Country Universe

Concert Review: Martina McBride and Trace Adkins

March 11, 2010 Guest Contributor 10

By Guest Contributor Cory DeStein.

Over the river and through the snow to the ‘Shine All Night Tour’ we go…On this particular Saturday night a friend and I traveled through the snow and ice to attend the Martina McBride and Trace Adkins tour stop at the Peterson Event Center, here in Pittsburgh. This is the third time I have been fortunate enough to experience a Martina tour, along with the ‘Timeless’ and ‘Waking Up Laughing’ tour, and like those performances the country diva did not fail to deliver.

In front of a black back drop Trace kicked off the show, much to the delight of fan club section nestled quite noticeably to the right of the stage, rose onto the stage with his opening number “I Got My Game On” one of the many novelty songs he charmed the audience with throughout his one hour set.

Trace has one hell of a powerful voice, but he sadly didn’t go out of his way to show it throughout the show. He rather focused more on hits like “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” “Hot Mama” “Swing” and “Rough and Ready” along with other similar tunes. Towards the end of his set, he introduced his recently crowned ACM Song of the Year, “You’re Gonna Miss This.”

Discussion: Music and Lyrics

March 9, 2010 Tara Seetharam 10

During the Academy Awards show last Sunday, a montage of movie clips honoring the late John Hughes featured a great quote from The Breakfast Club: “When you grow up, your heart dies.” In one line, teenage angst collided beautifully with a universal fear.

UP!

March 8, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 27

Lately, I’ve been all about upbeat, positive music.

I know that this is a reflection of my general mood these days. I’m optimistic by nature, but I feel like life’s been abundantly good lately after a pretty tough run. Given my lifelong connection to music, it’s no surprise that I’m seeking out happy music, skipping past the sad songs that I used to linger on back in the day.

Needless to say, I’ve been skipping a lot of country songs. I’ve listened to more pop in the past couple of months than I have in years. I want my country fix, but I have no interest in downers right now.

Can anybody recommend some country tracks that are just a bucket full of sunshine?

Album Review: Easton Corbin, Easton Corbin

March 3, 2010 Leeann Ward 10

Easton Corbin
Easton Corbin

There has been a fair amount of positive hype surrounding newcomer, Easton Corbin, as of late. He has been lauded as the next George Strait (not that George Strait is going anywhere quite yet, by the way!). Since he isn’t afraid to prominently feature the steel guitar on his self-titled debut record, such comparison is natural if not justified, though Corbin’s voice is not yet as strong as Strait’s.

2010 ACM Nominations

March 2, 2010 Dan Milliken 38

You know the drill. For each of the categories, we’ll look at who’s broken in since last year, who’s been excused, and then make a totally judgy statement about what it all means.

Single Review: Gary Allan, “Get Off On The Pain”

February 28, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 11

When a song could double as a compilation title for the artist in question, it’s hard not to go in with clear expectations before you even hear it. Eye-catching title aside, this is not new territory for Gary Allan. If anything, it’s his most charted territory.

So you get what you expect here. A wailing vocal with some ragged trimming, driving electrical guitars, and a lyric about being despondent but digging it.

Forgotten Hits: Suzy Bogguss, “Hey Cinderella”

February 27, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 25

Hey Cinderella
Suzy Bogguss
#5
1994
Written by Matraca Berg, Suzy Bogguss, and Gary Harrison

There’s a term that has gathered strength over the past decade: the quarter-life crisis. It describes that phase in life where the idealism of what you thought your life would be collides with what reality has in store for you. Reconciling the two is needed to get beyond this point of life, and adulthood completely sets in once such reconciliation has been accomplished.

Crystal Gayle Starter Kit

February 26, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 24

Producing primarily pop-flavored country music has rarely been a ticket to immortality for even the biggest artists, particularly the female ones. Imports like Shania Twain and Olivia Newton-John are labeled impostors. Faith Hill’s canny song sense is overlooked while hubby Tim McGraw’s is widely praised. Brilliant Dolly Parton records like “Here You Come Again” and “9 to 5” are cited as being beneath her greatness, rather than prime examples of it. Only Patsy Cline has been given a free pass, and who wouldn’t want to claim those pipes?

Single Review: Little Big Town, “Little White Church”

February 25, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 23

I’ve gotten so used to being bored by mainstream country music that listening to “Little White Church” was a bit of a jolt. Thematically, it’s essentially the country spin on “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)”, though it could hardly be called derivative.

I’m having trouble singling out what I like about the song the most. First, it’s refreshing to hear those harmonies again, which quite frankly make Lady Antebellum sound like amateurs in comparison. But the instrumentation is just as fresh as the harmonies. They both zig when you expect them to zag. Hand claps appear out of nowhere but don’t sound out of place. There’s a guitar riff before the final verse that just sounds so frickin’ cool, but before you can fully digest it, the vocals are back and suddenly incorporating a dry whisper. It sounds pretty frickin’ cool, too.

Why Can’t I Buy This?

February 24, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 9

During the nineties boom, there was a mad rush to get the catalog of older country artists available on CD. For older country albums, this wasn’t always the best approach. Many of these discs had only ten tracks, so even with a handful of bonus songs, the entire running time could still be under 40 minutes. Some labels took the smart approach of pairing two albums to one disc, but for the most part, it was landmark albums or lengthy compilation discs.

The digital age has finally made it both practical and affordable to get those old albums. Vintage sets are now available from legends like Merle Haggard and Glen Campbell, and even not quite legends like Jeannie C. Riley. But there are still some glaring omissions that need to become more readily available.