Recommendation XXXIX: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Back to the art of music and outta mainsteam-land, to a place where quality is, and what it’s always been essentially about: the alternative country world.  You know, the CMAs, for the most part, left a bitter taste in my mouth (Taylor Swift and Kellie Pickler‘s bubblegum pop didn’t sweeten the night at all.  Just provided some more artificial “sugar” to the mess.)  Like I said in my CMA entry, I did enjoy parts of the show, but it really got me even more upset with how terrible mainstream country music really has become.  I’m not saying it should be 100% traditional country music, because that would be boring (though, there definitely needs more of that represented to remind artists and fans of what the music is).  I just wish it wasn’t all about the money and crossing-over and appealing to teenagers who don’t know what country is.  The format might be a business but quality and diversity of styles should be the #1 things on their mind, and radio stations aren’t innocent either.  They just contribute immensely to the destruction of the music. (Btw, speaking of destruction, I saw the midnight screening of the new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace, and man, I loved it!  Go see while it’s still in theaters! You should see 2006′s Casino Royale first, because both movies go hand-in-hand and Quantum is its sequel. Here’s the trailer.)

My thirty-ninth recommendation is: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss’s “Through the Morning, Through the Night” from their 2007 Raising Sand album.  I have been wanting to highlight this album and this particular song for months and months since I’ve had this album, but I never could find the right time.  I felt that, because I had recommended Alison before, I should wait until much later to use her again, because I’m all obsessed with rules and stuff, but I’m beginning not to care anymore lol.  It was time, and that time was today.  You need to see and hear country music for what it is and can be, and those award shows don’t really appreciate nor represent what the good part of the music is (the CMAs did give the win to Plant/Krauss for “Collaboration”, so I’ll give them that).  The first single, “Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)”, with its Beatles-like sound, I wouldn’t consider to be country, but it’s very good.  It wasn’t until last year, during Christmas-time that I was able to finally purchase and listen to all of Raising Sand, and man I was blown away.  Led Zeppelin rock legend Robert Plant and bluegrass extraordinaire Alison Krauss are the perfect partners for a project like this.  Anybody who has heard all of the material and has trouble categorizing this as a “country album”, while at the same time, labels artists like Rascal Flatts “country”, just because they call themselves that, is seriously crazy (I won’t name names, but I’ve seen it online, and it makes no sense).  The album as a whole may not be particularly country, but its influence and sound is very evident, throughout.

Recommendation XXXVII: Little Big Town

It’s Election Day and I just had to make a new entry. A few hours ago, I turned in my absentee voting ballot and I’m excited (and nervous at the same time) to watch the results on TV tonight. I won’t tell you who I voted for, since this is not a political blog – it’s strictly mostly a music blog – but I will encourage strongly that anyone who can vote, to do so.  This is my first time voting, so this was my first time seeing how confusing the amendments can be (the devil is in the details…. you read the fine print on those closely!), so anyone who votes, don’t go by commercials, read up on both sides and make a well-thought-out decision based on your views.  Visiting California last week, on the trip I mentioned before, I could clearly see how the election has impacted my college and its students. It’s really made them, and I as well, more active and vocal about different issues, the likes of which I’ve never experienced in my life before, so I’m enjoying that.  Voting in most places is done at 7pm, and that’s coming up pretty soon for some areas, so get out there!  Vote!  Anyway, I know it’s been a while since my last recommendation post (over a month!), so here it is…

My thirty-seventh recommendation is: Little Big Town’s “Novocaine” from their 2007 A Place to Land album.  I thought this was a perfect song to choose for today, because it’s positive and uplifting, and a great tie in to this day (I had lots of sad songs on my list that just wouldn’t work out lol).  I’m also very glad to finally get a separate post in on Little Big Town.  I’ve been a fan of their’s since “Boondocks” came out, and like everybody else, I can’t get enough of their beautiful harmonies.  They really cannot make a bad song, or sound bad on anything they sing.  One of things I respect them a lot for is the way they change the lead vocal in their music, and don’t keep it all the same – every group member has their own individual personality and vocal, which separates them from other groups/bands.  I may not own any of their albums yet, but I’ve bought several of their material off of iTunes.  I kinda still wish that LBT was still with independent label, Equity Music Group, because their success with them was a step in the right direction for independent labels, and now they’re with Capitol Nashville (though, the new album cover looks loads better).

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 XXVII: Dan Colehour

Whew, today has been a long day: waking up, working, eating, walking, napping, driving, tennis-playing, eating, music listening, and web surfing. I’ve got a full schedule set for the rest of the whole year: three jobs and I’m already feeling exhausted (I’m currently training for one job, and will start my third job next week).  Right now, it’s a bit late, and while I do have to get to work tomorrow (or, should I say, later this morning since it’s like 1:30am here lol), I felt like writing a new entry right now. Today, I finally received a CD I’ve been wanting for quite a while…

My twenty-seventh recommendation is: Dan Colehour’s “Father’s Son” from his 2007 Straight to the Highway album.  You’re probably like “who’s that?!?“.  He’s probably the only artist I’ve reviewed so far that you haven’t heard of, yet.  Dan is an artist I only know of through one of the album’s special guest vocalists, Ms. Lee Ann Womack (I know, I mention her all the time, get over it.  And I also notice how I call these artists’ by their first names, but whatever lol).   Back when this album was released almost a year ago, I saw that Lee Ann contributed her background vocals to the project but I didn’t know for what songs, so I took a listen to the clips, and liked what I heard.  I could never really find out which song/s she was on, but it didn’t really matter then, because the music was really catchy and worthy of purchasing alone – this Dan Colehour‘s voice was amazingly good.  I figured eventually I’d buy the CD when I had more money, and that time finally came to be this month (though, I don’t really have much money at the moment.  I used a Best Buy gift card my aunt gave me from Christmas that I had forgotten about – it had some credit left on it).  I received the album today and finally got to hear the whole thing.  I’ve been trying to find out more about Dan, and the names, Bruce Springsteen and Chris Knight, kept popping up, when compared to Dan’s style.  I just looked up Chris Knight (I didn’t know who he was, I’m embarrassed to admit) and their voices/styles are similar, and that’s good.  “Father’s Son” is one of the songs on the album that hooked me immediately, as well as the song, “Leaving Meridian” (a heartbreak steel-guitar drenched slow shuffle about leaving a Texan town because of the memories it has).

Recommendation XXV: Josh Turner

Today for 4th of July, I wanted to do a recommendation that was connected to the day in some way, shape, or form. I went through my list of potential recommendations to post about, and then went through my iTunes to see songs and artists I might have missed, and I didn’t have any typical patriotic songs set up, but then I saw it and knew it was about perfect.  I’ll get back to that later in the post, though. What are you up to for today?  Any special festivities you’ve got planned/already celebrated so far?  All I’ve done so far is worked, deposited my paycheck, and am now online reading things lol – no fireworks, no barbecues, or the like for me – definitely not an exciting Independence Day for me, but everything is fine.  I was going to take my mom out to dinner tonight but my plans fell through and it will not work out, but I still plan to celebrate the day as an American and probably watch TV tonight to check out what’s going on in the nation.  Back to the music… last year, my post was “Recommendation #13: Lee Ann Womack” and now here’s my latest…

My twenty-fifth recommendation is: Josh Turner’s “The Longer the Waiting (The Sweeter the Kiss)” from his 2007 Everything Is Fine album.  Back last year in late 2007, I won a free album download from The 9513 in a contest (along with 39 other people) and I chose this album from Josh Turner (there were some other choices but from what I heard of this one, it sounded good and plus, I loved “Firecracker”).  I’ve been a fan of Josh’s since I heard his deep baritone voice gravel through his bluegrass-ish debut single, “Long Black Train”, and I’ve liked all his singles since then – he’s pure country and couldn’t be taken for anything else (I say “pure country”, meaning, despite some of his songs having a pop/ac-sound to them, his heart and soul are dedicated to country, and most of his catalog is traditional stuff anyway).  He, and Brad Paisley, I’d say, are our younger modern-day real country saviors who keep the mainstream format from going to hell, and I’m proud to be a fan of this South Carolina guy.

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 XVI: Porter Wagoner

Right now, I’m sitting in the lounge of my dorm residence hall typing this up late Sunday night/Monday morning because I feel like I need to put up my tribute to the late Porter Wagoner as soon as I could. Once I read the news a few hours ago, I was shocked and very saddened, though I knew it was coming some time. I do have class tomorrow (or I should say, later today), but it’s not until about noon, so I should be fine, and I really want to do this.

My sixteenth recommendation is: Porter Wagoner’s “Committed to Parkview” from his 2007 Wagonmaster album. Right away after reading of his passing, I felt the urge to listen to his music, because I, unfortunately and regrettably, did not own any of his music before this, even while excellent reviews from sites such as The 9513 and Country Universe raved about the album. When I did listen to the clips of Wagonmaster when it came out earlier this year, I liked it a lot and of course, was thrilled by Porter Wagoner‘s devotion to the traditional, classic country sound and I loved that Marty Stuart produced it. For some reason, sometimes with these older country singers/legends, I shy away from their work at times because I feel like my ears only have enough time for my favorite artists and ones I know better. I know that’s a terrible way to be and it’s a plague that hits a lot of the younger generation of mainstream country music listeners and it’s not good. It seems like it’s only until the singer turns for the worst, or dies, that people pay attention to them, and I admit I did that right now. I knew about Porter’s recent health issues but didn’t really think much of it, other than I hope he’ll be fine and make it through. The country music industry and the listeners should learn by now that an artist should be honored for their contributions to the genre before it’s too late, and there’s been so many times when they had their chances to but waited too long until after they were gone to honor them (Johnny Cash, Buck Owens, Waylon Jennings, etc.). There are, of course, exceptions, and I’m glad that the Grand Ole Opry gave Porter a very worthy tribute some months ago for his 50th anniversary with his friends: Dolly Parton, Patty Loveless, Marty Stuart, and on – that was a great show! I always thought that the Porter & Dolly duets I’ve heard before were really cool, and I’m glad I did know a good amount about him before all this. I just didn’t own any of his music, until now.

iCF Single Reviews #1

Hey all, I thought I’d try this out! Following this, here are my short reviews of some singles, all available on iTunes. Click the title of the song to buy it:

“He Hates Me” – Sarah Johns
This is currently iTunes‘ Free Single of the Week, so you gotta check it out and download it while you can! I’m a huge fan of Sarah’s already and I’m so glad that this newcomer has arrived and is making such great, real country music. She hooked me in instantly with her debut single, “The One In the Middle” and after I heard clips of her album, Big Love In a Small Town, I had to buy it the day it came out (Aug 28th, 2007). I’m not sure what her next radio single will be, but I thought I’d comment on this one since it’s on iTunes for FREE and it’s great. 4 stars out of 5.
- Listen (30-sec clip).

“Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)” – Robert Plant w/ Alison Krauss
I heard about their to-be collaboration months ago and was interested. I do admit, though, I didn’t know who Robert Plant was but knew he was from another genre and was famous (I know…I’m bad about that). Anyway, once I heard this song, I was just amazed at how well it works so well. It is not a country song: it’s very much in the style of the Beatles, which is not surprising since it’s a remake of an Everly Bros. tune. It just rocks and I just love their vocals together with that classic rock sound. This is definitely an album to llok forward to. Their CD, Raising Sand comes out October 23rd, 2007. 5 stars out of 5.
- Listen (30-sec clip).

“Rollin’ with the Flow” – Mark Chesnutt
I just had to give a shout-out to Mark with this one. When I first he was going to release another country remake, I wasn’t entirely thrilled since I wanted new material, but this one was quite a surprise. Charlie Rich originally sang this and had a hit with it, and you can tell from the Nashville instrumentation of strings and steel guitar working together. When I saw him at the Grizzly Rose about a month and a half ago, he sang this one with a lot of heart. I know country radio didn’t touch it, but no surprise: they suck (for the most part). 3.5 stars out of 5.
- Listen (30-sec clip).

“Joy Ride” – Jennifer Hanson
Jennifer is one of my favorites from the newer generation of country artists. She’s really versatile in the styles she sings and she’s an excellent songwriter. Her latest single is very pop/rock-oriented with not much of a country sound in it, except for her somewhat-twangy voice and the banjo, but it’s really catchy and had me singing along in no time: “na, na, na…”. I really like the video with her and her friend taking their joyride through the desert (looks like Utah or Arizona to me?). 4 stars out of 5. - Listen (30-sec clip).

“Heaven, Heartache, and the Power of Love” – Trisha Yearwood
Oh man…what a song to come back with! Ah, I love uptempo Trisha! This one really showcases her bluesy vocals and proves that she can jam and rock like the best of them. It’s absolutely catchy and one of the BEST singles of 2007! It really reminds me of her older work, for some reason. If they had just added a steel guitar and fiddle, and ditched the organ and had less electric guitar, it could easily be a rockin’ honky-tonker, IMO. Can’t wait for her upcoming album of the same name, out Nov 13th! I gotta add too: she looks smokin’ hot on the video! 5 stars out of 5.
- Listen (30-sec clip).

Recommendation XI: Jack Ingram

Right now, I’m writing this from home because my college semester ended about a week ago, and I’ve been feeling really weird since being back. I definitely am happy to not have to do any more school work until about three months, but when I left my dorm, I was sad to leave my friends behind (well, actually, they left before me, and I left later so I was alone for quite a while, waiting to check out of my room lol). My buddies and I had done a lot within the time we had and had a lot of fun, and I’m not afraid to admit it here, but I do miss them because they live in other states and I can’t spend time with them and next year may be different. This leads me to my next song selection…

My eleventh recommendation is: Jack Ingram’s “Maybe She’ll Get Lonely” from his 2007 This Is It album. When I first got this album (it had all this bonus stuff that came with it because I got it from his site), I had high expectations because the clips I heard from the album were excellent and I do love his remake of “Lips of an Angel” (any nay-sayers, don’t hold that against me lol), but after I listened to the full album originally, I felt a little disappointed. As time went by and I kept listening to the CD day-by-day, I became to love it. Jack Ingram has become one of my newer favorites and I enjoy hearing his music, old and new. It was his Electric album that got me to be interested in him initially and my interest has grown from there with his recent radio singles. I could go on and on about him and the album, but I really want to get to the story with the song.

Recommendation X: Pam Tillis & John Anderson

O.K. I’m back (well, I never really left, but I had to take a two-week hiatus – I myself can’t believe it’s been that long since my last blog entry – because I’ve been super-busy with school work, social life, and anything else left over. I’ve also been somewhat lazy and spending a good amount of time playing video games on N64 with friends lol, but don’t let that throw you off the blog – I know my music and I’m pretty smart!) I did, however, know all this time what album I was going to choose a song from to highlight for this entry. My only problem was choosing which song to do for this one, since it’s such a great album.

My tenth recommendation is: Pam Tillis & John Anderson’s duet, “Life Sure Has Changed Us Around” from Pam’s 2007 Rhinestoned album. This is a special selection because of different reasons: 1. it’s a first here because I have not showcased a duet here before, 2. this album is highly-acclaimed by many people – everywhere I look, everybody loves it, so choosing one song was difficult, and 3. Kevin from Country Universe has been waiting for me to pick a song from Rhinestoned for quite some time lol.