Single Review

Charlie Robison
by Leeann Ward
Robison’s latest single demonstrates the ability for raw, sincere emotion to successfully carry a song.
Featured Article

CMA Music Festival: Memory Grab Bag
by Tara Seetharam
Revisit the best moments of this year’s CMA Music Festival with our on-the-scene writer, Tara Seetharam!
Album Review

Sarah Jarosz, Song Up in Her Head
by William Ward
Sarah Jarosz’ debut supplements her own talents with the best just-off-the-radar artists available today, finding a voice that will undoubtedly continue to produce eloquent music for another fifty years.
Brad Paisley, American Saturday Night
July 2, 2009
Anyone who has been following my reviews and commentary will know that popular mainstream country music has really been wearing thin on me. As much as it may seem to some people that I enjoy harping on mainstream artists, I truly do not. The fact is that it is pretty disheartening to me, because mainstream country music is where I came into this music that I regard so highly. Therefore, its marked decline is discouraging to say the least.
One of the few mainstream artists that I’ve been able to enjoy in the past few years has been Brad Paisley. His last regular album, 5th Gear was a disappointment for me, however. So, I anticipated this new album, American Saturday Night with both excitement and trepidation, especially since I was not impressed with the lead single, the generic “Then.” I knew that if I ranked it with 5th Gear, Paisley would end up being yet another current artist that I’d have to write off, which would tragically leave me with one less mainstream artist I could embrace—something my short list could not afford. To my relief, not only does Paisley’s new release not rank as low as the aforementioned album, but it may even surpass, Time Well Wasted, the Paisley album that I’ve touted as his best for the past few years.
Larry Gatlin and The Gatlin Brothers, “Johnny Cash is Dead (And His House Burned Down)”
July 2, 2009
As song titles go, “Johnny Cash is Dead (And His House Burned Down)” doesn’t have quite the eloquence of “The King is Gone”, does it?
Not that subtlety would suit anything about this record anyway, which is as bluntly written and performed as you’d expect from the combination of title and artist here. Plenty of other late stars are name-dropped along the way, including Marty Robbins, Waylon Jennings, and Chet Atkins, with predictable lamenting that the “empty cowboy hats” of today can’t replace those who we’ve already lost.
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Gary Allan, “Today”
July 2, 2009
I’ll say it again. Gary Allan has one of the most interesting and compelling voices in country music right now. Furthermore, he is able to convey emotion with an ease that should be the envy of his peers. Thankfully, he has also been particularly good at selecting equally engaging songs that have been worthy of his gifted talent. Unfortunately, “Today happens to rank among the few songs that do not rise to the challenge.
With a moody piano to serve as the foundation for the swelling strings and over all dramatic angst, Allan sings of the pain of loosing his former lover to another man. He knows that his chance has officially passed as he laments her wedding day: “Today is the happiest day of her life./I should be happy for her today./So, tell me, why are these tears in my eyes?/I know I should be happy for her./But I lost everything/I lost everything I ever wanted today.”
Sara Evans, “Feels Just Like a Love Song”
July 1, 2009
Sara Evans is an excellent singer in desperate need of a better production team. She sings the fire out of a fairly decent pop-country song here, but the arrangement is an overwhelming distraction, with far too much clutter in the mix.
It’s to her credit as a vocalist that she’s not drowned out completely, but she’s ill-served by the production philosophy that bigger is better. The opposite is true with both pop and country music, so it never ceases to amaze me how difficult that concept is to grasp for too many of those who make pop-country records.
Dolly Parton’s Video Diary on Michael Jackson
June 30, 2009
I certainly didn’t expect to create a third Country Universe post on Michael Jackson, but longtime readers know that this site would enter an extended period of mourning should anything ever happen to Dolly Parton.
She posted a video diary today about Jackson’s death. As usual, she radiates humanity and warmth. Those who are fortunate enough to have Parton as a character witness on judgment day should count their lucky stars!
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