Parton tops new releases
Friday, August 19, 2016 – Dolly Parton leads the list of new releases today with "Pure & Simple." The disc is a joint venture between Parton and Sony Music Nashville and marks her first release since "Blue Smoke" in 2014. The release contains 10 songs, focusing on affairs of the heart.
Drake White releases his debut, "Spark," on Dot Records. The dozen-song release has already yielded two singles, "It Feels Good" and "Livin' the Dream." White had a hand in writing all but two of the songs. Jeremy Stover and Ross Cooperman produced the release for the imprint of Big Machine.
Dale Watson went the live route with "Live At The Big T Roadhouse, Chicken S#!+ Bingo Sunday," which was recorded at his own Big T Roadhouse in St. Hedwig, Texas. The disc is a mixture of his own material and covers including Merle Haggard's "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down."
Trio The Stray Birds, who hailed from Lancaster, Pa., release "Magic Fire," a combination of country, bluegrass and Americana sounds. The disc was their first project with an outside producer (Larry Campbell) and their first truly collaborative songwriting effort.
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CD reviews for Dolly Parton
Pure & Simple
Dolly Parton is no stranger to flash. Even before our modern country era, where many of the most successful artists rival contemporary pop stars for high profile image manipulation, Parton had the city girl look down pat (alas, without ever denying her Appalachian roots). However, this master songwriter has simply given us an album about as close to purity as one can get.
The incredibly bright Parton is far from simple, however, so the "simple" in this album's title solely refers »»» |
Blue Smoke
Of all the songs you never expected Dolly Parton to cover, Bon Jovi's "Lay Your Hands on Me" has got to be near the top of the list. Although by the time Miley Cyrus's godmother gets through personalizing the song there's not enough of the original left to call it a cover - just a word or two here and there and the chorus, which for those of you who have forgotten this masterpiece of 80's hair metal is just the title of the song repeated almost enough times to make a »»» |
Better Day
If Dolly Parton were to host a summer replacement daytime TV show, her new record album could very well be the soundtrack. It is so totally Dolly - an hour's worth of can-do, I'm-country-gol'-dang-it-but-don't-forget-I'm-Hollywood, yet never abandoning the singer-songwriter that's been her overriding trademark.
It gets a little silly, which you expect from Dolly. In fact, the song she co-wrote with Mac Davis, Country Is as Country Does - gets a lot silly. »»» |
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: The Lil Smokies provide the perfect antidote –
On a night when the world to be falling further apart thanks to coronavirus (this would be the night the NBA postponed the season), there stood The Lil Smokies to at least in some small measure save the day.
The quintet is part of a generation of musicians with bluegrass as the basis, but not totally the sum of the music either.... »»»
Concert Review: White makes the case for himself, no matter how dark the music –
John Paul White opined with a glint in his eyes that his songs were not of the uplifting variety. In fact, they were downright dark. How else to explain "The Long Way" with the line "long way home back to you." Or "James," a song inspired by his grandfather who suffered from dementia.
But lest you think that the Alabama... »»»
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