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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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It's sparse and on the eclectic side. There's no one on the CD but Ricky Skaggs playing a bevy of instruments from a gut string fretless banjo to a piano to an Ernie Ball bass. While the bluegrass community frowns on percussion and electric guitars, this is still the most likely audience for this project. This is a display of the music Skaggs' father loved and it harkens back to the '50s and before. Many songs are one voice (he's overdubbed harmonies on a few), and that... »»»
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One of the key agencies in FDR's New Deal initiative was the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a federally-funded organization that provided almost 8 million jobs from 1935-1943. Along with general labor jobs like building and road construction, the WPA also focused on jobs in the arts with programs like the Federal Art Project - an initiative that allowed visual artists to create projects like murals and posters.
Given this historic perspective, it should come as no surprise that the... »»»
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Texas artist James Hand, 57, has long been a Texas treasure, but is finally receiving more widespread acclaim. The 12-song release - his second for the label - includes only 1 cover, a western swing version of Nat King Cole's hit Mona Lisa. The rest of the record contains originals written by Hand that provides proof that traditional country music is still alive and well.
Co-produced by Asleep at The Wheel front man Ray Benson and Lloyd Maines, Hand delivers each song with a passion seldom heard today... »»»
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From the hard rocking blues opening of 51 Pieces, it is difficult for those unfamiliar with the Oklahoma band to know what to expect from Cross Canadian Ragweed. If ever they had 'em, these guys checked their 10-gallon hats at the door. They've much more in common with rockers steeped in the bluesy-Southern musical vernacular such as The Allman Brothers and ZZ Top than their Nashville counterparts.
Highlights include Bluebonnets with its charming lyrics and an equally lovely melody,... »»»
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John Fogerty released an album as "The Blue Ridge Rangers" in 1974, a country covers disc where he played every instrument and scored a minor hit with Rockin' All Over the World. Leaving behind his Creedence Clearwater Revival Days, Fogerty launched a very successful solo career.
But now he has returned to his Blue Ridge Ranger days with a difference - this is a group concept as Fogerty includes such stalwarts as Kenny Aronoff, Buddy Miller, Greg Leisz, Hunter Perrin, Jason Mowery,... »»»
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The now-defunct competition that was Nashville Star produced few significant artists, aside from Miranda Lambert, who finished third in the 2003 edition. Chris Young, the 2006 winner, may have something to say about that with a sophomore album that plays on his strengths - chiefly, a neo-traditional sound coupled with a warm baritone.
The Tennessee native's act runs deeper than your average cowboy-hat wearing, mid-20's country act. He delves into difficult subjects like The Dashboard about a U.S... »»»
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Jam bands don't make good studio albums. That's been the prevailing opinion among reviewers, critics and observers of popular music since bands like the Grateful Dead expanded the boundaries of traditional rock and roll music by adding extended improvisational sections. While the songs may be good, it is often argued that the studio albums fail to capture the energy and spirit of the concerts these jam bands are known for.
Colorado's Yonder Mountain String Band, with its unique... »»»
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Though Willie Nelson is revered as one of the greatest singer/songwriters in country music history he has never been confined to that genre as this collection exemplifies.
Nelson covers pop standards as he did on his 1978 release "Stardust." Amongst the most effective are tunes on which Nelson is joined by noted jazz performers Diana Krall (If I Had You ) and Norah Jones (Baby, It's Cold Outside ).
Other highlights are Fly Me To The Moon and On The Street Where You Live ... »»»
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Jack Ingram spent much of the '90s polishing his star in the organic, stripped-down Texas music scene before leaving it behind for the allure (and chance for a larger career) that comes with Nashville's pop-country sound. Ingram's music has become sleeker, with drums and electric guitar thrown to the forefront in true Nashville style, but even that can't hide his slightly rugged vocals.
A bitter, darker version of honky-tonk rocker Barbie Doll was released on his 1999 album "Hey You... »»»
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There's an old adage that says nothing beats family harmony, and the teenage sister act Gold Heart is out to prove it with its third studio release and label debut. Hailing from Virginia, Analise (mandolin), Jocelyn (guitar) and Shelby Gold (fiddle) impress with these 12 bluegrass tunes, including 9 originals, showcasing exceptional harmony vocals as well as their individual talents as instrumentalists.
Raised in a musical family, the three sisters have been performing for years, and all... »»»
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What if you held auditions for lead singer within your band and everyone got the job? It happens. All three members of Love and Theft - Brian Bandas, Eric Gunderson, and Stephen Barker Liles - share the vocal duties, acting as each other's backups and plugging in harmonies (think early Eagles) wherever possible. In the wake of a tour opening for Taylor Swift, the pin-up gents from everywhere (Austin by way of Charlotte and Clearwater, Fla.) now venture forth with their debut to the eager... »»»
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