Joe Nichols – Country Universe

CMA Flashback: New Artist of the Year (Horizon Award)

October 30, 2016 Kevin John Coyne 6

Originally called the Horizon Award when introduced in 1981, the New Artist of the Year award is given to the developing artist that voters feel have demonstrated the most growth in their career during the past year.

Sunday Selections: October 23, 2016

October 23, 2016 Jonathan Keefe 7

It’s beginning to sound a lot like Christmas, and it isn’t even Halloween yet.

CMA Flashback: Album of the Year

October 15, 2016 Kevin John Coyne 12

Here are all of the nominees and winners for CMA Album of the Year, starting with a look at this year’s contenders and stretching back to the first ceremony in 1967.

Sunday Selections: February 21, 2016

February 21, 2016 Jonathan Keefe 10

This week is all about that country grammar. And the Grammys.

Single Review: Joe Nichols, “Hard to Be Cool”

March 29, 2015 Kevin John Coyne 29

“Hard to Be Cool” Joe Nichols Written by Rob Hatch and Jason Sellers I’m always rooting for Joe Nichols. He’s got a smooth twang, two […]

Single Review: Joe Nichols, “Yeah”

January 22, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 6

Harlan Howard, when asked once about his Judds classic, that “Why Not Me” was a weak title, so he had to repeat it over and over again to make it work.

Single Review: Randy Travis and Joe Nichols, “Tonight I’m Playin’ Possum”

August 5, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 6

Could there possibly be a more emotionally and sentimentally charged record released this year?

We Need to Have a Little Talk about Randy Travis

July 12, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 21

In a year that has already brought the deaths of immortal talents like George Jones, Slim Whitman, Patti Page, and Jack Greene, not to mention the untimely loss of Mindy McCready, it is understandable that the recent news regarding Randy Travis is having the country music fans collectively holding their breath with nervousness and dread.

There is something distinctly different about how I am processing the news about Randy Travis. The thought of losing him is inextricably linked with a feeling that we’d be losing an essential core of the country music that I fell in love with more than two decades ago. Now, I remember Randy Travis from when I was a child. What little kid wouldn’t be in love with a catchy song like “Forever and Ever, Amen”?

Six Pack: Iris DeMent

January 13, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 7

Even long-time readers of Country Universe could be forgiven for getting to #2 on our Top Country Albums of 2012 list and wondering, “Who on earth is Iris DeMent?”

Iris DeMent came out of nowhere in 1992 with a stunning debut album, Infamous Angel, that received rapturous critical acclaim. The general consensus was that it heralded the arrival of a new singer-songwriter for the ages.

Two years later, My Life only strengthened that sentiment, and DeMent was widely seen as a critical voice in what would eventually become known as the Americana music genre.

Album Review: Joe Nichols, It’s All Good

November 21, 2011 Ben Foster 2

Joe Nichols
It’s All Good

It’s impossible to review an album titled It’s All Good without indulging in a few witty remarks. Such a title tends to beg the question of whether or not the album really is “all good.” The vocals are all good, to be sure. Joe Nichols has already proven himself to be one of mainstream country music’s best male vocalists, and on his newest effort, his performances do not disappoint. The production, likewise, is consistently solid. Producers Mark Wright and Buddy Cannon back Nichols with arrangements that sound easily accessible and radio-friendly, while laced with traditional country trimmings of fiddle and steel, and it certainly is enjoyable to hear country music that is sonically recognizable as such.