Country Universe

Stagecoach Festival: <em>Your Call</em>

April 22, 2009 Guest Contributor 15

It has finally cooled off here in Southern California, so I’m headed out to the Stagecoach Festival in Indio, California this weekend, April 25-26! The country cousin of Coachella, Stagecoach is now in its third year and will be playing host to nearly 40 acts, including Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, Little Big Town, Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker, Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown Band and Miranda Lambert.

I’m excited for the festival, particularly because it hosts a mix of country music, from mainstream country to bluegrass, folk, roots rock and alt-country. With three different stages – appropriately named “Mane,” “Palomino” and “Mustang” – set on the beautiful Empire Polo fields in Indio, the Festival provides a fantastic opportunity to check out the entire gamut of styles and personalities in country music.

Hank Williams, Jr., "Red, White and Pink Slip Blues"

April 22, 2009 Leeann Ward 8

I’ll confess that when I read the title of this song, “Red, White and Pink Slip Blues”, I mentally groaned. But alas, Kevin assigned the single to me and like a dutiful blogger, I clicked on the link anyway.

Hank Williams Jr., though inarguably talented, is often known for his swagger that, sometimes, overshadows the quality of his art. So, a song that quite obviously covers the theme of economic hard times that this country, and the world, is currently facing could easily seem like an opportunistic ploy to capitalize on the nation’s vulnerability, as seems to have been the problem with other recent songs of this nature. As a result, I was all but certain that a song with this title would be more frivolous than cathartic.

Instead, ol’ Hank comes through with a song that aptly captures the story of so many Americans at this frightening time. From the first person perspective, he tells of a man who’s tried to do everything right, but still finds himself jobless and unable to even afford survival. He desperately sings:

Introducing Tara Seetharam

April 21, 2009 Tara Seetharam 22

It is my distinct honor and pleasure to introduce the newest writer for Country Universe, Tara Seetharam. As you’ll soon discover, we are quite blessed to have her. On behalf of the Country Universe staff, please join me in welcoming Tara! – Kevin J. Coyne

Hi all! It is such a thrill to step foot into this community of talented and well-versed writers. I am humbled and can’t thank the staff enough for so graciously taking me in.

I graduated about a year ago from the University of Texas with a degree in journalism, and I am currently residing in Houston and working in corporate communications. Writing and music are two of my greatest joys in life, so the opportunity to use this site as a medium to interlace the two is an absolute blessing.

When I tell people that I live and breathe country music, I’m almost always met with surprise. Some are better at hiding it than others, but I typically receive an inquisitive stare, a “Really?” or a confused smile. It leads to about 20 seconds of awkwardness, with me trying to sum up my passion for the genre in an eloquent explanation, and generally failing. Because quite frankly, how do you prove to a near stranger that yes, an Indian-American can love country music from the depths of her soul?

Miranda Lambert, "Dead Flowers"

April 20, 2009 Dan Milliken 23

No doubt about it: Miranda Lambert knows what’s up. After giving us two of last year’s riskiest and most rewarding singles (“Gunpowder & Lead” and “More Like Her”), she previews her forthcoming album with another sharp lament that, once again, finds her charging into thematic territory most of her peers wouldn’t even glance at for radio release.

Alas, the same cannot quite be said for Lambert’s musical territory this time around. As a character sketch of a quietly suffering woman, “Dead Flowers” has some of the most original lyrics you’re likely to hear on mainstream radio this year, but the track itself sounds about as bland as can be, with an arena-rock treatment eerily similar to Rascal Flatts’ “Take Me There” (seriously, listen to them in succession) that does more to dull the song’s edge than to sharpen it.

The Greencards, <em>Fascination</em>

April 20, 2009 William Ward 7

The Greencards are a trio consisting of Australians Carol Young and Kym Warner along with U.K. native Eamon McLoughlin. Up-and-comers with talent to spare and an eclectic range of influences, they have earned spots opening for both Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson. They were awarded an Austin Music Award in 2003, an Americana Music Award in 2006, and, in 2008, earned a “Best Country Instrumental Performance” Grammy nomination. Their albums have incorporated blues, world music, and jazz, and have been labeled roots music, modern bluegrass, and Americana.

This brings us to their Sugar Hill debut, and the question, what is Fascination?

Fascination integrates elements of folk, country, modern bluegrass and Americana, and often draws upon elements of blues and world music one would expect only to find on National Public Radio. Yet, apply any of these labels to their latest album and they seem not only to fall short, but to feel completely inaccurate. Some will make comparisons to Nickel Creek or The Duhks, but The Greencards, while also technically breathtaking and acoustically driven, inspire comparison primarily because they have consistently moved towards a sound of their own.

Reba McEntire Starter Kit

April 20, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 26

Reba McEntire already has 56 top ten hits to her credit, and her new single, “Strange”, just entered the chart at #39, a career-high entry for the legendary singer. She’s been a presence on the country charts for 23 years, has more gold and platinum albums than any female country artist, and she’s a multimedia star, finding great success on Broadway and in television and film.

But for those who know her best as a sitcom star or Kelly Clarkson’s and Kenny Chesney’s duet partner, trying to tackle her catalog is a daunting task. This Starter Kit will get you going, as it includes ten of her most essential tracks. Those of you looking to learn more about McEntire are highly recommended to check out the excellent My Kind of Country blog, which gives frequent and always high-quality coverage of McEntire’s music, past and present.

“Somebody Should Leave” from the 1984 album My Kind of Country

Even though she was won her first CMA award for Female Vocalist before this album was released, My Kind of Country is widely credited as being the first truly great Reba McEntire album. She exerted creative control for the first time, and instantly became one of the genre’s most significant new traditionalists.

This Harlan Howard classic is achingly, heartbreakingly beautiful, a description that fits most of McEntire’s best work. Here, a couple is aware that it’s time to part ways, but aren’t sure how to go about it, so worried are they for their children: “If it was only you and me, goodbye might come more easily. But what about those babies down the hall?”

Taylor Swift, "You Belong With Me"

April 19, 2009 Dan Milliken 31

Probably the trickiest part of being a big country music fan right now is explaining to people why I don’t hate Taylor Swift. It’s certainly easy to see why I would. On the surface, Swift seems an impossible sell for any country classicist: she writes bubbly pop-rock, she never seems to sing well live, her whole spiel is basically the epitome of teenybop. Depending on how much those qualities bother you, it can be very hard to avoid judging the entire Taylor Swift book by its cover (or in this case, totally rad t-shirt + fan-mosaic OMG!).

But to dismiss Swift’s art because of her trimmings is to ignore just how good that art is at doing what it sets out to do. Yes, “You Belong to Me” finds Swift writing about a high school crush, and no, it isn’t country, even if it is (quite wrongly) being shipped to country radio. These issues may clash strongly with some personal tastes and desires for the mainstream country climate – they do mine, at least. But do they make this, on its own, bad music?

I certainly don’t think so. If anything, I think this works because Swift sounds fully invested in her youthful perspective and poppy approach. The lyrics here sound directly ripped from the cute pink diary (or LiveJournal) of a self-conscious girl unsure of how else to express herself. The melody, perhaps her catchiest yet, surges with the somewhat melodramatic intensity you’d expect from a young person experiencing his or her first big heartache. Even Swift’s girly, gaspy vocal stylings sound fully in service of the particular song she’s singing, the particular character she’s portraying.

Join CU @ Twitter

April 19, 2009 William Ward 10

Join CU @ Twitter if UR looking for updates and recommendations!

Thanks to Lynn, Country Universe is now on Twitter and we’d like to invite all of our readers to join us there for quick and easy updates. You can follow Country Universe at Twitter to learn about what reviews we are writing, find out what grades our latest single or album reviews received, or just to receive links to our latest blog entries.

If you are fans of the Country Universe mini-feature Recommend a Track, stop by for our Twitter specific content, which will include updates of what Country Universe writers are listening to along with track and album recommendations.

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Please Re-Release Me

April 18, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 7

When Pam Tillis was at her commercial peak, I thought it was only a matter of time before Warner Bros. capitalized on her sucess by issuing the 1983 pop album she made for the label, Above and Beyond the Doll of Cutey.

They didn’t, so I had to settle for a cassette copy that a friend transferred to CD for me. Now, a full 26 years after its initial release, the album is being issued on CD for the first time, courtesy of Wounded Bird Records. It streets June 9.

It’s far from the best album that Tillis has released, but the completist in me will appreciate having it in digitally remastered sound. I’ve spent the past two weeks transferring old Dolly Parton albums, with and without Porter Wagoner, from vinyl to CD. It’s nice to finally have the songs in some form, and Paul W. Dennis of The 9513 was generous enough to fill in the gaps.

Kate & Kacey, “Dreaming Love”

April 17, 2009 Guest Contributor 3

“Love, love, love, love…” crazy love? Unfortunately, no. There is a brief moment at the beginning of “Dreaming Love” where you think Kate & Kacey might break into Van Morrison’s “Crazy Love.” But no, we’re not that fortunate.

Kate & Kacey do have some songwriting chops. In fact, they have a co-write with Jamey Johnson coming out on George Strait’s upcoming album. However, “Dreaming Love” is not a shimmering display of those abilities. Overall, the song is plagued with a pretty but forgettable tune (slightly reminiscent in parts of Heidi Newfield’s “Johnny and June”), decidedly unmemorable vocals and unimaginative lyrics expounding on that n’er-written-about subject, love.

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