Kevin John Coyne

Album Review: David Nail, I’m a Fire

January 27, 2015 Kevin John Coyne 7

David Nail I’m a Fire If he’s a fire, it’s one that doesn’t burn nearly enough. Three albums in, Nail continues to pair great potential with middling results. Despite having better pipes than most of

Kicking the Canon: Jonathan Keefe on Trisha Yearwood’s Hearts in Armor

January 24, 2015 Kevin John Coyne 1

Country Universe writer and editor Jonathan Keefe has contributed to an awesome new project called Kicking the Canon. Put together by In Review Online, Kicking the Canon attempts to expand on what has traditionally been

Miranda Lambert, Sturgill Simpson Dominate Nashville Scene Critics Poll

January 23, 2015 Kevin John Coyne 2

The results are in: Nashville Scene’s 15th Annual Country Music Critics Poll Miranda Lambert and Sturgill Simpson dominated this year’s results, with Maddie & Tae topping the Singles list for their progressive and timely hit,

Album Review: Garth Brooks, Man Against Machine

January 14, 2015 Kevin John Coyne 2

Garth Brooks Man Against Machine Garth’s first proper studio album in thirteen years is chock full of all of his best and worst traits, but thankfully errs more often on the side of subtlety over

In Memoriam: Little Jimmy Dickens (1920-2015)

January 3, 2015 Kevin John Coyne 7

2015 is off to a sad start for country music as a whole, and the Grand Ole Opry in particular. From the Tennessean: Country Music Hall of Famer Jimmy Dickens, the Grand Ole Opry’s most

The Best Albums of 2014

December 31, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 9

2014 was a banner year for country music albums. In addition to the predictably solid entries from the Americana, folk, and bluegrass scenes, some excellent albums also surfaced from the unlikeliest of sources: mainstream, radio-friendly

The Best Singles of 2014, Part 2: #20-#1

December 30, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 15

The countdown concludes with our top twenty singles of 2014. Check out the first twenty entries here, and look for our countdown of the year’s twenty best albums tomorrow. #20 “The Devil is All Around”

The Best Singles of 2014, Part 1: #40-#21

December 29, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 11

Does failure to reach a consensus indicate a year that lacked quality, or a year that had enough interesting singles that subjective taste is enough to prevent a consensus? This was the dilemma faced by

Best of 2014: The Ballot

December 27, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 12

Country Universe has finalized its year-end lists for 2014, and we’re getting ready to roll it out to our readers. This year, we considered 125 albums and 342 singles for our annual list, narrowing our

The Twenty Best Albums of 1994

December 26, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 5

The twenty best albums of 1994.