
A live cover of one of Kris Kristofferson’s most moving songs (based on an incident in The Grapes Of Wrath), sung by one of the best female vocalists in mainstream country. Martina’s voice hasn’t always been matched by her material, so this is a joy.
6. Aaron Watson – ‘Texas Lullaby’ (from Vaquero)
A lovely story song about a World War II soldier from Texas and his love story.
5. Darin & Brooke Aldridge – ‘Fit For A King’ (from Faster & Farther)
This dramatic high lonesome story song about a street preacher was also a highlight on Gene Watson’s new gospel album, which did make my top 10. But before that it shone on the bluegrass husband and wife’s latest effort. Brooke’s strong mountain vocal has a raw intensity, supported by the harmony of Charli Robertson from Flatt Lonesome. The rest of the album was pretty good, too.
4. Lonesome River Band – ‘Blackbirds And Crows’ (from Mayhayley’s House)
A brilliantly sung bluegrass murder ballad.
3. Kendell Marvel, ‘Hurtin’ Gets Hard’ (from Lowdown & Lonesome)
A classic style traditional country heartbreaker with powerful vocals.
2. Trace Akins – ‘Watered Down’ (from Something’s Going On)
This one was actually a single – https://mykindofcountry.wordpress.com/2017/03/31/single-review-trace-adkins-watered-down/
Written by Matt Jenkins, Trevor Rosen and Shane McAnally, this mature ballad about growing older was by far the best song on Trace’s otherwise disappointing new album. Trace is another great singer with a hit and miss approach to his material, and he really needs to do more songs like this as he transitions to the minor labels.
1. Jake Worthington – ‘A Lot Of Room To Talk’ (from Hell Of A Highway)
A gorgeous traditional country sad song from an excellent singer. If this had been released 25 years ago it would have been a monster hit. I would like to hear a lot more from this young artist.
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)
It looks as if Trace Adkins’ mainstream career is over, with his recent move from Show Dog Universal to Wheelhouse Records (a Broken Bow imprint). One never knows quite what to expect from Trace, and the music here covers the spectrum.
The first couple of singles for the label flopped, and deservedly so, as they are not very good. The first of these, ‘Jesus And Jones’, was almost a hit, peaking at #41. The song itself is actually solid, with its acceptance of maturity as a hellraiser torn between drinking and church realizes he needs to find a balance, but the production throws in too many bells and whistles aimed at contemporary “country” radio, and ends up muffling the song’s strengths.
‘Lit’, which failed to chart, is plain terrible, with cliché’d lyrics typical of Trace’s worst work, non-existent melody and loud, loud production with intrusive elements. It was cowritten by the album’s producer Mickey Jack Cones, perhaps no coincidence. ‘Country Boy Problems’ is awful in all the same ways lyrically and melodically, with a bit of cynical banjo thrown in. Opener ‘Ain’t Just The Whiskey Talkin’’ isn’t quite as bad, but is still cliché’d and too loud/cluttered.
Thankfully, his latest single (reviewed here by Razor X) is infinitely better. The song, written by Matt Jenkins, Trevor Rosen and Shane McAnally, is set to a gentle, attractive melody. Trace’s deep, warm voice is perfect for the song’s quiet reflection, and is well served by the understated production – the only song on the album for which this holds true. This is Trace Adkins at his best.
There are some other good songs here, despite the bombastic production. ‘Still A Soldier’, written by Phil O’Donnell and Wade Kirby, is a sympathetic portrait of a veteran who still bleeds red, white and blue despite his retirement to suburban civilian life; this is only a little over-produced. ‘Whippoorwills And Freight Trains’, another O’Donnell co-write, is a good mid-paced song about getting past a spell of loneliness. Trace gets to exercise the very lowest parts of his deep bass-baritone voice at the end of the song; but the production is too busy, and the song would be more effective with a more stripped down or traditional country production.
Two themes dominate the album, both adult in different ways. One is that of maturity; the other is a leaning to rather sexy songs. The best of the latter is the title track, which has a seductive melody and vocal, although it isn’t all that country. ‘I’m Gone’, written by Craig Campbell and Max T Barnes , isn’t too bad. ‘If Only You Were Lonely’ is muffled by the production. ‘Gonna Make You Miss Me’ is far too busy with irritating electronic intrusions. Both would be much better with different production choices.
The album closes with ‘Hang’, a pleasant if not ground-breaking tune about quiet downtime in the countryside which Trace’s vocal renders likeable despite busy production.
Next time around, Trace needs to ditch this producer and play to his strengths. This project is disappointing, especially given the long wait.
Grade: C+
The term “watered down” is usually used in a pejorative sense in the country music world. It’s generally used to refer to music that has been stripped of its country elements in favor of a more MOR sound that will appeal to a wider audience, but as the title of Trace Adkins’ new single, it seems to suggest a creative renaissance of sorts.
It’s been six years since Trace last had a single in the Top 10 and nine years since his last number one. During that time period country music saw the rise and (hopefully) fall of Bro-country and a lot of other changes that many of us were not happy about. Trace himself bears some responsibility for the genre’s wrong turn, given some of his own questionable musical choices in recent years. It’s nice to see that he is apparently trying to make amends for that with his latest effort. Written by Matt Jenkins, Trevor Rose and Shane McAnally, “Watered Down” is a ballad that finds Trace acknowledging middle age, without wistfulness, regrets or nostalgia. The production is contemporary — heavily dependent on keyboards and a subtle string section — but it is never heavy-handed. He’s well aware that he is no longer a young man, but he’s not quite ready to retire to a life of golf at The Villages just yet:
We still fly like gypsies
Just a little closer to the ground
And we still love our whiskey
But now it’s just a little watered down
Unless I’m reading too much into this, the song seems to be a metaphor for Trace’s career. It’s very possible that he’ll never again have a big radio hit, but he seems content to settle into a new role as one of country music’s elder statesmen. He’s not going to try to maintain the hectic pace of his younger years, but he’s still going to stick around and make music on his own terms. And if “Watered Down” is an indication of the path he’s planning to take from now on, I very much look forward to following him on his journey.
Grade: A
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: Where Does The Good Times Go — Buck Owens (Capitol)
1977: She’s Just An Old Love Turned Memory — Charley Pride (RCA)
1987: Baby’s Got A New Baby — S-K-O (MTM)
1997: We Danced Anyway — Deana Carter (Capitol)
2007: Ladies Love Country Boys — Trace Adkins (Capitol)
2017: Body Like a Back Road — Sam Hunt (MCA)
2017 (Airplay): Sober Saturday Night — Chris Young feat. Vince Gill (RCA)
1957 (Sales):Young Love — Sonny James (Capitol)
1957 (Jukebox): There You Go/Train of Love — Johnny Cash (Sun)
1957 (Disc Jockeys): Young Love — Sonny James (Capitol)
1967: Where Does The Good Times Go — Buck Owens (Capitol)
1977: Heart Healer — Mel Tillis (MCA)
1987: Mornin’ Ride — Lee Greenwood (MCA)
1997: Me Too — Toby Keith (A&M)
2007: Ladies Love Country Boys — Trace Adkins (Capitol)
2017: Body Like a Back Road — Sam Hunt (MCA)
2017 (Airplay): Better Man — Little Big Town (Capitol)
1957 (Sales):Young Love — Sonny James (Capitol)
1957 (Jukebox): There You Go/Train of Love — Johnny Cash (Sun)
1957 (Disc Jockeys): Young Love — Sonny James (Capitol)
1967: I’m a Lonesome Fugitive — Merle Haggard (Capitol)
1977: Say You’ll Stay Until Tomorrow — Tom Jones (Epic)
1987: I Can’t Win For Losin’ You — Earl Thomas Conley (RCA)
1997: Running Out of Reasons to Run — Rick Trevino (Columbia)
2007: Ladies Love Country Boys — Trace Adkins (Capitol)
2017: Body Like a Back Road — Sam Hunt (MCA)
2017 (Airplay): Better Man — Little Big Town (Capitol)
Spiritual songs have been a staple of country music from the genre’s very beginnings, although one would hardly know it from listening to the radio over the past decade or so. In his latest effort “Outskirts of Heaven”, which he co-wrote with Dave Turnbull, Craig Campbell dusts off the tried and true theme of life in the hereafter, with one small twist: Heaven is a shining city where the streets are paved with gold. So where would any self-respecting country boy prefer to be? On the outskirts, of course, in the wide open, rural spaces where the pace is just a little more laid back. It’s not exactly how I’ve ever thought about Paradise, but somehow it seems to make perfect sense.
In addition to the spiritual theme, Campbell and Turnbull have also managed to create a well-crafted song that extolls the virtues of rural life without getting in the listener’s face. There are references to buck knives, rifles and fishing but thankfully there are no beer, trucks or tailgating in cornfields. By declaring his preference for an afterlife on a farm instead of right smack in the middle of God’s Eternal City, Campbell manages to pay homage to the country lifestyle in a substantive manner, unlike the countless superficial redneck pride anthems that have polluted the radio airwaves in recent years.
The lyrics are simple yet meaningful, the production is restrained and tasteful, with plenty of harmony and steel guitar. The electric guitar near the end is a little at odds with the otherwise traditional arrangement, but it’s nothing I can’t live with. Campbell’s vocal reminds of me of the early Trace Adkins back when Trace still knew how to pick decent songs. This song would have been a surefire hit in the 90s, and maybe now that the bro-country movement is showing signs of waning, radio will be receptive to something a little more traditional.
Despite getting off to a promising start, Craig Campbell’s career has not caught on the way it should — partly because the current climate is a tough one for traditional artists and partly because he lacked the promotional backing of a strong record label. His former label Bigger Picture Music Group folded in 2014. “Outskirts of Heaven” is Campbell’s second release under a new deal with Red Bow Records. Now that Chris Stapleton has opened the door for traditionalists just a crack, it remains to be seen if Craig Campbell (or anyone else) can finally knock it off its hinges.
Grade: A
A classic cover:
Trace Adkins pays tribute to George Jones:
I’m not sure whether I’d call Shanachie a major label or not – it certainly is one of the big three when it comes to Irish/Celtic music, but however you chose to characterize the label, this album, produced by Brent Rowan, found itself issued on Shanachie, one of two Watson albums released on this particular label.
By the time this album was released in 2007, Gene had been bouncing from label to label for a decade since leaving Step One Records. In fact much of the output of the period (1998-2007) consisted of Gusto reissues of material taken from Step One albums and other material released on independent labels such as Broadlands.
Unlike previous albums, which never saw Watson other than as a solo vocalist, Watson entered new territory, recording six songs featuring guest artists (mostly as harmony vocalists rather than true duets) out of the eleven songs on the album. Also unlike recent albums, this album does not contain remakes of earlier Gene Watson hits, focusing instead on some old classic country songs, with some newer material mixed in.
While this album could never be described as innovative (a value-neutral term as innovation can be bad) or cutting edge, it is yet another example of a master craftsman applying his talents to a terrific set of songs.
The album opens with the old Hank Cochran classic “Don’t You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me”. Released during the 1960s this recording would have been a major hit. This song is followed by Vince Gill harmonizing with Gene on the Harlan Howard’s “Let Me Be The First To Go”, a song initially recorded by the great Wynn Stewart. This song is a tearjerker in which Watson asks God to call him home first as he couldn’t handle life without his wife. Aubrey Haynie’s fiddle and Sonny Garrish’s steel guitar really standout on this track
“What Was I Thinking” follows next – this was not the Dierks Bentley hit of a few years earlier but a Skip Ewing ballad lamenting the breakup of a relationship.
“Today I Started Loving You Again” is one of Merle Haggard’s most famous songs, even though it was never a hit for the Hag (it was the B-side of “The Ballad of Bonnie & Clyde”) although Sammi Smith had a minor hit with it. The song has been recorded many times, but never better than this version which features Lee Ann Womack’s harmony vocals, especially noteworthy on the repeat chorus.
Harley Allen and Tim Mensy penned the title track “In A Perfect World” , a song of a man who has reached bottom and is imagining life as it could be, not as it really turned out to be. Joe Nichols harmony vocals provide the proper shading for this very desolate song:
In A Perfect World It Never Rains on Saturday
In A Perfect World I Wouldn’t Hate The Holidays
I’d Sleep Just Like A Baby and Have One Down The Hall
You’d Still Be My Girl, In A Perfect World
Tim Mensy also contributed “She’s Already Gone” and “This Side of he Door” (co-written with Shawn Camp). “She’s Already Gone” is just another good song about a relationship that is already dead except for someone actually leaving, but “This Side of The Door is really good. Guest vocalist Mark Chesnutt has some solo lines on this song, which Chesnutt originally recorded on his What a Way to Live album released in 2004. This songs rocks a little harder than is customary for Gene.
It is hard to image that “Together Again” was the B-Side of “My Heart Skips A Beat” for Buck Owens never wrote a better song. Buck’s A-side spent seven weeks at #1 but so many DJs flipped the record that the B-side also spent two weeks at #1. Rhonda Vincent guest on this song, the only true duet on the album, an a harbinger of more collaborations to come. In my opinion, this is the standout track on the album.
Another Tim Mensy song “I Buried Our Love” was released as a single although I never heard it played on the radio. It has a strong lyric and should have received at least some airplay.
Connie Smith is one of the few country singers on a par with Watson in terms of being a master vocalist. I think this song was first recorded by Point of Grace but I doubt that many would consider this rendition in any way inferior to the original. I would like for Connie’s voice to have been more prominently featured.
The album closes with yet another Tim Mensy song, “Like I Wasn’t Even There”. This song sounds more like the stuff currently played on the radio (only sung better) than like classic country. The storyline of this ballad is one of a man encountering his ex and seeing her behave as if he didn’t exist.
Reaction to this album at the time of its release varied although all reviewers considered it a good collection of songs sung by an excellent singer, while docking it stars for not pushing the boundaries of the genre. In my humble opinion when an album is this good, I don’t care whether or not it breaks new ground.
From this point forward Gene would feature more duets – his next Shanachie album would feature actual duets with Trace Adkins and Rhonda Vincent and Alison Krauss providing harmony vocals on a track.
Grade: A
My Kind of Country 