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Single Review: Joey+Rory, "When I'm Gone"

July 20, 2012 Ben Foster 9

No doubt, Mr. and Mrs. Feek are very busy people these days as they host their very own variety program The Joey + Rory Show on RFD-TV, while also preparing to release their third studio album His and Hers on July 31. The first single from the project is the piano-driven ballad “When I’m Gone” – a narrator’s wistful meditation on her future death, as well as its effect on the one she holds dear.

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Single Review: Brantley Gilbert, "Kick It In the Sticks"

July 15, 2012 Ben Foster 21

Brantley Gilbert originally released “Kick It In the Sticks” in 2010, and it failed to chart. But that was before the one-two punch of number-one hits “Country Must Be Country Wide” and “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do” reversed his fortunes at radio. In light of Gilbert’s newly heightened commercial profile, the single is being re-released for another go-round at radio.

Much has not changed. It was a terrible song in 2010, and it’s still a terrible song now.

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Retro Single Review: Dolly Parton, "I Will Always Love You"

July 5, 2012 Ben Foster 5

1974 | #1

Where to start? How do you begin a review of a song as seemingly universal as this one is? I could go on about what a massive success this song was in all the different versions that were recorded. But for now, I’ll just talk about what a fine record this 1974 original is on its own merits.

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Album Review: Mary Chapin Carpenter, <i>Ashes and Roses</i>

July 4, 2012 Ben Foster 13

Mary Chapin Carpenter
Ashes and Roses

Mary Chapin Carpenter could be considered an example of the rare artist who releases her best and most significant work right in the midst of her commercial heyday, or whose music might have even benefited from considering the ever-present concerns of what could be grasped by mainstream audiences. In the years since Carpenter’s hot streak ended – She hasn’t had a Top 40 hit since 1999’s “Almost Home” – she seems to have lost sight of the need to bring her thoughts down to an accessible, digestible level.

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