This year’s eligibility period runs from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009. In those twelve months, there have been some solid albums released, and while there isn’t a wealth of treasures to choose from, there are enough good albums to round out this category.
Here are the five albums that I would nominate for Album of the Year:
Joey + Rory, The Life of a Song
The past twenty years have brought several excellent breakthrough albums by groups, especially those by Sugarland, Little Big Town, Brooks & Dunn, Diamond Rio, and Big & Rich. This set by Joey + Rory is better than all of them, and is selling quite well despite limited airplay.
Jamey Johnson, That Lonesome Song
It’s been nominated for ACM’s trophy and for the Best Country Album Grammy, but Johnson’s best shot at winning has always been with the traditional-leaning CMA voter membership. If both Sugarland and Taylor Swift secure a nod, he’s a shoo-in.
Patty Loveless, Sleepless Nights
We’re knee-deep in cover albums by veteran artists, but this is one of the best. Voters may be more likely to cite Lee Ann Womack’s latest, if they’re planning on nominating a traditional female at all, but this is the better album.
Brad Paisley, American Saturday Night
If Paisley were to win this, it would be deserved, as it’s possibly the best album of his career. His penchant for releasing albums in June might work against him, but hopefully voters will have a chance to live with this album before they fill out their ballots.
Sugarland, Love on the Inside
One of the best mainstream country albums of the decade, in my humble opinion. It’s certainly the first album since Home that I can listen to from start to finish and is wholeheartedly embraced by country radio. Okay, maybe since Live Like You Were Dying or Fireflies. But gosh, have there been few albums this decade that fit both descriptions.
What five albums do you think should be nominated this year?
It’s often argued that Vocal Duo and Vocal Group should be combined into one category, but this is one of those rare years where the two categories have more than five worthy nominees between them.
My picks for Vocal Duo:
Big & Rich
Brooks & Dunn
Joey + Rory
Montgomery Gentry
Sugarland
The only real filler in this category is Big & Rich, who have been largely dormant this past year.
As for Vocal Group, all five of my picks have been very active these past twelve months:
Eli Young Band
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts
Zac Brown Band
What are your picks for Vocal Duo and Vocal Group?
Anthony Smith is likely better known as a songwriter than a recording artist. As a well established songwriter, he’s written songs for Trace Adkins”I’m Tryin’”, “Chrome”), George Strait (“Run”), Tim McGraw (“Kristofferson”), Montgomery Gentry (“What Do You Think About That”), Trisha Yearwood (“Who Invented the Wheel”), and countless other big name stars. As a recording artist he has struggled, releasing his 2002 If That Ain’t Country to some positive critical reception, but ultimately met with limited commercial success. In an attempt to revive the singing part of his career, Smith has recently signed with Stroudavarious Records, which has released the offbeat rocker, “Bringing Back the Sunshine”, as the upcoming album’s lead single.
To put it simply, the song is loud. Various amped up Electric guitar patterns drive the song to a somewhat frenzied sonic experience, but it still manages to be more interesting than chaotic in the end. Similarly, the melodic structure is not as straightforward as most songs tend to be, which is both a successful and limiting feature of the song. While the key changes and phrasing keep the song interesting, Smith’s vocals are limited in range, which hampers the song’s over all appeal. Moreover, it feels as if Smith is forced to compete with the screaming guitars rather than being complimented by them.
The only thing that’s kept me from doing a Starter Kit on John Conlee is the scarcity of digitally available material. Thankfully, two of his best songs from one of his best albums can be downloaded, and they’re just the sort of forgotten classics that all country fans should have in their collection.
“Friday Night Blues”
One of those great “scenes from a marriage” songs that paints a sympathetic portrait of both the wife who’s been home alone all week waiting for a night out with her husband, and the husband who is too wiped out from the work week to get up off of the couch: “He’s been working all week, he’s got mental fatigue, and that old couch sure looks fine. All week he’s been gone, she’s been sitting alone, slowly going out of her mind…”
“She Can’t Say That Anymore”
Quite a bit less sympathetic is this classic cheating song, which finds a straying spouse making a series of truthful statements for the very last time, while “she’s breaking in a new routine for the man who walks the floor.”
Both gems. Now if we could only get “I Don’t Remember Loving You” online, we could really have some fun.
Anybody else have a forgotten gem that they’d like to recommend?
As I work my way through these categories, it’s becoming apparent to me that this was a very weak year for country music. I’m struggling to come up with a list of five women who actually made a musical impact over the twelve months that make up the eligibility period.
Only two women have made any serious commercial impact this year, so I’m filling up the category with the women who put out solid music that also did reasonably well:
Patty Loveless
If the Grammys can acknowledge her, I don’t see why the CMA should overlook her. She made an excellent covers album that has sold as well as several major label efforts. She was a surprise nominee in 2003 on the strength of Mountain Soul, and it would be nice to see the CMA show such good judgment again.
Dolly Parton
Also a surprise nominee in 2003, and very worthy of returning to the lineup this year. Not only did she sell out venues across Europe, she also earned a Tony nomination for Best Score.
Oh, and that independent album she released on her own label last year? It’s sold twice as much as the latest albums from Martina McBride and Lee Ann Womack, and outsold the albums of such radio staples as Trace Adkins, Montgomery Gentry, and Blake Shelton.
Taylor Swift
Let’s just say it now so we can be spared it being said over and over again in the comments:
Taylor Swift shouldn’t win a vocalist award because she can’t sing!
I understand this argument. After all, the same is true for Kenny Chesney and Shania Twain, who won Entertainer of the Year but not their respective vocalist awards. But they were still nominated, and rightfully so. You can’t tell the story of women in country music in 2009 without including Taylor Swift.
Carrie Underwood
Does she deserve to join the illustrious ranks of four-time winners in this category? You betcha. Given that Underwood’s a happy medium between Reba McEntire’s country-pop and Martina McBride’s power balladeering, she seems to fit in perfectly.
Oh, and if it seems too soon for Underwood to be in the same league as McEntire, remember that Reba wasn’t a superstar when she won those four trophies. She didn’t even earn a platinum album until two years after her winning streak ended.
Lee Ann Womack
Why Lee Ann Womack, and not Miranda Lambert? Each had a moody single go top twenty this year, but Lambert’s was off of an album released during the 2007 eligibility period.
Why Lee Ann Womack, and not Martina McBride? Their albums have sold in similar numbers, but Womack’s was a good deal better.
Why Lee Ann Womack and not Julianne Hough or Kellie Pickler? If you’re asking that question, you must be new to Country Universe.
What five women do you think should be nominated for Female Vocalist this year?
It has been awhile since Amazon has had a Daily Deal worth mentioning here. However, they have returned to country music in a big way today by offering Sugarland’s smash debut album, Twice the Speed of Life for just $2.99.
This album, by one of country music’s most popular duos, famously includes the radio hits, “Baby Girl”, “Something More”, and “Just Might (Make Me Believe)”. it also includes my new personal Sugarland favorite (as I’ve just bought the album thanks to this deal), the unreleased organic-sounding “Hello.”
So, if you are like me and don’t already own this album, this is your chance to give it a try with minimal chance of buyer’s remorse. I did it and I’m happily not disappointed.
Jeez, talk about your “Good Artists Gone Bad.” Alan Jackson’s latest manages to take two things I really like – honky-tonk music and silly song titles – and make them seem duller than a bad Learn-To-Type program.
It’s almost the kind of song Tim McGraw’s “Back When” once poked fun at, actually, except the subject matter here is the progression of technology, and this doesn’t even feel like enough of an effort to warrant spoofing. I mean, there’s not much to say about a song whose first three minutes basically break down to, “I kind of like my plasma T.V….but also, I kind of like whippoorwills.”
The underlying point that we shouldn’t forget life’s simple pleasures is valid, of course, but there are better ways to spell it out than by musing on things your audience hopefully already knows (“they’ve got music on the internet now!”) and spouting off a “Chicken Fried”-worthy list of cliches about what makes the simple life so good (sunsets, a good woman’s love, country roads…but where is the six-pack of Lite and Sunday morning full of Grace?). It’s not completely unlistenable, but coming from someone with Jackson’s talent and track record, it is pretty embarrassing.
It’s not like we’re short on evidence that Trisha Yearwood can sing anything well, but I stumbled on one of my favorite examples of this truth earlier in the evening:
The past two decades have only brought eight winners in the CMA Male Vocalist race, with only two of them – Toby Keith and Clint Black – winning only once. Compare this to the Female Vocalist race, which has brought twelve winners during the same time frame, though even that race has become more streaky of late, with Martina McBride and Carrie Underwood combining for seven victories in the past eleven years.
Is it time for an overhaul in the Male Vocalist race? Yes and no. There’s no denying that some of the multiple nominees/winners over the past nineteen years remain the genre’s strongest male voices. Still, there’s room for some others at the table. The problem is that there are so very few of the genre’s male artists that are genuinely at the top of their game. Even most of the men listed below have had weak singles this year.
Still, if I picked the five nominees for the 2009 CMA Male Vocalist of the Year, they would be:
Jamey Johnson
If Johnson earns fewer than five nominations at this year’s CMA Awards, I’ll be shocked. In fact, I think he’ll earn six, with the surprise nomination being in this category. These aren’t predictions, though, so I’ll state that while I’m not particularly a fan of Johnson, his success at retail with a traditional project that has only received airplay for one single is darn impressive. Along with Brad Paisley, he’s one of only two artists I’ve listed that were determined by genuine merit, not process of elimination.
Brad Paisley
The genre’s most consistent radio act and the reigning champion for the past two years. In a stronger year, I would think it’s time to move on from acknowledging him in this category and consider him more for Entertainer of the Year, but he’s still the presumptive favorite in this race. At the very least, he deserves another nomination.
Darius Rucker
Too soon? Possibly. But replace his name with other candidates – say, Dierks Bentley, Jason Aldean, Gary Allan, Rodney Atkins, or Blake Shelton – if you think they made better music this year.
George Strait
It’s hard to make the call about which perennial favorite – Alan Jackson or George Strait – deserves a shot this year, especially since neither of them are likely to contend for the win. “Sissy’s Song” is better than any of Strait’s singles this past year, but all of Strait’s are better than Jackson’s other two – “Country Boy” and “Good Time.” Seeing “I Still Like Bologna” sent to radio puts me firmly in Strait’s corner, whose “River of Love” and “Troubadour” brought me listening pleasure this year.
Keith Urban
I don’t think that there’s a stronger singer in consistent rotation on country radio, even if his material has been slight this year. A case could be made for Tim McGraw or Toby Keith getting this slot instead, but they’re dealing with the same problem: weaker material than they’ve generally been known for.
With the gracious permission of Tom Spurgeon, the creator of this feature at The Comics Reporter, I would like to introduce the Country Universe version of “If I Were In _________, I’d Go To This.” With interesting events around the country it is hard to know about everything, so starting with “If I Were In New Hampshire, I’d Go To This” we will present you with our picks of unique or particularly interesting upcoming shows or events.
PRESS RELEASE:
The Big Surprise Tour – featuring Old Crow Medicine Show, Dave Rawlings Machine (w/ Gillian Welch), The Felice Brothers and Justin Townes Earle – kicks off in Hampton, NH on Tuesday Aug. 4.
Born out of a deep running comradery built on countless tours and ties between a host of excellent musicians, each evening is sure to be a unique experience as they all put their many combined years of musicianship and knowledge of song-craft and American music into play for these performances.
This is gonna be an amazing show, so get your tickets now!
Tour Dates:
8/4 – Hampton Beach, NH @ Casino Ballroom
8/5 – Boston, MA @ House Of Blues
8/6 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
8/7 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
8/9 – Charlottesville, VA @ Charlottesville Pavilion
Anthony Smith is likely better known as a songwriter than a recording artist. As a well established songwriter, he’s written songs for Trace Adkins”I’m Tryin’”, “Chrome”), George Strait (“Run”), Tim McGraw (“Kristofferson”), Montgomery Gentry (“What Do You Think About That”), Trisha Yearwood (“Who Invented the Wheel”), and countless other big name stars. As a recording artist he has struggled, releasing his 2002 If That Ain’t Country to some positive critical reception, but ultimately met with limited commercial success. In an attempt to revive the singing part of his career, Smith has recently signed with Stroudavarious Records, which has released the offbeat rocker, “Bringing Back the Sunshine”, as the upcoming album’s lead single.
Jeez, talk about your “
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