Country Universe – A Country Music Blog

Single Reviews: August 29, 2005

Monday, August 29th, 2005

BILLY DEAN “Race You To The Bottom” (Curb)
This is an indictment of the “greed is good” mentality that corrupts, from the perspective of one of those that is corrupted. He overdoes it a bit, but the message still resonates. Actually, Rodney Crowell does the same thing much, much better with “The Obscenity Prayer (Give It To Me)” on his new album The Outsider. But if we’re replacing jingoism with social justice in country music, I’m on board.

COWBOY CRUSH “Nobody Died Of A Broken Heart” (Asylum/Curb)
I hear they’re a fantastic live act, but they’ve been recorded terribly. This is too noisy and cluttered.

FAITH HILL “Like We Never Loved At All” (Warner Bros.)
She’s got the #1 single in the country, but why wait when you’ve got so many more great songs to send to radio? A beautifully written, perfectly performed power ballad, with effective intertwined harmony from hubby Tim McGraw.

HOMETOWN NEWS “That’s Country To Me” (Quarterback)
I’m from the city. I can’t relate and you’re not good enough to make me care.

JAMEY JOHNSON “The Dollar” (BNA)
He’s got a great voice. But I didn’t believe one second of this contrived storyline.

JOE NICHOLS “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off” (Universal South)
Mind-numbingly inane.

JON RANDALL “I Shouldn’t Do This” (Epic)
It’s an excellent song, with supporting harmony from Patty Loveless. It would be a better record if their roles were reversed.

JOSH TURNER “Your Man” (MCA)
Didn’t Gary Allan do this last year with “Nothin’ On But The Radio”?

LUKE STRICKLAND “American By God’s Amazing Grace” (Pacific/Time)
This veteran of the Iraq War sings about the sewage in the streets of Baghad, guessing what’s going to blow up next and how he thanks God it’s not his son having to live there. I don’t think it was his intent, but he gives a lot of support to the belief that we’ve destroyed the nation we were supposedly liberating. How about we get the heck out before anybody else dies?

MIRANDA LAMBERT “Bring Me Down” (Epic)
You’re already there.

NICKEL CREEK “When In Rome” (Sugar Hill)
Methinks they’re getting a little too artsy for their own good. Just a little.

RASCAL FLATTS “Skin (Sarabeth)” (Lyric Street)
I think I’d like this by somebody else, but the nasal vocal is too much of a turn-off for me.

RAY SCOTT “My Kind Of Music” (Warner Bros.)
I would back off Whitney Houston if I were you, Ray. I’ve seen Being Bobby Brown and she could kick your butt.

SHANIA TWAIN “Shoes” (Mercury)
So. Men are like shoes. Okay. Everybody sing along, it’s already stuck in your head.

STEVE HOLY “It’s My Time (Waste It If I Want To)” (Curb)
I feel like you just wasted mine.

SUSAN HAYNES “Crooked Little Heart” (Epic)
Wow, the nineties women were and still are so much better than this.

THE GREENCARDS “Time” (Dualtone)
Pleasant.

THE WARREN BROTHERS “Change” (BNA)
A great working-class country-rock record.

TIM MURPHY “Wild Wild West” (Big 7)
It simply doesn’t work on any level.

TRICK PONY “Ain’t Wasting Good Whiskey On You” (Warner Bros.)
They’re much better than they’re given credit for. They’re this century’s Highway 101, which ain’t a bad thing at all.

Single Reviews: August 22, 2005

Monday, August 22nd, 2005

ALAN JACKSON “USA Today” (Arista)
Not exactly Alan at his best, but entertaining enough.

AMBER DOTSON “I Ain’t Your Mama” (Capitol)
A funny little post-honeymoon reflection.

BLAKE SHELTON “Nobody But Me” (Warner Bros.)
Uh-oh.  I’m starting to like Blake Shelton. Don’t tell anybody.

DWIGHT YOAKAM “Blame The Vain” (New West)
It’s a Dwight Yoakam single. Is it redundant to say that it’s better than just about anything else out there?

KEITH ANDERSON “XXL” (Arista)
Basically, he’s saying that real women don’t like short guys. I have no idea if that’s true, but if my height didn’t start with a 6, I might feel a little uncomfortable listening to this.

PATTY LOVELESS “Keep Your Distance” (Epic)
A future hall-of-famer, she continues to record what I can best describe as “progressive traditional country music.” I love this single, and I can’t wait to hear the rest of her new album.

MARTINA McBRIDE “Rose Garden” (RCA)
Glorified Karaoke. I’d be more impressed if her “country classics” album didn’t just cover the big hits, and actually demonstrated a deeper knowledge of the genre. Why couldn’t she cover “The Rib” or “Fujiyama Mama”?  Show some cajones, little lady.

MICHAEL AFRICK “Heaven’s A Small Town” (Independent)
No it’s not.

REBA McENTIRE “You’re Gonna Be” (MCA)
There’s this heartbreaking song about a man putting his wife in a nursing home called “Moving Oleta.” It’s the best thing Reba has recorded in years, and it could have really touched a lot of people. Of course, it’s on her Room To Breathe album, and instead of pulling another single, MCA has decided to put together a  #1 Hits collection for the holiday sales rush, so we have to listen to this song about how mommy knows her newborn baby is going to save the world or something.  What a wasted opportunity.

Single Reviews: August 4, 2005

Thursday, August 4th, 2005

Terri Clark has the best single this time around.

BUDDY JEWELL “So Gone” (Columbia)
Competent.

CATHERINE BRITT & ELTON JOHN “Where We Say Goodbye” (RCA)
A satisfying pairing between a pop legend and a country newcomer; unlike John’s duet with LeAnn Rimes a few years back, this one is clearly a country song.

CHELY WRIGHT “The River” (Dualtone)
Like a river, this goes on forever….

DARRYL WORLEY “I Love Her, She Hates Me” (DreamWorks)
A very entertaining stone-country bar anthem.

DIERKS BENTLEY “Come A Little Closer” (Capitol)
He doesn’t quite have the vocal maturity to pull this off, but he’s almost there.

GRETCHEN WILSON “All Jacked Up” (Columbia)
She’s trying way too hard to recreate “Redneck Woman.”

LONESTAR “You’re Like Coming Home” (RCA)
Nothing to write home about.

TERRI CLARK “She Didn’t Have Time” (Mercury)
A fully believable and flawlessly told story about a single mom getting by. Clark understands a woman’s strength is measured by her resilience during the day, not by how many drinks she can down at night.