Sam Hunt is Outmatched in Dwight Yoakam Duet & Other ACM Duet Pairings
A collective rolling of eyes ensued when the ACM’s announced earlier this month they would pair some of today’s country music spares with legends from the past as part of their “Party For a Cause” concert centered around the ACM’s 50th Anniversary. When all the country star power was assembled in the Dallas area for the ACM gala, they taped a series of “Superstar Duet” performances pairing various stars to be aired on CBS May 15th.
Punctuating the ridiculousness of the duet roster was the unfortunate marriage of country legend Dwight Yoakam and country/EDM star Sam Hunt. Other bad ideas included Alan Jackson with former Luke Bryan merch peddler Cole Swindell, and Marty Stuart with Eric Church.
The duets were performed and taped in the days leading up to Sunday night’s 50th ACM Awards despite inclement weather delaying much of the schedule and thinning out some of the floor crowd. But the performances went on, and fan footage of the duets gives us our first glimpse of what we might expect from the impending television special.
One of the big questions leading into the duets is who would take the lead in the songs? Would we have to suffer through Alan Jackson fumbling with the lyrics of some pseudo-rapped misogynist super hit from Cole Swindell? But luckily it was the new artists who were asked to participate on one of the legend’s hits, and frankly some of the pairings were not half bad …. except when it came to Dwight Yoakam and Sam Hunt. You could have never choreographed a more fish out of water moment than what the crowd endured when Sam Hunt tried to match the vocal strength of Dwight on his most-recognizable hit “Fast As You.”
There’s nothing particularly wrong about Sam Hunt’s performance except he could never match the signature drawl of Dwight in a million years. The ACM’s put him in an impossible situation.
Listen, if you dare….
Out of some of the other duets, what we can discern from faraway video is not terribly bad. Though Cole Swindell is an easy punching bag, he did just fine with Alan Jackson on “Chattahoochee.” Other duets dredged up on YouTube include Keith Urban and John Anderson singing “Swingin’,” Luke Bryan and Ronnie Milsap trading lines on “Stranger In My House,” and one of the few duets that actually didn’t look too bad on paper, Miranda Lambert and Patty Loveless paired on “Dear Diamond.”
You can see some of the rest of the performances below:
April 25, 2015 @ 8:30 am
Does Hunt have a guitar hanging on him? Does he know what to do with one? Or is he just wearing it ala Flava Flav’s clock necklace?
I just noticed that my comment is awaiting moderation.. Did I commit a no no and get put on a list?
April 25, 2015 @ 9:39 am
Don’t know. Definitely didn’t put you in the sin bin. Maybe your IP shifted just slightly.
April 27, 2015 @ 11:24 am
Do you really have a naughty list?
April 25, 2015 @ 11:17 pm
Ive actually, sadly, seen Sam Hunt in concert (I’m in college, it was cheap, many attractive women were going, don’t hate me). He does know how to play the guitar. He did an acoustic set with two other guys. One who sings backup and does your standard backing guitar and the other who covered the lead parts. All three guitars were around the same volume and he played by himself plenty. So there’s a lot to hate on him for, but he actually can play the guitar.
April 25, 2015 @ 8:38 am
So I wonder how much “fixing” they’re going to do before they air that one. Glad they’re using the legends’ stuff instead of the other way around. That makes me more likely to watch it.
April 25, 2015 @ 8:47 am
Sadly, I expect this to be a lot like the George Strait Jerryworld concert where they end up “fixing” both the legends (who can actually sing) and the young “artists” who usually cannot.
April 25, 2015 @ 8:44 am
That was just awful! He looked clueless holding a Guitar and cupping your hand around the microphone like you’re making love to it looks awkward during Fast as You.
April 25, 2015 @ 8:45 am
Not a surprise, Sam Hunt is not very talented. He got a record deal because he wrote some crappy radio friendly songs, is a good looking guy with an easy story to sell to America (Quarterback turned “musician”).
In an industry filled with cookie cutter artists and dudes that all look the same, sing the same and dress the same, Sam Hunt might be the most cookie cutter.
The bigger question is who is a worse live singer, Jason Aldean (who I have NEVER heard a good live performance from) or Sam Hunt. For as much crap as I give Luke Bryan, and he deserves all of it, at least the guy can sing a little bit.
April 25, 2015 @ 9:25 am
The thing that gets me with Luke Bryan is he is capable of so much more than the bro country crap. I actually like him and think he’s one of the better country singers when he sings decent songs. However, there is so much bad outweighing the good. I wish he would turn it around.
April 25, 2015 @ 10:06 am
People don’t need another vacuous chant-riddled crowd-write to pollute the environment . They need something smart , clever , COMPLETE , melodic and timeless like most of these classics . Give em what they need and not always what they THINK they want and you’ll be around long enough to justify the way you make your livelihood .
And Sam Hunt couldn’t sing at gunpoint .
April 25, 2015 @ 12:37 pm
Music is a business. If you don’t give people what they want, then your profits will not be very high.
April 25, 2015 @ 11:37 pm
Your profits will soon be nonexistent if you simply choose to be the flavor of the week .
April 26, 2015 @ 1:46 am
True, but any musician with a condescending attitude as “give them what they need” and not “what they think they want” will never make any significant profit. An artist that does not respect the audience does not deserve success.
April 26, 2015 @ 8:10 am
“True, but any musician with a condescending attitude as “give them what they need” and not “what they think they want” will never make any significant profit. An artist that does not respect the audience does not deserve success.”
Tell that to Loretta Lynn , Bob Dylan , Waylon , those four guys that made a little record called SARGENT PEPPER’S , Patty Loveless , Leonard Cohen and countless other REAL artists who weren’t following trends in lyric themes when they wrote and recorded those songs . Were they condescending in creating something that ultimately connected and stood the test of time ? They told people what they needed to hear because they DID respect the audience rather than pandering to them -they were Artists reflecting their view their times and what was going on around them …they didn’t just keep feeding listeners the same -ol -same- ol knowing it might sell . And the ones left are STILL doing that . How rewarding has THAT been for the Artists AND us , the listeners ? Cole Swindle trying to be Luke or Brantley or some other flavor of the week is sealing his own short music business fate . I’ll concede , they may get very wealthy doing it . But you can also get wealthy feeding people drugs- something else they think they want .
April 26, 2015 @ 11:38 am
All of the artists you mentioned attained massive popularity rather fast. So clearly they were giving the audience something they wanted to hear.
Also, I know this may be controversial, but in my opinion drugs should be decriminalized and treated as a regular business.
April 27, 2015 @ 8:35 am
Eric: I think you’re confused. Most of the artists whose work has stood the test of time did things differently than their peers. Elvis was just screwing around in the studio with his buddies when he “Invented” what would become Rock’N’Roll, the Beatles, although pretty conservative easy rock by today’s standards, were revolutionary in their day because nobody had ever done it before. Louis Armstrong certainly wasn’t chasing a trend, he was doing his own thing, the way he grew up doing it. Yes, in order to make money, music has to be popular, but let’s look at other popular acts: Who here regularly listens to The Dubliners, despite the fact that their sales were comparable to the Beatles? Remember how popular Beiber was only two years ago? Or how about Steve Holy and Rodney Atkins? They were both chart-toppers a decade ago, but away they went.
April 27, 2015 @ 11:24 am
Yes, but those artists were satisfying an existing hunger in the market. In other words, they were giving people what they wanted.
April 27, 2015 @ 11:38 am
Eric: You don’t have a lot of marketing experience, do you? If not, consider this, if you, the owner of a new product that is unlike anything on the market, want said product to sell, you have to convince people to buy something they never wanted. Simply put, you have to get people to want something they never knew they wanted. How many bro-country fans listen because they don’t know any better? My guess: most of them. The trick to getting real music in their ears is to convince them that they want it. Before the Beatles came along nobody was sitting around wishing somebody would write a song that had the lyrics “All my troubles seemed so far away.” Therefore they didn’t want somebody to write it, so in writing it, Paul and John were not “giving the people what they wanted.” They were making something, and they made something good, and people wanted it.
April 27, 2015 @ 12:15 pm
To quote myself -“They told people what they needed to hear because they DID respect the audience rather than pandering to them -they were Artists reflecting their view, their times and what was going on around them ”¦they didn”™t just keep feeding listeners the same -ol -same- ol knowing it might sell . …”
At the risk of really pushing my point over the brink , let’s draw a nutritional comparison .We didn’t know we needed Omega 3 fats , vitamin C , D and E until we were made aware of it and realized their benefits. We weren’t LOOKING for them because we had no idea they existed or that our bodies couldn’t be healthy without them . We didn’t know cigarettes caused cancer because we weren’t concerned and weren’t informed . Now that we know this , people make far better lifestyle choices . We don’t always know what we need . The pop music biz ( country in particular ) seems to keep force-feeding us unhealthy music diets . They give us what they and what WE think we want . NOT what we really NEED to understand how much ‘ healthier ‘ music can be and how many more benefits are available to us in a healthier musical diet.
I know, I know …its not the industry’s job to educate or keep us spiritually healthy. But surely we can’t let their mandate be one of dumbing us down , boring us with the same diet day in and day out , force-feeding us unhealthy pop crap that is often misogynist , condescending , narrow-minded in lyric and musical ideas , disrespectful to tradition and to artists who championed those traditions and its all in the name of $$$$ where the industry is concerned . I mean shit ….we get THAT kind of insulting , offensive ” service ” from the oil companies don’t we ?
I honestly believe there is an appreciative untapped market for much better and much healthier pop-culture and country music in particular . But it is always easier to pander to the lowest common denominator and that is usually the young and uninformed and impressionable .
April 27, 2015 @ 12:25 pm
Albert,
Music is about entertainment, not health or anything greater. Taste in music, just like paintings, literature, or movies, is purely subjective. The reason why music is such a contentious battleground is that radio is a limited medium, and the dominance of modern country is crowding out more traditional-style country. Our goal should be to expand the menu of options, not waste our time minding other people’s business regarding what they enjoy listening to.
On a broader note, sometimes I wish that we could just have a forum purely about music without all of this annoying hand-wringing about modern culture. Though I love what Trigger does on a daily basis, I partly blame his quote at the top of the page for the condescending attitude shown on a regular basis by some of the posters here.
April 27, 2015 @ 12:35 pm
Thank you Albert, I told him the same thing, but you said it far better than I did. Eric: I’ll give you that music is about entertainment and nothing greater, but consider this: put two painters in a room, one painter just pours red on a canvas and says it symbolized rage, the other painstakingly crafts the image of a wooden boat sitting by a riverside, while a raccoon sits on top munching on a stray apple core. (I don’t know if they eat those.) One of these paintings is of a far higher quality than the other. the red on the canvas is not particularly great quality, and while people have the right to listen to it, as they do with bro-country, they do not have the right to say it is of higher quality, or in any other way, better than the more well-crafted painting. People are entitled to listen to bro-country, if that’s their taste, but their not entitled to tell us that it’s better than what we like, that we’re old farts or ignorant for not listening to it, or that it’s country. Just like people are entitled to watch Michel Bay movies, but they aren’t entitled to tell me that Michael Bay is a better director than Hitchcock.
April 27, 2015 @ 12:48 pm
“Our goal should be to expand the menu of options…..”,
Informing , introducing , educating …..you’ve echoed exactly what I was saying , Eric.
The industry seems to want NO part of this approach if it doesn’t make money . Completely understandable ….its a consumer driven capitalist society and to a greater or lesser extent we’ve all bought in . I happen to believe in the idea of ” shit goes in , shit comes out ” . If you don’t like what comes out , you need only to look at what’s going in . When they start advertising Marijuana on TV commercials and start telling us to turn the TV off if we don’t want our kids to see these ads …or when they feed us lies about climate NOT being an issue or when they tell us Sam Hunt is country music , are you suggesting we go along with what they are suggesting and just ‘buy in’ ? Or do we want to offer rational , informed , fact -based opinions and alternatives ? Pop culture , entertainment , music …its all the same source of overly-persuasive dollar-driven drivel and I believe we need sites like this and blogs and forums where we can attempt to offer the uninformed and seemingly uncaring truth and options . Entertainment IS past reflecting and is now dictating modern cultural mores . I think its OUR mandate as a society to ensure that an impressionable generation pummeled with information which promotes less than healthy choices in the name of $$$ understands the options and the consequences involved with those unhealthy , restrictive choices .
April 27, 2015 @ 3:38 pm
Albert,
We agree on the need to broaden the options. However, if we want to attract a larger audience to traditional country, our most important task is persuasion.
What I see too frequently in your comments (as well as those of some others) is a combination of the moralization of music, generational arrogance, and the delegitimization of different musical tastes. What’s worse is that some of the assertions are not even based on fact. In your comments, you often slam the young audience as “uninformed” about their musical options. In fact, due to the presence of music on the Internet, the young generation is likely the most informed about musical options. We just need to accept that the majority of young country listeners like the modern “country” style. For example, the local country station often mixes in traditional-sounding country, and yet in the evening segment where they play songs chosen by listeners, most listeners do not pick those songs.
The key task that we face, therefore, is to cater to the minority of young listeners who are disgruntled by the modern “country” style and desire something else. If we think of country music as a bell curve, our goal is to “fatten” the tail ends. Now imagine that you are a young disgruntled country fan who has found SCM for the first time. You like everything about modern culture but feel that something is missing about country music. How would you feel about reading comments attacking your own generation as “uninformed” and of questionable morality? Wouldn’t you feel alienated from even giving the music reviewed here a chance?
April 27, 2015 @ 8:45 pm
” How would you feel about reading comments attacking your own generation as “uninformed” and of questionable morality? Wouldn”™t you feel alienated from even giving the music reviewed here a chance? ”
No …I don’t think I would . I think that if I’m reading this site its because I think there may be more to country music than what mainstream radio tells me there is . And I think , in short order , I would begin to understand what ” uninformed ” means when it comes to country music options .
I have several female teenaged music students who I consider to be very smart , talented , passionate about music and about learning to write and perform it well . They’ve been courted by the likes of Steve Dorff , in fact , and are in the process of shopping for a deal in Nashville . Just about every week I find myself referencing various artists to them that , unbelievably to me , they’ve never heard of as a way of suggesting someone to learn from and study . And not obscure one hit wonders . I’m talking the Joni Mitchells , the Kasey Musgraves , the Dolly Partons , and many others who they have never heard of or heard music written and performed by . As they began to do their own research on some of these ‘ unplayed- on -mainstream ‘ artists , I noticed them incorporating the writing craft of these respected writers into their OWN songs . I noticed their growing disdain for mainstream ‘ country radio ‘ when they found and studied people like Lennon and Maisy , Claire Lynch , Patty Loveless , John Denver , Brandy Clark , Dixie Chicks etc.. They ” GOT IT ‘ and they continue to get it . No , I didn’t draw up a list of names for them from another era. I informed them of these great artists because mainstream radio never would have. They realized that today’s mainstream country radio was NOT the music they wanted to be a part of . They understood that there was so much great music beyond today’s radio . They don’t feel offended or belittled or insulted whatsoever. They study the greats …along with the radio things that do stand out ..(.Hozier , for instance ) . I believe they’ve grown as artists as they’ve been introduced to something outside of Aldean , Bryan , Hunt and a pile of songs that didn’t move them as listeners OR as musicians .
As I said above , I really believe that we need to be sure up -and-coming listeners/talent is exposed to more than current pop-culture ( read ‘ country ‘ radio ) to develop some long term appreciation , solid writing skills and an understanding of the genre . BTW , they’ve since incorporated many songs by the above-mentioned ( Jolene , Coat Of Many Colors , Take Me Home Country Roads , Travellin Soldier , Merry Go Round ) into their shows right alongside their own terrific compositions and have done extremely well on the local circuit .
…We just need to accept that the majority of young country listeners like the modern “country” style. ….
Perhaps because they are uninformed of the plethora of options ?
April 27, 2015 @ 10:08 pm
I admire your students, but it should not be assumed that they are broadly representative of their generation when it comes to musical taste.
Here are two pieces of evidence that contradict the idea that young country listeners are “uninformed” about the options:
1) Young people, more than any other generation, use the Internet to find music, which means that they have access to a broader range of country music, not narrower.
2) Even in markets that have both modern country and classic country stations, young listeners overwhelmingly choose the modern country stations. Also, young listeners favor the modern style whenever polled by major country stations. As I mentioned above, my local (non-corporate) station plays some classic-style songs, but when fans vote for their favorite song, the top 10 picks are generally constituted entirely of modern-style songs.
April 27, 2015 @ 11:17 pm
“I admire your students, but it should not be assumed that they are broadly representative of their generation when it comes to musical taste
Agreed , Eric . They are artists . Which is why I believe its even more important that they develop an awareness of the genre’s history and traditions as they will , hopefully , be ” preaching the gospel ” as a career and carrying the torch for Great country music .
….” Also, young listeners favor the modern style whenever polled…”
Aware , as we here at SCM are , of the inferior quality of the music ( mediocre vocalists , generic songwriting , unadventurous productions and arrangements , lack of traditional instrumentation , lack of creative viewpoints , chord structures ..female artists , etc.. ) on mainstream country radio , you’re above quote should be cause for concern in terms of the genre surviving with some semblance of integrity and tradition and the flawed ‘product’ the young listener seems willing to settle for .
April 25, 2015 @ 10:28 am
I loved the Miranda/Patty duet!!
They also sang Blame it on your heart!
April 25, 2015 @ 10:52 am
Is Dwight hurting for money or something? I mean, I get why Sam Hunt would do this, but I can’t figure out Dwight would think, “a duet with that no-talent hack, R&B wannabe Sam Hunt sounds like a fantastic idea!” Dwight was one of the good guys and I just don’t get this..
April 25, 2015 @ 11:04 am
Who knows. I don’t think there’s much money in this for Dwight. He may have been asked and he was too much of a gentleman to say no. Maybe he had no idea who Sam Hunt was.
April 25, 2015 @ 11:36 am
Could be he wants some press/attention with his album being released just a few weeks ago. With Country radio not having played Dwight for a long, long time now and CMT no longer playing videos, the options for Dwight and a lot of the other older artists attached to this to get some mainstream attention is sadly pretty low.
April 25, 2015 @ 11:55 am
Florida Georgia Line/ David Alan Coe would have been a good one.. I did really like the Crossroads series…Kenny Chesney/John Mellencamp was really good and even Taylor Swift/Def Leppard made sense…so this thing could work (if done right).
April 25, 2015 @ 12:15 pm
I’d like to see an Eric Church/AC/DC
That would be insane
April 25, 2015 @ 1:40 pm
I’m very, truly, honestly not trying to start anything, but are you freaking kidding?? Your post had to be a joke. FGL and DAC? Any other combination? Hank Williams himself couldn’t make FGL sound country. Or sound good. I hope your post was sarcastic.
April 25, 2015 @ 2:22 pm
Of course I was kidding about that…not the crossroads part, though.
April 25, 2015 @ 2:43 pm
I figured ya were, just had to check! These days ya never know…
April 25, 2015 @ 1:38 pm
The best choice for a song would have been..One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other
April 25, 2015 @ 2:17 pm
Sam Hunt probably just heard the song for the first time a day before the performance.
April 25, 2015 @ 2:25 pm
Sam Hunt, FGL, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Cole Swindell, etc…doesn’t it seem like the worst of the worst all comes out of Georgia? What’re people drinking down there?
April 25, 2015 @ 4:13 pm
Hey hey hey…we also bred Alan Jackson, Travis Tritt, Zac Brown….i take offense to that…or I would if i wasnt from the same town as Brantley Gilbert, who you forgot by the way. I really can’t argue…you forgot Colt Ford.
FACEPALM
April 25, 2015 @ 5:13 pm
You can add Blackberry Smoke to the plus column.
April 25, 2015 @ 6:04 pm
Hey, throw in the Allman Brothers too (sort of). I’m not saying the the Peach state hasn’t put out some real choice music, just 90% (EST.) of the current crop of horse shit seems to be tied to Georgia…It’s really uncanny if you think about it.
April 25, 2015 @ 8:25 pm
Georgia has had some great music from there but yes it is kinda crazy that so many of mainstream are from there. Aldean, Luke, half of FGL, Sam Hunt, Cole Swindell, Brantley Gilbert, Kip Moore, Thomas Rhett, The Peach Pickers : Dallas Davidson, Rhett Akins, Ben Hayslip. I’m sure there’s more. That’s just off the top of my head. Weird
April 25, 2015 @ 9:16 pm
The most likely explanation for Georgia disproportionately contributing to bro-country is its high population. Nonetheless, there are also a couple of possible cultural factors:
1) Perhaps Georgia has a stronger redneck party culture than other states. The Dukes of Hazzard was set in rural Georgia, as was Alan Jackson’s “Chattahoochee”.
2) Black culture has always been very strong in Georgia, perhaps explaining the popularity of hip-hop even among rural whites there.
April 25, 2015 @ 2:54 pm
Sam Hunt “Take Your time” is being released on pop stations now by Capitol records.
April 25, 2015 @ 3:12 pm
Where it belongs, maybe they’ll stop playing it on Country Stations.
April 25, 2015 @ 3:24 pm
I think Keith Urban did a fine job, coming in and out at the right times, not trying to imitate John Anderson, and taking a backseat to John instead of trying to out-sing him. Singing the “oohs” and background when John sang the chorus, etc. Also, John still has it.
Lambert and Loveless was nearly seamless, the two sang great together. Loveless is such an under appreciated talent, possibly just because she’s a woman. She’s every bit as talented as the hat acts and I would say a stronger singer than any of them.
April 25, 2015 @ 4:58 pm
I would rank Patty Loveless among the 5 greatest female vocalists in country music history. Here’s a song from 1993 that best showcases her true vocal talent, her rare combination of intensity and emotion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob4T87XxS3Y
Talk about underappreciated: the song only reached #20 on the country charts.
April 25, 2015 @ 5:24 pm
She’s very good but top 5 all time might be stretching it a little.
In no particular order I would put Kitty Wells, Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Connie Smith, Reba McEntire, Tanya Tucker and maybe Kathy Mattea and Rosanne Cash ahead of her on a list of all time great female country singers.
And I would put ‘You Don’t Seem To Miss Me’ right up there with those you linked.
April 25, 2015 @ 5:58 pm
I suppose it depends on the criteria used to judge the vocalists. My rankings are based on how well they combine intensity with emotion (both of which are admittedly subjective and reductionist).
There are many recent country vocalists for whom intensity outweighs emotion. Carrie Underwood is the exemplar of this style, and Martina McBride also fits in. Loretta Lynn, and also Connie Smith to some extent, also belong in this category, as most of their songs come off to me as sounding “playfully strong” rather than “painfully emotional”.
On the other hand, looking back through the annals of the genre, most of the great female vocalists in country music had voices that carried much more emotion than intensity. Dolly Parton is probably the greatest example of this style, along with Kathy Mattea, Tammy Wynette, Lee Ann Womack, Natalie Maines, Pam Tillis, Alison Krauss.
And then there are those who can at times sing emotionally and at other times intensely, but do not generally combine the two simultaneously.
Reba and Tanya can combine both effectively, but their voices (Reba’s, especially) seem just the slightest bit rough to me (don’t get me wrong, I love their voices, but this a competition at the very highest level). As for Roseanne Cash, her voice seems to suit more of a soft rock style than a country style from the videos that I have seen.
This leaves Patty in a category with Kitty Wells and Patsy Cline from your list. I would actually put Sara Evans in close competition here as well, since her early songs featured a similar combination of intensity and emotion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qliQyX14laI
April 25, 2015 @ 6:18 pm
Yeah any discussion like this is going to be subjective. For me the top three are so clearly in some order Wynette, Lynn and Parton and then after that it’s gets more debatable. I take into account the whole package (writing, singing, authenticity, longevity and impact on the genre) when I think about these kinds of rankings.
I also think a little time is needed to judge where to rank current acts which is why I didn’t even mention Underwood or Lambert. Sadly I fear that Lambert may not stand up too well in time because her singles with the exception of ‘House’ have been so weak in her peak years and singles are what define an artist historically.
The other obvious point is that somebody can be your favorite without them being one of the greatest of all time.
Anyway, I agree that Patty Loveless is very good and I wish we had someone like her getting play on mainstream radio today.
April 25, 2015 @ 8:11 pm
Miranda Lambert strikes me as a singer with a naturally emotional rather than intense voice, who tries to hard to overexert her voice in order to fit a “strong” persona and falls flat. She is at her best when she performs songs that fit her soft voice, like “House” or the song that she performed on “Nashville Star”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Alf24LSqA0
April 25, 2015 @ 8:13 pm
*too* hard
Probably should use the edit function more often…
April 26, 2015 @ 4:00 pm
Definitely agree. Her voice is pure country, and she can make you feel the song as well as anyone I can think of. Her version of “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive” is haunting at times, and several of her songs can just break your heart. Radio would probably have shunned it even then, but I really wish she would have released “Sorrowful Angels” as a single.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rze9sHBMhXU
April 25, 2015 @ 5:03 pm
Here’s another one which features a softer style, but nonetheless the intensity still shines through, combining to create a mixture of sultriness and heartache.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZHMS3Vho-o
Fortunately, this one reached #1 on the country charts.
April 25, 2015 @ 5:08 pm
Here’s a later song from her that features a more religious theme. Note how her voice carries the song without much instrumental accompaniment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUiqncJE_dI
April 25, 2015 @ 4:38 pm
Oh look a chance for current “artists” to kiss up to legends. Where’s Hank Jr?
April 25, 2015 @ 6:28 pm
I think Hank Jr. is a little too far back in terms of the time period. The focus seems to be on artists that were really popular in the late 80’s and at least the early part of the 90’s. John Anderson seems to be about as far back as they went with the booking. Which both makes sense and is also depressing.
April 25, 2015 @ 7:24 pm
I think they wanted to separate the bro-countryish acts from the legends and make it discernible.
April 25, 2015 @ 4:49 pm
“Lambert and Loveless was nearly seamless, the two sang great together. Loveless is such an under appreciated talent, possibly just because she”™s a woman. She”™s every bit as talented as the hat acts and I would say a stronger singer than any of them.”
Couldn’t agree more- So seamless it actually stood WAY out above the rest .
Patty Loveless has always found and done justice vocally and production-wise to the BEST songs . Her albums are gems beginning to end ,…. her two MOUNTAIN SOUL offerings are the template for modern Bluegrass records . I’m not surprised that Miranda and Patty work so well together . Miranda’s voice is so country it hurts sometimes and her knack for finding a great country song is second only to Patty’s . Not saying Miranda hasn’t recorded some ‘less than stellar ‘ material ( ‘WAGON and the Carrie duet come to mind …complete shit for radio saps )…but I think she’s also recorded some of the BEST songs around right now . I think Miranda would do an amazing job on a stripped down ‘acoustic ‘grass kinda record featuring her uncanny ability to pitch notes and emote . In fact , I could hear her and Dwight singing together . Dwight’s voice is about as unique as they come and its made for trad honky tonk , bluegrass , country ….not the rock stuff he’s trying to do right now .
April 25, 2015 @ 5:10 pm
Maybe next year we can have zac brown and Jason isbell sing cover me up. Of course Isbell needs to have the lead. it is his song lol
April 25, 2015 @ 8:02 pm
I’m a firefighter/medic where I live here in Alabama and sometimes when I’m off duty I get to work concerts here at our amphitheater. The other night the rock/Christian Rock band NEEDTOBREATHE played and I was there working it. They had a few songs that had a banjo and/ or mandolin in it and they were 10x more country than Sam Hunt haha
April 26, 2015 @ 3:03 pm
Amen man
I love NEEDTOBREATHE
Volbeat
Yes the Metal band who uses the banjo in some songs
Is still more country then Sam Hunt
Even in A Warriors Call
April 26, 2015 @ 4:05 pm
Not gonna lie. They were impressive. Especially the lead singer. He could straight up belt it! Drew Holcomb and his band played as well. They were good too
April 25, 2015 @ 9:11 pm
Let the fans YouTube videos fly because, just like CMA Fan Fest, the network will tweek the whole show and throw it out as if these low level puppeteered singers can stack up to those who can actually sing live.
Read an idea that someone should buy billboard time by Music…Er…Condo Row stating:
THE NASHVILLE MUSIC ROW SYSTEM IS BROKEN. There HAS to be a better way!!
April 26, 2015 @ 6:32 am
If there was a collection to put up a billboard I would donate. Something needs to be done.
April 25, 2015 @ 11:08 pm
Yeah, horrible stuff! Who came up with such a crap idea …… and why do these big name artists take part? Surely they must know how shite their duet partners are?!
April 26, 2015 @ 10:25 am
I gave up trying to understand why they do this aalong time ago.
April 26, 2015 @ 12:06 pm
I’m most likely way far off with my assumption, but I’m guessing that these legends did this because they have new music in the works, and might have wanted to use the event as an opportunity to spread that news. I mean Dwight Yoakam already has his album out, and John Anderson + Alan Jackson have announced new albums coming as well. Idk about Loveless or Milsap, but it’s just a guess….
April 26, 2015 @ 11:49 pm
Good to hear John Anderson is releasing a new album. I just read about it on his website. A couple songs were co-written with Josh Turner, which is pretty cool (I’m a fan of both of them).
April 26, 2015 @ 2:54 pm
I agree with the above comments regarding genre categorization…If your a country(ish) act and you decide to veer outside of country music…no problem, just don’t try to represent your music as country. The bottom line seems to be target audience and country radio seems to pushing for a teenybopper/ early 20s female demographic. I certainly never hear Wilco or Hank 3’s Assjack on Country radio, even though they have more “country credentials” than say Sam Hunt or even Taylor Swift.
April 27, 2015 @ 12:08 am
Country music is pushing for a male demographic, not a female one. Females of all ages were the target audience throughout the 00s, but around 2011 the industry shifted strategy dramatically to attract young males, hence explaining bro-country.
April 27, 2015 @ 5:26 am
If so, I guess I find it funny, as I don’t know any guys that would ever be caught dead listening to Sam Hunt or Jason Aldean, etc.
April 27, 2015 @ 12:21 pm
Amen
April 27, 2015 @ 7:57 am
In more positive news, the new Chris Stapleton album is up on npr first listen and it’s excellent. http://www.npr.org/2015/04/23/401769240/first-listen-chris-stapleton-traveller
April 27, 2015 @ 8:24 am
The list of artists who aren’t as good as Dwight Yoakam, Alan Jackson, Ronnie Milsap, John Anderson, and Patty Loveless is long, isn’t it?
Hopefully comparing and contrasting these performances might shed a little light on the right direction for country music.
April 28, 2015 @ 3:36 pm
I see that same negative attitude you see every time a genre changes, or a new genre is born. No one is in to the twangy, sad, depressing, make you want to eat a bullet music anymore. No matter what genre you listen to, this type of music is unacceptable in today’s society. For the metal people, did you know.. That at one point in time people into the rock scene hated Ozzy and Randy Rhoads? Did you know that back in the day when that guy named Elvis came along, their were old people who dared to hate him too! And Hendrix, and Joplin. People hate everything new. Why waste your time complaining and embrace the changes. You can’t, and wont make a change by talking about how “horrible” someone is who has talent and has a following. Do you have talent, do you have a following? I didn’t think so.
April 28, 2015 @ 3:55 pm
” No one is in to the twangy, sad, depressing, make you want to eat a bullet music anymore.”
Completely false assessment of the listening public.
May 3, 2015 @ 8:43 am
Sam Hunt wore this to perform at the iHeartradio festival last night. He’s trying to be Bieber as a teen.
https://instagram.com/p/2NSZRJxiWT/?taken-by=mrbobbybones
May 15, 2015 @ 7:49 pm
Miranda and Patty sang together beautifully. Patty hasn’t been singing live as much in recent years. I remember when Miranda had her come out and sing when she played Fenway both nights. So good. Agree that Miranda’s voice on a stripped down album would be golden. PS Lambert’s work will do just fine as time goes on. 5 solo albums (way more standouts than misses) and 2 Pistol Annie’s CDs. More than enough talent shown. Thanks
May 31, 2015 @ 1:04 pm
LOL I knew Sam Hunt was a pussy, but I figured he would at least be able to sing.
September 17, 2017 @ 6:17 pm
I think Sam Hunt is an embarrassment & should be arrested for crimes against country music! No, I don’t have talent, (except in the kitchen & bedroom), & no I don’t have a following, but I CAN tell the difference between talent and a douche bag who sings pop country, or whatever u want to call the pure crap he sings. Why can’t singers like that have their own radio station, so I don’t have to listen to music that is NOT country! More like country crap. Ha Ha.
September 17, 2017 @ 6:21 pm
This shit bum is completely devoid of talent. I don’t believe in abortion, but damn it, I wish his mother had aborted that rat bastard!