A Few Albums Worth Checking Out

I’ve listened to a lot of music in the past month that’s worth recommending and have thus compiled a list of a few of the albums I have acquired myself. I’ll be doing some recommendations like this every so often just so people get a sense of the type of music I like and that way they can decide for themselves whether my recommendations are credible or not.

• James McMurtry - Childish Things
  McMurtry is the son of Larry McMurtry, which explains his knack for writing killer lyrics and telling rich stories. He tackles such polarizing issues as the economy and war in his longest song of the album, We Can’t Make It Here, and he does it all in a style and sound reminiscent of Johnny Cash. If you like epic songs, then this is your album. Only two songs come in under four minutes. But don’t be surprised if you never hear McMurtry on FM radio, he’s not afraid to use a little profanity here and there to get his point across.
• Brandon Jenkins: VII
  “Down On The Line” is an up tempo song fused with a little southern rock and smoky vocals that sounds great, but Jenkins really excels at the slow, heartbreak songs such as “The Ghost” and “Painted On Smile”. I’m hard pressed to find anything wrong with this album and therefore I’m recommending it to anyone who might be reading this.
• Jones Sings Haggard, Haggard Sings Jones: Kickin’ Out the Footlights… Again
  Two country giants, who have probably influenced all these other artists in one way or another, together on the same album singing each other’s songs, also including four duets. What more needs to be said?
• Bradon Rhyder - Conviction
  Just listen to the opening lyrics of Freeze Frame Time and you’ll know exactly what you’re getting into with Brandon Rhyder. The dude has been blessed with some amazing vocals and he’s not shy about using them, oftentimes belting out lyrics in a way that makes you find yourself singing along even if you’ve never heard the song before.
• Elizabeth Cook - This Side of the Moon
  This album is a couple of years old, but new to me this month and totally worth digging up if you haven’t heard it in a while. Find me a person who doesn’t bob their head along to “Funny Side of Love” and I’ll show you a person who doesn’t know what a catchy tune is…or else just doesn’t like country music. She has a traditional sound to the majority of her songs that is undeniably country and only strengthened by her twangy vocals.
• Lucas Hudgins & The First Cousins - Honky Tonk Illusion
  I discovered these guys on MySpace sometime last month and was immediately drawn to their sound. I’ve been meaning to get out to one of their live shows, but my girlfriend isn’t a fan of the same kind of country as I am. That means in order to see some of the shows I want to see I’ll have to see some of the shows she wants to see. She about freaked out when she saw The Wreckers were going to be in San Antonio, sucks for me. Anyways, I picked up Honky Tonk Illusions at Waterloo and have not been disappointed. These guys definitely sound more traditional than most of the people I’ve included on this list.
• Johnny Cooper - Ignition
  Another guy that I came across on MySpace and loved his sound. We even included him on the iPod contest and requested an interview. He’s got more of a rock sound than some of these other guys, but a lot of his influences are country music greats and he’s played on stage with all the biggest names in the Red Dirt/Texas Country scene. By the way, he’s only 18, so he’s got years of success ahead of him.
• Micky & The Motorcars - Careless
  I haven’t been able to find this album on any of the download sites, but I liked their previous CD, so I got this one at Waterloo as well. I’ve seen knocks on these guys, as well as their brothers from Reckless Kelly, because they’re stuck somewhere between country and rock, but I enjoy their style and music for what it is. It’s who they are, it’s real, and that’s all you can ever really ask from an artist. So where others may have some qualms with recommending Micky & The Motorcars, I have none.
• The Geezinslaws - Eclectic Horsemen
  The Geezinslaws are a old time local band. One member of the band is the infamous Sammy Allred from 98.1 KVET. I’ve listened to Sam & Bob during my morning car rides as far back as I can remember, so it was only natural that I picked up one of The Geezinslaws CDs when I visited Waterloo Records, and I’m glad I did. I’ve heard the majority of the songs on the Eclectic Horsemen album from listening to the radio, but now I can listen to them whenever I want. I don’t think The Geezinslaws are for everyone, so I’m putting this under the Acquired Taste category.