Sunny Sweeney - “Ten Years Pass”

Your kinda right and kinda wrong Ben. I agree that this isnt a traditional sound ala “Lavender & Blue” or some of the other cuts from her album. With Sunny, the twang in her voice is as much of an instrument as the pedal steel or guitar, so the whole “wallflowers track” comment doesnt hold up since Jakob Dylan’s vocal instrument is far different, and more subdued than Sweeney’s (not to mention far more nasal than twnagy, and yes there is a difference). Also, while she doesnt delve too deep into profound territory, she does offer some simple insight when she sings that her former lover is with his wife, “and I’m still looking for the love of my life”. That statement offers a glimpse into the frustration and sadness that not finding a great love in that amount of time has given her. Look, she wasnt going to get a hot label like Big Machine to hook her up with an album full of Kitty Wells covers. Isnt an artist that can successfully bridge the gap between traditional and contemporary what we really need these days??

Dustin J., Just curious, what is your style? It must be very different from her style if you commented on that aspect.

I’ll start off by saying I absolutely love Sunny Sweeney! Sunny’s occasional performances on the Grand Ole Opry stage are some of the best live music to come from that stage these days, and especially when she sings “…Honky Tonk Angels” to honor Kitty Wells. As for Sunny’s Big Machine label connection, Sunny released her “Heartbreakers Hall of Fame” as an independent artist and I think the album was out for almost a year before Scott Borchetta decided to add her to the roster and re-release the CD under his label with absolutely no changes. Her singles thus far have only been pushed to my knowledge to “Americana” format radio stations (outside of Texas anyway).

I was a bit shocked when Sunny announced weeks ago that “Ten Years Pass” was the next single as I don’t think its one of the best cuts on the album. The cuts I like best are “Here Lately”, “Lavendar Blue”, and Audrey Auld-Mezera’s “Next Big Nothing”, all of which I find musically addicting.

If Top 40 mainstream country radio cared at all about artistry and the heritage of country music these days Sunny might have a chance, but they don’t so she won’t. As long as Sunny remains a stalwart twangy champion of traditional country and honky tonk music (and I hope she does), Top 40 rock-pop-country muzak stations will not be opening their doors in spite of the Big Machine connection.

Hey Kelly… I guess I’ve just kind of “moved on” from the twangy stuff I grew up listening to. I’ve never really been a big fan of the twang, even 20+ years ago… the Oak Ridge Boys, the Statler Brothers, Alabama, and George Strait are traditional sounding without the twang, IMHO and that’s what I grew up listening to.

So, you won’t find me listening to too much Sunny Sweeney. Honestly, even artists like Ashton Shepherd and Sarah Johns are a little more twangy than what I really like. (I have a ton of respect for both and think both are amazingly talented… but again, I guess it’s just not my forte) :)

I’m a vocals/harmonies kind of guy. :) The Oaks & the Statlers were two of my favorites when I was a kid. Loved those four-part harmonies!

In the 90’s, I was a fan of Southern Pacific, Restless Heart, BlackHawk, Little Texas, The Buffalo Club, Ricochet, and the short-lived band known as Burnin’ Daylight (Marc Beeson, Kurt Howell, & Sonny Lemaire).

Today, I find myself listening to bands such as Sixwire, Crossin’ Dixon, and One Flew South (an outsnading vocal band on the newly resurrected Decca Records whose sound resembles that of CSN&Y, the Eagles, America, Poco, Orleans, Firefall, Pure Prairie League, etc)

Kelly,

I have the Thorns (Shawn Mullins, Pete Droge, Matthew Sweet) record and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Low Stars record. I would second their great harmonies. In fact, I was surprised that the Low Stars weren’t promoted to country by their Starbucks Label.

Twang is a big part of country music.