After a pretty much perfect debut single, Randy Houser returns with the opening song from his debut album. If he channeled Ronnie Dunn on “Anything Goes”, he sounds a lot closer to Trace Adkins on this twangy rocker.
Houser’s enthusiastic performance helps to elevate the rather ordinary material, but there’s been such a glut of “country and proud of it” songs lately. “Boots On” may be one of the better ones, but they haven’t been collectively good in the first place. There are far better tracks on Houser’s album.
Alex Woodard and Sara Watkins continue the recent trend of rock/pop leaning artists dueting with country artists. For those who don’t know, Watkins was a member of the stellar Southern California-bred progressive bluegrass/acoustic trio, Nickel Creek. And Woodard, a Southern California surfer boy, is an independent roots rocker who released his self-titled album in August 2008.
This cut, which is found on Woodard’s album, showcases beautiful vocals by both artists – Woodard’s smooth voice is imbued with depth and confidence, and Watkins lovely voice is tinged with the right amount of wistful emotion. Unfortunately, neither the song - a ballad contemplating the end of a relationship - nor the production, do the artists justice. It is a surprise because Woodard is an excellent songwriter and Watkins an accomplished fiddler/violinist. However, in this instance, the lyrics are rather forgettable, and instead of coloring the song with genuine emotion, the violin-backed production comes off as slightly schmaltzy and pedestrian.
As both are talented, with different material, I look forward to hearing more from them – separately or together – in the future.
I remain a fan. Chris Young has one of the finest traditional country voices to come along this decade, easily on par with Josh Turner’s. He’s able to turn in performances that sound steeped in tradition without sounding dated.
“Gettin’ You Home (The Black Dress Song)” would have been a smash for Conway Twitty back in the day. Like the Twitty hits of yore, “Gettin’ You Home” is suggestive without being sleazy, and the second verse reveals that the young lady is just as eager to get back home as the gentleman who is serenading her.
These days, it seems that Turner and Blake Shelton are rivaling for the title of Country Romeo, but if radio gives this single some real estate, Young could give them a good run for their money.
Written by Cory Batten, Kent Blazy and Chris Young
Blake’s recent review of Carrie Underwood’s single, “I Told You So” touched on a simmering issue for me. Underwood clearly has a stellar voice, an appreciation for country music and has acquitted herself very well in the public eye, but (yes, the big BUT) … I truly believe she has not yet tapped into her true potential. I believe it’s there. And as Blake noted, she has shown recent signs of getting there. But it would truly be a shame if she never quite reached the Mt. Everest sized peaks she is capable of attaining.
Dierks Bentley is another one of those artists for me. His rock-country voice has a cool edge and his songs are usually some of the best fare on radio. He also has an undeniable ear for music, a flair for making entertaining videos and a clear appreciation for country music’s history. More than most, I’m always interested to see who he is working with. On his upcoming album, his contributors include Patty Griffin, Rodney Crowell and Ronnie McCoury – all extremely talented artists outside of the mainstream. BUT … I believe he also has a lot of untapped potential. I like Bentley’s music, but I don’t LOVE it. There’s nothing compelling in his catalog that I listen to on repeat or will even be listening to years from now. Although I believe he can be, he’s not yet a great artist or even a particularly memorable one.
As an aside, I won’t be surprised if neither artist reaches their full potential until their radio ride ends, which, selfishly, I hope happens sooner rather than later. The quality of the material from artists who no longer cater to country radio is stunning. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Which country music star do you feel has the most untapped potential?
Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson cleaned up at the 37th CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia this past week. The couple acquired five Golden Guitar trophies, winning Album of the Year (Rattlin’ Bones), APRA Song of the Year, Video Clip of the Year, Single of the Year (“Rattlin’ Bones”) and Top Selling Album of the Year.
Other winners include Melinda Schneider & Paul Kelly for Vocal Collaboration of the Year (“Still Here”), the sisterly trio The McClymonts for Group or Duo of the Year, Adam Brand for Male Vocalist of the Year and Catherine Britt for Female Vocalist of the Year.
The second single from Jamey Johnson’s That Lonesome Song is also the lead-off track for the acclaimed album, and it establishes both the theme and tone of the project. It speaks to Johnson’s confidence as a singer and a writer that he is willing to give voice to a character whose actions should deem him completely unlikable. Through the careful construction of a remorse-laden inner monologue, Johnson gives his character dignity.
I remember my mentor in college, the inimitable Dr.Virginia Osborn, saying this once: ”We want sympathy for ourselves, and justice for everyone else. So we judge ourselves by our intentions and everyone else by their actions.” The man in this song has thrown away his entire life, choosing drugs and alcohol over his loving wife. Such men are the bottom-dwellers of our society, looked upon with scorn and disdain. We judge them by their actions. Johnson’s “High Cost of Living” challenges us to think about their intentions. Like so much of great art, it illuminates the humanity that hides in the shadows of shame and sorrowful regret.
Songs about the family farm are a dying breed, with wide open spaces now making way for sprawling suburbia. This shift in society is gracefully handled in Trisha Yearwood’s “Dreaming Fields,” (“And the houses they grow like weeds in a flowerbed,” she says.) and a piece of our heritage is slowly slipping away. The listening audience of country music is more multi-dimensional than ever before, and many country music fans have never experienced the rural life that’s described in many of country’s classics.
What’s your favorite country song about the farming life?
He’s gone country, back to his roots.With Changing Horses, Ben Kweller shifts gears into a new groove, adding a touch of twang to his earnest tales of yearning. The Texas-bred bard, whose quirky pop has served as a guide to glory for the heartbroken, is now an Americana mystery in the spirit of Gram Parsons.
The shaggy-haired minstrel loves his Garth, but he sings and plays with a quiet hush that’s more Western wear than arena rock. Equal parts Cali folk and alt-pop, Changing Horses is proof that Nashville slick isn’t the only way to do country. His use of a whispering pedal steel is just the twinge of tradition to ground these hopeful hymns. Whether praising a woman’s virtuous way (“On Her Own”) or pining for romantic revival (“Wantin’ You Again”), Kweller leaves doubt in the dust, pressing on past old regrets towards new frontiers.
Kweller minds his manners, too. In a show of Southern hospitality, he thanks a hooker girlfriend for being such sweet company on the sad ”Gypsy Rose.” Bless his ever-lovin’ heart.
Perhaps I’m entirely too critical, but I’ve recently realized that there are precious few albums on which I can say I love every song. Even most of my favorite albums seem to contain one or two songs that I could do without.
However, I’ll go out on a limb and proclaim that Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson’s Rattlin’ Bones and Old Crow Medicine Show’s self-titled project are two albums that I can listen to without skipping even one song.
How about you? What albums can you honestly say have no throwaway tracks?
“If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?” -William Shakespeare
Love is the most universal of emotions, the soothing salve for old wounds, the cure for all that ails. As Jennifer Nettles affirms on Sugarland’s new single, love, in fact, is the greatest revenge of all.
With a gently-percolating rhythmic section that builds up suspense, “Love” echoes the finest studio work of Brian Eno, whose sonic spirit lifted U2 into superstardom. This is a listening experience, an anthemic power ballad that scrapes the sky with its open-minded submission to the powers (and the pains) of love. A sort of spiritual awakening, “Love” allows the breathtaking vocal talent of Nettles to shine brightly, boldly, with a ferocious wonder.
Nettles settles into this tour-de-force with her finest friend, a high-altitude alto that’s Reba-meets-Bonnie Raitt; she’s willing herself to believe in the beauty of love while braving its consequences. Her gripping, grieving voice simmers in the verse, then, as the stakes rise higher, she’s urgently pleading for heavenly guidance. “Is it having so little, and yet having it all?” she cries.
Her faith slowly, but surely, rises; soon, Nettles accepts her fate: to live and to love, no questions asked. “I say it’s love,” she swears (whatever it happens to be), as if love cannot be defined by any divine force. Her pronounced twang, one which travels through much of Sugarland’s music to date, is conspicuously absent. Instead, Nettles nestles into “Love” like it’s a warm coat on a cold winter’s night; the rising tension in her rapturous call tells all. In the final moments, that primal cry is met with Kristian Bush’s mighty roar, and a crescendo of crashing guitars drives home their hard-won lessons.
Recording a song with such grand scope was a risk, one whose rewards are rare. Many will argue that it’s abstract and absent of “country” traditions. However, “Love” is absolved from (most of) its sins by the grace of a glorious vocal performance, gently reminding that a full heart is sweet revenge on a cold, cruel world. A many-splendored thing indeed.
Grade:B+
Written by Jennifer Nettles, Kristian Bush and Tim Owens
After a pretty much perfect debut single, Randy Houser returns with the opening song from his debut album. If he channeled Ronnie Dunn on “Anything Goes”, he sounds a lot closer to Trace Adkins on this twangy rocker.
Alex Woodard and Sara Watkins continue the recent trend of rock/pop leaning artists dueting with country artists. For those who don’t know, Watkins was a member of the stellar Southern California-bred progressive bluegrass/acoustic trio, Nickel Creek. And Woodard, a Southern California surfer boy, is an independent roots rocker who released his self-titled album in August 2008.
I remain a fan. Chris Young has one of the finest traditional country voices to come along this decade, easily on par with Josh Turner’s. He’s able to turn in performances that sound steeped in tradition without sounding dated.
Blake’s recent 
The second single from Jamey Johnson’s That Lonesome Song is also the lead-off track for the acclaimed album, and it establishes both the theme and tone of the project. It speaks to Johnson’s confidence as a singer and a writer that he is willing to give voice to a character whose actions should deem him completely unlikable. Through the careful construction of a remorse-laden inner monologue, Johnson gives his character dignity.
Songs about the family farm are a dying breed, with wide open spaces now making way for sprawling suburbia. This shift in society is gracefully handled in Trisha Yearwood’s “Dreaming Fields,” (“And the houses they grow like weeds in a flowerbed,” she says.) and a piece of our heritage is slowly slipping away. The listening audience of country music is more multi-dimensional than ever before, and many country music fans have never experienced the rural life that’s described in many of country’s classics.
Ben Kweller
Perhaps I’m entirely too critical, but I’ve recently realized that there are precious few albums on which I can say I love every song. Even most of my favorite albums seem to contain one or two songs that I could do without.
“If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?” -William Shakespeare
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