For the first time since Shania Twain dominated three Christmas seasons in a row with her mega-selling Come On Over, an album from the previous year has completely schooled all the 2006 releases at retail.
Sugarland, “Settlin’” Lead singer Jennifer Nettles is absolutely on fire here, turning in a scorching performance that almost makes you forget that this is basically a rewrite of “Something More”, right down to the obligatory
Carolina Rain, “Isn’t She” They’re a great vocal group doing an unfortunate Rascal Flatts impression. To their credit, they sound better than the supergroup – none of the annoying nasal whining that defines RF’s sound
Ashley Monroe with Ronnie Dunn, “I Don’t Want To” Monroe impressed me with her debut single, “Satisfied.” I still really dig her voice, though she throws in a few too many trills here. She’ll gain
Five albums. Seven women. Fourteen million copies sold. The latest list comes to an end as I said it would in the beginning, dominated by the female artists who have been such a potent creative
#10 Tough All Over Gary Allan 2005 An explosion of anger, regret and grief, Allan made the strongest album of his career in the aftermath of his wife’s suicide. “Best I Ever Had” may have
My 2005 list was dominated by established female artists returning to greatness, and this year’s list complements it well, as 2006 is dominated by male artists either reaching new artistic heights or returning to them.
Dennis Linde, one of country music’s most clever and unique songwriters, has died. He was 63. His songwriting credits include “Burning Love” (Elvis Presley), “Goodbye Earl” (Dixie Chicks), “Callin’ Baton Rouge” (Garth Brooks, New Grass
The Trisha Theory: Once Trisha Yearwood sings or records a song, it has been sung definitively. No other vocalist need bother tackling it; they will inevitably pale in comparison to Yearwood’s performance of the song.
As much as we love new music, reissues and compilations are what ultimately record the history of country music. Greatest Hits albums remain in print long after most studio albums have been cut out, while