Country Universe

Rascal Flatts, Unstoppable

April 25, 2009 Tara Seetharam 23

There are two ways to view Rascal Flatts: as the group that just won its seventh consecutive Academy of Country Music award for “Best Vocal Group” and is currently out-selling every country group in the industry, or as a pop-country group filling a country music niche. If you choose the former, you’ll likely deem the group’s sixth studio album, Unstoppable, a categorical failure.

But here’s the thing: if every album was judged against context –against its reception instead of its actual merit– all of the original value would be lost. While Unstoppable is not the show-stopping, brilliant piece of work you’d expect from the most successful country group in the industry, it is a decent album, solid in delivery and emotion. It may not do much by way of moving the group forward, thematically or artistically, like the previous album hinted at – but I guess if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Just don’t expect to gain any new fans.

Unstoppable is consistent in all the ways you’d expect vocalist Gary LeVox, guitarist Joe Don Rooney and bassist Jay DeMarcus to be consistent. LeVox’s polarizing tenor riffs play lead, the production is smooth and heavy, and the songs fit almost squarely, though effectively, within the thematic duo of heartache and inspiration. If this is your cup of tea, the boys are on point.

Oh, Alexis!, "Strugglin'"

April 25, 2009 William Ward 6

A native of Puxsutawney, PA, Alexis Thompson, who currently resides in the Nashville area, boldly claims on her website that her “style (for those who need comparison) is Judy Garland meets Johnny Cash.” This somewhat tongue-in-cheek reference immediately shows she does not believe in artists simply being boiled down to comparisons. Yet, spend some time listening to Oh, Alexis!, and the comparison, while wild, starts to make a peculiar type of sense.

Oh, Alexis’ first single “Strugglin’,” self-released through Itunes, opens with a heavy traditional influence, supplemented by the velvet voice of Alexis Thompson. Delivering on familiar themes, Alexis, with an almost detached vocal interpretation open the song singing, “It was as if you waited 25 years / To taste the Jack and coke and beer / That had settled on my breath as it slowly left my lips.” Given that two decades is long time to burst with emotion, this appropriate delivery, along with production that manages to invoke tradition without sounding imitative or tired, makes this first release stand out even among more recognizable contemporaries.

Nab Eli Young Band's Latest Album for $.99

April 24, 2009 Dan Milliken 8

I like Eli Young Band. These boys play catchy pop-rock tunes with a little bit of country flourish, and given the right songs, they do it very well. “When it Rains” is so good that it climbed into the Top 40 with hardly any promotion, and listening to numbers like “Get in the Car and Drive” and “Enough is Enough” is like hearing Rascal Flatts with a less polarizing lead vocalist and more subdued production style.

The group is fairly new on the mainstream country scene, but they’ve been building up a grassroots following in Texas for years, and it’s beginning to pay off, with single “Always the Love Songs” currently sitting at #14 on the charts.

Now, thanks to Amazon’s Daily Deal, you can own their major-label debut, containing all of the above songs, for only a buck. It’s a solid album – I gave it 3 stars myself – and at the price you’d normally pay for just one track, it’s hard to lose!

Tanya Tucker (featuring Jim Lauderdale), "Love's Gonna Live Here"

April 23, 2009 Leeann Ward 33

Tanya Tucker has teamed with Saguaro Road Records, the same record company that hosted Patty Loveless’ stellar covers project, to create her own covers album entitled My Turn. The lead single is a cover of the Buck Owens’ classic, “Love’s Gonna Live Here.”

While it is impossible to predict if Tucker’s effort will be as well received as Loveless’ highly regarded album, “Love’s Gonna Live Here” provides a promising glimpse of the direction that the album is likely to take.

With “Love’s Gonna Live Here”, Tucker does not set out to reinvent this iconic song, but rather, pay tribute to a beloved classic. With the help of Jim Lauderdale’s very recognizable twang, Tanya’s signature husky voice leans into the Owens composition with decided grit and re-energizes a song that is always deserving of being revived.

Stagecoach Festival: Your Call

April 22, 2009 Guest Contributor 15

It has finally cooled off here in Southern California, so I’m headed out to the Stagecoach Festival in Indio, California this weekend, April 25-26! The country cousin of Coachella, Stagecoach is now in its third year and will be playing host to nearly 40 acts, including Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, Little Big Town, Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker, Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown Band and Miranda Lambert.

I’m excited for the festival, particularly because it hosts a mix of country music, from mainstream country to bluegrass, folk, roots rock and alt-country. With three different stages – appropriately named “Mane,” “Palomino” and “Mustang” – set on the beautiful Empire Polo fields in Indio, the Festival provides a fantastic opportunity to check out the entire gamut of styles and personalities in country music.

Hank Williams, Jr., "Red, White and Pink Slip Blues"

April 22, 2009 Leeann Ward 8

I’ll confess that when I read the title of this song, “Red, White and Pink Slip Blues”, I mentally groaned. But alas, Kevin assigned the single to me and like a dutiful blogger, I clicked on the link anyway.

Hank Williams Jr., though inarguably talented, is often known for his swagger that, sometimes, overshadows the quality of his art. So, a song that quite obviously covers the theme of economic hard times that this country, and the world, is currently facing could easily seem like an opportunistic ploy to capitalize on the nation’s vulnerability, as seems to have been the problem with other recent songs of this nature. As a result, I was all but certain that a song with this title would be more frivolous than cathartic.

Instead, ol’ Hank comes through with a song that aptly captures the story of so many Americans at this frightening time. From the first person perspective, he tells of a man who’s tried to do everything right, but still finds himself jobless and unable to even afford survival. He desperately sings:

Introducing Tara Seetharam

April 21, 2009 Tara Seetharam 22

It is my distinct honor and pleasure to introduce the newest writer for Country Universe, Tara Seetharam. As you’ll soon discover, we are quite blessed to have her. On behalf of the Country Universe staff, please join me in welcoming Tara! – Kevin J. Coyne

Hi all! It is such a thrill to step foot into this community of talented and well-versed writers. I am humbled and can’t thank the staff enough for so graciously taking me in.

I graduated about a year ago from the University of Texas with a degree in journalism, and I am currently residing in Houston and working in corporate communications. Writing and music are two of my greatest joys in life, so the opportunity to use this site as a medium to interlace the two is an absolute blessing.

When I tell people that I live and breathe country music, I’m almost always met with surprise. Some are better at hiding it than others, but I typically receive an inquisitive stare, a “Really?” or a confused smile. It leads to about 20 seconds of awkwardness, with me trying to sum up my passion for the genre in an eloquent explanation, and generally failing. Because quite frankly, how do you prove to a near stranger that yes, an Indian-American can love country music from the depths of her soul?

Miranda Lambert, "Dead Flowers"

April 20, 2009 Dan Milliken 23

No doubt about it: Miranda Lambert knows what’s up. After giving us two of last year’s riskiest and most rewarding singles (“Gunpowder & Lead” and “More Like Her”), she previews her forthcoming album with another sharp lament that, once again, finds her charging into thematic territory most of her peers wouldn’t even glance at for radio release.

Alas, the same cannot quite be said for Lambert’s musical territory this time around. As a character sketch of a quietly suffering woman, “Dead Flowers” has some of the most original lyrics you’re likely to hear on mainstream radio this year, but the track itself sounds about as bland as can be, with an arena-rock treatment eerily similar to Rascal Flatts’ “Take Me There” (seriously, listen to them in succession) that does more to dull the song’s edge than to sharpen it.

The Greencards, Fascination

April 20, 2009 William Ward 7

The Greencards are a trio consisting of Australians Carol Young and Kym Warner along with U.K. native Eamon McLoughlin. Up-and-comers with talent to spare and an eclectic range of influences, they have earned spots opening for both Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson. They were awarded an Austin Music Award in 2003, an Americana Music Award in 2006, and, in 2008, earned a “Best Country Instrumental Performance” Grammy nomination. Their albums have incorporated blues, world music, and jazz, and have been labeled roots music, modern bluegrass, and Americana.

This brings us to their Sugar Hill debut, and the question, what is Fascination?

Fascination integrates elements of folk, country, modern bluegrass and Americana, and often draws upon elements of blues and world music one would expect only to find on National Public Radio. Yet, apply any of these labels to their latest album and they seem not only to fall short, but to feel completely inaccurate. Some will make comparisons to Nickel Creek or The Duhks, but The Greencards, while also technically breathtaking and acoustically driven, inspire comparison primarily because they have consistently moved towards a sound of their own.

Reba McEntire Starter Kit

April 20, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 26

Reba McEntire already has 56 top ten hits to her credit, and her new single, “Strange”, just entered the chart at #39, a career-high entry for the legendary singer. She’s been a presence on the country charts for 23 years, has more gold and platinum albums than any female country artist, and she’s a multimedia star, finding great success on Broadway and in television and film.

But for those who know her best as a sitcom star or Kelly Clarkson’s and Kenny Chesney’s duet partner, trying to tackle her catalog is a daunting task. This Starter Kit will get you going, as it includes ten of her most essential tracks. Those of you looking to learn more about McEntire are highly recommended to check out the excellent My Kind of Country blog, which gives frequent and always high-quality coverage of McEntire’s music, past and present.

“Somebody Should Leave” from the 1984 album My Kind of Country

Even though she was won her first CMA award for Female Vocalist before this album was released, My Kind of Country is widely credited as being the first truly great Reba McEntire album. She exerted creative control for the first time, and instantly became one of the genre’s most significant new traditionalists.

This Harlan Howard classic is achingly, heartbreakingly beautiful, a description that fits most of McEntire’s best work. Here, a couple is aware that it’s time to part ways, but aren’t sure how to go about it, so worried are they for their children: “If it was only you and me, goodbye might come more easily. But what about those babies down the hall?”

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Rascal Flatts, <em>Unstoppable</em>