Mike, I had no idea there was a new Carlene Carter coming. I bought her older albums on vinyl before they finally came out on CD, she’s so good. I can’t wait to hear it and fully expect it to make my year-end list of 2007; she’s had ten years to make it great. You’re right about TNN helping; Carter’s infectious personality came through on clips for “I Fell In Love” and “Every Little Thing.” Also, I agree about “Musical Shapes”. I like her first two 90′s albums a bit more, but that album is mind-blowing, very progressive for its time. It may be heresy, but I’ll take her version of “Ring of Fire” over anybody else’s.

He has done a remarkable job of career management. By doing limited touring, eshewing interviews, and keeping TV appearences down to award shows and very little else, he has created a mystique about him, that while not Garbo-lile, is different than any other major star. Since he doesn’t write his own material he has been very selective. He also is loyal to his songwriters, especially those that would pitch him their best material when he was a nobody . Dean Dillon has received 45 cuts by Strait and there are other writers who go first to Strait when pitching their top grade material

George Strait is one month younger than I am (54) and he is beginning his look his age. My prediction is that radio will stick with him until he has two consecutive singles that stiff. After that he will be history

Second, I wouldn’t dismiss the drug problems as coming after the fadeout. At a point when she could have been a productive, creative artist, she was wrestling demons, big time. Thus, the follow up to “I Fell in Love” took too long, and she wasn’t necessarily as effective as she could have been at promoting it.

That said, I remember being surprised when “I Fell in Love” became a hit. Carlene had been operating on the fringe of rock/country for 15 years without chart success. Why this one and not, say, the great “Musical Shapes” album?

My theory: There was a time in the late 1980s/early 1990s, when TNN had a lot of airtime to fill and was giving natonal primetime exposure to many different artists. Suddenly, you had people like Nanci Griffith, Lyle Lovett, Chris Hillman (via Desert Rose Band), Rodney Crowell, etc., bubbling up after years of toiling in semi-obscurity. Heck, maybe it wasn’t TNN’s doing, but whatever, tastes seemed to change about the same time that the network started dedicating more of its schedule to line dancing and Dukes of Hazard reruns. Coincidence or not, many high-quality artists were relegated to “used to be a chart-topper” status.

Now, can I spew my ignorance about George Strait? I’ve never “gotten” his amazing and lnog-lasting popularity. His recordings all sound the same to me. I’ve heard “Lead On,” “Blue Clear Sky” and a couple others, and I honestly can’t tell the difference between them. 10-12 3:00 songs, done at about the same tempo, all about the same things. His voice is lovely, but so are the voices of lots of other less successful singers. Can someone share their insight into what makes George Strait such an iconic figure? (And, yes, I do concede that at this point he has surpassed almost all of his peers and many legendary figures in country music as far as success and influence.)

I know about the later drug problems , but she had already faded away prior to that. Part of the problem was that already 35 years old by the time she emerged as a country star, ancient for a woman in this age of “handsome hunks and sweet young things” . She recorded “Unbreakable Heart” several years before Jessica Andrews, and made a far superior recording of the song. It only got to #51 for Carlene. I have this CD much higher on my perssonal list