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Alejandro Escovedo may fly under the radar, but that doesn't mean he and his record label can't employ the marketing techniques of bigger entities. This new edition of his seminal "A Man Under The Influence" includes loads of sonic flotsam and jetsam that he has released through Bloodshot over the years, including a wonderful reading of Mick Jagger's Evening Gown, a study of a player who is fast learning he's becoming played out after so much wine, whiskey, women and... »»»
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Paying homage to a legend like the late Chet Atkins is a tall order, especially when the man who forever shaped Nashville's musical landscape happened to be a close friend and mentor. So it's not all that surprising Steve Wariner's latest album, a 10-song tribute to Atkins, who died in 2001, hits the high notes musically but is a bit over the top when it comes to his reverence for his one-time hero.
Wariner's silky smooth picking has seldom sounded better... »»»
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Through three releases, the one constant about Carrie Underwood is her big voice. It's an instrument in and of itself no matter whether going for somewhat of a country sound, a pure pop bent or a tougher, rocking edge. She can add the right touch to sad songs such as Temporary Home in part about a young boy who has to shuffle from home to home or the tough sounding Quitter.
Underwood would not be accused of being heavy-duty country. She actually displayed more signs of that on her last CD,... »»»
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After his death in 1953, Hank Williams, became less a performer than a post-mortem brand name wherein his basic personality as an artist was increasingly downplayed and diminished. This remarkably enjoyable three-CD set, drawn from warmly remastered acetates - featuring occasional surface noise - of the old Mother's Best radio show, showcases much of that nearly lost essence.
Supported by his regular collaborators the Drifting Cowboys, Williams brings surprising drive to live renditions his... »»»
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From Sweet Appalachia to his girl leaning on a car fender in all of her Barbaric Splendor, Del McCoury reminds us his music and rural life is far from unsophisticated. The songs range from the straight bluegrass of Hello Lonely to the near swing tune I Remember You sung in high lonesome. There are waltzes, breakdowns, gold rush story songs and odes to moonshine in The Revenuer's Blues.
Del McCoury is a bluegrass singing man, but perhaps a touch more mellow these days... »»»
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Rosie Flores is the last person that needs more spunk, but somehow producer Jon Langford found a way to add a few more ounces of bounce to this rockabilly firebrand's stride. Flores might be small in stature, but she sure works up a big, bold sound throughout this excellent release.
She rocks out with I Ain't Got You and This Little Girl's Gone Rockin', yet shows tremendous restraint and vocal strength on the title track ballad. Langford inserts a little spunk of his own, as... »»»
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After his previous efforts with Heavy Trash, singer/guitarist Jon Spencer has tossed aside the spontaneous blues-meets-garage rock experiments and explosions for a tighter but at times unfocused slab of quirky tunes. Sure, there's the blasts of earlier albums sprinkled in between, but Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray are like a '60s one-hit wonder on the warm, island-tinged Gee, I Really Love You and the odd, quasi-spooky blues-cum-rockabilly of Good Man that resembles something Elvis might... »»»
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Joe Nichols' life has taken some dramatic turns since the release of his last record, "Real Things." Ironically, the 2007 album's title was a perfect fit for this offering as those turns have led Nichols to record some of the most personal songs of his career. Nichols' whirlwind last few years included getting married, checking into an alcohol rehabilitation program, joining the cast of Broadway's "Pure Country" and becoming a spokesperson with The... »»»
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Over the course of 99 tracks on 4 discs, RCA/Legacy Recordings has given music fans a concise and nearly complete snapshot of Dolly Parton's considerable impact on country music with the release of the new box set - a task not accomplished by any other collection.
The set covers all the career-defining hits you would expect like Jolene, 9 To 5, Islands In The Stream, I Will Always Love You and Here You Come Again, but what makes this collection truly special is the unreleased material it... »»»
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As a founding member of New Grass Revival, ace mandolin player Sam Bush played a key role in helping to develop a progressive bluegrass voice that broke away from the strict guidelines and conventions of traditional bluegrass music. Although he is primarily known for his spirit of innovation, Bush's latest release, his eighth as a solo artist, is notable because it embraces the traditional roots that first steered him toward bluegrass music.
Along with fresh takes on traditional favorites... »»»
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On their second live album emanating from Charlie-O's World Famous nightclub in Vermont, the Starline Rhythm Boys lay down yet another engaging set of infectious honky tonk and rockabilly floor stompers. Produced by Sean Mencher, the 10-song performance captures the booze-soaked ambience of reverberating hardwood floors, freshly tapped kegs and bass-slappin' bacchanalia.
Seething with jive, rhythm guitarist/vocalist Danny Coane, lead guitarist Al Lemery and stand-up bassman Billy... »»»
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In 1998, Lyle Lovett released "Step Inside This House," a 2-disc salute to Texas songwriters and, by extension, the spirit and pull of his home state. Lovett's place must have had a mighty big foyer as the writers invited in numbered 10 strong, including Willis Alan Ramsey, Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, whose song gave the collection its title. "Natural Forces" carries echoes of that earlier release, only with a condensed tributee list, leaving room for some new Lovett... »»»
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Tim McGraw knows what works for him on a bunch of songs tending to look at the human soul and the choices one makes in life.
The sadness of Good Girls comes through loud and clear in a tail of friendship gone deadly wrong. McGraw gets ultra-introspective on If I Died Today. On the one hand, it's morbid, of course, but on the other, McGraw challenges the listener to consider how they live their lives and want to be remembered.
Forever Seventeen looks at an aging woman still trying to find... »»»
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Two years ago, the trio of mandolin player Alan Bibey, Dobro/slide guitarist Phil Leadbetter and vocalist Steve Gulley joined forces to form Grasstowne. Joining this dynamic trio were Jason Davis on banjo and Travis Greer on bass.
Following up their initial success, Grasstowne now releases another tradition laden record. With a mixture of up-tempo high steppin' songs, stories of sorrow and woe, along with inspiring gospel, Grasstowne does an exceptional job.
Davis opens the record with a... »»»
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Charlie Daniels has recorded what he calls a bluegrass Christmas CD, although he isn't so exclusive that there are only bluegrass folks helping him out. His friends also include country singer Aaron Tippin (Christmas Time Down South) and folksinger Jewel (Blue Christmas).
Daniels also made sure everybody knows full well that this is a Southern Christmas music collection. Song titles include Christmas Time Down South, Mississippi Christmas and A Carolina Christmas Carol... »»»
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There aren't many holiday albums from Dobro players out there on the market. But Jerry Douglas is about the best Dobro player in the business, so you likely only need this solitary one. These 12 songs are of the acoustic variety and mostly instrumental.
However, the lovely Irish songstress, Maura O'Connell, lends her beautiful voice to New Year's Eve, and Douglas adds his "scary" vocal to a slightly dark interpretation of Santa Claus Is Coming to Town... »»»
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The only weakness of James McMurtry's "Live In Europe" is its brevity, clocking in at just over 40 minutes. Recorded in The Netherlands and Germany, McMurtry focuses primarily on songs from his excellent 2008 release "Just Us Kids."
Amongst the stronger tracks are Just Us Kids, a somewhat fatalistic view on aging ("Not so skinny, not so free/ Not so many as we used to be") and You'd A Thought, which also examines the aging process ("There's so... »»»
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If charcoal could sing, it'd sound like vocalist/songwriter/guitarist Ben Nichols of Lucero: driven by a steady heat that can flare up when needed, and raw-throated from the smoke. It's a voice that fits the Memphis quartet's sound, which places them on the roughed- and rocked-up outer fringes of alt.-country's back forty alongside the likes of fellow rule-breakers Two Cow Garage and the periodically resurrected Slobberbone.
And it fits Nichols' stories, which tend to... »»»
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"Aged and Confused" is the sound of Bill Engvall not aging gracefully, but going into middle age gently kicking and screaming. Much of this comedy release explores how it feels to be reluctantly 50, in a youth-driven world. For instance, a bit titled Clubbing at 50 expresses the utterly uncomfortable atmosphere of aging men clearly out of place among the bright lights and electronic music of modern day clubs.
However, Engvall is at his funniest when describing family vacation trips... »»»
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As his latest 12-song outing demonstrates, few singer-songwriter's craft a commercial hook song as well as Toby Keith. Combining the by now standard mix of rock guitars with honky-tonk instrumentation, Keith largely eschews political ideology in favor of sincerely rendered romantic moments (Are You Feeling' Me, Tender As I Wanna Be) and self-reproach (Woke Up On My Own). And, just in case there was any doubt, he assures us that singing country music is preferable to digging ditches (Gypsy Drifter)... »»»
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"Do I turn you on and on when I kiss you baby? Does the sight of me wanting you drive you crazy?" Luke Bryan's debut single off his sophomore album, Do I is narrated from a point of insecurity, but it comes from a voice that's potentially watching a relationship collapse before his very eyes. It's the stage where one doesn't want to admit that the fire and passion are gone, so just the fact that he's asking all of these questions should tell us that it's over... »»»
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Four years ago, singer/songwriter Tom Gillam had the third and most serious of his three heart attacks, an event that finally forced him into a lifesaving sobriety. Although there was a certain spirit of reprieve to Gillam's subsequent 2007 album, "Never Look Back," it was there by virtue of perspective; the bulk of the album was already finished when Gillam flatlined in a New Jersey hospital. To get a real sense of Gillam's reclamation requires a spin through his latest album,... »»»
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Despite coming away empty handed during this year's Polaris Music Prize (Canada's equivalent to Britain's Mercury Prize), Toronto band Elliott Brood's latest effort is slowly making inroads in the U.S. And for good reason - it's a solid, foot-stomping, roots-y, rockabilly-tinged hoe down, something they lovingly dub "death country."
Using the 1857 Mount Meadows massacre as a jumping off point, Elliott Brood open with Fingers And Tongues, a tension-building... »»»
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The sparse, mesmerizing Sound of Coming Down is one of many standout tracks on Exene Cervenka's first solo album in nearly 20 years. And perhaps the song title also is a good description of this low-key effort after the more frequently, well, loud work of X, Auntie Christ and the Original Sinners.
The 14 songs, which combined clock in at a little more than sitcom-length, are filled with vignette-like passages of passion, loss, regret and humor. Five songs don't even make it to the... »»»
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When Rosanne Cash was 18 years old (and primarily interested in rock music) her father, Johnny Cash, gave her a list of 100 essential country and western songs, which included everything from Jimmie Rodgers to Bob Dylan, and now her 12th studio album contains Rosanne's version of 12 of those essentials.
It's being called a "covers" album, but that sells it short. Sure, she's faithful to the melodies and where the original probably can't be improved upon - as with... »»»
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There's a certain something in "Closer to the Bone" that just might make your eyes well up or put a knot in your stomach. It is in the subtlety beautiful guitar work of the late Stephen Bruton, the longtime Kristofferson band member to whom the album is dedicated. And it's also, of course, in the sad, reflective words the celebrated songwriter has penned, but it's the 73-year-old's unmistakable voice, which has aged well and become old-country-singer-enhanced through... »»»
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Western North Carolina's Malcolm Holcombe is a unique performer. He takes to the stage with a chair that he might as well kick away 30 seconds in and with a stare that looks a mile past you even as it's lasering through your core. He's got a 1950 Gibson guitar that can moan the most mournful country blues or hum the most joyous love song. And he's got the long-journey voice to handle both.
But unique only gets you so far without songs. Not to worry: Holcombe's got songs, always has... »»»
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Thoroughly unafraid to lead the freak parade for the better part of this decade, Big Kenny and John Rich have repeatedly demonstrated their range in each of their three studio albums, giving voice to tender ballads alongside their over-the-top party hits. That range is well-showcased here.
As is often the case with hits collections, the way you feel about this album will be directly related to how you feel about Big and Rich, a duo that has served to divide the country community between those... »»»
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Over nine years and a dozen releases, the Avett Brothers (brothers Scott and Seth Avett and bassist Bob Crawford) have transformed casual listeners into zealots and skeptics into believers. And the trio has done it with a sound that's continued to travel - using the word "evolve" or "mature" would be succumbing to a value judgment - from recording to recording. That sound began raw and lean and rooted in, well, roots music. At the point of this major-label debut, it's... »»»
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After a brief detour into military history on his "Horse Soldier, Horse Soldier" album, Corb Lund has returned to his usual subject matter - ranching and rodeos, gambling and other vices. They're traditional topics for a western band, but Canadian singer Lund is never simply rehashing concepts that have been done before. Even at his most humorous and uptempo, his songs carry a dark, modern edge. There's a deep awareness of the way traditions are changing... »»»
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Patty Loveless' first venture into bluegrass, "Mountain Soul," along with a performance slot on the popular Down From the Mountain tour in 2001, helped Loveless to find a spotlight of her own in bluegrass. Eight years later, Loveless lends her still supple voice to a blend of bluegrass songs, traditional gospel tunes and even several self-penned songs, with solid, if not superb, results.
Loveless' voice occasionally shows signs of age here, but that very element brings a... »»»
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Every once in a while an album comes along that restores your faith in mainstream country music. Miranda Lambert's "Revolution" is just such a recording. It's not revolutionary, as the title might suggest. Instead, this CD is chock full of topnotch songs that are both memorable and sincere and never sound slick or overproduced. (Come to think of it, such old school values as these may in fact be revolutionary around Nashville).
Lambert vocalizes a bit like a little girl at... »»»
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The former leader of the Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash has shortened the band name and relocated from San Diego to Austin, but it hasn't altered Mark Stuart's catchy, hard-driving alt-country sound. If anything, perhaps the tightened moniker and new digs have primed Stuart's determination to make the next step commercially with this 12-song collection. There's a decided Brooks & Dunn turbo-tonk vibe on Power of a Woman and Seven Miles to Memphis, while he adds an earthy Hal... »»»
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Monsters of Folk was spawned in post-show jams between Bright Eyes, My Morning Jacket and M. Ward earlier in the decade; Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis, Jim James and Matt Ward actualized a tour in 2004 (which was dubbed Monsters of Folk by their tour manager), but it's taken the quartet five years to translate the structured jam atmosphere of their tour into a studio experience. The foursome assembled early last year with the barest ideas for songs with plans to lay down demos, hammered the... »»»
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Making a tribute album to Hank Williams could be career suicide but Arty Hill and His Long Gone Daddys pull off their eight song homage with solid vocals great picking and most of all, a ton of respect. With three originals including an instrumental tribute to Hank's steel player Don Helms featuring a virtuoso performance by multi-instrumentalist Dave Giegerich on Don's Bop, Hill and his band avoid the lure of rockabilly and keep feet planted firmly in early '50s honky tonk country... »»»
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Adam Steffey has honed his mandolin chops for years with top level bands like Alison Krauss, Mountain Heart and Dan Tyminski. His notes ring crystal clear with a tone few can rival on his second solo CD. Steffey chose first rate side men (and ladies) too. With supporting crew Krauss, Tyminski, Ron Block, Stewart Duncan, Ron Stewart and Randy Kohrs, the project has an all star cast.
While the CD has a modern sound, it also nods to the traditional, as in Red Allen's Don't Lie to Me... »»»
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In an era where AutoTune seems to be the order of the day, Guy Clark prefers sitting with paper and pen in hand. The longtime songwriter's latest opens with a laidback opener Sometimes You Write The Song with Clark half singing and half speaking his way through the tune akin to John Hiatt. But he opts for more spoken word on The Guitar, which doesn't seem to work well despite some fine picking throughout.
Fortunately, Clark redeems himself with the tender and stellar Hemingway's... »»»
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Over the course of 42 years and 30 albums, the Nitty Gritty Dirt
Band has covered a lot of stylistic territory. Most of them seem to
make a repeat appearance here. Such an eclectic mix of tracks could make for a rambling,
disjointed mess, but with the laid back groove of the band and some
low-key production choices, the album comes together as pleasantly
diverse.
The music kicks off with a great toe-tapper - Tulsa Sounds Like
Trouble to Me - and ends with the Cajun-influenced Good To Be
Alive... »»»
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Tom Russell has always had a broader agenda than simply recording hit songs. In Criminology, a quirky account of his time teaching the subject in Ibadan, Nigeria, he sings, "I know a little bit about a lot things." True, and it comes to bear in disparate ways in this collection of new material that brings together many elements of his previous recordings. Literary references, black culture, southwestern themes, autobiography - all here. Finding You is a simple, straightforward love song,... »»»
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The second release for The Band of Heathens continues their strong emergence onto the music scene by displaying a variety of mesmerizing attributes. This follows up the success of their debut, and proves they were not ready to rest on their accolades. This displays much more depth, digging into a soulful funk that grabs you from the start.
Ed Jurdi, Gordy Quist and Colin Brooks continue to provide strong vocals and harmonies, along with their timeless writing talents. Supported by Seth Whitney on... »»»
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