Review

Song Review – William Michael Morgan “I Met A Girl”

Reviews 56 Comments

william-michael-morgan-i-met-a-girl

Quietly, stealthily, some of country music’s major labels are starting to retool with very young, and very country performing talent. Whether they’re hedging their bets, or hoping for a hard country resurgence, Mo Pitney is not just an anomaly anymore, he is one of a number of traditional-leaning performers being groomed for what may be the next big movement in country after the current R&B disco craze invariably crashes.

, , , , , , , ,

Album Review – Corb Lund’s “Things That Can’t Be Undone”

Reviews 40 Comments

corb-lund-things-that-cant be-undone

‘Things That Can’t Be Undone’ is one of those albums you ultimately enjoy, but you may have initial reservations about, or maybe even concerns over, or downright complaints about for some listeners because it is full of unexpected curve balls. This album is not like anything Corb has ever released before. Pairing up with Corb is producer extraordinaire and the man of the hour in Americana Dave Cobb.

, , , , , ,

Song Review- Jana Kramer’s “I Got The Boy”

Reviews 65 Comments

jana-kramer-i-got-the-boy

If there’s any silver lining to the dark, ominous clouds hanging like a low ceiling over country music’s female population, it’s that faced with the reality of their songs systematically failing at radio, they’re inadvertently bestowed the freedom to do whatever the hell they want without having to worry about the radio ramifications.

, , , , , ,

Album Review – Mike and the Moonpies’ “Mockingbird”

Reviews 14 Comments

mike-and-the-moonpies-mockingbird

Who knows what goes into deciding what bands and artists launch into the stratosphere. and which ones are destined to slag it out on a slow build spending umpteen hours in a smelly tour van. All I know is I’ve seen Mike and the Moonpies get name checked by Sturgill Simpson and open for the Turnpike Troubadours on numerous occasions, and never did their music strike me as second class.

, , , , , , ,

Album Review – Alabama’s “Southern Drawl”

Reviews 63 Comments

alabama-southern-drawl

The stereotypical observation about the classic side of the country music divide is that classic fans only like music because it’s old and sounds old, and only hate the new music of today because it sounds new. But the truth of the matter is country music’s past has plenty of bad music, eras marked by disappointment and poor trends, and songs and artists that time has not been very kind to.

, , , ,

Song Review – Jon Pardi’s “Head Over Boots”

Reviews 25 Comments

jon-pardi-head-over-boots

“Head Over Boots” is not a great song, but it’s country, and it’s Jon Pardi, and it suits the ears just fine. The key for Pardi and Laird was to put something together that was positive in nature, but still native to Pardi’s sound, and something still traditional enough to delineate Pardi from radio peers. So they headed to the dance halls of Texas for inspiration.

, , , , , , ,

Album Review – Thomas Rhett’s “Tangled Up”

Reviews 107 Comments

thomas-rhett-tangled-up

The hubris, the insult of calling Tangled Up “country,” the effrontery to the institution and the brazenness of the act are unparalleled, and start country music down a brambled path towards a terrible demise where it can’t define its own borders or distinguish itself from the rest of American music. For the first time, we ask the question, “Will The Circle Be Unbroken?” and cannot give ourselves a reassuring answer.

, , , ,

Album Review – Eric Strickland’s “Revelate”

Reviews 18 Comments

eric-strickland

It’s the combination of Strickland’s songwriting, and his amazing North Carolina-bred country voice that give you that tingle only true country music knows how to evoke. His frequent collaborator Gary Braddy also pens some of this album’s best songs, while the ‘B’ Sides continue to be one of the coolest backing bands in country music.

, , , , , ,

Album Review – Clint Black’s “On Purpose”

Reviews 49 Comments

clint-black-on-purpose

It’s fitting that Clint’s last name is “Black” because he seems to have spent his entire career overshadowed by his peers, even when he was at his commercial peak. As part of the now famous “Class of ’89,” he was always vying for attention with Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, and Brooks & Dunn. He still was wildly successful. 22 #1 singles is nothing to scoff at.

, , ,

Sorry Jeff Lebowski, But Don Henley’s “Cass County” is Top Notch Traditional Country

Reviews 94 Comments

don-henley

Whatever you could want or hope from Don Henley’s “Cass County” as a country music fan, this album delivers it and in ample quantities. I don’t know that any country fan’s expectations can meet the actual enjoyment this music deals out. And this is a traditional country record.

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Song Review – Michael Ray’s “Real Men Love Jesus”

Reviews 64 Comments

michael-ray-real-men-love-jesus

The environment in modern country music right now is such that we celebrate anyone with two ‘X’ chromosomes who can crack the Top 20, yet there’s so many of these middle-tier mainstream males crowding the scene that you can barely keep their names straight. You have male performers who’ve received three #1 stamps without releasing their second full-length record…

, , , , ,

Album Review – Ryan Adams’ “1989”

Reviews 101 Comments

ryan-adams-1989

I express all of this knowing it’s going to be a minority, unpopular viewpoint. I also express it as someone whose philosophies in music are very much influenced by Ryan Adams’ body of work. If you find Ryan Adams’ ‘1989’ entertaining, then hey, don’t let my corrosive words cloud your judgement. But I can’t share in that joy.

, , , , , ,

Another One Bites The Dust: Eric Paslay Sells Out with “High Class”

Reviews 108 Comments

eric-paslay-high-class

“High Class”? Try bottom-feeding on the dreck of moralistic depravity and the absolute evisceration of scruples this song evidences in spades from Eric. The words of this song are slop, purposely dropping essential consonants and vowels to invigorate its appeal to the idiocy of the drooling mass consumer. References to Escalades, VIP lists, DJ’s, and Timberlake….

, ,

Album Review – Turnpike Troubadours (Self-Titled)

Reviews 59 Comments

the-turnpike-troubadours

That’s the thing about the Turnpike Troubadours: they’ve exuded a patience and steadiness that has put them steadfastly in touch with the underlying spirit of country music. If they wanted to pivot just slightly and go some big rock route, they could blow up huge. But they didn’t and they don’t ,and they still blew up huge. This isn’t old country. This is new country, only the roots are still attached, and the branches fan out wide.

, ,

Album Review – Brett Eldredge’s “Illinois”

Reviews 97 Comments

brett-eldredge-illinois

We have entered a new era in country music where the ambitions and influences an artist shows up to Nashville with are patently irrelevant, and all that matters now is finding a seat at a shrinking table and making whatever concessions one must to secure your spot. It’s a cutthroat version of musical chairs, with the participants most willing to sell out the hardest having a distinct advantage.

, , , , ,

Beck’s 1999 “Midnite Vultures” is the Perfect Foil to Today’s R&B/EDM Country Craze (Vintage Review)

Reviews 10 Comments

beck

What on God’s wide creation would persuade the proprietor of a country music website to take the time and effort to compose a dissertation on some album by a pasty-skinned genre bender released over 15 years ago that has little to nothing to do with country music and doesn’t even comprise one of the more popular titles from his catalog?

, , , , , , ,

Song / Video Review – Kacey Musgraves & Willie Nelson’s “Are You Sure”

Reviews 34 Comments

kacey-musgraves-willie-nelson-are-you-sure

Some of the best cover songs are not the ones that are easily-recognized by the audience, but the ones that didn’t receive their due credit the first time around. This is the case with “Are You Sure,” which can stand right beside other iconic Willie songs from early in his career like “Night Life” and “Hello Walls” to be considered timeless in their message.

, , , ,

Album Review – Barrence Whitfield “Under The Savage Sky”

Reviews 18 Comments

barrence-whitfield-under-the-savage-sky

Barrence Whitfield is not a name you’re going to see praised to the rafters or land on every end-of-year “best of” list, but his influence and the power of his music is unwavering, and Under The Savage Sky is as good of a place to start discovering his genius as any. The way he’s able to sing with a sincerity to his soul tones, and then rear back into a wild scream is the stuff a totally immersive musical experience is made of.

, , , , , , , , ,

Album Review – Whitney Rose’s “Heartbreaker of the Year”

Reviews 16 Comments

whitney-rose-heartbreaker-of-the-year

I don’t know what they’re lacing the Canadian municipal water supplies with these days that allows the great frozen north to churn out authentic country and roots artists worthy of ears in bumper crop fashion, but they better import some of that concoction down here to the States post haste because Canada is kicking our ass in cool new country artists per capita.

, , , , , ,

Maddie & Tae’s “Start Here” is a Start on the Right Track for Mainstream Country

Reviews 93 Comments

maddie-tae-start-here

“People forget how great country music is, and we haven’t,” Maddie Marlow was recently quoted as saying. “It’s nice knowing we’re putting the banjo, the fiddle, the steel and the mandolin back out front.” And that’s what they do in their debut full-length album “Start Here,” though you probably won’t catch many Waylon fans bobbing their heads along.

, , ,

Texas Country’s Prodigal Son Pat Green Returns “Home”

Reviews 31 Comments

pat-green-home

Without anyone left to please but himself, Pat Green is free to exorcise his demons, get some stuff off his chest, make the album he wants to, and hopefully reconnect with those grassroots in Texas country that once helped carry him to the top, and he once turned his back on. To some his name will continue to be mud, but that doesn’t mean his musical output will be.

, , , , , , , , ,

Album Review – Kip Moore’s “Wild Ones”

Reviews 77 Comments

kip-moore-wild-ones

Though it would be unfair to lump Kip Moore in with the inner sanctum of the Bro-Country sect, the biggest song of his career so far has been the decidedly Bro mega hit “Somethin’ ‘Bout a Truck.” Kip was already veering somewhat in the direction of the style we see reveal itself in full force on Wild Ones before the release, so we can’t be wholeheartedly surprised by the overall style of this album.

, , , , ,

«‹ 51 52 53 54›»