Album Review: Eric Church, Chief
Eric Church
Chief
On his new album, Eric Church sings that we need “Some longhaired hippie prophet preaching from the book of Johnny Cash/A sheep among the wolves there standing tall/We need a country music Jesus to come and save us all.”
Bear in mind that he’s singing these lines on an album loaded with distorted vocals and sound effects, guitar solos closer to Three Doors Down than Cash, and a song about Bruce Springsteen.
Album Review: Blake Shelton, Red River Blue
Blake Shelton
Red River Blue
It’s hard to dispute that Blake Shelton possesses one of the strongest and distinctive male voices in country music today. Likewise, he has proven to be a more than capable interpreter of the songs that he writes and chooses to record. He knows when to sing with soft sensitivity and he knows when to sing loud and hard.
You can go ahead and shoot me if you want to, but I actually kind of like this one.
Retro Single Review: Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton, “We’ll Get Ahead Someday”
1968 | Peak : #5
Porter & Dolly scored a double-sided hit single in 1968, with both sides establishing a subgenre within their catalog.
The A-side, “We’ll Get Ahead Someday”, became their first top five hit. It’s the first single of theirs that casts them as the playfully quarreling husband and wife.
iPod Playlist: Originals And Covers
As I’m sure the rest of you do, I make playlists all the time. Many of them are lists of individual artists, but some of them have a concept.
My latest playlist is of covers. First, I have the original version (or the one that’s famous for being the original) followed by my favorite cover of it. My only rule is that I have to like both versions. So, songs where I like the cover but not the original won’t make the list.
Retro Single Review: George Strait, “Fool Hearted Memory”
1982 | Peak: #1
Thirty years ago, “Fool Hearted Memory”, the first single from his second album, was George Strait’s first number one single. And for very good reason. Up to that point, Strait demonstrated great potential, but this is the first time that he fires on all cylinders with overwhelming success.
Single Review: Montgomery Gentry, “Where I Come From”
After being in the automatic add club for a good four years, Montgomery Gentry seems to have fallen off country radio’s map lately. Their last big hit was two years ago, and their three most recent singles all missed the Top 20. They’re back now for another attempt at getting back on the radio. “Where I Come From” is the duo’s first single release under their new label home Average Joe’s Entertainment. But it sounds like their new single “Where I Come From” is primarily trying to sound like all the Montgomery Gentry hits that came before it.