Rolling country 2007 thread

I liked that Alan Jackson album last year! But he had warmth.

I always thought the whole post-1971 rock scene was more about dress-up than necessary, and Johnny monochromed 'em all, out-Marc Bolaned, David Johansened, 'em all, more on a Robert Mitchum, pot-bust level. The Man in Black, you have to admit that's good.

But I really think he's a sort of novelty artist from the gitgo, a conflicted pillhead novelty artist with a decent budget and presumably artistic control. "Chicken in Black" was his deal-breaker for CBS in the '80s--people forget how completely out of favor he was except with his hardcore fans. Or was he? At any rate, that song is about changing identities, expressed in pretty stupid terms, but I like the real thuggishness of its conceit, esp. when he mutters the line about "give me your watches and rings." Obviously, Nashville's coffers denied to him is the bank he robs, but as *someone else*. And the chicken just keeps on pumpin' out "Folsom Prison Blues"--a damnable, adaptable rooster (it would have to be, but "rooster" is too virile for Johnny, he's all washed up), a precursor to today's hat acts.

xps

("T.R.O.U.B.L.E." is playing now; a good solid Jerry Lee-style rocker; it's one I've heard before, of course.)

whats the new watson called, and where is it being released?

new album, From the Cradle to the Grave, comes out at the end of April on Hyena.

This was my failed pitch to review Drakkar Sauna for Paper Thin Walls. First line probably has to do with Chris claiming that Drakkar Sauna are S&G meet Dirty Projectors or something:

I've not met the Dirty Projectors myself, and I'm not hearing any Simon & Garfunkel (Drakkar Sauna's close harmonies have more to do with old-timey country), but I am grinning a lot at this. Only one track from the current alb is streamed anywhere I can find (the delicately understated "Mongrel Of A Halfman Slave Bitch") but lots are streamed from the past, and what I'm hearing is a duo that likes to come off like clowns while inserting deep gorgeousness in the harmonies (Big & Rich without funk, maybe, though Drakkar Sauna existed before there was a Big & Rich). And the accordion (if that's what it is) is a ha-ha-ha type instrument these days, but again works its way into gorgeousness. Sometimes the voices throw a lot of hurrah in your face, sometimes they seem offhand in a Hoagy Carmichael or Slim Harpo way, sometimes they seem offhand in a glam way (I hadn't realized until this second that glam has offhand tendencies, but now I'm recalling Ray Davies camping things up while simultaneously putting a sinister or angry detachment in his voice).

To what extent is the Grand Ole Opry still a centre of mainstream country music? Is it a primary motor, a big influence, a fond bit of nostalgia, a complete irrelevance, what?

Sounds like you started listening to the album toward the end, around the two-thirds or three-quarters mark, maybe. For whatever it's worth, the better songs on Tritt's best-of do tend to be front-loaded, at least on my advance copy; of 20 tracks total, I could definitely live without everything after track #12, though I'll concede "T.R.O.U.B.L.E."'s relative quasi-rockabilly vigor (and did upthread already). So I agree -- for such an apparent Nashville presence, and somebody who obviously shares certain affinities with a kind of blue-collar Southern rock I'm generally quite open to, the guy really does seem to have a dearth of decent hits. I've listened to a couple of his albums over the years, and don't hearing much better stuff on those, though it's been a while and I could be wrong. Kandia Crazy Horse Pazz&Jopped one album by him a couple years ago, as I recall, but I don't think I ever heard that one.

but yeah, it palls after a while. but i always dug some of these hits, even though travis kind of also looked stupid to me, because you knew how smart this country boy was. "where corn don't grow" is also great. his voice is like randy owen's, but the material is so much better than alabama's, and i hear tritt as pretty "authentic" on "where corn." and fuck, the even better than usually good six-second guitar lick.

far as the opry--the one out northeast of town, where all the gift shops are, and where you can still go see charlie louvin, and go to the midnite jamboree in the theatre next to the ernest tubb record shop out there--and its relevance, well, it's a sign of the times that the old downtown where the ryman sits is now tres hip indeed, and the midnite jamboree and all that out there is, like, the pre-Garth nashville and perceived as such, uh oh. (you can't git away from Garth here, even when the fat fucker's in edmond.)

xps

Well, the odd thing was that the order AOL listed the songs wasn't the order they streamed them, so I don't know where I was.

This week they're streaming Tracy Lawrence.

http://www.villagevoice.com/blogs/statusainthood/archives/2007/02/live_conservati.php

http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0349,eddy,49129,22.html

(actually its really well written and the jay z riff is kind of awesome)

the weird thing is that i cant keep underwood and lambert in check, and i keep realising that its underwood i am impressed with more than lambert...before he cheats is more violent and disruptive, the details are meaner, then Lambert's Kerosene, though Kerosene does more damage, neither have much twang and i dont think lamberts voice is v. thin...what was the desperate searching breakup ballad here? is there a single im missing?

Or to say: "I need to see more country bands."

Anyway, I like it even though her voice is kind of like a grandma voice at times.

what show are you talking about? I know Louvin's doing an instore record-release thing on feb. 24 in Nashville, and I'm trying to get more details on what that's gonna be, since I'm set to write it up for the Scene here. I called Charlie but he didn't seem to know, so I'm gonna talk to the guy at his label. (He is doing an extensive tour for his new record--there are dates in Philly and NYC, as far as I know.) As for his voice/flying to N-ville to see him, Roy is right--his voice is kinda, well, old. Not shot totally, but thick. (His new record works, in my estimation, because it's pretty craftily designed to work around his voice--but Charlie has made noises about how the producer went in "after hours" and tinkered with it, took out things and added others. Apparently, the record was waay too Branson-ed out originally, using some of CL's old cronies, like The Banjalist, Derwin Hinson, some of whose work survived the cut.) So it'd be cool to just go to Nashville and see him, but don't expect anything too transcendent. Charlie's 79 years old. Anyway, I should be there at that record-release party on Feb. 24 at Grimey's Records.

I flew to the States last year to see Lee Ann Womack and George Jones, and I had the greatest time, it wasn't crazy at all.

Mark Nevers produced the CL LP yes? I undestand he tinkers like crazy. given the opportunity.

Liking the new Elizabeth Cook album okay so far, which was more than I could say for her last one, which struck me as more tepid than its trappings promised, as I recall. This time she covers the Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning" and it sounds very pretty, and ends with a song called "Always Tomorrow" that takes its chorus melody from the part in Hank Williams's "Honky Tonk Blues" (a song I've never totally loved, to be honest) where he says "lord I got 'em..."

Only got a few songs into the new Norah Jones, the new Rickie Jones, and the Baille from Baille and the Boys CDs last night before I wondered why I was wasting even that much time with them.

Am nearing that point with The Good, The Bad & The Queen, who are sounding more vaguely folky than I expected so far; for some reason I figured they'd be more dub or world-beat or something. They'd be more interesting if they were, probably.

Drakkar Sauna (who sent me three CDs, only one of which I've put into the CD changer so far) are sounding only slightly less vaguely folky so far; in fact, I'd probably be dismissing them as just more interchangeable anti-folk twits if Frank didn't express fondness for their alleged humor and harmonies upthread. So I will try to listen more. So far they seem more precious than funny. Ditto their song titles. But it's not like I've given them much of a chance yet.

Rhino reissue of Warren Zevon's The Envoy is sounding pretty (as in "ain't that pretty at all") good, though both "Looking For The Next Best Thing" and "Jesus Mentioned" are less lively and more boring than I'd remembered. (Rhino also sent Excitable Boy and Stand In The Fire reissues, both of which I expect to rock harder, though I may or may not like them more.)

The new album by Lucinda Williams, whose sound was no doubt instrumental in making it okay for country-oriented lady singers to cover Velvet Underground songs, has not been put on yet. I've been avoiding it. I never liked her all that much even when I liked her okay.(i.e., Car Wheels, the only album by her I've ever kept.)

Okay...Good Bad & Queen's "The Bunting Song" on now. Headline: Brit-Pop Still Sucks. Forget these twerps.

is that a repackaging of legacy's 2-disc feel like going home? a damn nice overview, that was. my all-time favorite male singer, probably.

what's interesting about that louvin record is how superficially cl and george jones do sound alike. but then you hear just how full jones' voice really is, even on those couple of cameos he does--he might've learned how to sing at least in part from the louvins, but jones far outclasses charlie louvin. it's a far better record than one might've thought. even with costello in there, and i have to admit that elvis sings better now than he used to, but i just basically find his voice annoying, you know?

new incredible stringdusters record "fork in the road" is excellent neo-grass; good songs in there, some they wrote, some they found, and then there's a really lame one (great idea: don't take pictures of landscapes, just remember it real well for your Beloved One; but basically lame in its final form) by john mayer. and they actually seem to halfway mean them. the instrumental stuff has its share of surprises. real listenable for this basic non-fan of bluegrass.

xp