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100 Greatest Men: Introduction

January 2, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 15

Three years ago, Country Universe counted down the 100 Greatest Women. Ever since that list, we’ve been asked the question, “What about the men?”

Finally, we have an answer. Over the next few weeks, we’ll count down the 100 Greatest Men of country music. The story of country music has been one primarily realized by its male artists. Since the first hillbilly tracks were put down on 78 records nearly ninety years ago, it has been the men who have dominated the genre, and have been most closely identified with it.

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A Tale of Four Hits Collections

January 1, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 22

Four generous hits collections were released in 2010, each one chronicling the entire career of a contemporary country music star. Individually, each double-disc set serve as the most expansive and thorough compilation for each artist. Taken together, they tell the story of country music over the last twenty years.

Alan Jackson
34 Number Ones

In the late eighties, Randy Travis did something that no other country star had done before. He became the top-selling country artist by a wide margin without making any musical concessions to pop or rock. In doing so, he tore up the old playbook. Suddenly, you could be a multi-platinum country artists without the added benefit of top 40 radio or accolades from the rock and roll press.

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New Year’s Resolutions

December 31, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 27

We’re in that wonderful period of time where we convince ourselves that all of our 2010 coulda woulda shouldas will be transformed into 2011’s totally gonnas.

In that spirit, I submit the following blogger resolutions:

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Two Too Awesome to Remain in One Universe

December 30, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 8

2010 brought two big steps for Country Universe writers Dan Milliken and Tara Seetharam!

Dan’s musings on country music are now being published at CMT.com. Check out his awesome rundown of this year’s reissues: The Greatest Greatest Hits of 2010. He also contributed to features on Toby Keith and Tim McGraw, selecting “Who’s That Man” as a prime Keith cut, and “Just to See You Smile” as prime McGraw.

Meanwhile, Tara has launched her own blog – TaraSeetharam.com – which features her musings on pop culture and has me secretly wishing to do guest posts on the non-country artists who populate my iPod.

Both writers are so amazing that expanded horizons are inevitable. We’re proud to have recognized their talent early on!

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Sincerity

December 29, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 24

Earlier this year, a discussion with a colleague of mine revealed a mutual affinity for country music. It was a typical conversation that I have with fans that are around my age. We fell in love with the music about twenty years ago, don’t think it’s quite as good as it once was, but can find a lot of things to like from just about any era, including the current one.

So in the 2010 version of making a mix tape, I offered to load up her iPod with a whole bunch of country music. A week later, she took me to dinner as a thank you. We started talking about the music that I’d passed on to her, and she told me that she was listening to the iPod while mowing the lawn. Suddenly, a song came on that made her cry. Full-out cry, mind you, not just a tear or two.

So I ask if it was “Love, Me”, or maybe “Where’ve You Been”, or something similarly tragic. She was almost embarrassed as she told me that it was the old Anne Murray hit, “You Needed Me.”

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Best of 2011?

December 28, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 30

End-of-year lists abound, and we still have another on the way. But what about the best albums of 2011?

We’re in that super cool period of anticipation, where we wonder what the albums we know about will sound like, and hope that the albums that we don’t know about will be from artists who we can’t get enough of.

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Music Memories: Christmas Morning

December 25, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 4

My earliest Christmas memory is 1985. I was six years old, still believed in Santa Claus, and like my older sister, I was on the receiving end of plenty of gifts that I never would’ve thought to ask for.

This particular Christmas, I had asked for a cassette of Soul Kiss, of all things. I had seen a video on HBO of a song from the album, and somehow my parents were able to figure out how to get that specific tape, which I hadn’t asked for by title. So it was in my stocking. No big deal.

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The Best Singles of 2010, Part 4: #10-#1

December 23, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 61

Our look back at the year’s best singles comes to a close, with unprecedented CU consensus at the top of the list. The top two singles of the year were ranked in that order by three of our four writers, and both appeared in the top ten of the fourth writer.

Here’s our ten best of 2010:

The Best Singles of 2010, Part 4: #10-#1

#10

Draw Me a Map
Dierks Bentley

Bentley is getting a lot of deserved attention for sonically diverging from the mainstream to create a bluegrass inspired album. It’s an excellent album, but to his credit “Draw Me A Map” isn’t so far removed from some of the unreleased songs on his first two mainstream projects; It’s just that he gets to shine a finer focus on it for this album, therefore, this seemingly subversive song for radio gets to be released. The inspired blend of Bentley’s ragged voice with Alison Krauss’ angelic voice takes the song to an even sweeter level. – Leeann Ward

#9

Broken
Chely Wright

Robert Louis Stevenson once remarked that “Hope lives on ignorance; open-eyed Faith is built upon a knowledge of our life, of the tyranny of circumstance and the frailty of human resolution.” He was talking, in context, about marriage. The truth is that no one enters a relationship completely free of burden, and only by submitting to the complications of that truth can we avoid being ruled by them. Wright, for her part, manages the task with simple, earnest grace, probably strengthening her relationship through mere acknowledgment of its inherent weakness. – Dan Milliken

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The Best Singles of 2010, Part 3: #20-#11

December 22, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 20

Here are the ten singles that were almost the best of the year:

The Best Singles of 2010, Part 3: #20-#11

#20

Crazy Women
LeAnn Rimes

Poised, calculated and ferocious all at once, Rimes’ performance captures the exact persona of the scorned “ex-wives and old girlfriends” she sings of. It’s a wiser, cooler revenge anthem than we’ve heard in awhile, and it takes the crown for the year’s most fabulous opening line: “Who’d have guessed that Aqua Net could start a fire with a single cigarette?” – Tara Seetharam

#19

What Do You Want
Jerrod Niemann

A contemporary spin on the standard country theme of heartache, “What Do You Want” owes its brilliance to its perfect storm of elements: The raw honesty of Niemann’s plea (“I get so tired of living like this/I don’t have the time/Neither do my friends”). The hollow, pulsing arrangement that mirrors his cycle of pain. The killer vocal performance, soaked in emotional fatigue. Each element draws out the potency of the next, culminating in one of the most captivating releases of the year. – TS

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