DISClaimer Single Reviews: Zac Brown Band & Dolly Parton Team For Disc Of The Day

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Zac Brown & Dolly Parton

Today’s DISClaimer is awash in nostalgia for classic songs and artists.

David Frizzell, The Oak Ridge Boys, Dan Seals and Willie Nelson are here, reminding us of our illustrious country-music past with “Always Late,” “Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight,” “Everything That Glitters” and “Workin’ Man Blues.” Jack Schneider chimes in with his revival of “Crying in the Rain” and earns a DISCovery Award for his effort.

The Disc of the Day also features a classic stylist as the Zac Brown Band recruits the enduring Dolly Parton for a dynamite duet.

ROSIE FLORES / “Lines”
Writer: Rosie Flores; Producer: Ed Stasium; Label: Mule Kick Records
– Flores is a founding mother of the Left Coast alt-country/Americana scene, and her new music shows that she’s lost none of her moxie. This debut single from her Impossible Frontiers album (due Sept. 26) is a spikey, frisky, tuneful, pop-country outing with layered vocal harmonies and lively guitar licks. Utterly charming.

CHARLEY CROCKETT / “Crucified Son”
Writers: Charley Crockett/Kyle Madrigal/Taylor Grace; Producer: Charley Crockett, Shooter Jennings; Label: Island Records
– Texas “gulf and western” maverick Crockett has moved to a new label home and offers this loping, bluesy slow-jam from his Dollar a Day collection. Effortlessly cool.

ZAC BROWN BAND & DOLLY PARTON / “Butterfly”
Writers: Dan Auerbach/Sasha Sirota/Zac Brown; Producer: Zac Brown; Label: Master of None
– In a word, thrilling. Brown and Parton both sing their faces off on this inspirational duet that soars on wings of harmony. By the time they finish, you feel like you’re flying on the wind. Essential listening.

WARREN ZEIDERS / “Only Bible”
Writers: Daniel Ross/Joe Clemmons/Ryan Hurd/Warren Zeiders; Producers: Ross Copperman, Warren Zeiders; Label: Warner Records
– His vocal ranges from hushed intimacy to raw shouts of passion. The lyric explains that real spirituality can come from person-to-person contact rather than from the pages of a book. Zeiders sells this beautifully produced gem like a pro.

LUKE BRYAN & DAN SEALS / “Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold)”
Writers: Bob McDill/Dan Seals; Producer: Kyle Lehning; Label: Melody Place
– The late, great Dan Seals placed 25 singles on the country charts and scored 11 No. 1 hits, including this 1986 chart topper. The tender, classic story song scores again in this new duet. It’s drawn from a collection of collaborations that aims to keep his memory alive. Amen to that.

CARTER FAITH / “Arrows (Die For That Man)”
Writers: Carter Faith/Steph Jones/Tofer Brown; Producer: Tofer Brown; Label: MCA
– She swore she wouldn’t become a victim of love, but Cupid had other ideas. Faith’s sweet/tart soprano burbles along over a gently bopping production.

WILLIE NELSON / “Workin’ Man Blues”
Writers: Merle Haggard; Producers: Mickey Raphael, Willie Nelson; Label: Legacy Recordings
– Willie’s distinctive acoustic guitar, Bobbie Nelson’s piano, Paul Nelson’s brushed drumming and Mickey Raphael’s harmonica anchor this toe-tapping revival of Hag’s 1969 classic. Willie’s vocal is one of the jazziest of his long, storied career. The upcoming album is devoted to the music of the late Merle, and these performances were the last studio recordings by both Bobbie and Paul. Righteous work.

MARGO PRICE / “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down”
Writers: Jeremy Ivey/Kris Kristofferson/Margo Price/Rodney Crowell; Producer: Matt Ross-Spang; Label: Loma Vista Recordings
– This one’s a twang-soaked country rocker with an “outlaw” vibe. Price’s piercing soprano sasses in all the right places.

FLAT RIVER BAND & THE OAK RIDGE BOYS / “Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight”
Writers: Donovan Cowart/Rodney Crowell; Producers: Flat River Band, Tre’ Corley; Label: FRB/Early Bird Records
– An unexpected delight. The band takes the 1980 oldie and gives it fresh percussion and acoustic picking. Their harmonies are spot-on and get even fuller when the Hall of Famer Oaks chime in with joyous quartet singing. Beautifully done. The video is a mini-movie with John Schneider appearing in his “Bo Duke” personna.

JACK SCHNEIDER / “Crying in the Rain”
Writers: Carole King/Gerry Goffin; Producer: Matt Andrews; Label: Jeffers Records
– Schneider gives this 1962 Everly Brothers jewel a gentle, acoustic, softly pleasing folkie spin. I have always loved this song, which was also a 1981 country single for Tammy Wynette. The harmony vocal is by the esteemed Wendy Moten, who should have been mixed louder. Schneider is a Nashville singer-songwriter who has played rhythm guitar for Vince Gill for years. His album, Streets of September, drops on the 19th.

DAVID, ALLEN & LEFTY FRIZZELL / “Always Late- With Your Kisses”
Writers: Lefty Frizzell; Producer: none listed; Label: StarVista
– David Frizzell’s forthcoming (Sept. 26) album is a tribute to his Hall of Fame brother Lefty with guests including Jimmy Fortune, Merle Haggard, Shelly West, Freddie Hart, Gene Watson, Ronnie Reno, Marty Haggard, Bill Anderson and Georgette Jones. The lead track and first single features David and baby brother Allen trading verses with their late, legendary sibling on a 1951 honky-tonk standard.

MJ LENDERMAN / “Wristwatch”
Writer: MJ Lenderman; Producer: Alex Farrar, MJ Lenderman; Label: Anti/Epitaph
– On Wednesday (Sept. 10), singer-songwriter Lenderman was named this year’s Americana Music Association’s Emerging Act. His latest single from his applauded Manning Fireworks collection is a folk-rock drawler with loads of his electric guitar, plus his plaintive vocalizing. Hearty sounding.

Robert K Oermann
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