Blake Shelton vs. Ray Price

Price is a little bit off about Shelton being a flash in the pan--he's had 12 number one singles. The first one from over 11 years ago.

Shelton seems to really look up to Yoakam, so he can't be all bad

Shelton doesn't rock much, and Yoakam does, which is fine when he gets a good ballad like the one I cited. His Miranda Lambert collaboration is soppy shit.

Shelton considers himself a Country Music historian/expert. I believe he said something like that backstage after winning at the CMA's last year. But there's no way a Brad Paisley, to name a modern Country act who bows to the Classic Country artists, would make that statement. Shelton might be right about moving Country forward, even though many old-timers don't like what they are hearing now. So, it is indeed funny that someone who actually likes the Old Tradition is now under fire for taking a quick shot at it. I see a Price/Shelton duet on the horizon.

Brad Paisley is also a rather good politician whereas Shelton knows he's hooked himself to the Miranda gravy train.

More fun:

Ray Stevens has also joined the fray saying, “I just heard Blake Shelton’s remarks about ‘old farts and jackasses’ and all I want to know is how he found out the title to my next single because it’s been a closely guarded secret here at the ‘Home.’ It will be available on vinyl or 8-Track at your nearest Tower Records store.” Brandon Fulson beat Ray to it though, recording a song “Old Farts and Jackasses.”

Dale Watson has also chimed in: “Ray price is the best voice in country music period !!!! And some supremely Mediocrre voice like this fuck Blake Shelton should whince!” He is the Lance Armstrong of country music !! HYPE, Mr. Miranda Lambert!”

I live in Nashville, and every day I hear someone decrying modern country. "It's not what country used to be! It's just hair-metal! It's a ripoff of '80s rock, of power ballads, of John Cougar!" Every day, someone tells me that Taylor Swift isn't "country music." Well, duh. The fact of the matter is, a lot of what people called country in the olden days wasn't really country music, either. It was pop music, folk music, contrived music meant to sell, with maybe a country-sounding singer or a pedal steel. Old-time country ripped off everything--rock 'n' roll, soul, blues, and mainly, a lot of received-folk music, what I modestly call the "country-folk-pop cusp." so this is nothing new. What I posted on FB earlier, and what Chuck Eddy knows too, is that Blake has country bona fides--he was a discovery of Bobby Braddock, one of country's most famous songwriters, the guy who wrote "Her Name Is..." for George Jones. And Barn and Grill, Blake's record of a few years back, is a country record simple if not totally pure. So I don't get it, except that Blake is saying what someone should have said in Nashville years ago, just to shut up these Americana-purist doofuses who think country music ended in 1978 when Gary Stewart flamed out, or whatever. Yes, the idiom of country has changed, but so what? Anyway, it pains me to say that Ray Price is kind of stupid to say what he's said--Ray Price is great--but remember, Ray made some mighty E-Z listening records back in the day, and yeah, I know Price was also a real great, swingin', dope-smoking shuffle-Texas kinda legit country guy too.

and Dale Watson is a total snooze. a retro guy about one step up from Junior Brown, forgettable, good for a couple of songs, and just another revivalist, there are plenty of 'em in Nashville and you can act like a tourist on Lower Broadway and catch any number of them any nite of the week, and they're all better than Dale Watson is.

Brad Paisley is also a rather good politician whereas Shelton knows he's hooked himself to the Miranda gravy train.

you know he's now a prime time tv star right

lolling at anyone who isn't ray price's age getting uptight about blake's uncouth poptimism

yeah but have you seen his expression whenever the camera cuts to him? Dude looks like a pod person.

she's gunpowder, he's lead

he's pretty affable imo

Good points all from Edd (though we'll have to disagree on Dale).

Dale sounds really stodgy and leaden to me, for the most part (we've already talked about him some on the Rolling Country thread this year -- I even see his long fancy tour bus parked in a neighborhood adjacent to ours when I ride my bike sometimes), though I liked the funnier, more upbeat songs on Whiskey Or God a few years back. He's totally bored me since.

As has Shelton, for the past few years, though I liked enough of Barn & Grill from 2004 and Pure B.S. from 2007 (the two albums before I did that interview with him that Ned sampled up above.)

Old Ray is sadly moving on:

http://www.kltv.com/story/24205295/country-music-legend-ray-price-leaving-hospital-to-go-home-to-mount-pleasant

Glad I went to see him when he finally came up to NYC after a two decade absence a while back.

I'm seeing notices on some fb C&W pages that Ray died today. Nothing official though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Price_(musician)#Cancer

Deceased according to wiki.

What a fantastic voice on that man.

:(

It's been retracted, apparently. Sorry for rushing things. In bad taste on my part.

peace out

http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/16/showbiz/obit-ray-price/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Just realized that when I saw Ray Price in NYC it must have been June 2000 and that his band leader and right hand man, Moises "Blondie" Calderon, who some say was to Ray what Don Rich was to Buck Owens, passed away shortly afterwards in October 2000. RIP, guys.

http://archives.nodepression.com/2001/01/moises-blondie-calderon-june-26-1940-to-october-23-2000/

http://image1.findagrave.com/photos250/photos/2009/177/38808606_124614243683.jpg

That's quite a headstone.

And I thought you were here to talk about Blake Shelton finishing 23rd on the Nashville Scene critics poll album list

http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/the-results/Content?oid=4034364

And on their singles list:

19. Blake Shelton with Pistol Annies, "The Boys Around Here" (Warner Bros. Nashville

http://i.imgur.com/hFhGQyT.jpg

Doctor, my eyes!

Updating link to Blondie Calderon obit:
http://nodepression.com/article/moises-blondie-calderon-1940-2000