New Adds to Saving Country Music’s Top 25 Current Playlist (#165)
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If you only ever interact with one thing Saving Country Music does, it should be this playlist. The articles are too long and too opinionated? Don’t have the time? This playlist boils everything down to direct suggestions.
Two New Albums Coming From Hank Williams III
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Hank Williams III has been on extended touring hiatus, one of the longest of his career, as his drummer Shawn “McNasty” Williams had surgery to repair a rotator cuff, reattach his bicep tendon, and remove bone spurs. But the grandson of Hank Williams has apparently been using the time well, writing and recording a big chunk of new material.
Album Review – Nellie Wilson’s “Not This Time”
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It’s not that the impressive voice, the use of wit, and solid country instincts were still not evident in Nellie Wilson 1.0, but in no way were you expecting the level of depth, composition, artistry, and just downright immediate and long-lasting appeal for the songs she slays the audience with in Not This Time. Nellie Wilson shocks the world, and puts out one of the best, and most intelligent country music works in 2013 so far.
Folk Review – Samantha Crain’s “Kid Face”
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Samantha Crain emerges from Shawnee, OK with her 3rd full length offering and 5th release overall called Kid Face–a delightfully sparse project, but deliberative and in-depth in its forays into the mind’s inner dimensions and ulterior tendencies. Kid Face is despondent by nature, but prone to tangents of frolicking melodies that pull you into the project to later get lost in its complexities.
Kacey Musgraves & ‘Follow Your Arrow’ Could Revolutionize Country
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Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. But I’d be lying if I said I’m not becoming very engrossed in the idea of Kacey Musgraves getting big, and very big, and doing it with fresh, new, exciting, substantive material that could shake up the current stagnant climate of country radio and the mainstream in general. All the dominoes seem to be aligned for Kacey
Song Review – Shooter Jennings’ “Wild and Lonesome”
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“Wild and Lonesome” from Shooter’s upcoming album The Other Life is a sparse, fiercely classic country tune with great country instincts and arrangement. It’s not great because of its classic country flavor, it’s great because Shooter had the wisdom to get out of the song’s way an allow it to pick its own path and tell its own story, and that happened to lead it down the classic country road.
Song Review – Shooter Jennings’ “The White Trash Song”
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The White Trash Song” reveals that it wants to be considered one of these up-tempo, extended country jams. The problem is there’s positively no space on this track for any individual performance to breathe. Meanwhile the rhythm sways to and fro and never finds the groove from the delay on Shooter’s voice and the phasing of the rhythm guitar, combining to make a wonky, muddy audio blob.
Album Review- Wayne Hancock’s “Ride”
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Wayne Hancock has more handles than a chester drawers: The Train, The King Of Juke Joint Swing, The Father of Underground Country, The Viper of Melody. He deserves every single one of them, yet none of them nor all of them combined seem to do justice to the enjoyment and influence his music has dispensed over the years.
Caitlin Rose Gets Arrested in “Only a Clown” (Song/Video Review)
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The only thing better than a Caitlin Rose song is a Caitlin Rose video. Then again I lost all objectivity long, long ago when it came to judging this girl. She could serve up a flaming cowpie and I’d be twisting words around to convince you to drop .99¢ on it at iTunes. I’ve been compromised by Caitlin’s spellbinding ability to embed the most sincere, most deep personal emotions into her music.
Hope In Paige Anderson’s “Greed & Lust”
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You don’t understand, this is not about taste, and it really isn’t even about music. We have an obligation to ourselves as humans to seek out the best and brightest of any pursuit or vocation, and shine a bright light on them in hopes that their achievement will inspire us seek out our true calling and bravely pursue it until it reaches its fulfilling end.
Mono-Genre Watch: Mumford & Sons ‘Really Want To Rap’?
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The comments by Marcus Mumford were made to Rolling Stone in a feature posted today that includes comments from all four members of the UK-based roots rock band. A recurring criticism of Mumford has been that many of the songs on their two albums Sigh No More and Babel sound very similar. According to front man and main songwriter Marcus Mumford, a new direction could involve hip-hop and rapping.
Wayne Hancock Just Wants to “Ride” (an interview)
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If he’s not playing music, there’s no other place Wayne “Train” Hancock would rather be than riding on the back of his 2006 Harley Davidson Super Glide motorcycle. The new album Ride out 2-26 from the “King of Juke Joint Swing” in many ways is a nexus between these two passions, and a very personal work with songs reflecting the current state of his life and career.
The Oscars: An Annual Reminder of What Music Could Be
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Tonight is the annual Academy Awards, and during the presentation, you won’t see anybody judged on looks or popularity. You will not see the most commercially-successful endeavors given exclusive billing and opportunity for accolades. No, what you will see is the best and the brightest of the industry highlighted based mostly on the creativity and artistic integrity of their works.