Country Universe

The 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade, Part 4: #70-#61

December 3, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 16

The 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade, Part 4

#70
Pam Tillis, It’s All Relative: Tillis Sings Tillis

By the time she released a tribute to her father Mel, she’d become something of a legend in her own right. So it’s no surprise that she approached Mel’s stellar songwriting catalog as if she was recording any other studio album, taking the best of the bunch and making them her own. Bonus points for preserving the original fiddle breakdown from “Heart Over Mind” while making that classic shuffle a forlorn ballad, and a few more for hitting the archives of the Country Music Hall of Fame until she found a forgotten gem that should’ve been a hit back in the day (“Not Like it Was With You.”) – Kevin Coyne

Recommended Tracks: “Mental Revenge”, “Detroit City”

#69
Dwight Yoakam, dwightyoakamacoustic.net

Yoakam takes a new, inspired spin on the greatest hits album concept, presenting us with a hearty sampling (over 20 songs) of his catalog served acoustic style. It simply works for the country legend. He introduces some delightful new twists and turns to his old classics, and as it should go with acoustic music, the album is driven by unadulterated, raw vocals, coupled with honest storytelling – the purest form of country music. – Tara Seetharam

2010 Grammy Nominees

December 2, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 39

Not too bad, given the slim pickings on the ballot this year. Taylor Swift is the top country nominee with eight noms. Keith Urban earned four, while Willie Nelson, George Strait, Lee Ann Womack, and Zac Brown Band earned three.

Country Categories

Best Country Album

Zac Brown Band, The Foundation
George Strait, Twang
Taylor Swift, Fearless
Keith Urban, Defying Gravity
Lee Ann Womack, Call Me Crazy

Best Female Country Vocal Performance

Miranda Lambert, “Dead Flowers”
Martina McBride, “I Just Call You Mine”
Taylor Swift, “White Horse”
Carrie Underwood, “Just a Dream”
Lee Ann Womack, “Solitary Thinkin’”

100 Greatest Albums of the Decade, Part 3: #80-#71

December 1, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 10

The 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade, Part 3

#80
Martina McBride, Timeless

McBride has a voice that would have been as relevant in country music fifty years ago as it is today, and her album of cover songs exemplifies this. She doesn’t attempt to move any of the songs to a different level, but instead inhabits the artists’ original style with precision and spirit. The result is a pure, respectful homage to the country greats. – Tara Seetharam

Recommended Tracks: “Make The World Go Away”, “Pick Me Up On Your Way Down”

#79
Felice Brothers, Yonder is the Clock

The Felice Brothers are the least-known among the members of ‘The Big Surprise Tour’ headlined by Old Crow Medicine Show and featuring Dave Rawlings Machine with Gillian Welch, and Justin Townes Earle. Melding country-rock and folk-rock, they are roots-influenced and made their start playing in the subway. While it may take an extremely big tent to call them “country,” consistent Dylan comparisons make Yonder is the Clock hard to ignore. – William Ward

100 Greatest Albums of the Decade, Part 2: #90-#81

December 1, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 17

The 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade, Part 2

#90
Miranda Lambert, Kerosene

On her first major-label album, Lambert reveals herself as a fiery, spirited artist with a lot to say, and a clever voice with which to speak. Her sharp songwriting skills, though a work in progress as we’d later learn, take her naturally from aggression to desolation and back again. But most notably, through Kerosene, Lambert got the traditionalists to pay a little more attention to mainstream country music and its more promising artists. – Tara Seetharam

Recommended Tracks: “Kerosene”, “I Can’t Be Bothered”

#89
Kris Kristofferson, This Old Road
This Old Road has not have received as much mainstream attention as Kristofferson’s recent appearance in Ethan Hawke’s Rolling Stone article; an unfortunate fact, given it was the legendary writer’s first album of new material in 11 years. With This Old Road Kristofferson shines a spotlight on the world much in the same his earlier writing shined a spotlight on himself. The result is an overtly political album with more depth than most modern attempts have been able to produce.- William Ward

Recommended Tracks: “The Last Thing to Go”, “Pilgrim’s Progress”

Review: Patty Loveless, Bluegrass And White Snow, A Mountain Christmas

November 30, 2009 Guest Contributor 11

bluegrass and white snow A Guest Contribution
by Stephen Fales

“the night was freezing cold, from a heavy snow that day, we warmed our hearts on old time songs and danced the night away” — Gordy/Loveless

Back in 2001, Patty Loveless made a wondrous, rustic and rootsy album called Mountain Soul, a stunningly beautiful and highly acclaimed work of art. Mountain Soul was a natural evolution for the coal miner’s daughter Loveless, who has always been known for the passionate mountain sound that she brings to her award winning Country repertoire. Mountain Soul is potential realized, a bountiful harvest that Loveless continues to cultivate to this day, her current masterwork Mountain Soul II being her most recent offering.

100 Greatest Albums of the Decade, Part 1: #100-#91

November 29, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 20

Ah, the naughties. The decade began and ended with pop crossover queens, with Shania Twain and Faith Hill at the top of their game in 2000 much like Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood reign supreme today. In between, we had the roots music boom, best exemplified by O Brother and the platinum-selling Nickel Creek and Alison Krauss & Union Station; the post-9/11 patriotic explosion, which brought Toby Keith and Darryl Worley to the top of the charts; the near-total banishment of women from the country radio dial for a good part of the decade, which started to fade as redneck pride ascended, thanks to a certain woman trying to make Pocahontas proud; and far too many tributes to country living and island-flavored beach bum songs to count.

All of this made for a fascinating decade to be a country fan. As radio worked its way through all of the above (with the notable exception of roots music), the internet made it far easier for acts to be discovered without ever getting a single spin of traditional radio play. With MySpace, YouTube, Facebook, and the explosion of country music blogs, the barriers have been torn down between artist and audience in a way that was never possible before.

The motley crew of Country Universe has a diversity of tastes that fit within the widest boundaries of country music, as reflected our collaborative list of the 100 best albums of the decade. Five of our writers contributed to the list, with all writer’s selections being weighed equally. We’ll reveal ten entries a day until the list is complete. A look back at the greatest singles of the decade will then follow.

The 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade, Part 1

#100
Abigail Washburn, Song of the Traveling Daughter

Song of the Traveling Daughter is the debut album from Uncle Earl claw hammer banjo player Abigail Washburn. Produced by Béla Fleck and featuring Ben Sollee, it is a subdued album filled with intriguing instrumentation and influences. Standout songs include “Nobody’s Fault but Mine,” with its interesting Civil War period influence; the upbeat “Coffee’s Cold,” originally performed by Uncle Earl; and “Song of the Traveling Daughter,” based on the classical Chinese poem “Song of the Traveling Son.” – William Ward

Recommended Tracks: “Nobody’s Fault but Mine”, “Coffee’s Cold”

Review: Zac Brown Band, “Highway 20 Ride”

November 28, 2009 Leeann Ward 2

The Zac Brown Band is a welcome fresh addition to country music’s mainstream. While their sound surely cannot be classified as traditional in the true sense of the word, their music sounds authentic and different than what has currently overtaken country music. They’ve got a vibe like nothing else that we’re hearing on the radio, in large part, thanks to their front man, after whom the group is named and the sonically laid back production that accompanies some well crafted songs (“Chicken Fried” notwithstanding).

Review: Chris Young, “The Man I Want To Be”

November 28, 2009 Leeann Ward 8

One thing that mainstream country music still has in abundance is artists with great voices. Chris Young can easily be counted among such talent, but he is also firmly in the category of artists with quality voices saddled with inferior material.

Supported by a simple melody with a chorus that overreaches for memorability, “The Man I Want to Be” also stretches to work within the confines of a lyrical hook: “I want to be a (insert adjective or verb here) man” pervades the song and turns out to be more of a distraction than a clever turn of phrase.

Review: Jack Ingram featuring Patty Griffin, “Seeing Stars”

November 24, 2009 Dan Milliken 2

Jack Ingram wistful It’s taken a long time to put words together for this review, mostly because the prospect of Patty Griffin being billed on a mainstream single is too exciting not to cloud critical judgments a little. I mean, seriously – “featuring Patty Griffin.” From the same label that just won Taylor Swift a Female Vocalist award. It’s far too much cool for a body to digest in one sitting.

Review: Brad Paisley, "American Saturday Night"

November 22, 2009 Tara Seetharam 21

Paisley2 It’s no secret that in country music, some expressions of patriotism are more prevalent, and arguably more acceptable, than others. It’s refreshing, then, to see Paisley offer a solid albeit frivolous departure from the conventional with “American Saturday Night,” a proud depiction of America as a nation whose identity is molded by not one, but numerous cultures:

You know everywhere has something they’re known for
Ah, but usually it washes up on our shores.

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