Comments on: Best Country Albums of 2006

By: Bob

Bob — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:35:24 +0000

Prompted by Mark’s comment, I’m seeing this 2006 best cds list for the first time. I realize that tastes vary but I’m still surprised at a few omissions, namely “Back to the Well” by Lee Roy Parnell and “My Life” by Ronnie Milsap. Was Kevin, the author of the post, aware of them and just dismissed them from consideration? I don’t really expect him to remember since it’s been almost 3 years and none of those commenting mentioned them. But if you’re going to compile a list of the best cds of the first decade of the 21st century, they should be at least considered, especially Lee Roy’s.

Lee Roy wasn’t messing around with this cd. (His cd “Tell the Truth” in 2001 was, to tell the truth, nothing special.) For “Back to the Well” he enlisted the services of two of Nashville’s best songwriters, Tony Arata and Gary Nicholson. The former co-wrote 6 songs with Parnell and the latter was in for 4. Tony’s contributions included “Something Out of Nothing”, “Old Soul”, “Daddies & Daughters”, “Breaking the Chain”, “The Hunger” and “That’s All There Is”. Gary’s included the title cut, “Saving Grace”, “Just Lucky That Way” and “Don’t Water It Down”. The last is the funkiest along with “You Can’t Lose ‘em All”, a collaboration between Parnell and Tom Hambridge. My favorite is “Just Lucky That Way”, just edging out “Something Out of Nothing”. The cd is one good song after another with a good mix of ballads and up tempo tunes.

Ronnie Milsap’s cd “My Life” is also very good. I think I may have already commented on it in a discussion about age discrimination. It may have involved a post about George Strait but I’m not sure. The “senior moments” come more frequently now.

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:27:51 +0000

I bought CD's of these artists and I can tell you that it’s amazing. The albums as a whole are brilliant. Here's my list of Christmas country albums

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 02:58:57 +0000

My picks:

15. _The Lonesome Spurs_.
14. _Long Trip Alone_, Dierks Bentley.
13. _Big Shiny Cars_, Pinmonkey.
12. _Breathe_, Dan Bern.
11. _Like Red on a Rose_, Alan Jackson.
10. _I Stand Alone_, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott.
09. _Men & Mascara_, Julie Roberts.
08. _Ammunition_, Tim Easton.
07. _Nashville_, Solomon Burke.
06. _Americanitis_, Will Kimbrough.
05. _Big Iron World_, Old Crow Medicine Show.
04. _Fox Confessor Brings the Flood_, Neko Case.
03. _A Blessing & A Curse_, Drive-By Truckers.
01. _Black Cadillac_, Rosanne Cash // (tie) // _Straight to Hell_, Hank Williams III.

Notably Missed: _Kickin’ Out the Footlights… Again_, Merle Haggard & George Jones; _These Days_, Vince Gill; _The Devil You Know_, Todd Snider; _Migrations_, The Duhks.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 02:53:03 +0000

Lori,

Thanks for the kind words. I find it difficult to articulate the reasons why certain music touches me deeply, so it’s nice to know I actually succeeded in communicating that!

By: Kevin

Kevin — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 02:51:28 +0000

I’ve never heard of a couple of those acts, Mike. I’m gonna go check them out on iTunes. Thanks for sharing the list. If you want to expand it to fifteen and add comments, I’ll run it on the front page.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 04:23:35 +0000

Just to get the lists in one place, here’s mine from elsewhere a separate post on this site:

1. Todd Snider – The Devil You Know. (I did not begin the year a Todd Sndier fan, but this album won me over. Incerdibly smart songwriting.)

2. Rosanne Cash – Black Cadillac. (A moving and significant record by the most consistently excellent artists in country music.)

3. Johnny Cash – American V/100 Highways. (For a long while, I thought this would be my album of the year. It’s a moving record, but as time went by, I become a little — though just a little — uncomfortable with a few tracks that seem posthumously overproduced.)

4. Emmylou Harris & Mark Knopler – All the Roadrunning. (Nice to again hear an Emmylou album with a little oomph and a good soundmix.)

5. Old Crow Medicine Show – Big Iron World

6. Dixie Chicks – Long Way Around

7. The Little Willies – The Little Willies

8. Charlie Burton & the Dorothy Lynch Mob – Salad

9. Pilgrim – The Songs of Kris Kristofferson

10. Anne McCue – Koala Hotel

By: Lori

Lori — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 16:06:46 +0000

Your beautifully written review of the Dixie Chick’s album — particularly of Silent House — made me weep. It was almost as beautiful as the songs it was describing.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Mon, 25 Dec 2006 05:35:26 +0000

I think Bruce’s last three CD’s have all been awesome. I came close to including “We Shall Overcome” on my list, but I thought his ties to country music, as big-tent as I am, just aren’t there. It’s a gray area. Newton-John’s album isn’t particularly country, she’s been active in the genre often enough to include her; Ronstadt would’ve made the list if the album was one of my fifteen favorites of the year. I was listening to it again today and I think with a few more listens, it might have displaced Sugarland on my tally. I figure if I’m going to include rock/folk albums by artists like Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris (who didn’t make this year’s list but has in the past), I might as well include Newton-John and Ronstadt.

Good luck hearing the Newton-John CD. They only sell it at Walgreen’s. It’s worth seeking out though, if you like spiritual/religious-themed music. She hasn’t had a studio album go through traditional retail in the U.S. since her country album “Back With a Heart” in 1998, though they finally got a solid reissue on the market last year (“Gold”) that remastered all of her country chart hits, many of which were out of print in America for a long time.

By: Paul W Dennis

Paul W Dennis — Mon, 25 Dec 2006 03:31:34 +0000

Interesting list , Kevin. Including our honorable mentions, there is a fair amount of overlap between our lists

One of the problems in compiling a list such as this is that it is impossible for the lay writer to hear everything . For instance I haven’t heard a note of the Olivia Newton-John album Kevin cites. I doubt that if I had heard it that it would have wound up in my top 15, but the fact remains that I haven’t heard it to be able to judge it

Then there are those CDs that come to your attention late in the year . I had heard one or two cuts from Chris Young’s debut CD , most notably “Drinkin’ Me Lonely”. I received the CD tonight as a or Christmas present and listened to it twice on the way home. Having listened to it,through twice, at a minimum,I would have put it in my honorable mention listing , but after listening to it a few more times, I suspect it would have shown up in my top ten

Kevin put Bruce Springsteen, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions and Linda Ronstadt with Ann Savoy, Adieu False Heart in his honorable mention list. Both are excellent albums that would show up on my list of 15 best non-country CDs of 2006 (in fact, Springsteen’s Seeger tribute is my favorable non-country disc of 2006)