DISClaimer Single Reviews: Lonestar ‘Try’ & Succeed On P!nk Cover

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Lonestar. Photo: Michael Gomez

The country artists are rocking out in this edition of DISClaimer.

Offering uptempo fare are Luke Grimes, Mike Parker, The Oak Ridge Boys, Jenna Paulette and Neon Union. Even so, the most affecting performances are on the ballads by Carter Faith and Jamey Johnson.

And the best produced tunes are the midtempo outings by Disc of the Day winners Lonestar and DISCovery Award winner Grace Bowers.

THE OAK RIDGE BOYS / “That’s The Way Mama Made It”
Writers: Aaron Raitiere/David Lee Murphy; Producer: Dave Cobb; Label: Lightning Rod Records
– Set to a Bo Diddley beat, this lively bopper features the group’s new member Ben James on lead vocal. Crisply produced and delivered with panache.

MIKE PARKER / “Doesn’t Kill Ya”
Writers: Jimmy Robbins/Michael Parker; Producer: Jimmy Robbins; Label: Mailbox Money Records
– He’s drowning his heartbreak in whiskey while a sprightly dance rhythm keeps the mood rollicking and upbeat. Parker is joined by a pair of comely dancers in the video. The Black country stylist competed on American Idol in 2022.

LUKE GRIMES / “Black Powder”
Writers: Brian Allen/Chris Powell/Dave Cobb/Luke Grimes; Producer: Dave Cobb; Label: UMG Nashville
– The reboot of TV’s Yellowstone launched this week and Grimes continues to be a key character. Meanwhile, he continues his quest for country stardom. He performed this on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday (Nov. 12), the day after kicking off his new tour. It’s a sexy country rocker that he gives plenty of vocal punch. Grimes is booked to play the Ryman tonight and will debut on the Grand Ole Opry tomorrow evening (Nov. 15).

JENNA PAULETTE / “Run The Damn Ball”
Writers: Casey Beathard/Hunter Phelps/Rodney Clawson; Producer: Will Bundy; Label: Leo33
– Paulette continues her winning ways with this feisty romp using football lingo as a metaphor for down-to-earth living. This lady is a solid country singer with personality and twang to spare. In my book, that makes her worthy of stardom.

GRACE BOWERS / “Going To California”
Writers: Jimmy Page/Robert Plant; Producer: John Osborne; Label: GB
– Bowers is an 18-year-old guitar wunderkind who is produced by Brothers Osborne’s equally gifted guitar slinger John Osborne. The song is her reworking of a Led Zeppelin number from 1971 that appeared on the group’s fourth album. A twinkling, celestial shower of stringed instruments swirl around her folkie soprano vocal in this magical soundscape. Do you ears a favor and treat them to this. The production’s female cast includes Sierra Hull, SistaStrings and Lucie Silvas, all of whom you should also get to know.

JAMEY JOHNSON / “Someday When I’m Old”
Writers: Aimee Mayo/Chris Lindsey/Troy Verges; Producer: The Kent Hardly Playboys; Label: Big Gassed Records/Warner Music Nashville
– Last week, Grand Ole Opry great Johnson dropped Midnight Gasoline as his new collection. It’s his first new album in 14 years, and the wait has been worth it. This week, he issued its first video. It is an eye-opening use of AI technology to illustrate him interacting with himself as he looked 20 years ago. As previously reviewed, the song is his moody, moving meditation about what he might say to his younger self. The ballad moves at a languid pace as the lyric poignantly explores aging and memory and mortality.

ANDREW FARRISS / “Something Stronger”
Writers: Andrew Farriss/Lawrence Minson; Producer: Andrew Farriss; Label: AF
– Remember INXS and its passionate 1987 rock hit “Need You Tonight”? The Aussie band’s Andrew Farriss is now recording in a country/Americana mode. His single’s track is a pluperfect country rocker and the song is also catchy and country. But he remains a pop singer rather than a country vocal stylist.

LONESTAR / “Try”
Writers: Ben West/Busbee; Producer: Dean Sams; Label: Lonestar
– This is a cover of P!nk’s 2012 pop hit “Try.” First of all, I adore P!nk. Second of all, new lead vocalist Drew Womack has always affected me deeply (recall his work in Sons of the Desert). Third of all, this reinterpretation works spectacularly well. Absolutely play “Try” on repeat. The track is drawn from a forthcoming EP of Lonestar’s country versions of iconic songs by female pop artists such as Adele, Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie, Cyndi Lauper and Eurhythmics. Essential listening.

NEON UNION / “Alright Where She Left Me”
Writers: Andrew Millsaps/Brandon Hood/Leo Brooks; Producer: Brandon Hood; Label: Red Street Records
– She’s left him, but a night in the barroom will make everything okay. Raucous and celebratory.

SAMMY KERSHAW / “I’d Rather Go Blind”
Writers: Billy Foster/Jordan Ellington; Producer: Rick Price; Label: Goldenlane Records
– You are treading on shaky ground when attempting to cover a torrid Etta James soul classic. Kershaw gives it his best country shot, but comes up short. James, by the way, is also the song’s uncredited co-writer.

CARTER FAITH / “The Aftermath”
Writers: Carter Faith/Lauren Hungate/Tofer Brown; Producer: Tofer Brown; Label: UMG Nashville
– Aching and bittersweet, this is a splendid heartache ballad. Faith’s plaintive soprano wanders the emotional landscape of a breakup so exquisitely that you hang on every line of the performance. I was enchanted.

REBECCA FRAZIER / “High Country Road Trip”
Writers: Rebecca Frazier/Rorey Carroll; Producer: Bill Wolf; Label: Compass Records Group
– She first gained notice for her deft acoustic guitar playing and her participation in the award-winning band Hit and Run. But her new Boarding Windows in Paradise album equally showcases Frazier as a songwriter and singer. This breezy bluegrass romp sounds just like its open-air, “road trip” title. A stellar cast backs her, including Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, Stuart Duncan and Barry Bales. Frazier plays the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday.

Robert K Oermann
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