CD Reviews

Pure Prairie League
Back on Track

Not many bands endure for 54 years, let alone in the dated genre of country rock. Pure Prairie League (PPL), has outlasted most. So, after a nearly two-decade absence, we can relive the glorious sound of the '70s with PPL's return, "Back on Track." The band has understandably ...

Flatland Cavalry
Flatland Forever

Some may argue that Flatland Cavalry is a bit full of themselves by issuing this career retrospective after only 10 years on the circuit. Granted, they have been prolific with six full-length albums, multiple EPs and singles. Record contracts also often specify a certain number of albums in a given time period. ...

Jamey Johnson
Midnight Gasoline

The last time Jamey Johnson released a full length album of original songs, the original Ipad was only a few months old, and Instagram had not yet launched. Basically, a lifetime ago. Since 2010's "The Guitar Song," we've had a 2012 Hank Cochran tribute album, a Christmas EP and ...

Dolly Parton & Family
Smoky Mountain DNA - Family, Faith & Fables

Dolly Parton's "Smoky Mountain DNA - Family, Faith & Fables" is a sprawling project over three LPs that's five decades in the making. The recording will be accompanied by a forthcoming docuseries. We have 37 tracks here, and 20 family members who duet with Dolly over a ...

Amythyst Kiah
Still + Bright

Singer-songwriter Amythyst Kiah received attention as part of the powerful foursome Our Native Daughters with Rhiannon Giddens, Allison Russell and Leyla McCalla as Kiah's "Black Myself" won a Grammy. Her solo predecessor to "Still + Bright" was a downcast effort, "Wary + Strange. ...

Tish Hinojosa
With Guitar & A Pen

Tish Hinojosa's "With a Guitar & A Pen" is an album that almost didn't happen as the gifted singer-songwriter contemplated retirement around the time of the pandemic, as she relates in the liner notes. So, we are blessed to hear her first album in six years and 17th overall, a ...

The Sensational Country Blues Wonders!
If I Stop Moving, I'll Fall From the Sky

The Sensational Country Blues Wonders! is the moniker for singer-songwriter Gary Van Miert of Jersey City, N.J. His third release goes even further in the psychedelic direction than his 2022 "The Adventures of a Psychedelic Cowboy." These songs straddle outright humor and the corny, overdone. ...

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
Live From The Ryman Vol. 2

Jason Isbell opens by telling the audience this is their 50th appearance at the legendary Ryman, a feat not many can equal. Moreover, it's the recent seven, eight and now 10-day residencies that Isbell and his band have experienced, a testament to the in-demand status of one of the best live ...

Billy Strings
Highway Prayers

Never a judicious editor, Billy Strings' latest is 74 minutes of mind-expanding 'grassicana. The thing is, while it runs a bit long one is at a loss as to what could or should have been held in reserve; even the most frivolous numbers — "MORBUD4ME," "Richard Petty" ...

Amy Grant and Vince Gill
When I Think of Christmas

While it's not rare for a town to have a traditional Christmas concert, Nashville has venues and local talent just a few notches above the rest. Amy Grant and Vince Gill have been putting on "Christmas at the Ryman" for more than 100 shows to over a quarter-million people. ...

Sarah Pierce
Blessed by the West

Sarah Pierce, the daughter of a cowboy, raised in rural West Texas, is the genuine article. She sings about the West as naturally as many of us go through our daily routines. There's no pretention in her approach as she paints character sketches, relates stories and shares her nostalgic emotions ...

Charley Crockett
Visions of Dallas

Following closely on the heels of the critically acclaimed "$10 Cowboy," Charley Crockett is back mere months later with another studio collection, "$10 Cowboy Chapter II: Visions of Dallas." Despite the name, this doesn't feel like a sequel. Although they were recorded ...

Johnny Cash
Songwriter

This is a treasure trove of Johnny Cash-penned songs, written over the years, but never recorded or released. Then in the early '90's, after parting with Sony Records, but before meeting Rick Rubin, Cash recorded his songs. Those early 90's recordings didn't see the light of day ...

Jubal Lee Young
Wild Birds Warble

Jubal Lee Young was raised by music royalty and has managed to not only live with that pressure throughout his career, but forge his own path. His father, Steve Young, was a forbear of the outlaw country music known for writing "Seven Bridges Road" (Eagles, Dolly Parton), and "Lonesome, ...

Jim Lauderdale
My Favorite Place

Since the death of George Jones, Jim Lauderdale has been "The King of Broken Hearts": few have sung a hurting song as Jones did, and Lauderdale does with pain, regret and accountability dripping from every vocal inflection, a reminder of what country music could again become. ...

David Serby
Low Hanging Stars

"Low Hanging Stars" marks the return of singer-songwriter David Serby to the recording studio after a 10-year hiatus. Serby is an L.A.-based alt-country musician who has previously released five albums, dabbling in folk and pop on his last couple. Here he returns to his trademark talents, ...

Lonesome River Band
The Winning Hand

The Lonesome River Band has been around since the early '80s with such alumni as Dan Tyminski, Ronnie Bowman, Don Rigsby and Adam Steffey. Current band leader and banjo wizard, Sammy Shelor joined the band in 1990 and has kept the LRB going through numerous personnel changes. ...

Willie Nelson
The Border

Willie Nelson has released more than 150 albums in his career, including four in the past two years. All this while approaching and surpassing the age of 90. Of all his many solo recordings, "The Border" ranks as one of his best. The songs are fresh, sincere, and full of energy and have many ...

The Mavericks
Moon & Stars

It is, of course, impossible to know how the world would have been different if Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. (The Big Bopper) Richardson had not perished in that fateful plane crash. But if Feb. 3, 1959 had not been the day the music died, but, instead, the day the music had a terrifying close ...

Kelsey Waldon
There's Always a Song

Although she recorded prior to 2014, most discovered Kelsey Waldon with the release of "The Goldmine" a decade ago. Since then, the Kentuckian has produced an album every two or three years, steadily increasing her profile since signing with Oh Boy Records several years back. ...