Comments on: Grammy Flashback: Best Country Album

By: download

download — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 17:44:18 +0000

These are all awesome albuns!

By: Steve from Boston

Steve from Boston — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 05:26:52 +0000

Gavin, I don’t think I ever said that you didn’t appreciate Patty, I realize that you are a fan, and tried to reflect that in my comments. Sorry if I gave you the impression to the contrary with any of my remarks…..but thanks for the clarification anyway.

And conversely, I hope I did not give the impression that I’m not a fan of Trisha’s, because I am. I was just trying to use HH&TPOL as an example of an excellent album by an outstanding talent, but one that was done in a fairly conventional way..ie with the help of professional songwriters. I was trying to make the point that an album of covers could be just as “original” as most anything out there, if it is done the way Patty Loveless did Sleepless Nights.

And I especially like your line “Patty Loveless is a gifted and instinctive singer with an old soul and could wrap her vocal around any classic and give it new life” Very well said… I would only add,; ” with an old soul and a young heart, and a gift for interpretation equaled by very few artists in any era of Country music history.

By: Jake

Jake — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:44:58 +0000

I really hope Trisha wins it. BTW, this is somewhat randam, but is Let The Wind Chase You, off the album, a new single, because I heard it on the radio yesterday?

By: Gavin

Gavin — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:47:30 +0000

Steve, I didn’t mean for you to think that I thought it was inferior. It is more like putting it in a separate category. Do I think Sleepless Nights is a better album than That Lonesome Song? Absolutely not. If you reversed the question I’d give you the same answer. Do I prefer it to Dwight Sings Buck or Martina’s Timeless? A definitive yes is my answer to that question. Patty Loveless is a gifted and instinctive singer with an old soul and could wrap her vocal around any classic and give it new life. Don’t think I’m not a fan just because I have a different way of looking at things.

By: Steve from Boston

Steve from Boston — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 06:02:10 +0000

I’d just like to add….

In this day and age of pop-diluted country music, Patty Loveless’ Sleepless Niights, (cover or not) is a timely remedy, and points the way back to the very Soul of Country Music.

And that alone is sufficient justification for a Grammy nomination.

By: Steve from Boston

Steve from Boston — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 05:41:50 +0000

Yes, Sleepless Nights is a tribute album all right, a tribute to Tradition. But that certainly does not diminish the significance or the quality of this outstanding record. And Sleepless Nights was NOMINATED for a reason, namely it is a fresh, original and creative resurrection of these these great songs, and indeed, a tribute to the original artists, and the solid Country tradition that inspired them to greatness. ..In many ways, Patty has also made these classics her own. (Some folks have even mistaken Patty’s interpretations of these old classics for new songs.) And sometimes remakes do surpass the originals…I think with many of the songs on Sleepless Nights, this is the case, but it is certainly open to debate and personal preference.

I respect your opinion too Gavin, but you raised a point that is quite commonly held about the relative inferiority (for lack of a better word) of cover albums in the minds of many people. And that was the larger point that I wanted to address, and suggest another way of looking at cover albums, especially those that are as well done as Patty’s Sleepless Nights.

But we certainly agree on a few points…Patty’s humility, and her talent. She is far too humble to make the claims that I have made, and many critics have also made on her behalf.

And as for her talent, that is quite apparent..I share your optimism that someday talented new artists will pay tribute to Patty Loveless as well. .And some critics have even called Patty a “female George Jones” . Ralph Stanley in the liner notes of his Clinch Mountain Country album puts Patty in the same league, right up there with George Jones as a vocalist.

High praise indeed, but Patty deserves it.

By: Gavin

Gavin — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:00:22 +0000

Steve, Sleepless Nights is basically a tribute album . These songs have been done and they are classics for a reason. Why Baby Why will always be a George Jones song no matter who records it and Patty Loveless would say the same thing. You pretty much get the gist of what I’m saying and I respect your thoughts and, besides, it is just how I personally feel. One day someone will do a tribute to Patty Loveless and do their version of some of your favorite songs and with her body of work she has no doubt inspired many.

By: Steve from Boston

Steve from Boston — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 05:56:43 +0000

I guess what I’m saying is this…if one thinks originality should reign supreme as the most important criteria for a Grammy nod, than what is actually more original.?..An record by a great artist like Trisha who makes an album in a brilliant but fairly conventional way using professional songwriters, or is it more original for someone to take a risk, go against the grain and record an album of well known, (and not so well known songs), and do it with inspired, creative originality, like Patty did with Sleepless Nights? Don’t forget, not all of these songs were well known or even singles…and most of them were done by male artists. I’d say that’s pretty original….And in a stroke of musical genius, Patty and husband/producer Emory knew exactly when and how to pick up the tempo, as they did with “Why Baby Why” .adding more passion and soul than even the original George Jones version, as well as when to slow it down, like they did with Crazy Arms, allowing for far more depth of emotion than the Ray Price original. I think such creativity and originality should be rewarded at the highest levels.

By: Steve from Boston

Steve from Boston — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 05:35:50 +0000

Gavin, I totally understand what you are saying…but when you think about it, Patty’s INTERPRETATION is very very original…and with the exception of those who actually write their own material, ie Jamey Johnson, Mary Chapin Carpenter etc…most songs by most artists are in a sense “covers” including most if not all of the songs on Trisha’s HH&TPOL. By definition, any song that is recorded by an artist that is not penned by that artist is an interpretation, and in the very broadest sense, a cover. Especially when the author is a singer songwriter.

Sara Evans recorded a great song by a brilliant Boston area songwriter named Lori Mckenna called “Bible Song”…most people never heard Lori’s original version, but she recorded it first. Does that make Sara’s more well known version a cover?

No need to apologize Gavin, no offense taken,,,I totally undrstand the pervasive bias against cover albums, even those which are especially well done like Patty’s Sleepless Nights. And I think that is one factor that will be working against her, unfortunately. But I am still optomistic. If the judges are in a mood to really reward an especially excellent tribute to Tradition, Patty’s their girl!

By: Soul Miners Daughter

Soul Miners Daughter — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 01:25:35 +0000

Patty Loveless… on so many levels.
If not Patty, then Randy.
If not Randy, then Trisha.

I LOVE that the Grammy’s actually put thought into this category.