Rolling country 2007 thread

Yeah, I like that one too. And "Country Club" is fun, and the power ballad "Anymore" is well-sung at least. So there's enough on the Travis Tritt best-of to hang on to it, I guess. But just barely.

The Basement are Brits trying (their press release says, and you can kind of hear it in their attempt at doing a loose rollicking brothel shamble) a Band/Basement Tapes (press bio says Flying Burrito Brothers too, sure why not) kind of sound. Being Limeys, they have trouble rocking it like (even) the Deadly Snakes did on their (maybe only) good album Ode To Joy a few years ago. Singer isn't awful, but he's not-awful more in a second-tier Auteurs or Only Ones imitator kind of way than a third-tier Dylan imititator kind of way.

Taylor Swift album sounds great. Apparently Frank wasn't fibbing. So far my favorite is the song where she keeps a boy out past curfew.

Montgomery Gentry - Carrying On: I had heard most of the songs on this one through various means, but never all at once together. This is a truly great album, one of the best country albums I've heard. "Cold One Coming On" sounds even better on the album than it does as a single. Stellar.

Gary Allan - Tough All Over: Only listened to it once, so clearly no time to absorb it yet, but on first listen it was, in fact, as good as advertised. Well worth the investment.

I also purchased Sheryl Crow and The Globe Sessions, both by Sheryl Crow, on the basis of the singles. I never thought of her as country at all, but I once saw her listed on a CMT list of "Hottest Female Country Stars" or whatever (she was #4, behind Shania, Faith, and Sara Evans). To be sure, there are definitely some country songs on both of these (e.g. "Mississippi", "Redemption Day"), and they are mostly very good. I'm not sold that "has some country songs"="is a country artist", but whatever. In any event, they are both great albums, especially Sheryl Crow.

Between these four albums, and Emotions, which I also purchased (coincidentally right before Frank was talking about it above), I'm not sure there was a not-at least very good song I heard, though some of the tracks on The Globe Sessions that are definitely not as good as the others.

xp

"When you think 'Tim McGraw,' I hope you think my favorite song" (from "Tim McGraw")

"I grabbed a pen and an old napkin and I wrote down...'Our Song'"
(from "Our Song").

Is that a historical first?

"A Place in the World" is the most shemo-teenpop-sounding Swift song I've noticed so far, and also my least favorite (though it's fine, really, just not one of her best). "Should've Said No"/"Mary's Song (Oh My My My)"/"Our Song" at the end of the album totally kill.

Well, has this guy written an interesting song since '87? Genuine question, since I haven't followed him a whole lot since then. His blues alb from several years back was a dud. Fact that Sheryl Crow scored well throughout the '90s would seem to argue that there'd have been a reasonably strong market for Mellencamp if he'd been producing more engaging material.

"Our Country": Guess those of you with a TV have been hearing this for several months. Signifiers ("science," "religion," "Dixie," "poor and common man," "bigotry," "freedom") without any elaboration on what made these words signify in the first place, or why people who wield them sometimes square off. No ribbons of poetry here. Nice start w/ good sharp guitars, voice rumbling above them. His voice has gained a few pounds, to its detriment. Melody isn't bad, but it's not great either, and the arrangement (organ, touches of gospel in the background singing) is utterly predictable, doesn't help the track to breathe. Damn, I obviously wasn't going in anticipating greatness, but didn't expect it to be so dumb and dull.

I disagree about Trouble No More, which is decent enough for a rockabilly-blues cover album. I like the updating of the Woody Guthrie/Carter Family tune at the end. And I'll nitpick on the post '87 decline: Big Daddy (1989) has some good songs, even if it isn't as focused and lively as Lonesome Jubilee.

the Hollywood glitterati have taken over her dance card

Don't think I agree. On Wildflower, her latest album, Sheryl's mostly going for meadows and brooks and Hallmark Cards pastorale, albeit vaguely about relationships and feelings rather than about actual flowers. Occasionally achieves the misty beauty she's trying for, but not often. I miss the great codependent holes she used to dig herself into and then try to blast out of, "The Difficult Kind" and "My Favorite Mistake." I'm right now listening to her new track, "Try Not To Remember," for the first time, and it's one of the better things I've heard from her recently, also the most teenpop (sounds a bit like "Behind These Hazel Eyes" in the chorus, just like Chuck's least favorite song on the Taylor Swift), though it's arrangement is more womby-tweepop like Jewel or McLachlan, and it slowly bleeds to death at the end.

From Wikipedia: "At the 2006 CMA Awards, Sheryl performed the country hit Building Bridges with Brooks & Dunn and Vince Gill." "On the red carpet at the 2006 CMA Awards, Sheryl reported that she was working on a country music album, according to Entertainment Weekly."

Do wish the Taylor Swift rec had more loud guitars, especially "Should've Said No," which is just as shemo as "A Place In This World," but shemo of a different kind (screamo-shemo). Could imagine Evanescence doing it, though not as well. Kelly Clarkson would scorch tundras with it, though I don't know if she could put as much lilt and sadness in her hate as Taylor did.

I attribute the thematic similarities between "Tim McGraw" and "Our Song" to running out of ideas.

Best song that actually is about itself is the Buffalo Springfield's "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing," written by Neil Young but sung by Richie Furay. "Who should be sleepin', but is writing this song/Wishin' and a-hopin' he weren't so damned wrong." Neil was teeno-emo for his day, and Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere felt very high-school to me when I heard it (in high school). This much madness is too much sorrow. I should probably bring Neil up on the teenpop thread, to distress Lex.

I liked "Peaceful World"'s Nelly-song rewrite a lot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgwX9eVqVaU

Beyond that, well, uh, I think "Jackie Brown" was '88 or so. None of the '90s albums were anywhere near as good as their apologists claim, though; especially laughable is whenever people say they sound like "garage rock", which they never do (and which JCM through Scarecrow pretty much always did; a bunch of those pre-Scarecrow albums are rather flawless, but I've written about them on other threads.) As for his blues record, uh, it wasn't as sprightly as White Stripes, I guess. But it was as sprightly as Black Keys, I'm pretty sure. Seemed to me his best album since Lonesome Jubilee. I kept it, but it's in storage now. As for the new one, people (including the Cougstar himself in this morning's Times) say it sounds garage, so my hopes are not high, but who knows, I could still imagine being surprised by the guy. His live shows still pack a wallop (or at least the one I saw a couple years ago did). As for "Our Country," I own a TV but never watch it unless I'm watching Sopranos or Big Love or Northern Exposure episodes on Netflix, and I don't give a shit about football, so I haven't heard it. And everything everybody has said about it makes me want to hear it less. But someday I will.

Best song that actually is about itself is the Buffalo Springfield's "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing,"

Better than "You're So Vain," even?? (That's impossible, right?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovOjaPgqr7Q

followed a couple years later, of course, by "i'm singing this borrowed tune/i took from the rolling stones/alone in this empty room/too wasted to write my own."

listening to it for the first time now. if this is garage, then i'm ned raggett. it sounds 100 percent like every other mediocre album he's made in the past 15 or so years. i'm hearing a couple of songs i might actually like, in fact, but i'm not about to file this next to, say, the hombres.

Does he really sing "I'm from a midwest town"?????

most country tune on lily allen's CD is seemingly "alfie," a sweet slowish one with alpine polka oompah beat. right now it reminds me of abba (who had verging-on-country moments themselves, of course.)

Instead the poll belongs to insiders-turned-outsiders—the Dixie Chicks, Vince Gill, Rosanne Cash, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash—five acts who once ruled the charts but who haven’t had a Top 20 country single between them since 2002. The voters preferred those artists who demonstrated an ability to connect with a broad country audience but who are also determined to challenge that audience rather than pander to it.

BEST ALBUMS:
1. The Dixie Chicks: Taking the Long Way (Open Wide/Columbia)
2. Vince Gill: These Days (MCA Nashville)
3. Rosanne Cash: Black Cadillac (Capitol)
4. Alan Jackson: Like Red on a Rose (Arista)
5. Johnny Cash: American V: A Hundred Highways (American/Lost Highway)
6. Solomon Burke: Nashville (Shout Factory)
7. Willie Nelson: You Don’t Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker (Lost Highway)
8. Neko Case: Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (Anti-)
9. Bob Dylan: Modern Times (Columbia)
10. Julie Roberts: Men & Mascara (Mercury)
11. The Wreckers: Stand Still—Look Pretty (Maverick)
12. Kris Kristofferson: This Old Road (New West)
13. Josh Turner: Your Man (MCA Nashville)
14. Dierks Bentley: Long Trip Alone (Capitol)
15. Alan Jackson: Precious Memories (Arista)
16. Keith Urban: Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing (Capitol)
17. (tie) Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris: All the Roadrunning (Warner Bros./ Nonesuch)/Willie Nelson: Songbird (Lost Highway)
19. Ray Wylie Hubbard: Snake Farm (Sustain/Universal)
20. Jessi Colter: Out of the Ashes (Shout Factory)

BEST SINGLES:
1. The Dixie Chicks: “Not Ready To Make Nice” (Open Wide/Columbia)
2. Alan Jackson: “Like Red on a Rose” (Arista)
3. The Wreckers: “Leave the Pieces” (Maverick)
4. Johnny Cash: “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” (American/Lost Highway)
5. Carrie Underwood: “Before He Cheats” (Arista)
6. Rosanne Cash: “House on the Lake” (Capitol)
7. Julie Roberts: “Men & Mascara” (Mercury)
8. Josh Turner: “Would You Go With Me” (MCA Nashville)
9. Gary Allan: “Life Ain’t Always Beautiful” (MCA)
10. Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton: “When I Get Where I’m Going” (Arista)
11. George Strait: “Give It Away” (MCA)
12. Dierks Bentley: “Every Mile a Memory” (Capitol)
13. Radney Foster: “Half of My Mistakes” (Dualtone)
14. Ray Wylie Hubbard: “Snake Farm” (Sustain/Universal)
15. Jack Ingram: “Love You” (Big Machine)
16. Rodney Atkins: “If You’re Going Through Hell” (Curb)
17. Brooks & Dunn: “Believe” (Arista)
18. Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris: “This Is Us” (Warner Bros./Nonesuch)
19. Old Crow Medicine Show: “Down Home Girl” (Nettwerk)
20. Tim McGraw: “When Stars Go Blue” (Curb)

BEST REISSUES:
1. Waylon Jennings: Nashville Rebel (RCA/Legacy)
2. Johnny Cash: Live at San Quentin (Columbia/Legacy)
3. Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys: Legends of Country Music (Columbia/Legacy)
4. Willie Nelson: The Complete Atlantic Sessions (Rhino/Atlantic)
5. Dwight Yoakam: Guitars, Cadillacs (Rhino/Reprise)
6. (tie) Johnny Cash: Personal File (Columbia/Legacy)/Gram Parsons: The Complete Reprise Sessions (Reprise/Rhino)
8. Tony Joe White: Swamp Music: The Complete Monument Recordings (Rhino Handmade)
9. The Byrds: There Is a Season (Columbia/Legacy)
10. James Talley: Got No Bread, No Milk, No Money, But We Sure Got a Lot of Love (Cimarron)

Lots of dumber stuff in that poll (Himes's ridiculous "The voters preferred those artists who demonstrated an ability to connect with a broad country audience but who are also determined to challenge the audience rather than pander to it," as if Neko Case or Rossane Cash or her still dead dad or Kris Kristoferson Who Still Can't Fucking Sing etc etc do either these days; also, can somebody please explain to me what "mainstream production" is, anyway? Production that allows music to have hooks in it and lets singers actually be heard? Sorry, I don't get that at all. I heard tons of "mainsteam" Nashville albums last year, and most of them sounded very different than each other, and by the way the lyrics on them were certainly no more cliched than what I heard on Rosanne Cash's boring-assed record (which, as I said last year, given its theme, critics would have creamed their jeans about even if it had been shipped to them completely blank; they didn't even have to take the frigging shrink wrap off to rave about it -- just read the press release, since all most of the reviews did was rephrase the press release anyway). But I don't want to get my dander up (oops), so I'll shut up otherwise at least until somebody else here starts zeroing in pollwise on whatever it is they want to zero in on, jeez. Otherwise, biggest surprise of the poll was how high Julie Roberts's second album, which I honestly assumed everybody thought was a real letdown after her debut, finished; what did it have, maybe two good songs? (So, also dumbfounding: Himes's claim that Julie "has far better taste in songs" than Carrie Underwood. Not this year she didn't.) Also, who are the Zozo Sisters, who tied with the Duhks for #10 among "best groups and duos"? Never heard of them before, but they have a funny name, so I'm curious (and will probably hate them when I actually hear them, but what the heck.) I did like what Barry Mazor said in the comments about the return of Conway Twitty-style "easy, assured sexuality of grown men" to country music via songs by Josh Turner (who I still have yet to hear anything at all memorable by, but what the heck), Dierks, Blake Shelton, non-badonkadonk Trace Adkins, etc. Makes me think that I should actually investigate Twitty someday...

most country tune on lily allen's CD is seemingly "alfie,"

Unless the most country tune is "Knock 'Em Out," with its blatant Professor Longhair second-line Mardi Gras piano rolls at the start. (Has anybody pointed that out? It's really cool. And for that matter has anybody pointed out that the Lady Sovereign album has a track that sounds like classic Les Rita Mitsouko? I haven't been paying attention to the discussion, which always seems to devolve into dumb horseshit about how "real" such artists are. What about their music?)

(And oh yeah, fwiw, the Alan Jackson gospel album didn't finish top 10, as Himes says in his essay; it finished 15th. Not that I want to nitpick about details -- I know as much or more than anybody on the planet how hard putting polls like this together are, and I do respect Geoffrey for still pulling it off every year, even if the Village Voice and all those other useless New Times rags are his paper's "sister sites." And there's plenty of smart stuff in that poll section, too, much of it from Himes himself. So nothing against him! But wow does he come up with whopper cliches sometimes.)

As for the Chix and Gill--after kinda casually listening to the Chix over months, I like one song, "Bitter End." Gill is just this year's poster boy for retro, in my book. Basically, he's Glen Campbell with a Christian wife, only he's not as good as Glen Campbell. I think you'd have to be insane to sit thru 4 discs of his new one, just like you'd have to be crazy to want to listen to Kristofferson's new one more than once (I listened to it three times out of professional responsibility.)

Chuck, the Zozo Sisters are Ann Savoy and Linda Rondstat, who did a record for Vanguard this year, "Adieu False Heart," a collection of mostly slooow Louisiana/French stuff, with a cover of the Left Banke's "Walk Away Renee" that out-genteels the original. Pretty boring, I hate to report, since the great Sam Broussard, a friend of mine who lives down in Lafayette, plays guitar on it--Sam's the real thing, and, back in the day, played on many many sessions including those Michael Martin Murphy hits like "Wildfire" some of us might remember.

Finally, just Saturday morning catch-up: read and reviewed Bobby Braddock's autobiography, "Down in Orburndale," about growing up in Florida in the '50s pre his going to Nashville, joining Marty Robbins' band, and beginning his songwriting career. As a tale of New South, just superb, very smartly done. (And, he's apparently no longer producing Blake Shelton's records, from what I hear, a shame. Braddock had the distinction in 2001 of having two country #1 hits at the same time--Toby Keith's "Wanna Talk About Me," which BB wrote, and "Austin," Shelton's single, that he produced.

And, damn, got a copy of this amazing Buddy Emmons jazz/steel/country instrumental record from around '71, "Emmons Guitar Company," just great!

I can't, but overly miked, limited and mixed drums + ultra-compressed vocals might be characteristics (though naturally there are plenty of exceptions).

I guess the other thing that sort of bugs me about Himes's essay is that of course your betwixt-mainstream-and-alt types like the Chicks and the Cashes and Gill (and I guess Neko Case, who I just heard yesterday supposedly shifted 375,000 units, as they say at my current workplace, of her most recent album, which totally astounds me -- in fact, I'm skeptical that somebody may have misread the figure, so don't quote me on it or anything; also heard this week that she's gonna tour with Merle Haggard by the way) and those sorts of people finished high because, duh, both the critics who like Nashville and the alt-purists voted for them. It's just simple math; I doubt it implies as much about tastes as Himes wants to suggest.

In other news, God I love "Picture To Burn" by Taylor Swift so much. What a catchy, rocking song. It sounds a lot like some other bubble-country gal hit from the past couple years, but I can't place it: Jessica Andrews? Cyndi Thompson? Meredith Edwards? Or maybe Rebbeca Lynn Howard, "Pink Flamingo Kind of Love" or something? One of those people, I think. (Which reminds me, I keep meaning to research this: Did Alecia Elliott ever make a whole album, or just her great "I'm Diggin' It" single? I should just look it up, but I'm lazy today.)

But there are a couple good songs on the album; I just wish he'd get over flaunting/exploiting his ignorance.

Listening to the new Toby Keith (barely a week after I finally got his previous one), and holy shit it is sounding great. He split with DreamWorks, got Lari White (who put out her completely slept-on more-soul-than-country-and-it -said-so *Green Eyed Soul* on an indie label last year) (how many female producers are there in Nasvhille or anywhere else for that matter, especially producing macho men like Toby??), and she's filled it up with Dixieland horns and put *Dusty in Memphis*-style orchestrations here and there and she's emphasizing the laid-back *ease* Toby's always been capable of in his singing, and what you get is his most soul-music album ever, as far as far as I can tell. That laid-backedness might mean that some of the songs will detonate less on immediate impact the way his hits always have in the past, but they *sound* so good that they'll have no problem seeping in before long -- Toby's just a way more assured singer than Lari (or probably any other would-be Dusty this decade I could name), so this won't wind up just perty background music. "Note to Self" on now; sounds great. "Get Drunk and Be Somebody" is *less* laid-back, but almost in an old minstrel jazz kind of way; I can't place who it's reminding me of but I will -- one thing I *will* say though is that the way he says "BE somebody" makes me think he''s listened to Ol' Dirty Bastard at least once or twice. Damn, I'm going to be playing this a lot this summer. Could wind up being his best album, period, but I don't want to go out on limb. Right now, I'd say his best since *Unleashed* at least. (Though okay, I just noticed "Ain't No Right Way," partially written by Dean Dillon, which says ethics are black and white and seems to be anti-choice and anti-"people saying our kids aren't allowed to pray in school", what horseshit. So maybe I won''t wind up liking that one. Or maybe I will. With Toby you never know.) (And okay, "Brand New Bow" now, this is country jazz like Merle... what is that, a kazoo? Hoosier Hotshot revival in full force!) (Last song, about sex with an overweight girl, might also be iffy, but again, iffy in a country-jazzy way. Not sure if it's good-hearted yet.) (Last three songs are more of his "bus songs," I just noticed.)
-- xhuxk (xedd...) (webmail), April 4th, 2006 1:15 PM. (link)

Or uh (listening to Toby again), maybe the reason Kelefa didn't talk about the music being such a departure is because the music is NOT as much of a departure as I suggest above? I dunno. Now all the parts that *aren't* more soul or jazz than Toby's been before are jumping out at me (and, to be honest, it's not like even the jazziness, where it exists, is entirely new; he did that on *Shock n Y'all* some too, as I recall.) Still loving a lot of it, though "Ain't No Right Way" is offending me as much for the soggy-dish-rag-ness of its sound as the soggy-dish-rag-ness of its politics now. "Runnin' Block," the song about the chubby girl, is actually about playing the wing man for a buddy, still not sure what I think of it overall beyond its moral assholitude, but I actually really like the sound of its chorus, which reminds of something from the '70s and which always confuses me into thinking it's about football (which maybe it is, sort of). Something in its jazzy storytelling also somehow brings to mind Tom T Hall, and I think there are other moments on here when I think of Hall too. (He could be as jazzy as Merle, actually--and in a Dixieland minstrel way. Also as good natured as any songwriter ever; no wonder Jimmy Carter was his pal. Though his sense of ethics clearly put Toby's to shame.)
-- xhuxk (xedd...) (webmail), April 6th, 2006 3:37 PM. (link)

Toby Keith's *White Trash With Money,* which nobody else has much talked about, really holds up. Just played it this morning for the first time in over and month or two, and I'm now rating it as the year's best Nashville country album, hands down. Is "A Little Too Late" the new single (with the reportedly antifeminist dungeon six-feet-under video, which I still haven't seen)? If so, people should try to hear it apart from the video, because to my ears it's got some of Toby's most explicit soul phrasing ever. Also, I don't think I'd noticed before how good "Can't Buy You Money" is. Only real sore spot: the obligatory numbskull political statement "Ain't No Right Way," which sounds more lame ever time I hear it, and also naggingly sincere, hence way less fun than Tony's usual numbskull politics.
-- xhuxk (fakemai...) (webmail), June 28th, 2006 5:46 PM

i dont see anything wrong with working the star mechancism, and what elvis, jerry lee, etc did is viewed as a good or value neutral thing, when johnny cash did it, hes what selling out, hes smarter then to beleive that shit...

--and the last american recordings album and black cadilliac were pandering to the extreme...but im okay being pandered to, im okay being sold to, as long as it is done well.

and i think roseanne had a difficult job, someone was expecting an album as eulogy, it was de rigeour, and her daddy did the classic one for her mommy, she used her gifts and gave as much as she could, and well why shouldnt we reward that?

(biggest suprise: josh turner)

Because it was a lousy record, maybe? Because good intentions aren't enough? And because some of us don't really care at all about her personal life, and we're tired of people assuming we should? (Also, we wish she still had her new wave haircut and did powerpop songs.)

The line in "Picture To Burn" Anthony's referring to, which I hadn't noticed because I rarely read lyric sheets unless somebody is holding a pistol to my head (since it's cheating, see) (or I'm just lazy, same difference) and I was busu getting off on the great fast rhythmic rush of words in that first verse instead, is: "State the obvious, I didn't get my perfect fantasy/I realize you love yourself more than you could ever love me/So go and tell your friends that I'm obsessive and crazy/That's fine, I'll tell mine you're gay." Which is...interesting. And may well be libel (well, if he wasn't gay, that is) (sung it'd be slander, but we're talking about a lyric sheet here remember.) Yet I'm not entirely convinced it challenges his masculinity. Off the bat, it reminds me of Tony Basil's "Mickey" or Josie Cotton's "Johnny Are You Queer." I'll have to ponder it some more before I decide if I'm offended.

i pay too much attention to the lyrics, but since its about humilating an ex lover, how could one assume calling him gay was anything but impuging his masculinity

it sounds to me like a dead ringer for bruce springsteen circa "nebraska" ("open all night," say) and "born in the usa," or maybe huey lewis circa the same time.

i agree with the complaints about jmc's hair upthread -- he should get a haircut or join gov't mule -- but what fascinates me most about his looks is how that very adult baritone comes out of that baby face that looks like it couldn't grow a beard if it tried.