Comments on: The 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade, Part 5: #60-#51 http://www.countryuniverse.net/2009/12/04/the-100-greatest-albums-of-the-decade-part-5-60-51/ Sat, 18 May 2013 10:19:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Cory DeStein http://www.countryuniverse.net/2009/12/04/the-100-greatest-albums-of-the-decade-part-5-60-51/#comment-119416 Cory DeStein Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:15:34 +0000 http://www.countryuniverse.net/?p=13527#comment-119416 Normally I am a strong supporter of the countdowns on this site, but this countdown I cant really say I agree with, some of the weakest material in the past 10 years has a very strong showing on this list.

]]> By: K http://www.countryuniverse.net/2009/12/04/the-100-greatest-albums-of-the-decade-part-5-60-51/#comment-118879 K Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:28:00 +0000 http://www.countryuniverse.net/?p=13527#comment-118879 I see what you’re saying; they’re all valid points as well. I do enjoy a fair number of tracks where she holds back the belting and in some cases, I think it works perfectly (“Mama’s Song, “Someday When I Stop Loving You,” and especially “Temporary Home”).

“Change” is an example where the less-is-more approach didn’t work for me. Listening to the vocal, it sounds as if it’s difficult for her to hold back, but the producers asked her to.

To be fair, the only great songs on CR were “I Told You So,” “I Know You Won’t” and “Just A Dream.” It’s a shame that she didn’t record better material, but I still love the record.

What works for me is that even the chliche songs on CR work for Carrie; they all fit her life perfectly, and she believes in them. After all, she lived nothing but a “Crazy Dream” after winning American Idol. She is regularly photographed with her dog, she does tons of work for animal charities, and I don’t think she was in a relationship at the time when she recorded “The More Boys I Meet.” “So Small” may be cliche, but it’s no worse than anything by Martina.

]]> By: Stephen http://www.countryuniverse.net/2009/12/04/the-100-greatest-albums-of-the-decade-part-5-60-51/#comment-118867 Stephen Sat, 05 Dec 2009 01:04:22 +0000 http://www.countryuniverse.net/?p=13527#comment-118867 That’s fair, but I see why maybe you’d prefer SH and CR more without blaming it on the songwriting. I think it’s just that Carrie really holds back on the belting (which you claim to enjoy most) on PO after giving us beltfests. I guess I prefer this blend of vocal stylings and I think the songwriting is FAR superior on PO than CR considering The More Boys I Meet (just god-awful, everything about it), Crazy Dreams (cliche fest), and So Small (cliche fest’s older sister) are on CR. PO has a little lyrical cheese in Play On (song), but I think Hemby helped Carrie make the cliches sound a little less… well cliched.

Anyways we’re veering far off-topic. I’m surprised Like Red on a Rose isn’t higher – I find it to be one of the best albums I’ve ever heard if only for the title track.

]]> By: K http://www.countryuniverse.net/2009/12/04/the-100-greatest-albums-of-the-decade-part-5-60-51/#comment-118858 K Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:04:10 +0000 http://www.countryuniverse.net/?p=13527#comment-118858 Stephen,

I’m going to have to respectfully disagree with your thoughts on “Some Hearts.” I think the album is enjoyable, and was put together very well considering it was made in six months. There are stronger songs on the first set I believe, including “Before He Cheats,” “Don’t Forget To Remember Me,” “Starts With Goodbye, “I Just Can’t Live A Lie” and “Wasted.”

SH perfectly balances Carrie’s big notes with her softer, emotional songs; something that I don’t feel worked as well on her last two albums.

My personal favorite Carrie album is “Carnival Ride, because I think her powerful voice is her biggest assest. CR only had two or three great songs though- even if the rest were throughly enjoyable.

I do like “Play On,” especially because Carrie gets to show more of her songwriting and her growth as a vocalist. But in all honesty, I think there are only a few great songs, and her songwriting is a bit on the weak side, in my opinion (with exception of “Temporary Home.”)

]]> By: Dan Milliken http://www.countryuniverse.net/2009/12/04/the-100-greatest-albums-of-the-decade-part-5-60-51/#comment-118854 Dan Milliken Fri, 04 Dec 2009 23:40:03 +0000 http://www.countryuniverse.net/?p=13527#comment-118854 Also, other writers: I especially love the track picks for the Urban, Jackson and two Paisley albums. Props!

]]> By: Dan Milliken http://www.countryuniverse.net/2009/12/04/the-100-greatest-albums-of-the-decade-part-5-60-51/#comment-118852 Dan Milliken Fri, 04 Dec 2009 23:29:20 +0000 http://www.countryuniverse.net/?p=13527#comment-118852 I’m not a Rascal Flatts fan and don’t really consider them country, but I do think Feels Like Today is their best album. I admit to enjoying a number of songs from it when it first came out thanks to my sweet tooth. “Break Away” was to me then what Gloriana’s “How Far Do You Wanna Go” is to me now.

]]> By: Hard Times http://www.countryuniverse.net/2009/12/04/the-100-greatest-albums-of-the-decade-part-5-60-51/#comment-118847 Hard Times Fri, 04 Dec 2009 23:05:26 +0000 http://www.countryuniverse.net/?p=13527#comment-118847 I never thought I’d see a Rascal Flatts album on a “Best Of” list.

Speaking of RF, Maureen McCormick (Marcia Brady) includes a photo of herself with them on the red carpet at a CMA awards show in her new memoir. But she mangles and misspells their name as “The Rascal Flats.”

]]> By: Stephen (Mainstream) http://www.countryuniverse.net/2009/12/04/the-100-greatest-albums-of-the-decade-part-5-60-51/#comment-118822 Stephen (Mainstream) Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:25:34 +0000 http://www.countryuniverse.net/?p=13527#comment-118822 K – I pray that SH doesn’t appear higher than some of these albums. To be completely honest, the only album I’d be willing to rank above these is Play On. Don’t get me wrong, I prefer the first two to most (if not all) of these albums, but these albums are better efforts than what Carrie put forth in her first two sets.

]]> By: Leeann Ward http://www.countryuniverse.net/2009/12/04/the-100-greatest-albums-of-the-decade-part-5-60-51/#comment-118817 Leeann Ward Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:58:00 +0000 http://www.countryuniverse.net/?p=13527#comment-118817 As Paul said, it’s probably more of an outlier, but I don’t know that it’s wrong to categorize it as country in some way. I say that if the Urban disc is country, this Springsteen album can count too.:)

]]> By: Blake Boldt http://www.countryuniverse.net/2009/12/04/the-100-greatest-albums-of-the-decade-part-5-60-51/#comment-118815 Blake Boldt Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:44:36 +0000 http://www.countryuniverse.net/?p=13527#comment-118815 I’m a big Boss fan. Not sure if I’d count in country by my definition, but it’s a gray area. Good album, though. Nice catch. The Ryan Adams disc is also super stuff.

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