DISClaimer Single Reviews: Little Big Town & Ashley Monroe Team For Disc Of The Day

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Little Big Town & Ashley Monroe

The country veterans show the kiddies how it’s done in this edition of DISClaimer. 

Hall of Famers Reba McEntire, Randy Travis and Ricky Skaggs set the pace, and the new stars scamper to keep up. The Disc of the Day belongs to the groovy Little Big Town & Ashley Monroe collaboration.

Riley Green’s tour mate Hannah McFarland earns this week’s DISCovery Award.

PARKER McCOLLUM & LEE ANN WOMACK / “Killin’ Me”
Writers: Monty Criswell/Parker McCollum/Randy Rogers; Producers: Eric Masse, Frank Liddell; Label: MCA
– Honky-tonk romance with steam heat. The unexpected duet is a worthy and marvelous country-music surprise. Drawn from the deluxe edition of Parker’s ACM Album of the Year.

RILEY GREEN & HANNAH McFARLAND / “Go Again”
Writer: Riley Green; Producers: Dann Huff, Jimmy Harnen, Scott Borchetta; Label: Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment
– McFarland has an ear-catching singing style with lovely, delicate, heart-in-throat vocal curlicues and catches. It’s a nice, contrasting compliment to Green’s plain-spoken country delivery. The ballad is simply produced with plenty of open space to showcase their sexy story.

JESSE WELLES / “Masks Off”
Writer: Jesse Welles; Producer: Eddie Spear; Label: JW
– This road warrior, neo-folk troubadour introduces his new album with its title tune. He cranks his acoustic style up with electric guitar as he spits a political/poetic lyric about the bald-faced, shameless effrontery of America’s right-wing leadership. The Arkansan continues to be our closest modern torch bearer of the legacies of Woody Guthrie and early Bob Dylan. Welles is nominated as Artist of the Year in this year’s Americana Music Awards, to be presented in Nashville on Sept. 16.

RICKY SKAGGS / “Say a Prayer”
Writers: Ben Cooper/Gordon Kennedy; Producers: Gordon Kennedy. Ricky Skaggs; Label: Skaggs Family Records
– Skaggs looks around him and doesn’t like what he sees is happening to America. Amidst a nicely arranged contemporary instrumental stew, he sings an upbeat anthem of hope. This is the first new music from this Country Music Hall of Famer in more than a decade and is a welcome return to form.

JESSE & NOAH / “Lina Rose”
Writers: Jesse Bellamy/Noah Bellamy; Producers: Jesse Bellamy, Noah Bellamy; Label: Usonia
– David Bellamy’s sons have all it takes to achieve independent stardom. Their new LP The Sunshine Shop features this power-drill, twang-soaked country rocker with a doom-y lyric about a scary wife bent on murderous mayhem. Highly recommended. The collection also includes collaborations with Tess Frizzell (”On Again Off Again”) and Riders in the Sky (”Old Cowboys”).

ELLA LANGLEY / “Loving Life Again”
Writers: Devin Dawson/Ella Langley/Ernest Keith Smith; Producers: Ben West, Devin Dawson, Ella Langley, Miranda Lambert; Label: SAWGOD/Columbia
– Sweet, gentle, sentimental and peaceful. When she gets down in the dumps, music and memories bring her back to loving life. Tuneful, wistful.

GAVIN ADCOCK & HUDSON WESTBROOK / “Cheap Thrills”
Writers: Gavin Adcock/Hudson Westbrook/Reid Haughton; Producers: Jay Rodgers, Ryan Youmans; Label: Warner Records Nashville
– A party-hearty stomper with jerky shifts in tempo and loads of attitude.

TUCKER WETMORE / “Who Told You That”
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Label: MCA
– His vocal might be some kind of accelerated country, but this sounds like a pop-rock song to me.

RAELYNN & RHETT AKINS / “We’re American Made”
Writers: Amy Stroup/Bob DiPiero/Pat McManus; Producer: Corey Crowder; Label: Red Van Records
– Sunny and lively. They took the Oak Ridge Boys “American Made” hit from 1983 and rewrote the lyrics to be a celebration of the country. Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Akins has been invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry cast, and you can bet I’ll be there when they induct him. Meanwhile, RaeLynn is kicking up her heels of the Luke Bryan tour this summer.

THE BAND PERRY & KAITLIN BUTTS / “You Lie”
Writers: Aaron Henningsen/Brian Henningsen/Clara Henningsen; Producer: Beau Bedford; Label: Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment
– Kimberly Perry updates her 2011 hit by duetting with Butts on it. The original was better.

RANDY TRAVIS / “Fish On”
Writers: Randy Travis/Ron Avis; Producer: Kyle Lehning; Label: Warner Records Nashville
– Perfect for summer listening. This lickety-split bopper is previously unreleased. Which is amazing, since it has more hooks than a tuna boat and Travis never sounded better than he does on this merry, breezy, octave-spanning performance. Absolutely play this.

LITTLE BIG TOWN & ASHLEY MONROE / “Sucker for a Sad Song”
Writers: Ashley Monroe/Karen Fairchild/Shelby Lynne; Producers: Gena Johnson, Karen Fairchild; Label: MCA
– Groove-saturated, bluesy/moody, wafting heartbreak. Sad country song titles whisper in and out of the lyric while the sensuous rhythm swirls.

REBA McENTIRE / “Ain’t Gonna Keep It Waitin’”
Writers: Brett Beavers/Connie Harrington/Kelley Lovelace; Producer: Dave Cobb; Label: Rockin’ R Records
– Roll down the windows, put the car in highway drive and crank up this delightfully bright country rocker. Rolling audio pleasure.

Robert K Oermann
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