Kevin John Coyne

How Very Nineties: George Jones & Friends, and other All Star Jams

June 13, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 11

New fans of country music in the nineties were hit over the head with the assertion that country music was one big family. Nothing demonstrated this mythos better than the all star jams that cropped up during the boom years.

There were some variants of this approach. A popular one found a veteran star teaming up with one or more of the boom artists to increase their chances of radio airplay. George Jones was big on this approach, with the most high profile attempt being “I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair.” Seventeen years later, it’s amazing to see how young everyone looks – even Jones himself!

Classic Country Singles: Donna Fargo, “You Can’t Be a Beacon (If Your Light Don’t Shine)”

June 7, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 7

You Can’t Be a Beacon (If Your Light Don’t Shine)
Donna Fargo
1974

Written by Martin Cooper

In which preaching to the choir takes on an entirely different meaning.

Donna Fargo burst on to the country scene in 1972 with the gold-selling hits “The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.” and “Funny Face,” which helped establish her as a burst of positivity against an increasingly dour national landscape.

The Watergate scandal challenged Fargo’s shiny outlook on the world, and influenced the material of her 1974 album Miss Donna Fargo. The lead single, “U.S. of A.”, found her speaking to the country directly, celebrating that the country’s strength comes from its plentiful natural and human resources.

That song went to #9, but it was the follow-up that became a #1 hit, one of Fargo’s first big hits to come from an outside writer. Built upon the biblical passage Matthew 5:16, it is a challenge not to those who do not have God in their life, but rather those who claim that they do:

Single Review: Carrie Underwood, “Undo It”

June 5, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 53

Much like no pop star has ever been able to learn all of the right lessons from Madonna, no country star has yet to learn all of the right lessons from Shania Twain.

But darn if Carrie Underwood isn’t getting close. “Undo It” is short, sweet, and undeniably catchy. “Undo It” features both “We Will Rock You” drum riffs and twangy fiddle, as if those two things together are as natural as peanut butter and chocolate.

It even has a chorus of “Na Na Na’s” so infectious that somewhere in the world, Steam is reflexively adding, “Hey Hey, Goodbye.”

Single Review: Trace Adkins, “This Ain’t No Love Song”

June 5, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 8

Trace Adkins has been around for a long time, perhaps even been counted out once or twice along the way. He’s had a handful of big singles that have brought back some forward momentum when his career has started to lull.

But even when he has faltered, it usually hasn’t been because of a lack of good material or good vocal performances. But therein lies the rub: his material and vocal performances are usually good, not great.

Single Review: Brad Paisley, “Water”

June 5, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 48

For Brooks & Dunn, it was “Beer Thirty.”

For George Strait, it was “True.”

For Toby Keith, it was “Whiskey Girl.”

For Shania Twain, it was “Party For Two.”

Single Review: Steel Magnolia, "Just By Being You (Halo and Wings)"

June 5, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 13

That’s quite a bit of title for so little song. Late nineties filler rock continues its transition on to the country airwaves, as Steel Magnolia sings a song that could put a Matchbox Twenty fan to sleep.

It’s not so much bad as it is unnecessary. By the end of the song, I’m still wondering, “Why did this need to exist?”

Album Review: Court Yard Hounds, Court Yard Hounds

June 2, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 15

Court Yard Hounds
Court Yard Hounds

I suppose this puts the “Natalie Maines dragged the other two Chicks away from their roots” theory to rest.

The debut album from Court Yard Hounds, the duo comprised of sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison, is an adult pop affair. This isn’t disappointing in its own right, being only a few degrees less country than the excellent Chicks album that preceded it, but what’s absent is both the urgency of that album’s material and Maines’ powerhouse delivery of it.

Album Review: Dixie Chicks, Playlist: The Very Best of Dixie Chicks

June 2, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 32

Dixie Chicks
Playlist: The Very Best of Dixie Chicks

For those of us who were living and breathing country fans from 1998 to 2006, the idea of a Dixie Chicks compilation is unnecessary. Some of us have all four albums and listen to them in different proportions, while a fairly large part of their audience haven’t bothered with them since 2003.

Single Review: Josh Turner, “All Over Me”

May 31, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 7

Josh Turner’s an excellent singer.

No news bulletin there. You need excellent singers to elevate good material to great entertainment. He’s able to pull off that trick with “All Over Me.”

Single Review: Billy Currington, “Pretty Good at Drinkin’ Beer”

May 31, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 3

The song title combined with Billy Currington’s recent track record had me ready to hate this one. But he’s rediscovered his “Good Directions” groove here, and he makes the qualities of a reprehensible person sound downright appealing.