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Ashley Gearing - “Out the Window”
Songwriters: Marv Green, Chris Lindsey, Hillary Lindsey, Aimee Mayo
This song should form one half of a teaching case in the difference between good and mediocre mainstream country. Ashley Gearing’s second charting single (and her first for Curb Records) sounds familiar. Indeed, Sara Evans had a smash with the same kind of song in […] -
Taylor Swift - “Should’ve Said No”
Songwriter: Taylor Swift
Someone “should’ve said no” to this one.
Problem number one is that this song is way too loud. It starts out with that nice banjo lick and then – wham! – I’m diving for the volume control.
Problem number two is the distorted background vocal, used only once, when Taylor echoes herself […] -
Craig Morgan - “Love Remembers”
Morgan’s first single for BNA (after abruptly leaving Broken Bow earlier this year), “Love Remembers” is a slickly-produced radio track destined to impact the Country charts like no Morgan single before it. From top to bottom, this is not only a hit, but a gigantic, smash hit. It will undoubtedly be one of the handful […]
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Ashton Shepherd - “Sounds So Good”
Songwriter: Ashton Shepherd
“Sounds So Good,” Ashton Shepherd’s second single and the title track of her debut album, is best compared to the Randy Travis standard, “Deeper than the Holler.” Both songs address the dominant radio theme of the day – undying love in Travis’s classic and country living in Shepherd’s single – in […] -
Darius Rucker - “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It”
Songwriters: Darius Rucker and Clay Mills.
Aside from being one of the 90s’ top artists, Hootie & The Blowfish lead singer Darius Rucker, who helped the band sell over 16 millions copies of Cracked Rear View (1994), is a South Carolina native who cites Buck Owens as one of his top musical influences, referenced Nanci […]Continue reading "Darius Rucker - “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It”"
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Alan Jackson - “Good Time”
Songwriter: Alan Jackson
I’ve long thought that the preponderance of “list songs” on modern country radio is a consequence of the co-writing epidemic and the general talentlessness of too many Nashville hit-makers. Leave it to Alan Jackson, one of the genre’s greatest singer-songwriters, to shatter my assumptions by recording Good Time, an album composed […] -
Adam Hood - “Different Groove”
Songwriters: Adam Hood
Adam Hood is an Alabama native adopted by Texas’ Red Dirt scene and he recorded his last album in California. He travels all over the South, playing nearly 300 shows a year, making the road his actual home; a modern-day troubador if there ever was one. He doesn’t fit within the confines […] -
Chris Cagle - “No Love Songs”
Songwriters: George Teren and Craig Wiseman
You know that song by BJ Thomas “Another somebody done somebody wrong song?” Despite it being kind of cheesy and heavy-handed, I love that song. Chris Cagle’s new tune, “No Love Songs”–not so much.
The song kicks off with silly production featuring shakers and zany “ooooh” chants but I was […] -
Rodney Atkins - “Invisibly Shaken”
Songwriters: Rodney Atkins and Bill Kirsch
Rodney Atkins’ latest single from his blockbuster album If You’re Going Through Hell is the somber piano ballad “Invisibly Shaken,” which Atkins co-wrote with Bill Kirsch. It tells the tale of a guy who is pretending to be ok with a breakup, but is in fact, “invisibly shaken, quietly […] -
David Nail - “I’m About To Come Alive”
Songwriters: Charlie Colin, Rob Hotchkiss, Pat Monahan, Jimmy Stafford, Scott Underwood, Clint Bennett.
For his debut MCA single, Daivd Nail offers up “I’m About To Come Alive,” a deliriously awful song (originally butchered by pop-rock band Train on 2003’s My Private Nation) which pretends to be emotionally complex, but is, in practice, dripping with self-pity, […]
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Ashley Gearing - “Out the Window” Gearing makes this mediocre song listenable enough that it earns a very qualified thumbs up.
Taylor Swift - “Should’ve Said No” This song is way too loud. It starts out with that nice banjo lick and then – wham! – I’m diving for the volume control.
Craig Morgan - “Love Remembers” Morgan has here abandoned the sometimes quirky, often twangy nature of his music, instead offering what sits as a startling departure from songs like “Redneck Yacht Club” and “International Harvester.”
Ashton Shepherd - “Sounds So Good” Shepherd lovingly sings her life’s soundtrack in a voice imbued with honest, lived experiences. 
Ben Cisneros chats with Star De Azlan about her upcoming record, her influences, and her plans as an artist.
Guy Clark, Joe Ely, John Hiatt & Lyle Lovett at the Paramount Theater, Austin, TX - For two hours they captivated the audience with perfectly-timed stage banter, well-oiled stories, and songs pulled from several decades of their illustrious careers.
Not only is Spirit Ben Cisneros' favorite Willie album, he dubs it Willie's finest accomplishment, claiming "Hank Williams never did anything so excellent; neither did Johnny Cash for that matter." High praise, indeed.
Brody Vercher offers up ten songs inspired the great Willie Nelson.
It should come as no surprise that many fine country songs feature prisoners waiting to die. Here are 10 of the finest.Current Discussion
- Eve: Interesting; I always maintain (and mean it!) that I don't like Country music - ...
- Eve: It took every ounce of self-discipline for me to stay seated during one of the s...
- jesse: great song...
- Jim Malec: FYI these are predictions, not who we think should win....
- alex: no, i'm saying that you exaggerated greatly and you cannot say that she is talen...
- Funk: I admit it, I'm a pig. I really want Kellie Pickler to turn around in that swim...
- Funk: So alex, what you are saying is what I said, but with more words. Ok. I saw ...
- alex: funk, it a stretch to say she's "uncreative, vulgar and lacking talent" at fir...
- John M.: These braids are indeed swanky. Thanks again guys!...
- Eve: WOW!! - was this (incredibly long) discussion thread refreshing or WHAT?!? Asid...
