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Single Review: Eric Church, “The Outsiders”

October 26, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 20

Eric Church OutsidersA fun and catchy anthem for rebels who aren’t rebelling against anything in particular.

If Eric Church is anyone’s successor these days, it’s probably Hank Williams, Jr. There’s no specific ideology or established enemy in Church’s latest single, but it’s such a barn raiser that it’s very easy to side with him anyway. “The Outsiders” taps into that quintessentially American desire to champion for the underdog, and it does it quite well.

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Single Review: Jake Owen, “Days of Gold”

October 26, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 4

Jake Owen Days of GoldIt sounds like even Jake Owen got bored singing songs about girls and trucks and summer days and nights.

How else to explain the rapid fire delivery and fierce banjo and guitar on “Days of Gold”, which has him spitting out every country summer song cliché as quickly as he can get them out of his mouth?

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Single Review: Little Big Town, “Sober”

October 24, 2013 Ben Foster 9

Little Big Town SoberThe “Pontoon” phenomenon may have been primarily responsible for putting Little Big Town back on the map in such a big way, but it’s their new single “Sober” that deserves to be a career hit for the talented country quartet.

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Round Table Album Review: Brandy Clark, 12 Stories

October 22, 2013 Ben Foster 3

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Brandy Clark
12 Stories

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Our Brandy Clark coverage continues with a round table review of her hotly anticipated debut album, which is out this today.

She teased us earlier this year with “Stripes,” which I proudly awarded a solid A in my review of the song, calling it “a clever and original, not to mention humorous, twist on a tried-and-true country music theme.” It was more than enough to whet our appetites for the album to follow, which ended up going so far as to supersede expectations.

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Getting to Know Brandy Clark

October 20, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 4

Brandy ClarkAs a general rule, you can scan the credits of any new country album and assume that if Brandy Clark is a writer on one of the songs, it’s the best song on the album. As Clark readies the release of 12 Stories, her debut album as an artist, it’s a great time for fans of that remarkable set to get caught up on Clark’s work to date.

Believe the hype. Clark really is as good as everyone is saying she is. Possibly even better, as these twenty tracks suggest. Scroll down to the bottom, and you can listen to snippets from all of them as you read along.

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A Tale of Two Tributes: Alabama

October 19, 2013 Sam Gazdziak 8

Alabama-Friends

Various Artists
Alabama & Friends

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To recognize the impact that Alabama has had on modern country music, you could consider their millions of albums sold, their hundreds of awards, their many #1 songs or their induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005. You could also look at how the boys from Fort Payne, Ala. have the distinction of bringing something entirely new into country music.