The 9513 - Country Music Blog

Someday, someone will let Ashley Ray release a full album. The Kansas-bred singer/songwriter first appeared with a four-song digital EP on Capitol Nashville in 2007. At some point, she moved over to Universal South, then survived the merger with Show Dog to release this new five-song EP on Show Dog Universal. Soundwise, it’s another thick-yet-effective [...]

Continue reading "Album Review: Ashley Ray: Ashley Ray [EP]"

Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Liz Rose and Hillary Lindsey. Another day, another dollar and another ditty about young love from Taylor Swift. “Fearless,” the title track and fifth single from her record-breaking sophomore album, is everything you think it will be and very little more. A special boy? Got it. Down-home reference to a one-horse town, [...]

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Songwriters: Cary Barlow, Hillary Lindsey and Shane Stevens. Country music’s group du jour Lady Antebellum blends post-teenage angst with ’70s soul-rock, riding the youth wave that’s washed over Music Row. While today’s pop radio relies often on empty boasts and ironic poses, the trio has lept onto the Top 40 charts by singing earnest, self-serious [...]

Continue reading "Lady Antebellum – “American Honey”"

The first decade of the 21st century was a tumultuous one for country music. Piracy exploded, iPods ascended, and within a few years the genre had bid adieu to three of its biggest stars–Garth Brooks, who retired after the release of 2001’s Scarecrow (his final studio album); Shania Twain, who retreated after 2002’s Up!; and [...]

Continue reading "Top Country Albums of the Decade (#100-#91)"

There is nothing subtle about a couple of guys in white linen suits urgently beckoning in front of a twelve-foot, candy-apple red, plywood devil and a hellfire-and-brimstony rock pile. That jarring scene graced the cover of the Louvin Brothers’ 1959 album em>Satan Is Real, and its twelve songs were hardly any more subtle in their [...]

Continue reading "That Old Time Religion: Things Ain’t Like They Used To Be"

I am drawn towards two things–vocalists and steel guitar players. I keep my ears out for both. But especially the former. Contemporary country music has drowned out the latter. But that’s another column. So, when someone said that Holly Williams is their new favorite female vocalist, I thought I’d check her out. You should know [...]

Continue reading "Honky Tonk Happy Hour: Sharing Music"

Songwriters: Whitney Duncan, Hillary Lindsay, and John Shanks Whitney Duncan has all the ingredients to be a star – stellar looks, a good voice, some attitude and overall marketability. Unfortunately, her first single “When I Said I Would” didn’t really play up to her strengths, but rather drowned them in an overly loud production. Luckily, [...]

Continue reading "Whitney Duncan – “The Bed That You Made”"

Carrie Underwood‘s spectacular powerhouse pipes and dazzling stage presence were on full display Friday night in Austin, TX at the Frank Erwin Center. Maybe it had something to do with the few dozen Tony Romos in the Halloween night audience. Saturday night in Houston’s Reliant Stadium was no different, but the Houston Chronicle‘s Joey Guerra [...]

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Catherine Britt – Little Wildflower Catherine Britt released her third album, Little Wildflower, in her native Australia. This album, produced by Brett Beavers, attempts to cover ground in both contemporary and traditional country and while her contemporary contributions are decent, they blend in with current offerings from other artists. However, Britt’s performance and smoky vocals [...]

Continue reading "January ’08 Album Review Wrap-Up"

Joe Samuel Starnes recalls his first Willie Nelson Fourth of July Picnic for The New York Times. His show was transcendent. That’s a highfalutin word that I would almost never use, but I honestly felt as if I were taking a trip back in time to another era, through Willie’s guitar and voice and the [...]

Continue reading "George Strait Tied With Conway Twitty For Most Number 1 Singles"