Wynonna Involved In Collision; Dierks Bentley Expecting; Best Live Albums; Jimmy Webb Out In Front
- Wynonna Judd, her daughter, and tour manager were involved in a “major head-on collision” on Wednesday. Fortunately, everyone turned out to be okay.
- On Aug. 20, the Country Music Hall of Fame will debut the new exhibit Tammy Wynette: First Lady Of Country Music, Presented By Great American Country Television Network.
- Country California’s C.M. Wilcox kicked off part one of a new list: The 20 Best Country Live Albums of All Time.
- Chris Neal’s affective description of Hank Cochran‘s songs:
His songs in those early days had in common a dreamy melancholy, a piercing sadness enveloped in such loveliness and grace that it seemed an enviable state of mind. Cochran constructed two-minute universes of hurt, built from floating melodies and effortlessly economical turns of phrase. These were songs made to be sung; they gave vocalists room to move, to slide in or out of a syllable with ease.
- The New York Times‘ Stephen Holden published an excellent profile on Jimmy Webb, who just released Just Across The River, an album that finds him collaborating with Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Jerry Douglas, and more on some of his famous, and not so famous, songs.
- Austin band Mike and the Moonpies released it’s first full-length album yesterday titled The Real Country. (Preview: Amazon | MySpace)
- Dierks Bentley and his wife Cassidy are expecting their second child in December.
- Earl Scruggs‘ performance at the Ryman last night commemorated Dec. 8, 1945 — the 65th anniversary of his first performance with Bill Monroe at the Ryman Auditorium, and the evening some say bluegrass was born.
- Watch Jesse Dayton‘s video for “I’m Comin’ Home,” a song about the troops and their families.
- For his previous album, titled To Willie, Matthew Houck, working under the name Phosphorescent, recorded a collection of Willie Nelson cover songs that was inspired by Nelson’s own tribute album to Lefty Frizzell, To Lefty From Willie. For his new album, Houck was influenced enough from his previous record to cut a midtempo country number “Heaven, Sittin’ Down,” which Austin Music Source’s Peter Mongillo calls a direct homage to Nelson’s music. (Preview: Amazon | MySpace)
- The 9513 reader Rick reported on a recent Sunny Sweeney show at Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace.
- Toby Keith‘s new album, Bullets in the Gun, is scheduled for an Oct. 5 release.
- I’ve mentioned Charlie Hopper here before. He’s an advertising guy and an aspiring songwriter trying to sell a song in Nashville. His dispatches about his adventures make for an entertaining read.
“This line here, with the ‘ten thousand crickets,’” said the very powerful publisher, the well-regarded son of a man who managed one of Nashville’s most successful artists ever. “It… It’s… It’s, um…”
He spoke softly. A little too softly for such a big room.
I leaned way forward.
I tried to cup my ear in a casual way that didn’t look like someone imitating an old, old man.
“It’s…” he said, in no rush to continue.
This powerful person is sort of famous for his quirky mannerisms. Other writers had mentioned his quirks to me before I signed up to take his classes.
- Listen to the Asleep at the Wheel & Leon Rausch song “It’s A Good Day” on Texas Music Matters.
- Carolyn Dixon’s review of the Michael & Becca album Lovesick (released earlier this month) serves as an apt introduction to the Nashville-based duo.
Undeniably country, yet not quite fitting squarely in any one subgenre, Michael and Becca shun trends, relying on solid songcraft and a great supporting cast of musicians to deliver an examination of the consuming quality of love.
- NPR has a couple of articles on the Titan of the Telecaster, Bill Kirchen, who recently release a new album titled Word to the Wise with several featured guests. The first is Kirchen’s performance on Mountain Stage, and the second is a piece on All Things Considered that includes audio to five of his songs, including the title track.
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Asleep at the Wheel // Bill Kirchen // Bill Monroe // Buck Owens // Country Music Hall of Fame // Dierks Bentley // Earl Scruggs // Hank Cochran // Jerry Douglas // Jesse Dayton // Jimmy Webb // Lefty Frizzell // Matthew Houck // Mike and the Moonpies // Phosphorescent // Sunny Sweeney // Tammy Wynette // Toby Keith // Vince Gill // Willie Nelson // Wynonna // Wynonna Judd
Current Discussion
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- joe morris: how come nobody mentions his fan club which started 1950 and was called the " the penny pushers " which ...
- jane: I'm reading this article in 2013 and I've yet to hear anything from the album played on the radio.....
- Catwandy: I guess Matt C. is eating his well-deserved crow 'bout now. Critics....gotta love 'em , bless their little hearts.
- Ed McClendon: Saw the brothers in Greeley CO on the occasion of Tompall's 50th birthday. The show wasn't well promoted and there ...
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July 23, 2010 at 12:55 pm
Nice to see Sunny cranking up her touring schedule.
July 23, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Earl’n'em sounded pretty good last night, and so did Sarah Jarosz, who opened solo and brought out a couple of new songs.
July 23, 2010 at 2:32 pm
Many thanks for the mention. Something that may be of interest to Canadian readers: Carolyn Dawn Johnson announced that her new album Love Rules will be released on August 10. Details and tracklisting are available on her official website.
July 23, 2010 at 4:45 pm
Wynonna seems to be following in the footsteps–or tire tracks–of one of the Mandrell Sisters.
July 23, 2010 at 5:05 pm
There will be a review for Michelle Branch’s EP?
July 23, 2010 at 6:50 pm
An Austin band named “Mike and the Moonpies” huh? I feel “Cousin Mike and the Cowpies” would be far more appropriate!
I forgot to mention I asked Sunny Sweeney to autograph my advance copy of her new album with: “Rick, you can kiss my ass!”, and she graciously accommodated my request! (lol) It fit right in with a song she sang about working men and women titled “Everyone Else Can Kiss My Ass!” Go Sunny!
Gosh, Carolyn Dixon’s description of Michael & Becca’s new album could be applied directly to the 2007 release “Radio Country” by the Canadian husband and wife team “The Rizdales”. Hmm…
Bill Kirchen’s best recording has to be the song “Semi-Truck” on the “Rig Rock Deluxe” trucking song extravaganza album. The chorus goes something like: “Here I sit, all alone with a broken heart, I took three bennies, and my semi-truck won’t start!” (lol)
Bill’s live version of “Hot Rod Lincoln” is also a guitar spectacle to behold as he covers a wide variety of styles. Now about that voice though…
July 23, 2010 at 8:17 pm
Thanks!
July 23, 2010 at 8:43 pm
Today CMT.com posted a nice interview with Dierks Bentley about his latest bluegrass-country album “Up On The Ridge”.
I’ve taken a couple of Dierks’ comments and have added my “what he was really thinking” takes in parentheses! Here we go:
“You can define it however you want to define it – bluegrass, country (a bastard hybrid of the two, or just plain sh*tty music). I don’t care (what you call it as long as you buy it and request it at country radio),” Dierks Bentley says about his acoustic album, Up on the Ridge.
“For me personally, it’s something I needed to do for myself (in order to regain a semblance of personal integrity and self respect) and for my hardcore fans that have been asking me to do this for a while,” he said during an interview at CMT’s offices in Nashville. (“And I really hope my long term fans that have heard my indie debut “Don’t Leave Me In Love”, and know what I’m really capable of, won’t be sorely disappointed”).
“Am I going to be able to live with the possibility of not having my songs of the radio for over a year (although Brad Paisley proved that was unlikely with his “Play” album)? That’s the hardest question I asked myself because I live and die by country radio (airplay and chart position). In my soul, I just love hearing my songs on country radio (because that’s the only way I’m going to continue making big bucks to support my wife’s extravagant whims). That’s why I moved to Nashville (because you can’t become a big earning country music super star in Arizona. I wanted to be the next Garth Brooks, not the next Chris Gaines!).”
Full Interview: http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1644331/dierks-bentley-takes-bold-step-with-acoustic-up-on-the-ridge.jhtml
July 23, 2010 at 10:50 pm
You are a disturbed man, Rick…
July 23, 2010 at 10:59 pm
See what happens when you put a link to one of Rick’s comments in the news posts? Now he thinks some of us actually pay attention to what he writes and take him seriously.
July 24, 2010 at 9:19 am
Here’s an interesting piece with some country music content:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/willie-nelson/shirley-sherrod-a-family_b_654824.html
July 24, 2010 at 2:11 pm
Could it be that Alabama is reuniting for a live gig or two? http://www.reunionconcertevent.com/default.html
July 24, 2010 at 8:07 pm
I just listened to the Leon Rausch’s (with AATW) version of “Its A Good Day” and I have to say The Belleville Outfit’s version kicks its ass. The Outfit’s Phoebe Hunt puts a lot more vocal pizzazz into the song than old Leon. I don’t mind honoring a lot of country music “legends” for their contributions, but I sure don’t have to listen to them when they are way past their prime (and this includes a good portion of each Grand Ole Opry show).
July 24, 2010 at 10:25 pm
Here’s a wacky deal! I just found out that Buxton-Hughes (ie Sarah Buxton & Jedd Hughes) opened a show tonight in Paso Robles, California for Sammy Hagar! Boy was that a perfect match or what?!!! (lol) And to add insult to injury they list the band as Baxton-Hughes! I sear this is not from the Twilight Zone! See for yourself:
http://www.midstatefair.com/entertainment_details.php?id=143