Patty Loveless Builds On Mountain Soul; Digital Album Sales Climb
- Patty Loveless will build on her critically-acclaimed album Mountain Soul with a sequel, Mountain Soul II, due out on September 29 through Saguaro Road Records.
- When bad songs go badder: Jason Aldean – “She’s Country (Club Mix)” (via reader email)
- Country California’s C.M. Wilcox isn’t kidding when he says David Allan Coe is a scary guy, but he also notes that Coe is an exceptional songwriter and endorses one of Coe’s more recent albums, 1999’s Recommended for Airplay.
- Juli Thanki reviewed the “footstomping, cymbal-kicking energy” of Those Darlins‘ opening gig for their album release tour on Tuesday. (MySpace)
- Despite their relatively young age, Jewly Hight describes The Lovell Sisters as self-sufficient and independent, to the point where they turned down a major label deal because it didn’t prioritize their songwriting. The sisters recently released their second album, which they co-produced. (MySpace)
“Time To Grow” is a good introduction to what the Lovells do. They land on the simpler side of newgrass with pure, unadulterated pop vocals—full-throated, polished and expressive—and sumptuous harmonies.
- The Tennessean’s Wendy Lee reports that digital album sales grew more than 50 percent in the first half of this year.
- My Kind of Country: What are your favorite songs about being lonely?
- The Christian group Point of Grace plans to convert to country.
- That Nashville Sound counted down the top ten most notable moments in Grand Ole Opry history. TNS has been covering the Opry for the past week, so don’t miss other recent articles on the first Opry star, DeFord Bailey, Opry ghosts and the Unbroken Circle.
- Vote for the all-time greatest band in Austin history.
- Random Tweet: I was right, you know. Never did get out of this world alive. (@HanksGhost)
- My Kind of Country’s Razor X waxes approval on John Anderson’s third album, I Just Came Home To Count the Memories.
The twang is back in full force for the album’s most unusual song, “Jesse Clay and the 12:05.” It tells the dark tale of an alcoholic who accidentally kills his wife in a drunken rage. In his panic, he decides to lay her body across the railroad tracks that pass by their shack, to make her death look like an accident, or possibly a suicide. The plot fails when Jesse prematurely reports the “accident” to the sheriff, unaware that the usually reliable 12:05 had jumped the tracks a few miles back. I hate when that happens.
- Watch Jason Eady perform “Judgment Day,” a song he wrote in the vein of the Appalachian music he grew up a fan of and had a chance to play in front of Dr. Ralph Stanley.
- The personal tour bus belonging to Asleep at the Wheel is for sale. You probably can’t afford it.
- Farce the Music celebrates boobs, short people and John Rich’s oversized head in the latest batch of honest/parody album covers.
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July 9, 2009 at 11:43 am Permalink
The Patty news is the most exciting thing I’ve seen in months… cannot wait!
July 9, 2009 at 12:36 pm Permalink
Is it too early to put the Patty Loveless bluegrass album on the year-end best-of lists? Not that I’m getting my hopes up or anything…
Yay, Point of Grace is going country. There aren’t nearly enough songs about God, Jesus and religion on country radio right now.
July 9, 2009 at 1:02 pm Permalink
Of course digital country albums sales have gone up, Music Row is catering to the main demographic that download—the teenage crowd.
July 9, 2009 at 1:16 pm Permalink
Dr No – there is also the little fact that music stores are going out of business one by one and it is becoming increasingly more difficult to find albums in “physical/material” form – not only the “pop/fluff” albums, but also the “real country” music as well.
July 9, 2009 at 2:47 pm Permalink
By the way, everyone connected with Mountain Soul II, from Patty herself to whoever wrote the press release, has been careful not to call it a bluegrass album. And while I’ve seen about a dozen names of associated musicians, not one has been a banjo player. I’m guessing there’ll be a bit of bluegrass on it, but not much.
July 9, 2009 at 3:03 pm Permalink
perhaps it’s post-modern-neo-prog-traditional-roots-grass?
July 9, 2009 at 3:04 pm Permalink
…I’m sorry, I meant “alt” post-modern-neo-prog-roots-grass. there, that should sum it up.
July 9, 2009 at 3:13 pm Permalink
Loveless calls it “Appalachian, bluegrass and country combined,” which pending an actual hearing seems good enough to me.
And on a completely different note, if y’all haven’t seen this yet, you need to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo .
July 9, 2009 at 3:45 pm Permalink
By the way, everyone connected with Mountain Soul II, from Patty herself to whoever wrote the press release, has been careful not to call it a bluegrass album.
From what I’ve read, it’s bluegrass-influenced, but also features some pedal steel and electric guitar on some tracks. No drums were used at all.
The original Mountain Soul wasn’t an all-bluegrass album, either.
July 9, 2009 at 3:48 pm Permalink
This sounds like more my style than straight bluegrass does anyway.
July 9, 2009 at 3:49 pm Permalink
Whatever it’s called, I’m looking forward to it. It’s hard to go wrong with a Patty Loveless album.
July 9, 2009 at 3:59 pm Permalink
The link Jon posted above is pure gold. Don’t miss it.
July 9, 2009 at 4:08 pm Permalink
Though I cringed when I saw the name of the new Loveless disc, her explanation in the press release sheds a different light on the choice.
I’m approaching “broken record” territory, but Loveless, to my mind, has the strongest catalog in country music over the last twenty years. Mountain Soul (which I’d regard as the best recording of the decade) is the pinnacle for sure, so I’m obviously looking forward to the sequel. One known track on the album is “Diamonds in My Crown,” a real gem by Emmylou from The Ballad of Sally Rose.
July 9, 2009 at 4:34 pm Permalink
Razor X: “The original Mountain Soul wasn’t an all-bluegrass album, either.”
Nope, but from what I know, it was grassier than this one.
“One known track on the album is “Diamonds in My Crown”…”
I’m not sure what that means – known to be on the album? presumed to be known by readers here? – but I know that “Working On A Building” is on there, along with “Friends In Gloryland,” which I’m guessing is (or is built on) the old Ralph Stanley song “Gloryland” (”If you have friends in gloryland/Who left because of pain…”), “The Bramble And The Rose,” which was the title track of a 90s Lynn Morris album (check it out, please), “Busted” and more.
July 9, 2009 at 5:04 pm Permalink
And while I’m on a roll… http://www.myspace.com/mayfieldmoritz . Don’t miss “Place Up On High.”
July 9, 2009 at 8:28 pm Permalink
Favorite lonely song: Sunday Morning Coming Down. End of discussion.
July 9, 2009 at 9:09 pm Permalink
Stone Ln just ranked Patty Loveless’ first Mountain Soul the 24th most important album of the decade. Timely!
I can’t wait to hear Vol. II!
July 9, 2009 at 9:10 pm Permalink
Favorite lonely song: Lost and Found–Kadsey Chambers
July 9, 2009 at 10:04 pm Permalink
I’m hoping Rebecca Lynn Howard’s participation in “Mountain Soul II” will plant a few seeds in her own mind about what kind of project she should do next…
Of course digital album sales will grow when some albums are ONLY released in the digital format. That doesn’t meant consumers like me are happy about it though.
Point of Grace obviously wants to compete with SheDaisy and Carter’s Chord up in the 40-60 position section of the country singles charts what with radio being so hot on female harmony groups these days…
Wow, Trailer used “sucky” twice in this batch of album cover revisions! That’s Awesome! (lol)
My favorite lonely songs? Hmm, how about Robert Cray’s “Phone Booth”, or maybe Tommy Tutone’s “867-5309 (Jenny)”. Gosh, I’ve just noticed there seems to be a pattern here…(lol)
July 9, 2009 at 10:29 pm Permalink
That Jon posted is the reason any time I’ve flown with a guitar I have carried that sucker on with me.
July 10, 2009 at 1:08 am Permalink
That Dave Carroll song and video for “United Breaks Guitars” is a hell of a lot better than most of the crap currently in the mainstream country Top 20! Sucky Covington wishes he could sing that well….
PS – When I saw Crystal Shawanda (remember her?) perform with her husband backing her in Long Beach, CA last October his acoustic guitar body was being held together with duct tape! Seems he was yet another airline victim who entrusted his guitar to baggage handlers. I think the Pelican company should make military grade indestructible cases that fit common guitar body types….
July 10, 2009 at 1:14 am Permalink
RE: Point of Grace going country
Whoopee ! bland Christian goes bland country
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