DISClaimer Single Reviews: Ernest & Lainey Wilson Are ‘Duet Perfection’

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Ernest & Lainey Wilson.

As we ease into the fall season, the country stars have warm sounds to accompany us.

The highlights here are Kelsea Ballerini, Willie Nelson, Brad Paisley and Brian Kelley. The Disc of the Day is unquestionably the dandy duet by Ernest and Lainey Wilson, both of whom sing like hillbilly angels.

Give a DISCovery Award to Georgia-born newcomer Vincent Mason.

DYLAN MARLOWE / “Heaven’s Sake”
Writers: Dylan Marlowe/Joe Fox/Seth Ennis; Producer: Joe Fox; Label: Sony Music Nashville
– Lotsa rock guitar. Lotsa drumming. Lotsa volume. Headache inducing. It’s the lead track of his new album, which drops tomorrow.

SHABOOZEY / “Highway”
Writers: Collins Obinna Chibueze/McKay Stevens/Sean Cook; Producers: McKay Stevens, Sean Cook; Label: American Dogwood/EMPIRE
– Love the strummy acoustic guitar and his plaintive vocal. The aimless heartache “road” song could use a few hooks.

REYNA ROBERTS / “A Hundred”
Writers: Danny Myrick/Reigna Roberts; Producer: Danny Myrick; Label: ReynaRed Records/EMPIRE
– A melody would have been nice.

WILLIE NELSON / “Last Leaf”
Writers: Kathleen Brennan/Tom Waits; Producer: Micah Nelson; Label: Legacy Recordings
– Achingly beautiful. In a tremulous, vibrato-shaken delivery, Willie contemplates mortality as he realizes that he is the last man standing from his generation. This is the title tune of his 153rd (!) album, due Nov. 1.

KELSEA BALLERINI / “Two Things”
Writers: Alysa Vanderheym/Hillary Lindsey/Jessie Jo Dillon/Karen Fairchild/Kelsea Ballerini; Producers: Alysa Vanderheym, Kelsea Ballerini; Label: Black River Entertainment
– Amid a swirling, wooshing sonic landscape, Ballerini muses that conflicting, opposing emotions can both be true at the same time in a complicated relationship. It’s a preview of her Patterns collection, an all-female project due next month.

BRAD PAISLEY / “Truck Still Works”
Writers: Brad Paisley/Chris DuBois/Hunter Phelps/Rodney Clawson/Will Bundy; Producers: Brad Paisley, Luke Wooten; Label: EMI Records Nashville
– Remember “Mud on the Tires?” Paisley suggests that we take that ol’ vehicle out for a spin again to rekindle romance and memories. Warmly nostalgic and rhythm happy. Watch for the star to premiere this merry tune on tonight’s People’s Choice Country Awards telecast.

BRITTNEY SPENCER / “Guitar Lady”
Writers: Brittney Spencer/David Brown/Maurice Wade; Producers: Carrie K, Gabe Simon; Label: Elektra Entertainment
– This languid, laid-back track sings of troubadour gals who make you want to sing along and ease your troubled mind. Mellow and groovy. Imaginatively produced.

VINCENT MASON / “Train Of Thought”
Writers: Chase McDaniel/Jared Keim/Ryan Beaver/Vincent Mason; Producer: Jared Keim; Label: MCA Nashville/Music Soup/Interscope Records
– Mason has amassed considerable online success with his ballads “Hell Is a Dance Floor” and “Heart Like This.” This lovelorn outing demonstrates that the youngster  knows his way around a tempo tune, too. Nicely done.

SAMMY KERSHAW / “Slip Away”
Writers: Marcus Daniel/Wilbur Terrell/William Armstrong; Producers: Billy Lawson, Sammy Kershaw; Label: Goldenlane Records
– Country vet Kershaw took a trip down to Muscle Shoals for his latest album. On it, he revisits soul and rock oldies, such as this 1968 Clarence Carter classic. It’s an enduringly cool cheating song.

BRIAN KELLEY / “Hold On Cowboy”
Writer: Brian Kelley; Producers: Caleb Gilbreath, Katlin Owen; Label: Big Machine Records
– No matter what you are going through emotionally, hold your head up and persevere. He lends a sympathetic ear to your troubles and points the way to a brighter tomorrow. This uplifting tempo tune is tied to this being National Suicide Prevention Month, and it carries that message admirably.

ERNEST & LAINEY WILSON / “Would If I Could”
Writers: Dean Dillon/Skip Ewing; Producer: Joey Moi; Label: Big Loud
– Wow. The song is country eloquent, and their duet performance is perfection. The supremely well crafted ballad closes the book on a relationship that’s better off in the past. The exquisite vocals are beautifully shaded and evocative to convey its emotional complexity. I love this record. A solo version from Ernest impacts radio on Oct. 7.

THE JERRY DOUGLAS BAND / “What Might Have Been”
Writer: Mike Stern; Producer: Jerry Douglas; Label: Nolivian
– Dobro master Jerry Douglas will be inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame this evening in North Carolina. The Set was released last week as his first solo album in seven years, although he continues to record and tour with Alison Krauss. You’ll find this deliciously dreamy, echoey meditation on the The Set. It blends his mournful picking with wordless vocalizing by Aoife O’Donovan and drawn-out fiddle notes by Christian Sedelmyer to cast a midnight spell.

Robert K Oermann
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