Rolling Country 2006 Thread

New McMurtry sequel to "We Can't Make It Here" on his website isn't so hot.

Chris Young's "I'm Headed Your Way Jose" has a pretty neat conceipt -- come on up here and take my house and Chevrolet since I'm headed down there where things are better anyway and I'll give you a high five at the border -- though Chris seems somewhat deluded, needless to say, about what Jose's life down there is like. Though maybe the delusion is built into the song. Or maybe Chris's point is that his life down there would be better than Jose's is now, I'm not sure...

Rest of his album is seeming okay; kinda pedestrian, but then again I thought that about Trent Willmon's album at first (see above), and I was wrong. I'm in no rush, though; I'll definitely give it time.

Lost Trailers album, I decided, is this year's answer to the last (third) (only good) Warren Brothers album. Whatever that might mean. Either way, it's a keeper -- pretty consistent, if never quite great.

Spady Brannon's album is yet another lifeless songwriter demo tape.

And did I mention that Bomshel go into an amusing "the barn, the barn, the barn is on fire" chant in their stomp? Well, now I did.

I think I found the Chris Young song interesting because it's from a
country artist. When I saw the title I kind of cringed, thinking it was either the millionth iteration of the "I'm going to Mexico to drink you off my mind" or some gimmicky red meat for the Build-a-Wall folks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r0aHQdA6Vg

I found Chris Young's record pretty lame--he has no resonance in his voice, and sounds to me like a halfway good guy who won a talent competition...wait...and the backing, when you compare it to the best stuff this year, is stiff, predictable. the one where the family reunion gets crazy, owing to moonshine and granny slurring her words and the Gators and UT fans fighting, and then the park ranger comes in to break it up (see ya'll all next year!), that's a good idea. "José" strikes me as plain stupid, I mean "Everybody's talking about the aliens invading/While I'm saving every dime for a Mexican vacation." I admire this kind of...avidity, that is maybe the word, in the young man, and certainly, my heaven includes but is not limited to "hot women and cheap beer." Again, I kind of like the idea and far be it from me to warn anyone away from a trip to our sister country and all that. But he's just not much of a performer; and I find the obvious thinking behind this song--"Chris is as concerned about illegal immigration as anyone in Nashville, and he thought it would just be fun to defuse the situation with a little humor"--typical.

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Kelefa's reaction: "great".

My reaction: Not as terrible as I'd feared.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/music/article/0,2792,DRMN_54_5020454,00.html

- TK in "rock 'n' roll is dead" shocker
- TK in "lifelong registered democrat" bigger shocker.
- TK in sympathy with the tough life the likes of Sammy Hagar and Bon Jovi have in the modern world non-shocker.

My brother bought me the Solomon Burke LP the other day, which was nice of him . I was a bit concerned it was going to be a horrible Unplugged / Later with Jools Holland reverencefest but it's not (all) like that. Oddly the best bits are when SB reins it in and doesn't overdo the King of Rock n Soul thing. The Emmylou song in particular's very fine, perhaps the secret to getting SB to make great records is to keep the cookie jar well-stocked.

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In other news, I have decided that I like both the Eric Church album and its single about over-the-counter pregnancy tests a lot, that I like the Chris Young album much more than Edd Hurt does (the family reunion song always makes me think of if John Anderson covered Chuck Berry's wedding song "You Never Can Tell," though Chris doesn't really sing like Jawn; "Center Of My World" has the same melody as Shooter Jennings' "4th of July" despite being a lot sappier; the price of gas song is better than the one on Billy Ray Cyrus's new album; "Burn" is great too and "Lay It On Me" is a good fast boogie woogie -- so yeah, he's pro forma, but still more fun than any Randy Travis or George Strait in recent memory); the new Billy Ray Cyrus album is pretty good anyway (the gas song and mullet song are completely shameles in great achy breaky tradition and "Lonely Wins" is basically John Cougar's "Lonely Old Night" with new words and the duet with Miley is very nice and "It Wouldn't Be Me" sounds exactly either like some great Glen Campbell song or some great song by somebody else that reminded me of Glen Campbell once); and Trace Adkins is probably a despicable asshole (though his line about the first ammendment protecting you against the government but not his fist still cracks me up) but his new album is good enough to keep regardless thanks to its two shameless disco-country songs and "The Stubborn One," which is awesome, not to mention about his grandpa.

decided that the great song on new Montgomery Gentry is "A Man's Job," because it's the funniest. "Redder" strikes me as pretty dumb, since they talk about celebrating redneckdom, "don't get redder than that" but they never really come out and say what it is they're doing to be so red. What I've found interesting about MG, listening to their old records again with the new one and having interviewed Eddie last week, is the way they do twin guitars like in the old days, and how adventurous they can be, musically. What I find sort of offputting, as always, are those choruses, like the title song on the new one. "Here's to the strong/Here's to the brave/Against all odds/Against the grain." Kind of stupid compared to the rest of the song, which I quite like. "Free Ride," the last song, is also a good one. I like them but can't take them for very long. Wait, "having too much fun and laughing too loud all night" is how they show their "country class/ass." I dunno, I mean this convenience store I stop at, at the top of the ridge going up from Nashville, is a real, er, redneck place, and man are those folks fucking loud--a real extended-family-clan-affirmation thing on a really loud level, around about 5:15 in the afternoon. I don't think I could be that loud if I tried, although these folks have the virtue of being extremely direct; they have a direct, penetrating gaze. That's who M-G are singing about, and they get it. But as with Chris Young, I guess, they seem to me able to benefit from more detail in their lyrics, which is why I fucking love "A Man's Job" on the new MG; great music, great lope, and they sing it really well and it's funny. (Eddie, I think, found my comment about the great use of "boy toy" in this one real amusing. And he was a bit coached, but seemed totally sincere when he talked about how his dad used this black gospel group and horns to play country clubs in Ky. back in the '60s and '70s.)

I gotta say I don't hear this at all, and I honestly have no idea what Edd's talking about here. To me Young just sounds like a pop-country singer with a good voice. He has no problem putting songs over. Then again, I don't watch many talent shows, so what do I know?

and that's one great thing about carrie underwood's record: it's perfectly paced. the songs seem constructed to show off his range, too, like when he goes for "lonely" in "drinkin' me lonely." but yeah, I admit it's a pretty good simulation of travis or someone like that, and it does seem I am in the minority in not liking the record--michael mccall here likes it a lot, and he also likes the mindy smith record, which I can't work up any emotion about.

I dug around a bit and found out that what Troy Gentry is in trouble for in Minn. isn't so much killing Chubby the Bear, but tagging it supposedly illegally and sending the hide back to a taxidermist; Chubby now hangs in Troy's Franklin house. It seems like Troy got some allegedly bad advice from the guy who was his guide up there.

And I guess shooting a bear seems like just a big job I don't want to undertake. (Like getting a talent-show singer up to speed for a record, natch. And maybe that's the whole thing with Chris: it sounds a lot like work to me.) In fact, it seems like a nightmare. I'm the kind of guy who swerves to miss a fucking squirrel in the highway, so shooting a bear named Chubby...apparently, violating the federal Lacey Act brings stiff penalties, and apparently Troy's having a jury trial in Duluth in about 5 weeks.

Also, 4 CD set of new material by Vince Gill. Why?

Could be Buddy Cannon's production, which seems flat and undefined to me. I think it's the drum sound. He did, if I recall rightly, the one Sara Evans record I don't like, because of the production.

Did anybody else notice that the new M-Gentry record has 1) really good graphics, I think 2) they don't list *any* writers' credits that I see, which is right unusual for a Nashville record?

And anybody heard the new Keith Urban? I think I'm getting a watermarked copy, had to convince them I'm not working the "Paducah and Carbondale corridor," as Colbert and Randy Newman amusingly spoke of in a recent episode that had Newman completely up for Colbert's fine (but sometimes annoying) switcheroo-bullshit act. And not going to make bootleg knockoffs with a nudie pic of Nicole crudely placed on cheap paper. (If you can somehow catch that Colbert Reporr episode again--it ran maybe 10-14 days ago, it's a good one, not least because Newman *sang* "Political Science" as it ended.)

I haven't gotten or heard that Gill. Smart people have told me it's suprisingly good, apparently he does a whole disc of what was described to me as "swamp pop." He's a good damn guitar player, is the thing, a talented guy indeed. And he's got Amy, sweet Amy...

Decided I quite liked the Gary Bennett record. One-time minor leaguer who had to take a job at Home Depot (apparently he did), drinks too much, doesn't like turning 40. Great sound, and I think the record works well as an entity, if a bit depressing on rainy days.

Some People Change
Michael Dulaney, Jason Sellers, Neil Thrasher

Hey Country
Bart Allmand, Danny Myrick, Jeffrey Steele

Lucky Man
David Cory Lee, Dave Turnbull

Takes All Kinds
Michael Dulaney, Troy Gentry, Neil Thrasher

Your Tears Are Comin'
Tom Hambridge, Jeffrey Steele

Clouds
Eddie Montgomery, Tony Mullins, Jeffrey Steele

Twenty Years Ago
Gary Nicholson, Rivers Rutherford, Jeffrey Steele

What Do Ya Think About That
Brett Jones, Anthony Smith

Redder Than That
Rivers Rutherford, George Teren

Man's Job
Gary Hannan, Eddie Montgomery, Phil O'Donnell, Thom Shepherd

If You Wanna Keep an Angel
Troy Gentry, Rivers Rutherford, Tom Shapiro

Free Ride in the Fast Lane
Houston Robert, Rivers Rutherford, George Teren

(Allmusic did mention Mark Wright as having a hand in the production, and Wright is generally excellent.)

Have heard only the title song. Doesn't hit me nearly as hard as it seems to be knocking over everyone else; well sung, well played, surely, hazy wah-wah against precise chording, and I'd be surprised if the Chesney version were as good (never heard it); but this is slow, and the chorus carries a heavy wall of rock sound not unlike late '70s Springsteen (Edd mentioned the Springsteen connection upthread), which just isn't my favorite style. Not nearly as alive and fun as "She Couldn't Change Me." Change schmange. And as for the message of life transformation, this song goes through motions that "Jesus Take the Wheel" does for real. On the other hand, the gospel choir at the end actually lifts the music - I'd almost call it exciting, and I'm generally a hater of gospel choirs in rock songs. The choir in "Like a Prayer" is one of the few others I can tolerate. I'll probably like the album - MG are my favorite band of the '00s (unless you count Ying Yang Twins as a band, and come to think of it, YYT are probably as much a band or not a band as the Montgumbos).

I was just listening to "Some People Change" on Launch Yahoo, and - since I'm on their Spanish language site 'cause it has fewer and better-sounding commercials - which has now tossed Belinda's great "Angel" at me. Talk about knowing how to do melodrama. Someday one of these country bands simply has to go and record in Mexico.

did a critic pick on chris young for the scene; he's participating in this "broadway meets country" benefit at tn.perf. arts ctr. next wk., where people like him, raul malo, etc., sing b-way toonz and the broadway cats go country. it's part of the big leadup to CMA awards here, and in its second year. anyway, I think he can sing just fine, in fact he's quite good, but those fucking songs on that record (his own "drinkin' me lonely" and one or two others are real good, though) were my problem, and buddy cannon's production, which just sounds dated to me. I mean that song about wanting to move to mexico, hard as I try to get into the mindset, if I can use that odious word, that created it, just makes me arf. really disgraceful. if they'll get me in, I'd love to see what he does with other material; and seems to me he shoulda made a record like jamey johnson's. and, turns out young has been trying, had been trying, to get into music even before the nash star stuff, and his dad was sort of in the bizness.

nashville songwriting is such a weird animal, undeniably professional, but wearying. "some people change" is a decent example; it seems to lose its way in that chorus, which drives me nuts, and the song is *everywhere* on the radio here now, giving away the CD, and all that. they have to relate everything to some big emotion and some perceived audience, and of course to the War Effort and the Heroes in Iraq. I mean fuck, I feel for those guys, who wouldn't, and having recently shepherded a couple of friends thru their AA traumas, which are no laughing matter, I guess beating the booze is "heroic," but that chorus is still just Bad Art. it's almost a great song, is the thing, and as frank says, I think the gospel choruses are a good idea. (country seems to be using them more as Signifier of Soul, just like every country record has got to have a song about Dropping My Load and Moving to Sunny Mexico.) but shit, these guys truly maximize Southern rock as effectively as anyone I can think of, and "free ride in fast lane" is pretty great, as is "hey country." which is one of the best songs about being not quite working class I know; very savvy about their audience, and I love the detail where the old boy in the song is working at the auto-repair shop and sometimes they let 'im work on a fan belt or whatever it is--he's a stoner, still, and tends to, uh, forget what the haill he's doing, completely ruint mr. gentry's lexus so we learnt a lesson there. but a good ol' boy, just still thinks he's in high school and he's 27. also, perhaps their most big and rich -influenced song on the record? in short, the m-gentry record ought to be licensed for continuous play at every highschool reunion ('80s) from here to wichita.

*Marion's is an EP, six songs, three new, three from the Atlantic alb that was never released here; she's concentrating on the rockers rather than the Max Martins, unfortunately. She's basically transforming herself into an L.A. rocker chick. Meat Loaf's duet with her is in the British Top Ten right now.

Oops, no it's not. It's on When The Sun Goes Down, and was one of the most ignorable tracks there, too. As for whose version is better, it's a tossup. Why is such a mediocre song so popular? Weird.

Well, in my head right now, anyway. I should play them back to back sometime and see what happens. And yeah, I too assume MG would win.

And if it has a flat drum sound, as Edd argues, it has a flat drum sound -- Nothing old or new about flat drums. Not that I've noticed the charge applies here. (Though is Nashville production in general lass flat and undefined than it used to be? If so, maybe that's what Edd means. And he might have a point -- I'm definitely liking way more pop-country than I was 15 years ago, and production probably has plenty to do with that. Along with fewer wasted tracks, more rocking guitars, all the drummers from hard rock bands who moved south, smarter songwriting, etc. Though again, Chris Young's album still feels like 2006 to me, not 1991.) (Country CDs often do seem to sound less thin now, though part of that is probably just the nature of recording studio technology, I'm guessing.)

Still haven't listened to the MG alb. (At the listening post Brooke Hogan sounded surprisingly good in the background, given that her style seems modeled after the incurably blasé and bland Janet Jackson. Doesn't have a distinctive voice, but does at least have presence, and lots of pretty Storch sounds.) I've listened to relatively few albums this year, 'cause they're not coming in the mail in nearly the old quantity and anyway it's far more fun careening around YouTube than working my way through longplayers. My top albs are Marit, Paris, and Dixies, unless I want to include compilations, in which case Totally Country Vol. 5 and Crunk Hits Vol. 2 are up there. (The reason not to count the comps isn't that they're comps but that most of what's on them predates '06.) Anyway, I can easily imagine that there are ten better albums this year than my top three, but the way things are going with my "career" I'm not likely to hear them. Might vote for JoJo if I hear it again. Should relisten to the Electric Boogie Dawgz, which I got a kick out of. Gawd, if I'm struggling to reach 10 I'll even vote for last year's Electric Six (haven't heard this year's), which got its U.S. release in March. Missed my window of opportunity on Dierks at the listening party. Oh, I keep forgetting that Dylan had an album this year. Came out same time as Paris and so got overlooked in this odd neighborhood of ours. Not having heard a lick of it, I'd say it's the favorite so far to win Pazz & Jop, but that's just because no other obvious alternative candidate has stepped forward yet (at least as far as ignorant Frank knows). You guys have any opinion on Modern Times?

i'm supposed to write about kellie pickler. my m-gentry piece, w/ interview stuff from eddie, comes out online in the n-ville scene tomorrow.

and right, don, "lotta leavin'" is on the second dierks. I think I don't even have the first one any more. "that don't make it easy lovin' me" is one of my fave songs of the year, already, quite addictive. dierks should cover gene clark's "los angeles." I have been quite into clark's "no other" and that dillard and clark album, "fantastic expedition." my buddy dave duncan keeps telling me that "f.e." is the real start of country-rock not "gilded palace," but I think it's the real start of whatever these neo-bluegrass formalists in nashville like dierks are doing.

I dunno--the drum sound on chris young just doesn't strike me as a good drum sound. and I admit it, I really didn't give chris a full chance on first few listens. he can sing. I guess I feel as though the production doesn't surround him, that it's one-dimensional. my sense is that they were trying to sell the Voice and that's it, and maybe I'm wrong.

Nashville production has gotten way better in the last few years, but as Mark Nevers and others I've been fortunate enough to pick brains of have told me, there's an ungodly amount of compression going on in the mastering of most Music Row productions. That in my opinion is what makes something like Sara Evans' records so remarkable--they don't sound all squashed down. Brett Beavers' prod of the new Dierks sounds kinda like the last one, a bit trebly and a bit bass-light. This sounds like a conscious strategy to me.

Gary Bennett's record is so good partly because R.S. Field is so good a producer. Exemplary.

Big 50 Years of Steve Cropper thing happening at the Ryman on the first, which would've been my mother's 72nd birthday. with John Anderson, B.J. Thomas, John Kay, Mark Farner, and many others. If the TJ Martell Foundation will comp me the tix they promised (they're like $150, and I did a short thing on the show for the Scene, so gimme), I'll be there. Amazing to think Cropper started playing guitar in 1956 in Memphis, and he's still going--seen him a couple times out playing recently, and even when he's kinda fucking off he's still got that sound.

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