Country Universe – A Country Music Blog

Create A Super Group

Friday, July 17th, 2009

In 1985, four country music rebels/icons came together to form a larger-than-life group that people wouldn’t have even dared dream about before their actual union. Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson formed the country super group, The Highwaymen. The four highly revered friends recorded three albums worth of material, much to the delight of the astonished public. While all of the members were extremely successful in their own rights, their potential egos were set aside to make music as a cohesive unit. They sounded like a polished group, not just some people thrown together as a marketing gimmick.

Then, in 1988, the rock world hit the jackpot when superstars George Harrison, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan and Jeff Lynne formed The Traveling Wilburys. Again, these immensely famous, talented and respected people formed a super group that still seems too good to be true to this day. Their unbelievable union created two albums that were repackaged in 2007 with bonus material, which sold surprisingly well for a reissue. Like The Highwaymen, their voices blended amazingly well together as if they were meant to be a group.

Dolly Parton has been a part of two dynamic trios: one with Linda Rhonstadt and Emmylou Harris and the other with Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette. Both trios consisted of women equally as talented as the super groups previously discussed, which also provided us with excellent albums as a result.

And of course, anyone who has read anything that I’ve written in the past year or so should instinctively know that my pet super group is The Notorious Cherry Bombs, which was comprised of Rodney Crowell, Vince Gill, Tony Brown, Hank Devito, Richard Bennett, Michael Rhodes, John Hobbs and Eddie Bayers.

As I think of the competitive climate of the music industry today, I’m discouraged to think that such super groups would be next to impossible to unite anymore. Record label disputes prevented Tracy Lawrence’s collaboration with Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw to be officially released to radio. Likewise, Reba McEntire had to replace Kenny Chesney’s vocals with lesser known artist, Skip Ewing, in order to release “Every Other Weekend” to radio. And these were only disputes over single songs, not even an entire album.

In true essay style form: Without considering record company politics, if you were able to create your own super group who could make at least one album, who would be the members? What would you name the group? Explain.

Blake Boldt’s Year-End Lists

Thursday, December 25th, 2008

Happy holidays!

Singles:

1.  “In Color,” Jamey Johnson
2.  “Waitin’ on a Woman,” Brad Paisley
3.  “This Is Me You’re Talking To,” Trisha Yearwood
4.  “She Left Me for Jesus,” Hayes Carll
5.  “What I Cannot Change,” Leann Rimes
6.  “Last Call,” Lee Ann Womack
7.  “Anything Goes,” Randy Houser
8.  “Dig Two Graves,” Randy Travis
9.  “Please Read the Letter,” Alison Krauss & Robert Plant
10.  “Fine Line,” Little Big Town
11.  “Mockingbird,” Allison Moorer
12.  “Crazy Arms,” Patty Loveless
13.  “This Town Needs a Bar,” Jeremy McComb
14.   “Just Got Started Loving You,” James Otto
15.  “Takin’ off This Pain,” Ashton Shepherd
16.  “Gold,” Emmylou Harris
17.  “Every Other Weekend,” Reba McEntire & Skip Ewing
18.  “You Look Good In My Shirt,” Keith Urban
19.  “More Like Her,” Miranda Lambert
20.  “Love Don’t Live Here,” Lady Antebellum

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Best Country Singles of 2008, Part 3: #20-#11

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

The consensus builds with the next set of ten singles. While there is still some lesser known singles and artists in the mix, more than half of these entries come from top-selling albums. Of course, radio still didn’t play all of those, either, but record buyers heard them anyway.

#20

Emily West, “Rocks in Your Shoes”

A burst of country-poptimism that manages to sound both sunny and smart. Eat your heart out, “Red Umbrella.”  – DM

#19

Sugarland, “Already Gone”

Perhaps leaving takes place in two stages.   The heart and mind go first, then the body catches up with them later on.   “Already Gone” explores this concept thoroughly, with keen attention to detail.   “Pictures, dishes and socks.  It’s our whole life down to one box.”   Months after my first listen, I still find myself playing that final verse over and over again. – KJC

#18

Reba McEntire and Kenny Chesney or Skip Ewing, “Every Other Weekend”

Two divorced parents contemplate the unfulfilling aftermath of their split and the lingering feelings they have for one another in intimate detail (“First thing in the morning / I turn the T.V. on to make the quiet go away”). Neither Chesney nor co-writer Skip Ewing was able to match McEntire’s combination of technical and interpretive skill, but you don’t get this kind of song everyday.  – DM

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Reba McEntire & Kenny Chesney or Skip Ewing, “Every Other Weekend”

Thursday, February 21st, 2008

I guess MCA realizes this song is so good, they need to send it to radio, even if they don’t have the green light from BMG to push the Kenny Chesney duet that’s on the actual album.  You can listen to the new version with Skip Ewing below, but the purchase link will be for the Kenny Chesney version.  And let’s be honest.  That’s the version radio’s going to play anyway.

The song drips with vulnerability and hurt, as the two dueling inner monologues of divorced parents each confess they’d be happier if they were together again.     Songs with that emotional element are Reba’s sweet spot.   Hearing her performance is a reminder that more than thirty years into her career, she’s still one of the best damn singers around.    Ewing pales in comparison, but Chesney steps up his game in the original version.     This is the first great single from Duets, even if it’s been altered for radio.

Grade:  A  (Reba McEntire & Kenny Chesney);  B (Reba McEntire & Skip Ewing)

Listen: Every Other Weekend  (Reba McEntire & Skip Ewing)

Buy: Every Other Weekend (Reba McEntire & Kenny Chesney)