DISClaimer: Don't Complain That Authentic Country Singers Can't Be Found

The music on the TV soap Nashville is consistently better than most of what the “real” country-music industry produces in its namesake town. For one thing, the show spotlights the songwriting of the likes of David Olney, Lucinda Williams, Patty Griffin, Sarah Buxton, John Paul White, Kacey Musgraves and Georgia Middleman, rather than the parade of hacks who provide the bulk of the material you hear on country radio. For another thing, most of the tracks are produced by T Bone Burnett, who knows more about roots music than most Music Row producers even suspect.
That said, it gives me great pleasure to present a DISCovery Award to Lennon Stella & Maisy Stella for their delightful performance of The Lumineers’ “Ho Hey” from the show’s second soundtrack CD.
For those of you who complain that authentic country singers can no longer be found, I direct your attention to Chris Young. He is country, and he is great. He is also this week’s winner of the Disc of the Day prize.

CHRIS YOUNG/Aw Naw
Writer: Chris Young/Chris DeStefano/Ashley Gorley; Producer: James Stroud; Publisher: EMI Blackwood/Maple Kind/EMI April/Sugar Glider/External Combustion/Out of the Taperoom/Songs of Southside Independent, BMI/ASCAP; RCA
—This man is one helluva hoss of a country singer. In this righteous stomper, he’s a barroom boy trying to do the right thing and go home. But while electric guitars twang and percussion thumps, he gives in to temptation.
MORGAN FRAZIER/Yellow Brick Road
Writer: Morgan Frazier/Jim Brown/Steve Clark; Producer: Buddy Cannon; Publisher: Curb/Sweet Manic/House of Sea Gayle/Antlered One/Mom’s Place, ASCAP; Sidewalk
—Frazier, who records for the Curb imprint Sidewalk Records, has just been announced as the Grand Prize Winner of this year’s John Lennon Songwriter’s Competition. Her co-written single for Sidewalk is a cleverly penned bopper wherein she feels lost in a romance Land of Oz “where nothin’s real.” The icing on the cake is that she sings with fiery zeal.
LENNON STELLA & MAISEY STELLA/Ho Hey
Writer: Jeremy Fraites/Wesley Schultz; Producer: T Bone Burnett & Gabriel Wichter; Publisher: The Lumineers/Songs of Kobalt, BMI; Big Machine (track)
—These sisters play the daughters of “Rayna Jaymes” on the TV soap Nashville. On it, they introduced their charming take on The Lumineers’ breakthrough song a couple of weeks ago. Now it’s a single, and it sounds as lilting and lovely as it did on the small screen. Their harmonies are heavenly, and the crunchy backing track strums along splendidly.
CHANTAL KUEGLE/Now That I Get to Drive
Writer: Chantal Kuegle/Tami Hinesh; Producer: Kent Wells; Publisher: none listed, SOCAN/BMI; Go Time (track)
—She has a solid alto delivery that completely takes charge of the song. The track rocks, but is tastefully mixed so that it never overwhelms her.
JANA KRAMER/I Hope it Rains
Writer: Rachel Proctor/Kelley Lovelace/Jerry Flowers; Producer: Scott Hendricks; Publisher: EMI Apirl/Shadowcash/Didn’t Have to Be/EMI Blackwood/JFLO, ASCAP/BMI; Elektra
—I like this artist, but I’m still waiting for her to perform an undeniable song. In this case, the poppy, harmony-soaked choruses are ultra catchy, but the verses kinda just lay there.
BOBBY ARMSTRONG/Rodeo
Writer: Bobby Armstrong/Darrell Brown; Producer: Darrell Brown; Publisher: Bobby Armstrong/Grey Ink/Kobalt, ASCAP; BA
—The speedy, neo-rockabilly track cooks with gas. The song is loaded with hooks. There’s nothing particularly “country” about his vocal style. The single comes packaged with a dance-mix version.
SCOTTY McCREERY/See You Tonight
Writer: Scotty McCreery/Ashley Gorley/Zach Crowell; Producer: Frank Rogers; Publisher: Scotty McCreery/External Combustion/Out of the Taperoom/Songs of Southside Independent/Who Wants to Buy My Pub, BMI/ASCAP; Mercury/19 (CDX)
—Breezy and easy-going, this wafts along carried by its innocence, charm and earnestness. For the romantic young and the romantic young at heart.
CHRIS CAGLE/Dance Baby Dance
Writer: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Bigger Picture (ERG)
—Daddy watches his little girl grow up. Complete mush, but impossible to resist and beautifully melodic.
RANDY HOUSER/Runnin’ Outta Moonlight
Writer: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Stony Creek (ERG)
—Houser’s comeback does my heart good. He was born to sing, and this bouncy song is perfectly concocted for summertime listening. Eminently playable.
THE WESTERN SWING AUTHORITY/I’ve Got a Feeling
Writer: Shane Guse/Larry Wayne Clark; Producer: Jason Berry & The Western Swing Authority; Publisher: Brainchild, SOCAN; WSA (track)
—These folks are sort of the Canadian version of The Time Jumpers. Their new single is a bluesy, hold-her-tight, slow dance, buoyed by swaying fiddles, dreamy steel notes and deftly plucked guitar licks. Lead singer Stacey Lee Guse sounds like she just stepped out of a 1940s cabaret. Lush and fabulous. The album is called All Dolled Up. Seek it out.