Articles by Kevin John Coyne
Single Review: Steel Magnolia, "Just By Being You (Halo and Wings)"
That’s quite a bit of title for so little song. Late nineties filler rock continues its transition on to the country airwaves, as Steel Magnolia sings a song that could put a Matchbox Twenty fan to sleep.
It’s not so much bad as it is unnecessary. By the end of the song, I’m still wondering, “Why did this need to exist?”
Album Review: Court Yard Hounds, Court Yard Hounds
Court Yard Hounds
Court Yard Hounds
I suppose this puts the “Natalie Maines dragged the other two Chicks away from their roots” theory to rest.
The debut album from Court Yard Hounds, the duo comprised of sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison, is an adult pop affair. This isn’t disappointing in its own right, being only a few degrees less country than the excellent Chicks album that preceded it, but what’s absent is both the urgency of that album’s material and Maines’ powerhouse delivery of it.
Album Review: Dixie Chicks, Playlist: The Very Best of Dixie Chicks
Dixie Chicks
Playlist: The Very Best of Dixie Chicks
For those of us who were living and breathing country fans from 1998 to 2006, the idea of a Dixie Chicks compilation is unnecessary. Some of us have all four albums and listen to them in different proportions, while a fairly large part of their audience haven’t bothered with them since 2003.
Single Review: Toby Keith, “Every Dog Has Its Day”
If I follow the metaphor correctly, Toby Keith’s the dog and his lady is the bone that’s been tossed in his direction.
“Every Dog Has Its Day” approaches “Bad Dog, No Biscuit” in the pantheon of horrifically cheesy and terribly executed country metaphors. It should be beneath the dignity of one of the genre’s finest male vocalists ever.
Single Review: Patty Loveless, “Drive”
It’s such a welcome relief to hear Patty Loveless doing something outside the mountain soul/classic country vein that I’m going to overlook the fact that this sounds modern simply in comparison.
“Drive” doesn’t approach the sonic euphoria of her work for Sony, but it’s fun to hear her do something that could’ve been entertaining filler on one of her late eighties MCA albums.
Single Review: Keith Urban, “I’m In”
Keith Urban makes everything sound so effortless that it can be easy to overlook songs that legitimately could have used more effort.
This song sounds great, and will certainly pop on the radio. But for all his enthusiasm and the occasionally clever line, this doesn’t even approach the excellence of his earlier Radney Foster cover, “Raining On Sunday.”
How Very Nineties: Lisa Stewart, “Drive Time”
I totally bought this album and thought the video was powerful when I was, you know, 12. Now watching it makes me laugh and cringe but still kinda dig the song.
The CU staff is working on a Best of the Nineties singles list right now. This one’s not gonna be on it. But enjoy the trip back to 1992 anyway. This woman could sing!