Country Mike Blog

Original versions

Mike Sudhalter  |  October 19, 2008

I recently listened to two songs by the original artists, "Good Directions", and "Put A Girl In It". Now y'all probably know those songs by Billy Currington and Brooks & Dunn, respectively.

I like the versions by Luke Bryan and Rhett Akins - a couple of South Georgia natives - a lot better. They're more genuine, and that wouldn't be a surprise to anyone that knows that Bryan and Akins wrote those songs.

In "Good Directions", an online bonus song on Bryan's debut album, he changes some of the words and puts more emotion into it.

As far as upcoming artists, I can't wait for next Tuesday's debut of Joey & Rory, that would be songwriters Joey Martin and Rory Lee Feek, a married couple. Think of this duo as a traditional country, modern version of Johnny Cash and June Carter. They're going to take country music by storm. I'm also eager to her Martin's debut album, "Strong Enough to Cry" which wasn't released until recently.

Her song "That's Important to Me" really speaks to the important things in life - rural living, country music and family.

If you're looking for an exciting independent artist with a Texas-feel, check out out Corey Brown, an Athens, Ga. based country-folk singer. His song "Every Dawg" is the best contemporary song about college football since Granger Smith's "We Bleed Maroon", which was about Texas A&M.

I also like his song "Twenty-One" because my friends and I did the same thing in high school. We'd meet college girls and tell them we were in college, too.