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Single Review: Sheryl Crow, "Easy"

March 28, 2013 Ben Foster 12

EasySherylCrowIt’s not very country, nor does it sound far removed from the music she’s been making for two decades now, but the lead single from Sheryl Crow’s first full-fledged country album gets several things right.

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Retro Single Reviews: George Strait, 1990-1991

March 24, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 11

As the nineties began, George Strait was the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year, a title noted on the belt buckle he wore on the cover of Livin’ it Up.

Around this time, Billboard switched to monitoring radio stations in real time, revealing just how often songs were really being played. So while all of his eighties #1 singles spent only a week at the top, all four of the #1 singles listed here spent multiple weeks in the penthouse, including two five-week runs at the top.

George Strait Love Without End Amen

“Love Without End, Amen”
1990
Peak: #1

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One of Strait’s most enduring hits, “Love Without End, Amen” foreshadowed the understated religiousness of future hits like “I Saw God Today.” A classic three act story song, it makes its point subtly and endearingly.

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Album Review: Kacey Musgraves, <i>Same Trailer Different Park</i>

March 22, 2013 Ben Foster 14

Kacey-Musgraves-Same-Trailer-Different-Park

Kacey Musgraves
Same Trailer Different Park

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In just over half a decade, the now-24-year-old Texan Kacey Musgraves has gone from placing seventh on the 2007 season of Nashville Star and releasing a trio of independent albums to finally being granted some well-deserved mainstream exposure.  It was beyond a pleasant surprise when her beautifully written, critically lauded debut single “Merry Go ‘Round” became an honest-to-goodness Top 10 hit at country radio – a format not known for being friendly to intelligent, honest women.  Whether the industry will continue to support her remains to be seen, but Kacey Musgraves’ major label debut effort positions her as a ray of hope for country music at a time when such are very few – an artist who, if given the platform, just might have the potential to change country music for the better.

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Single Review: Pistol Annies, "Hush Hush"

March 21, 2013 Ben Foster 3

Pistol-Annies-hush-hushOn first listen, the Pistol Annies’ new single “Hush Hush” immediately stands out as being their hardest rocking release to date.  It sounds more like something one might expect to hear on one of Miranda Lambert’s solo albums than the Annies’ traditional-leaning debut.  It seems the Annies are getting a harder radio push this time around – definitely a good thing since country radio has been largely in want of a good girl group for the past ten years.

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Concert Review: George Strait and Martina McBride

March 18, 2013 Tara Seetharam 3

GeorgeStraitConcertPicThis review of George Strait’s final Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo concert was originally published on CultureMap Houston.

It was 30 years ago that the Texas rancher and country music newcomer received a last-minute call to make his Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo debut, replacing the ill Eddie Rabbitt. Since then, George Strait has become part of the RodeoHouson fabric: He’s played a total of 21 shows, including the Astrodome’s closing concert in 2002 — its highest-attended event — and the Reliant Stadium’s debut concert in 2003.

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Single Review: Gretchen Wilson, "Still Rollin'"

March 13, 2013 Ben Foster 20

gretchen_wilson_still_rollin“I can’t tell you where I’m bound/ Maybe I’m just spinning round and round…. And there may come a day when I have nothing left to say,” sings Gretchen Wilson on her new single “Still Rollin’.”  Such words feel unfortunately indicative of the level of creativity the song displays.

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