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Choice Cuts: Kathy Mattea, “Beautiful Fool”

January 17, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 11

A repost from last year, in honor of Dr. King.

Beautiful Fool
Kathy Mattea
from the 1997 album Love Travels

Our antiseptic approach to the legends of American history often results in the life’s work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. being reduced to four words and a three-day weekend. To prevent this in my own mind, I often revisit “Beautiful Fool”, a Don Henry composition that can be found on Kathy Mattea’s 1997 album Love Travels.

What I love about this song is its realism and its willingness to take on two voices of perspective at the same time. As an older woman reflects on King’s impact on her country and the sacrifices he was willing to make, she remembers her far less charitable opinion of him when he was alive: “Walter Cronkite preempted Disney one night, and all us kids were so upset. We thought you were a trouble instigator marching through our TV set.”

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Single Review: Sugarland, “Little Miss”

January 16, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 15

“Little Miss’ is one of many socially conscious songs on Sugarland’s The Incredible Machine, but it’s the only one that truly works. It succeeds where the others fail for two main reasons.

One, it describes things as they are now, instead of trying to inspire us with idyllic images of how the world could be if we just, you know, did something. The details used to describe a woman who “is so much more than you like to talk about” captures the dilemma that faces so many women today with little descriptions that add up to a larger picture of all of the compromises that must be made to a woman’s ambition and talent for her to not offend those who might be offended by them.

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100 Greatest Men: #96. Gary Allan

January 15, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 16

He started off as a new traditionalist with only his raspy voice making him distinctive. But when he embraced his California country roots, he became one of the defining male vocalists of the early 21st Century.

Gary Allan Herzberg hails from California. He grew up in a musical family, and by age thirteen, he was playing honky-tonks at night with his father. His talent was evident even at that young age, and at age fifteen, he turned down his first opportunity at a major label record deal, opting to finish school instead.

He quickly became a big draw on the local concert scene, playing to overcrowded rooms but refusing to move up to bigger venues that wouldn’t allow him to play the traditional country covers that made up a big chunk of his set. He cut some demos in a small California studio in the early nineties, and the tape caught the interest of BNA Records in Nashville. But restructuring at the label prevented him from being signed.

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Single Review: Darius Rucker, “This”

January 12, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 8

Back in the nineties, radio remixes became widely prevalent in the pop, rock, and R&B formats. You couldn’t just send a song to radio as is, and call it a day.

Instead, programmers would get the same song in five different versions. Top 40 Mix, AC Mix, Dance Mix Edit. All the same song at the core, I suppose, but when the only thing left from the original is the artist’s vocal, it’s hard to know what the core of the song is.

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Single Review: Billy Currington, “Let Me Down Easy”

January 10, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 9

I think if we can give Blake Shelton the award for Male Vocalist in 2010, we might as well start thinking about giving it to Billy Currington in 2011. He’s giving Shelton a run for his money in putting out milquetoast material that’s elevated into listenable by a charming vocal performance.

“Let Me Down Easy” is not going to appear in one of those deluxe coffee table books of song lyrics. Coffee napkin, maybe.

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100 Greatest Men: #97. Collin Raye

January 9, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 9

He broke through to stardom singing love ballads in the style of Vince Gill, but it was his turn toward more adventurous topical material that cemented the musical legacy of Collin Raye.

Born Floyd Collin Wray in Arkansas, he is the daughter of Lois Wray, a professional musician who often opened for the big acts of the fifties, including legends like Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis. Growing up, Collin and his brother Scott would often perform on stage with their mother. As the boys got older, they struck out on their own, forming the Wrays Brothers Band. They soon became popular local performers across Texas, and also had success performing in Reno, Nevada.

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Single Review: Miranda Lambert, “Heart Like Mine”

January 8, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 24

It’s hard to tell when Miranda Lambert is being herself and when she’s posturing. I think on “Heart Like Mine,” she’s doing both, which makes my head heart a little bit.

The chorus is solid, the second verse about her father and her brother are quietly revealing and fully believable. I love the message about Jesus and how he’d very well love her just the way she is.

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