For Immediate Release:
Dr BLT Music
08/10/09

One’s a Nashville superstar, the other, a Bakersfield underdog. Both share a spirit of boldly crossing culture/genre boundaries with their music. These two have created the greatest culture shock waves in country music since Buck Owens and Dwight Yoakam released Homer Joy’s Streets of Bakersfield over 30 years ago.

Both have recently released songs that have sent culture shock waves through country music, George Strait with this one:

http://www.the9513.com/george-strait-el-rey/

and Dr BLT with his country arrangement of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”:

Billie Jean
Dr BLT and Penny Marie
(also features Kim McAbee)
http://www.drblt.net/music/BJmusic.mp3

from the CD, From Buck Owens Blvd. to Merle Haggard Drive
http://www.drblt.net
(hit “music” link and go to songs from CD, From Buck Owens Blvd. to Merle Haggard Drive.

I don’t really have full catalogs of many artists…not sure if Carrie Underwood counts haha But I do have all of the Dixie Chicks albums. I need to start completing more artist’s catalogs!

Wow, that’s quite an impressive collection of all things Reba you have there..

The Patty, Brad and Sara stuff I’ve accumulated are now within my budget, (although I may be still paying for them with my credit card bills and all) But I don’t regret these purchases at all.

But my ambitions for expansion beyond these artists will have to be curtailed somewhat, for the time being anyway. I’m really looking forward to Brad’s new album on Tuesday, and will MAKE room in the budget for that one! ;)

But I think it’s worth it in the long run. I sure wouldn’t take my money back for my collection.

If I really like an artist, It is usually enough for me to own their “greatest hits” or “best of” albums, in addition to some additional ones, perhaps that are especially well acclaimed by the critics. Emmylou Harris would be an example of this, I have her Warner/Reprise Anthology, and also Roses in the Snow, and Blue Kentcky Girl and a few others…I try to focus on Emmylou’s Country and Bluegrass stuff only.

There are a very few, however that I really feel the need to own their complete collections, and they are for me, Patty Loveless, Sara Evans, and Brad Paisley..

I own Patty and Sara’s complete catalogs, as well as Brad Paisley’s. (it was a lot easier to compile Brad and Sara’s five or so albums than Patty’s 20 or so, ;)) And with Patty and Sara, I think I have most every duet, collaboration, and compilation appearance from each of these artists, including Sara’s Early Years CD.

This can be an expensive passion we all have here, and especially lately, I really need to watch my budget and choose very carefully!

And like some of the other commenters, I am close to having complete collections from Strait (save a few 80s albums), Trisha Yearwood (she has bonus songs on foreign releases that I don’t have and I didn’t buy MCA’s 2008 Hits CD), Conway Twitty (another prolific catalog), and Dolly Parton (though I think I have everything she’s released after 1977). Other artists whose catalogs aren’t as large are easier and I have all the albums from Lee Ann Womack, Sugarland, Shania Twain, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, and Mary Chapin Carpenter.

I buy everything that comes out by Brad Paisley, Alan Jackson, Gene Watson, Amber Digby and Merle Haggard

With the older artists it’s hard to be sure one has everything the artist issued. If you leave Christmas and Gospel albums out of the equation, I’m complete (in some format or another) on Merle Haggard, Webb Pierce, Ernest Tubb, Jack Greene, Johnny Bush, Buck Owens, Connie Smith. There are dozens of other artists for whom I’m not missing much.

Then there are artists such as Johnny Cash, George Jones and Willie Nelson who were so prolific that it’s hard to keep track of everything they have issued. I have staggering numbers of albums for all three and know I am not close to being complete on any of them (I’m about 80% complete on Cash thanks to two Bear Box sets and a great Sun Years anthology received as Christmas presents), maybe 60% on Willie and George

Collin Raye is an artist I own every album he’s done (including his childrens album and I’ve even gone so far as to get many of the compilations he’s been on). Also add Brad Paisley to that list. I used to, honestly, buy a majority of the country albums that came out prior to my current situation where I get them for promo reasons.

I of course own every Trisha Yearwood album, all of which have been bought on their release date. Other artists I own the catalogs of are, Dixie Chicks, K.T. Oslin, Patty Loveless, Josh Turner,there are alot that are only missing an album or two but just those I have the entire catalog of.

Like Leann, I tend to be a completist with artists I like, but a lot of my favorites have been around so long, a lot of their stuff was already out of print by the time I was old enough to start buying music.