Recommendation XXXXIV: Wynonna Judd (double-shot)

Awesome awesome.  Life’s not too shabby for me.  My work hours have increased (much to one of ex-co-worker’s dismay – stealing is bad – remember that, but I do still feel sorry for him) and I am also planning my trip to California, which I will embark on in less than half a week, and in addition, I receive my tax refund in a few days.  With regards to my possible soon return to college life, for anybody who cares, I just need to find a co-signer to help me with a student loan from the bank to pay off my balance, and then I am set to go back in the fall (I, of course, will have to deal with paying off the loan and interest after graduation, so I am not excited about that).  Tonight, I’m supposed to clean up my messy room and organize my papers and letters to look decent and civilized (so I won’t have to jump obstacles and get through the mazes any longer).  Sad to admit some old habits don’t die hard.

My forty-fourth recommendation is/are: Wynonna Judd’s “I Can Only Imagine” from her 2005 Her Story: Scenes from a Lifetime album AND “Are the Good Times Really Over?” from her 2009 Sing: Chapter 1 album.  Yes, TWO covers/remakes from the powerful and feisty red-head Wynonna Judd.  How exciting.  My love for Wynonna began, I think, with one of her first solo singles, “No One Else On Earth”.  I think I grew up more with solo Wynonna more than with The Judds… though I do know, bluegrass-tinged, “Why Not Me?”, is my favorite Judds song, and “No One…” is my favorite Wy song.  Over the years, it’s been cool to see Wynonna as a genre-chameleon who can sing just about anything, and these two songs I’m going to highlight show that.  It wasn’t that hard for me to choose which ones, because these, in my mind, were instant classics to me once I heard them. Wy made them her own.  (Btw, anybody see her on NBC’s Kath & Kim earlier this month?  That was funny how they basically made the episode about her, and how the mother and daughter were crazy fans of her’s. Molly Shannon is hilarious.)

Recommendation XXXX: Alan Jackson (triple-track)

Oh yes, we’ve gone and done it – we’ve made it to number forty.  I had no idea how long it would take us to reach here, but it’s been quite a journey of good music.  I’ve certainly got some worthy ideas for my upcoming recommendations/blog entries, but I like to wait and leave some space in between each one, because I feel that if a post gets buried under others, people are less likely to read it, it seems.  This one is extra special because of the artist and the big number.  Words really cannot express either one.  So, without, further ado…

My fortieth recommendation is/are: Alan Jackson’s “A Little Bluer Than That” from his 2002 Drive album, “Leave a Light On” from The Wrights’s 2005 Down This Road album, AND “Good Imitation of the Blues” from his 2006 Like Red On a Rose album.  I did tell you, or hint, that Mr. Alan Jackson would be next in the CMT Giants entry, and that time has finally arrived.  Yeah, seeing that it is forty, seems like four songs would be a better choice, but I didn’t want to overextend myself in writing lol – three is a good enough amount for me!  I also thought about choosing a Christmas song from Alan, since it is the season, but I passed (bah humbug).  Alan is my second all-time favorite artist, behind George Strait, and just before Brooks & Dunn.  His hard-core neo-traditionalism has always been one of the main reasons I’ve been drawn to him, and his music is a huge part of my upbringing in the late 80′s, ’90s, and til today.  Alan’s songs have always had that signature sound to it: traditionalism with touches of modern production added to it, that’s been a big part of his appeal and that simplicity to the music he writes and records.  He’s one of Georgia’s best exports, and we sure are glad to have him.  I won’t go through all the tunes that go along with my different (precious) memories, because that would take forever, and I did talk about him in good length on the Giants entry, so here’s what you’ll get.  From the man who brought us the pure dark-honesty of “Here In the Real World” to today’s silly, innuendo-laced “Country Boy”, let’s talk more about the A-Jax.

Recommendation XXX: Tracy Lawrence (threesome)

Alright, alright.  So the “threesome” title for three songs may not be the best name (or even sound appropriate, which it’s not supposed to) for the feature, and we may have worried parents call in with protests, but whatever, here goes.  Since this was #30, I wanted to do something special and since I mentioned it in one of my older posts, I figured recommending three songs at one time would be a cool idea, and a great time to debut it.  I struggled on who I’d choose for numéro trente, and this Texan guy —> just seemed like a good idea, since I’ve wanted to feature him for quite some time.  This will probably be a long post, so hopefully I finish this on time.  Get ready…

My thirtieth recommendation is (are): Tracy Lawrence’s “For the Love” (duet with Brad Arnold) from his 2007 For the Love album, “Strong” from his 2004 Strong album, AND “If I Don’t Make It Back” from his 2005 Then & Now: The Hits Collection album.  It was way too hard to pick just one from him, so I had to do this way.  It was just a coincidence that the two listed above (“For the Love” and “Strong”) happened to be the title tracks, so I was not being lazy.  I love a lot of Tracy Lawrence‘s music, especially his more traditional stuff from the ’90s like “Time Marches On”, and I’ve always been a fan of his’.  This is a man, who even when he sometimes records poppish-country material, cannot not sound country. His nasal Texan drawl is so distinct, he can’t be confused with anybody else really.  I really think he’s one of the best. He’s also really exciting to see in concert.  I happened to catch him with Mark Chesnutt and Joe Diffie on tour in Greeley, Colorado, and it was a very good time (and I just found out here’s coming back here in late November!).  Now, on with the selected songs…

Recommendation XXIV: Trisha Yearwood (double-shot)

I know what you’re thinking (“oh, I’ve been thinking about you ;) “) since you saw the pictures of Trisha right here: “Wtf took him so long?” lol (well, that might not be the direct quote you were thinking but it’s probably close)… anyway, I understand, and as you can see, I finally decided to post about Mrs. Garth Brooks.  I’ve been wanting to do it for a long time but I had such a tough time choosing one particular song to recommend, so over my vacation break (I’ve been gone for the last few days, if you hadn’t noticed), I decided that since this is my site and I’m able to break any “rules” I’ve set up, I’m going to do it my way, and just set up a double-shot series for my recommendations for whoever I wanted to (that name didn’t take long to come up with ha).  I was all caught up in keeping to my own restrictions with the posts, but now I know it doesn’t matter lol.

So here is a new series of recommendations in which I’ll cover two (“double-shots”) or maybe three (“threesomes”) or possibly even more, if I feel like it.  I want to go back and do it for some artists I’ve already used, so watch for that.  I’m glad my first will be with Ms. Yearwood.

My twenty-fourth recommendation is: Trisha Yearwood’s “River of You” from her 2005 Jasper County album AND “Drown Me” from her 2007 Heaven, Heartache, and the Power of Love album.  Both of the albums listed are Trisha’s most recent album releases and offer a lot of great material.  Most of her fans prefer her ballad/slow-tempo stuff because vocal-wise, she hits them all outta the park every time and doesn’t overdo and over-sing them like some of her contemporaries, but for me, I prefer her more uptempo/mid-tempo tunes like “XXX’s and OOO’s (An American Girl)”, “Believe Me Baby (I Lied)”, and “Perfect Love”.  That’s why I have a strong attraction towards these two songs (they also happen to be about heartache lol).  Trisha Yearwood is definitely one of favorite singers of all time and consistently releases amazing work and has a voice like no other.  It will be tough to keep my entry short and concise because I’ll be tempted to write more and ramble on, so here it goes.

Recommendation XIX: Amber Dotson

Hi (I say, yet another month later lol)…I got to explain something. Sometimes I do have some time to write a new recommendation but I don’t because if I did, if it’s too close to the date of my last entry, it seems like it takes away the significance of the former and I just don’t want to do that. I’m thinking I really need to expand on my blog and not limit myself just to the recommendations (for some reason, that sentence made me – randomly – think of the episode of “Seinfeld” when George and Elaine are coming up with the exporting/importing “cover-up” for Susan…haha). Anyway, my class for this evening was put off until tomorrow night, so I’ve got some time and then back to work. Lately, I’ve been reading a lot from The 9513 and Country Universe and they inspired me to write another entry today…there’s always fun and thought-provoking conversations going on over at both sites.

My nineteenth recommendation is: Amber Dotson’s “I Ain’t Your Mama” from her 2005 I Ain’t Your Mama – Single album on iTunes. I don’t recall the first time I’ve heard this bluesy-n-gritty voice from Ms. Dotson. I think I slightly was familiar with her debut single (called “I’ll Try Anything” – a more contemporary traditional country tune) and I liked her. I remember that she opened for George Strait and I thought she’d make it big, but she never really went further (and I really can’t believe that was just ’05 I’m talking about…feels like long ago). I don’t think it was until I heard “I Ain’t Your Mama” that I really got more interested in Amber Dotson. Click here to read her bio and some interesting facts and answers.

Recommendation XVII: Rebecca Lynn Howard

Hello all, I am back with a new recommendation! I’ve been thinking about this one for a while since my last entry and I’ve always had this next song on my list: there was never any doubt that I would use it. But, before that, I’ve got to give out another shout-out to The 9513 (which has recently been redesigned) for their very fine gift to me: a digital copy of Josh Turner‘s latest album, Everything Is Fine. They gave it to me for free, because I simply made a post at their site for their one-year anniversary and I won randomly, along with thirty-nine other people! I had thought about giving away select free iTunes music before, but I never knew how to do it, so that gave me some ideas for later, so check back for that ;-). With Thanksgiving coming around so soon, this next recommendation is somewhat related because it deals with a very special member of the family who one cannot thank enough: Mom.

My seventeenth recommendation is: Rebecca Lynn Howard’s “No One’ll Ever Love Me” from her 2005 No One’ll Ever Love Me – Single album on iTunes. This is the first song that I’ve ever reviewed that is just a single and not part of any released album, and it’s available right through iTunes, so you better get it fast, in case iTunes ever takes it off. I was first introduced to Rebecca Lynn Howard‘s music through her (only) hit radio single, “Forgive” years ago. Even though, I don’t really consider that song that country, it was a superb way to highlight her fascinating power country vocals to the audience, and I really liked the video that came with it. After hearing the song a considerable amount on the radio, I already liked her, and eventually, I heard her duet with Ronnie Dunn on “If I Could Only Win Your Love” and WOW…such a traditional country song and so catchy with their vocals and the honky-tonk feel (the duet is from the immensely awesomeness of the Livin’, Lovin’, Losin’: Songs of the Louvin Brothers tribute album, which I’ll choose a song from later on in a future entry). Anyway, Rebecca is severely underrated and you can hear more of her vocal work on her debut self-titled album and Forgive, and other projects, like background harmonies in Patty Loveless‘s Mountain Soul and Vince Gill‘s These Days.

Recommendation XIV: Marty Stuart

Greetings to all, once again. As always, I gotta apologize for my absence – I cannot believe I have not posted anything since July 4th, so almost three months! It’s been way too long and working all the time doesn’t help. I will try a new thing in which that I will post entries regularly but it does not have to be a recommendation. I kind of felt like every entry had to be a recommendation, but it doesn’t have to be. I don’t want to drift too far away from the main theme of this blog, but I’ll start a new thing where I’ll make my comments on current radio singles (because I usually review non-singles), and I’ll try to keep them short. Anyway, here goes with my new recommendation – I’ve had this one in mind for a long time now!

My fourteenth recommendation is: Marty Stuart’s “Casino” from his 2005 Badlands album. I was first introduced to this album when CMT aired a special about Marty’s journey to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. I knew of him before that and liked his music but I was not really into him, for some reason. The special was really captivating because I could relate with some of what was going on. I myself am Native American and I knew a little about the Lakota tribe and the Badlands area, so seeing how passionate Marty Stuart was about helping out this tribe, who live simple lives on the rural, significantly-impoverished reservation land, was amazing. His goal was to bring awareness to their situation by using his talents in music, like Johnny Cash‘s Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian concept album, to get the message across. I have plenty more to say about the topic, but not enough space lol, so you can read this to find out more.

Recommendation IV: Kathleen Edwards

Hello once again: I’m actually writing this right now from LAX waiting for my flight to arrive so I can go back home for spring break. I’ve had such stressful and long weeks of school work, so I’m so happy and relieved to get some kind of break now, and relax and finally make a new entry for you all and myself. By the time I post what I’m writing now though, it will probably be quite a few hours after that lol (update: right I kinda was: it’s now a day and half later and I’m barely posting it). So here it is! :

My fourth recommendation is: Kathleen Edward’s “In State” from her 2005 Back to Me album. This is the first recommendation which I do not currently own the full album of, but from what I’ve heard of it online and on an Austin City Limits television performance I’ve seen of Kathleen Edwards‘s, the whole album sounds really good. Her style is definitely not traditional country unlike two former songs I have recommended: she’s more Americana/alternative country and rock-sounding IMO, so somewhat like Lucinda Williams. It’s a fine genre to be in because more and more over the past years, I’ve been digging into some independent label or not-very-commercial artists, and I find it’s really a great mix of styles and a very nice break from some of the popular “country” radio type of stuff.

Recommendation II: Patty Loveless

O.K…here is the second blog entry: I typed this one up all of yesterday (Friday) and then I came back on this morning and saw that it had disappeared, so here I am writing it all over again. Anyway, thanks to all those who gave their feedback in the comments section and at other places! I really appreciate it!

My second recommendation is: Patty Loveless’s “Same Kind of Crazy” from her 2005 Dreamin’ My Dreams album. Patty is my #1 favorite female artist of all time: she’s just so awesome. She can sing a straight-up country song, a contemporary pop-country ballad, a southern rocker, or a down home mountain-soul bluegrass song, or whatever and her talent is just so good on different styles and she’s so versatile. And man…her voice! Just amazing and it has so much emotion! Ask any sophisticated country fan and they’ll tell you that Patty Loveless is one of the best. I had a hard time choosing a song for this second entry and had so many choices, but I went with a female (the best!) and a rockin’ country uptempo about the mutual insanity this couple in the song shares for one another. Also, it was really tough only selecting one song from this album because I try to review only one song and not the whole album, but really, the whole album is just incredible, and you’d love it, if you like traditional country, contemporary country, or bluegrass!

Recommendation I: Clint Black

Welcome to the new blog for iCF Music!!! I created this blog just so I can write down my thoughts and opinions on different songs (mostly country music stuff) and share it with anyone who will read them. I was inspired by Kevin @ his Country Universe blog, and I was inspired by other blogs as well. I’m not new to making websites or anything (I’ll list them later), but I’m kinda new to blogging (I do have some experience with it, though) and wanted to get more into it, since it’s such a cool way to connect to other people across the world and I love talking about music and recommending anything good that I hear. I’m a male college student and I really love traditional country music, so there’ll be a good amount of that represented, along with some other types/styles of music. I’ll try to do reviews/recommendations as often as I can. So I hope this turns out to be an active blog that people read!

My first recommendation is: Clint Black’s “Go It Alone” from his 2005 Drinkin’ Songs & Other Logic album. Clint is one of my top 10 most favorite artists of all time, and I just love his music and the songs he writes, though I was not able to get this album until about two weeks ago through a birthday present. Anyway, I’ll get to the review of the song: it is one of the best songs on the album!

When I heard the steel guitar and fiddle intro with the harmonica and steady acoustic guitar strum in the beginning, I knew I’d love it, because I love traditional stuff and this slow-tempo one just does it for me. It reminds me of something he might have released in the ’90s or late ’80s when country was more country and he could get recognized for his talent and I think he could have had a big hit with this one (almost sounds like “Walkin’ Away”, which I love too!). The chorus makes me sad and is the best part of the song: it’s the part that holds you in even more: ” you go it alone my old friend, we could never know how just how it would end… “. It reminds me of my 17-year-old dog that I recently lost in February, because we went on so many adventures in life, out there in the Arizona desert and the song has a very cowboy-feel to the sound and the lyrics, so it goes with that too. And I believe, from my own interpretation, that the song’s gotta be about the death of a friend, so that’s how I connected to it.