Eli Young Band, ZBB rise to top of charts
Thursday, July 19, 2012 – Zac Brown Band debuted in first on the overall top 200 Billboard Albums chart for the best selling disc in the U.S. for the week ending July 28. Eli Young Band captured the top spot on the Billboard Country Songs chart with Even If It Breaks Your Heart. EYB took over for Brantley Gilbert's You Don't Know Her Like I Do, which fell to fifth.
ZBB displaced Kenny Chesney's "Welcome to the Fishbowl," which fell to second. Luke Bryan remained third with "tailgates & tanlines." Hank Williams Jr. debuted in fourth with "Old School New Rules." Eric Church stayed fifth with "Chief." Zac Brown Band also was sixth on the chart with their last disc, "You Get What You Give."
Lee Brice was eighth, up five with "Hard 2 Love." Hunter Hayes jumped eight to ninth with his self-titled debut. Blake Shelton moved up 7 to 17 with "Red River Blue." Thompson Square's self-titled debut skyrocketed 11 to 22. Jana Kramer's debut was at 26, up 6. Pistol Annies stood at 28, up 3, with "Hell on Heels." Brad Paisley's "This is Country Music" was up 3 to 37.
Elsewhere on the song chart, Dierks Bentley was second with 5-1-5-0, Kenny Chesney fourth with Come Over and Gloriana fifth with (Kissed You) Good Night. Blake Shelton made it into the top 10 - at 9 - with Over, up 2.
Little Big Town was a big mover with Pontoon, jumping 5 to 15. There wasn't a lot of movement in the rest of the top 30 with a big exception. Lee Brice went from 29 to 26 with Hard to Love.
Carrie Underwood was the biggest mover by far with Blown Away at 30, up 10.
On the bluegrass chart, Trampled By Turtles once again were first with "Stars And Satellites." Rhonda Vincent debuted in second with "Sunday Mornin' Singin': Live!," a gospel set, Jerry Douglas was third with "Traveler." "The Gospel Side of Dailey & Vincent" and Alison Krauss & Union Station's "Paper Airplane" were fourth and fifth.
On the overall top 200 chart, Chesney was 10th, Bryan 11th, Hank Jr. 12th and Church 15th.
More news for Eli Young Band
CD reviews for Eli Young Band
Life At Best
The Eli Young Band combines a pop-rock sound with country sensibilities - a formula that drew a larger following in Texas/Red Dirt Music scene. With their radio-friendly sound (some Red Dirt fans referred to them as Rascal Flatts of the Texas country scene), Texans knew it was only a matter of time before they took their talents to Nashville. Their debut, "Jet Black and Jealous," featured a couple of hits that resonated with fans outside of Texas - the remake of When It Rains and Only The Love Songs. »»» |
Jet Black and Jealous
New to many ears but long on bootstrapping, the Eli Young Band mixes country with smart production to come up with an album that goes down smooth, but doesn't bite. That may not be for all listeners: the band's producers seem to have forsworn grit for polish, when a little more letting loose would - at least on some parts of the record - have been welcome.
The opening of Always the Love Songs, for example, makes one think of something from The Wallflowers (another band that had to »»» |
Editorial: Walking the talk –
When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today. »»»
Concert Review: Music City goes (Boston) Pop(s) –
On the face of it, the idea of top shelf country songwriters coming up from Nashville to play with the Boston Pops may seem incongruous. The idea of the venerable Boston institution and fixture on the July 4 scene, playing patriotic songs doesn't have all that much to do with country.
The idea isn't without precedent, of course.... »»»
Concert Review: O'Donovan goes home –
Aiofe O'Donovan had plenty of reason to be filled with good cheer. This was a hometown gig, after all, and only three days before the release of her first full-length solo debut, "Fossils."
Joking that the audience was filled with people she knew from high school and her parents' friends, O'Donovan made it clear that Boston... »»»
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Still Fighting the War
Few artists exude pain in their voices the way Slaid Cleaves can, and there are moments during his strong new full-length, "Still Fighting the War," when he seems a little like the male equivalent to Lucinda Williams. With Rust Belt Fields, Cleaves speaks up for most anybody that's been laid low be America's recent recession, from those dealing with home foreclosure to the ones laid off from their jobs. »»» |
Fossils
Aiofe O'Donovan has been on a roll. As lead singer of the well-regarded alt.-bluegrass band, Crooked Still, O'Donovan helped put the alt. in the bluegrass with her light, sometimes breathy vocals. She also gained attention for singing on two songs on "The Goat Rodeo Sessions." She's now on her own (Crooked Still is on hiatus) for her first full-length disc. »»» |
Pokey LaFarge
Although Pokey LaFarge is a relatively young 30 years old, his songwriting soul is as old as a Victrola crank. In the past seven years and across seven albums, LaFarge has paid homage to the American music that caught his ear as a teenager (hot jazz, swing, country blues and Appalachian folk), not with an idolator's slavish heart, but with the nervy spirit of an innovator. »»» |
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