Reviews

January 4, 2013

2012 Album of the Year – Kellie Pickler’s “100 Proof”

Kellie did something quite remarkable. She decided that by her own hand, she would rather relinquish the spoils of her American Idol past and her major label endorsement than to continue living a lie through her music. Of course Kellie would have loved to have it both ways, but she decided she would rather make music that was true to her heart and take the risk of losing it all than continuing to play the part.

100 Proof, album of the year, Bloody Jug Band, Eric Strickland, Kellie Pickler

January 2, 2013

2012 Song of the Year – Billy Don Burns’ “Stranger”

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This song is about losing yourself, which we’ve all done, and will all do again, and how we all start off life with a firm grasp on who we are that life does its level best to wrestle away from us. But inside “Stranger” there is also a glimmer of hope in how the realization of one’s self can stimulate renewal. And above all of that, the beauty of “Stranger” is its fierce simplicity–the attribute of all excellent country songs.

Billy Don BUrns, Brigitte London, Eric Strickland, Johnny Paycheck, Kacey Musgraves, Merle Haggard, Olds Sleeper, Rusty Knuckles, Stranger, Sturgill Simpson, Tom VandenAvond, Turnpike Troubadours, Whitey Morgan, Willie Nelson

December 31, 2012

Saving Country Music’s Best Live Performances of 2012

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Where 2011 felt like a high water mark year for live performances and an average year for recorded projects, 2012 feels vice versa. When I look back on 2011, it seemed like there were moments I experienced that I will never top the rest of my life. 2012 is the year that some albums and songs were released that may never be topped. Still there were a quite a few memorable performances worth noting.

.357 String Band, Anderson Family Bluegrass, Austin Lucas, Bob Wayne, Don Maddox, Glossary, Goddamn Gallows, Jayke Orvis, JB Beverley, Joe Buck, Lake Street Dive, LC Ulmer, Lucky Tubb, Muddy Roots, Pickathon, Rachel Brooke, Ralph Stanley, Restavrant, Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, Robert Belfour, Slim Cessna's Auto Club, Sturgill Simpson, Th' Legendary Shack Shakers, The Calamity Cubes, Thee Oh Sees, XSXSW

December 29, 2012

Album Review – Iris Dement’s “Sing The Delta”

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When you reflect back on many of the country music greats, they were people who seemed to be birthed right out of the country itself. Iris Dement is one of those artists, a genuine product of America’s rural textures, and a country music great despite the 16-year hiatus between albums of original material maybe causing a momentarily lapse in memory of her brilliance.

Dolly Parton, Emmyloun Harris, Iris Dement, Josh Turner, Loretta Lynn, Ralph Stanley, Sing The Delta, Steve Earle

December 28, 2012

Sturgill Simpson Retools for 2013 (& Live Review)

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About this time last year, I was telling everybody that 2012 was going to be the year of Kentucky-born and Nashville-based singer / songwriter Sturgill Simpson. “Mark my words,” I said. He had a brand new, professionally-made album in the can featuring recently-minted Country Hall of Famer Hargus “Pig” Robbins amongst other notable contributors.

Dwight Yoakam, Hargus "Pig" Robbins, Kathy Mattea, Marty Stuart, Sturgill Simpson, Sunday Valley, The Rattle Inn, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson

December 26, 2012

Video Review – Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble”

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You can’t have wild, short-term dance club success and keep your reputation as an artist of substance at the same time. Taylor Swift must choose. And with “I Knew You Were Trouble”, Taylor chooses poorly. Her “trouble” is not an antagonist cast in the role of a video, or a previous lover who jilted her. It is the denizens of the pop industry who would sell her long-term substance for their short-term success.

I Knew You Were Trouble, Max Martin, Mean, Scott Borchetta, Shellback, Taylor Swift, video

December 21, 2012

Album Review – The Give ‘Em Hell Boys’ “Barn Burner”

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The Give ‘Em Hell Boys are a get your elbows swinging and your knees knocking “okay let’s go!” good time fun-loving country band. Barn Burner is a wild-assed frolic through country and bluegrass laced with punk undertones, with moments of great playing and songwriting, and a fun time throughout. This is a silly, fun-loving band that never takes themselves too seriously.

Barn Burner, Jason and the Scoarchers, The Give 'Em Hell Boys

December 18, 2012

Album Review – American Aquarium’s “Burn.Flicker.Die.”

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These songs are tributes to American decay, depravity, excess, and unfairness, with starkly honest lyrics not dulled one bit by subtly, or sullied by the need for explanation or imagination. Burn. Flicker. Die is not an artistic interpretation of American Aquarium’s struggles, it is a Polaroid. You’re supposed to listen to songs, and feel music. With American Aquarium, you do both.

American Aquarium, Burn. Flicker. Die, Drive By Truckers, Jason Isbell, The Rolling Stones

December 17, 2012

Saving Country Music’s 25 Essential Albums for 2012

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Here is the list of 25 albums Saving Country Music deems essential for 2012 listening, and then I added an extra one I couldn’t leave off. Please note this list only includes albums that have been reviewed so far. There are a few more good and important albums in 2012 that have yet to be reviewed. The first 7 albums on the list (from Little Victories to Lee Bains) were all serious considerations for SCM’s Album of the Year.

Billy Don BUrns, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Chris Knight, Davy Jay Sparrow, Don Williams, essential albums, Foghorn Stringband, Jackson Taylor, James Leg, Joe Buck, Joseph Huber, JP Harris & The Tough Choices, Justin Townes Earle, Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires, Left Lane Cruiser, Lone Wolf, Marty Stuart, McDougall, Paige Anderson, Rachel Brooke, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Restavrant, Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, Sara Watkins, The Alabama Shakes, The Calamity Cubes, Tom VandenAvond, Willie Nelson

December 15, 2012

Paige Anderson & The Fearless Kin’s “Wild Rabbit”

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One hard and fast rule around Saving Country Music is that I don’t review EP’s except for in “extreme cases.” There’s just too much music out there these days to consider half efforts, and in many cases, this is what EP’s are. So what is an “extreme case?” Well in 5 or so years, not once have I had an EP cross my desk that I felt qualified. Until now.

Anderson Family Bluegrass, Austin Lucas, Chuck Ragan, Justin Townes Earle, Paige Anderson, Possessed by Paul James, Samantha Crain, The Fearless Kin

December 14, 2012

Album Review – Joe Buck’s “Who Dat?”

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Well I can tell you this. No matter what you were expecting from this album, you’re probably going to be surprised. Who Dat is a completely different direction for Joe Buck, while still being exactly what he’s always done. That’s the root genius of it. Yes, without question this album is a lot more tame, but what this approach does is bring out the roar of quiet anger.

Century Media, Jack Endino, Jason Dietz, Joe Buck, Nirvana, Taylor Swift, Throwrag, Who Dat

December 13, 2012

The Greatest Underground Country Albums of All Time

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By request, here is my list of the greatest underground country albums of all time. The underground country movement started roughly in the mid 90’s on lower Broadway in Nashville that at the time was a run down part of town. Young musicians from around the country, some from punk backgrounds, came together from their mutual love of authentic country music.

.357 String Band, Andy Gibson, Bob Wayne, BR549, Dale Watson, Donnie Herron, Hank Williams, Hank3, Hellbound Glory, Jayke Orvis, JB Beverley, Joe Buck, Justin Townes Earle, Legendary Shack Shakers, Leroy Virgil, Lonesome Wyatt, Lucky Tubb, Rachel Brooke, Slackeye Slim, The Boomswagglers, Those Poor bastards, Wayne Hancock

December 8, 2012

Peewee Moore is “Making Sure The Story’s Being Told”

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These honky tonk albums are hard ones to make in 2012. Everyone else in country is trying to carve their niche, bending and blending genres and doing any manner of outlandish things to get folks to pay attention to them in a glutted music world. Meanwhile the charge of the honky tonk musician is to keep the traditions alive through purity.

Dale Watson, Husky Burnette, Jim Stringer, Making Sure The Story's Being Told, Peewee Moore, Roger Alan Wade, Roger Wallace, The Carper Family

December 6, 2012

Album Review – Rachel Brooke’s “A Killer’s Dream”

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Rachel Brooke is one of the few select artist with enough mustard to rise out of the ashes of the country music underground and become a force in the greater roots world. Like an early Emmylou Harris, the music industry should be shuttling her across the country to lend her singular vocal texture to other projects in between putting out excellent solo albums that time finds hard to forget.

A Killer's Dream, blues, Emmylou Harris, Fats Domino, Hank Williams, Jayke Orvis, Jimmie Rodgers, Lonesome Wyatt, Rachel Brooke, Those Poor bastards, Viva Le Vox

December 5, 2012

2012 Saving Country Music Song of the Year Nominees

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Every year this list stirs a little controversy because people misunderstand that these are not supposed to be the songs you “like” the best, but instead is supposed to be compositions in a given year that have the most impact. They’re songs that make you change the way you see the world, or change the way you see yourself. It is reserved for those few compositions that have the ability to change lives and to change the world.

Bigsky/Flatland, Billy Don BUrns, Chris Knight, Corb Lund, Drinking Whiskey, Eric Strickland, Good Lord Lorrie, Justin Twones Earle, Kacey Musgraves, Life Ain't Fair and the World Is Mean, Man In Gray, McDougall, Merry Go Round, New Year's Eve At The Gates Of Hell, Olds Sleeper, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Sara Watkins, Shooter Jennings, Song of the Year, Stranger, Sturgill Simpson, T Junior, Tom VandenAvond, Turnpike Troubadours, Unfortunately Anna, Wreck of a Fine Man

December 3, 2012

2012 Saving Country Music Album of the Year Nominees

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2012 was a bumper crop year for great albums in the greater country music world, and that necessitates a bolstered lineup of candidates for Saving Country Music’s coveted Album of the Year. 7 total made the list, with others admittedly getting completely screwed by their absence. I already have a bead of sweat forming across my brow brought on by the impossible decision of who I’m supposed to pick off this list.

100 Proof, Bloody Jug Band, Cabin Fever, Calamity Cubes, Cigarettes & Truckstops, Coffin Up Blood, Corb Lund, Eric Strickland, Goodbye Normal Street, Honky Tonk Till I Die, James Hand, Justin Townes Earle, Kellie Pickler, Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires, Lindi Ortega, Mighty Lonesome Man, New Year's Poem, Olds Sleeper, Rachel Brooke, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Turnpike Troubadours

November 29, 2012

Ray Wylie Hubbard Writing & Recording w/ Ronnie Dunn

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Ray Wylie Hubbard and Ronnie Dunn wrote some songs together back in September, and has been in Austin where for the last few days, they’ve been recording with an all-star band of George Reiff, Rick Richards, Ian McLagan from Faces, Brad Rice formerly of Son Volt, and others. “Started recording in Austin yesterday,” Ronnie Dunn posted on Facebook.

Brad Rice, Faces, George Reiff, Ian McLagan, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Recording, Rick Richards, Ronnie Dunn, Son Volt, writing

November 28, 2012

Blues Review – Alive at the Deep Blues Fest

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Alive at the Deep Blues Fest is a full tilt listening experience. No tired, dragging renditions of “Mustang Sally” to be found here. Instead what you have is the raw, uncapped energy of true blues revitalization channeled through some of the strongest talent the roots world boasts. Deep Blues partnered with Alive Naturalsound Records to record the concert and showcase artists on Alive’s roster in a live context.

Alive Records, Brian Olive, Deep Blues Fest, Henry's Funeral Shoe, John The Conqueror, Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires, Left Lane Cruiser, Mark "Porkchop" Holder, Radio Moscow, The Buffalo Killers

November 26, 2012

What Happened to Respecting Women in Country Music?

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Somewhere in the last year or so, country music crossed that line from being the last bastion for respect of beautiful women in American popular culture, to hanging out in the gutter with the rest of the vermin, making videos of venereal-infused floozies dry humping flashy vehicles in the classic vein of tasteless, materialistic, shallow-minded rap imagery.

Bucky Covington, Country Girl (Shake It For Me), Dolly Parton, Drinking Side of Country, Dustin Lynch, Loretta Lynn, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Patsy Cline, She Cranks My Tractor, Shooter Jennings, Tammy Wynette, Taylor Swift, The Carter Family

November 20, 2012

Thomas Rhett’s “Beer With Jesus” Proves Nothing’s Sacred

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Jesus may have turned the other cheek, but he also overturned the tables of the money changers in the temple where they didn’t belong. Just like the Romans of biblical times, these pop country fart tards are foreign occupiers who need to get the hell out of country. I don’t pretend to know what Jesus would do, but if I were him, I’d shove my sandal straight up Thomas Rhett’s ass and tell him he could keep his Michelob Ultra.

Beer With Jesus, Big Machine Records, Brantley Gilbert, Martina McBride, Review, Scott Borchetta, Thomas Rhett, Toby Keith

November 20, 2012

Review – The Deep Dark Woods “Hang Me, Oh Hang Me”

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They’re like a perfect recipe that includes all of your favorite ingredients, though you can’t taste any of them individually in the end result because they’re blended and mixed so well. Gothic, poetic Americana, Gospel, and strait-laced country elements, they are all interlaced harmoniously with a broody pall cast over everything for a cohesive sound and an immersing experience.

Dave Van Ronk, Hang Me Oh Hang Me, Pickathon, Ryan Boldt, The Deep Dark Woods

November 17, 2012

Justin Townes Earle Let’s Wanda Be Wanda in “Unfinished Business”

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Her immeasurable influence spanning country, rockabilly, and rock and roll is undeniable. As far as I’m concerned, Wanda Jackson has no “unfinished business” to attend to. She’s given her heart and soul to the music, and the music is better off because of it. She’s got nothing to prove, but she proves it anyway in Unfinished Business. And so does producer Justin Townes Earle.

Greg Garing, Jack White, Justin Townes Earle, Loretta Lynn, The Rolling Stones, Unfinished Business, Wanda Jackson

November 13, 2012

Album Review – Cody Canada & The Departed “Adventus”

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Well this was not what I was expecting. When comparing Adventus to the first Departed album This Is Indian Land, this album symbolizes a dramatic, wholesale shift to the rock world. In fact if there’s any other genres mixed in here, they would be blues, and especially funk. Adventus is much more Red Hot Chili Peppers than it is Red Dirt. At least in sonic style.

Adventus, Cody Canada, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Led Zepplin, Red Dirt, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Seth James, The Departed, This Is Indian Land, William Elliott Whitmore

November 7, 2012

Review – The Foghorn Stringband “Outshine The Sun”

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Whether it’s folk, bluegrass, country, or Cajun, Foghorn can play a breakdown, a Celtic jig, a Cajun waltz, and cut a rug to an early country tune in the span of as many songs and sell you quickly on the idea that you don’t need amplification or new school modes to make music that is both memorable and entertaining. Outshine the Sun is an excellent album, and where it makes its mark is in the positivity of its message.

Caleb Klauder, Foghorn Stringband, Mumford & Sons, The Avett Brothers, The Carter Family, The Stanley Brothers, Trampled by Turtles

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