DISClaimer Single Reviews: Braxton Keith Gives ‘Sublime Performance’ Of George Strait Classic

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Braxton Keith. Photo: Benjamin Humphrey

Nostalgia and new country are on the menu today in DISClaimer.

With new/old sounds by David Frizzell & Shelly West, Dan Seals and Waylon Jennings, plus oldie revivals like “I Love You a Thousand Ways,” “The Chair” and “Three Time Loser,” country music certainly maintains its longtime reputation for nostalgia. But the youngsters are doing their part to keep things lively—I’m especially digging Gabby Barrett, Zach John King, Kane Brown, Lee Brice and Karley Scott Collins today.

Braxton Keith takes home his first Disc of the Day award for his stunning revival of “The Chair,” which manages to be both utterly fresh and deeply nostalgic.

Our DISCovery Award winner is honky-tonkin’ Trey Pendley.

ZACH JOHN KING / “Still Feel the Burn”
Writers: Matt Dragstrem/Ryan Hurd/Zach John King; Producers: Ryan Wilson, Zach John King; Label: Sony Music Nashville
– A mysterioso guitar riff jangles into a plaintive, mid-tempo heartache lament. A swirling production, soft-yet-punchy percussion and piercing vocal add up to an utterly captivating sound. This guy has something here.

ANNIE BOSKO & DARIUS RUCKER / “Old Friends”
Writers: Annie Bosko/David “Messy” Mescon/Rob Hatch; Producer: David “Messy” Mescon; Label: Stone Country Records
– Rucker kicks it off and sings lead on the choruses of this choppy rocker. Bosko’s sprightly soprano keeps up the pace. The lyric is an ode to enduring relationships. Her album containing this is California Cowgirl, dropped last Friday.

GABBY BARRETT / “Ain’t Supposed to Be”
Writers: Chase McGill/Gabby Barrett/Jon Nite/Ross Copperman; Producers: Ross Copperman, Zach Kale; Label: Warner Music Nashville
– Sometimes love arrives in the most unexpected places. They found each other, and that’s all that matters. Barrett delivers this ballad with loads of power and intensity. Lovely listening.

DAN SEALS & JAMEY JOHNSON / “Three Time Loser”
Writer: Dan Seals; Producer: none listed; Label: Melody Place
– Johnson evidently agrees with me that Dan Seals was one of the all-time greats. He swaps lines with the late singer-songwriter on one of his most delightful tracks. Scampering guitars and stuttering steel underscore a delightfully frisky country-rock sizzler. Loved every second of it.

BRENDAN WALTER / “Disappearing Days”
Writers: Brendan Walter Coughlin, Jr./Gary Stanton/Grady Smith; Producer: Grady Smith; Label: Records V2
– It is rather over-produced. The loud, grinding guitars overwhelm his country boy vocal on every chorus. By the time you get to mid song, he sounds like he’s drowning in sound.

LEE BRICE / “Killed the Man”
Writers: Jared Conrad/Michael Whitworth/Troy Cartwright; Producers: Ben Glover, Jerrod Niemann, Lee Brice; Label: Curb Records 
– Terrifically compelling. This grabs hold of your attention and grips it tightly. As usual, he’s singing his face off. The lyric is dynamite, too, as he explains his rebirth as a person. Essential.

BRAXTON KEITH / “The Chair”
Writers: Dean Dillon/Hank Cochran; Producers: Alex Torrez, David Dorn; Label: Warner Music Nashville
– Keith takes this fabulous George Strait oldie out for a welcome revival. The song is a country-music masterpiece. It takes guts to go up against Strait’s iconic performance, but this man is up to the task, and then some. Hear for yourself why it has streamed two million times in a single week. A tip of the cowboy hat to a sublime performance of an undeniable classic.

KANE BROWN / “Unspoken”
Writers: Beau Bailey/Gabe Foust/Jacob Hackworth/Kane Brown; Producer: Dann Huff; Label: Sony Music Nashville
– Live your life without regrets by speaking the truth at all times. Lyrics with meaning, delivered with heartfelt sincerity. Beautifully done. Somebody say, “Amen.”

TREY PENDLEY / “Drunk As Any Rich Man”
Writers: Jacob Bryant/John Davidson/Trey Pendley; Producers: Jacob Bryant, John Davidson; Label: Leo33
– This drawling honky-tonker is a retro blast. You say you miss real country music? Well, belly up to this bar, buddy.

WAYLON JENNINGS / “Songbird”
Writer: Christine McVie; Producers: Richie Albright, Waylon Jennings; Label: Son of Jessi
– This is the title tune of an album of previously unreleased material by this Country Music Hall of Famer. It’s the first of three such collections compiled and produced by son Shooter Jennings. The new instrumentation gives polish to Waylon’s somewhat raw scratch vocal. The song (by Fleetwood Mac’s gifted Christine McVie) is a gentle meditation on the comfort of true love. The album dropped last week.

KIMBERLY KELLY / “Modern Day Woman”
Writers: Blue Foley/Chancie Neal/Kimberly Kelly; Producer: Brett Tyler; Label: KK
– This former Next Women of Country participant and Show Dog Records artist returns with a thumping, strutting, strong-female anthem. She sounds country-and-proud throughout the performance.

DAVID FRIZZELL & SHELLY WEST / “I Love You a Thousand Ways”
Writers: Jim Beck/Lefty Frizzell; Producer: none listed; Label: StarVista
– The CMA Vocal Duo of the Year in 1981 & 1982 reunites for the first time in 40 years to revive this 1950 Lefty Frizzell classic. Of course they sounded better back in the day—didn’t we all? But even with a touch more vibrato and a little less lung power, they still sound dandy on this well-produced outing. It’s a track from a Lefty tribute album that also features Freddie Hart, Gene Watson, Merle Haggard, Bill Anderson and more.

KARLEY SCOTT COLLINS / “Denim”
Writers: Alex Kline/Karley Scott Collins/Sara Bares/Stephan Lee Benson; Producers: Karley Scott Collins, Nathan Chapman; Label: Sony Music Nashville
– Her drawled, smoky alto vocal is ultra cool, especially with the quasi-yodeled falsetto breaks. Like so much of what this lady does, this is utterly haunting.

Robert K Oermann
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