DISClaimer Single Reviews: New Jelly Roll Tune Is ‘An Instant Classic’

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Jelly Roll. Photo: Jen Rosenstein

As we head into the holiday weekend, the country superstars are singing our steamy-hot soundtrack.

Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, Shania Twain, Tanya Tucker, Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw and Luke Bryan are all on board today. Also flavoring the listening session were outstanding performances by Margo Price, Russell Dickerson and our Disc of the Day winner, Jelly Roll.

Nashville singer-songwriter Bennett Woolsey stages his DISClaimer debut and earns a DISCovery Award for his effort.

ALAN JACKSON / “Still the One”
Writers: Johanna Hall/John Hall; Producer: Keith Stegall; Label: EMI Records Nashville
– An eternally great song in the throat of an eternally great artist. Jackson takes the 1976 Orleans oldie and country-fies it with fiddling and hillbilly vocal charm. He’s celebrating the 50th anniversary of both the song and his marriage to Denise.

TIM McGRAW / “Song for America”
Writers: JT Harding/Tom Douglas; Producers: Byron Gallimore, Tim McGraw; Label: Turbo Tonk Records
– Perfect for Independence Day. The lyric splashes poetic images across an anthem-like tune to convey joy and hope.

RHIANNON GIDDENS / “Carolina Rain”
Writers: Dirk Powell/Rhiannon Giddens; Producers: Dirk Powell, Rhiannon Giddens; Label: Nonesuch
– The spare, stripped-down production features acoustic, banjo/fiddle, instrumentation backing her folk soprano. The vibe is wistful and nostalgic. The soul-sister vocal flourishes at the finale weaken the mood. 

BRAD PAISLEY / “Treading Whiskey”
Writers: Brad Paisley/Chris DuBois; Producers: Brad Paisley, Luke Wooten; Label: Brad Paisley
– The honky-tonk ballad wallows deliciously in heartache and self-pity. Country music with its stomping boots on and twang a-plenty. 

MARGO PRICE WITH JOAN BAEZ & MEMPHIS MARIACHI / “Deportee (Plane Wreck At Los Gatos)”
Writers: Martin Hoffman/Woody Guthrie; Producer: Matt Ross-Spang; Label: Loma Vista Recordings
– Baez and Price sing with aching emotion on this dynamite revival of a social-justice classic. The video makes it explicit that this is an anti-ICE statement. The lilting mariachi track appears on Price’s Days of Unrest collection, which drops tomorrow (July 3), just in time for her appearance at Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic in Austin.

RUSSELL DICKERSON & FETTY WAP / “Boots”
Writers: Dylan Marlowe/Matt Dragstrem/Russell Dickerson/Willie Maxwell; Producers: Josh Kerr, Matt Dragstrem, Russell Dickerson; Label: Triple Tigers
– The rap icon’s appearance with Dickerson was one of the highlights of this year’s CMA Fest. All 50,000 fans were on their feet, and the Tennessee Titans cheerleaders danced along. Now the tune is a bopping, rhythm-happy music video.

GUSTAVO MIOTO / “Last Goodbye”
Writers: Andrew Capra/GIANA/Gustavo Mioto/James Slater/Josh Dorr; Producer: Andrew Capra; Label: Universal Music Ltda
– Mioto is a Brazilian star with zillions of streams. To create his first English-language recording, he spent months in Music City immersing himself in the town’s songwriting culture. The result is a debut country single that’s marvelously melodic, infused with sincerity and packed with authenticity. Play this.

SHANIA TWAIN & TANYA TUCKER / “Little Miss Twain”
Writers: Shania Twain; Producer: Zach Dawes; Label: Republic Records
– “According to my mother/I’m the next Tanya Tucker/I’m gonna be a star,” sings Twain in this moving autobiographical outing. The song recalls her upbringing as a child singing in bars and idolizing Tanya. Amid a lovely swirl of echoey production, the voice of Tucker, herself, emerges in a smoky duet. A terrific single from an international superstar and a Country Music Hall of Famer.

MIRANDA LAMBERT / “Til the Going’s Gone”
Writers: Brendan McLoughlin/Jesse Frasure/Josh Osborne/Miranda Lambert/Natalie Hemby; Producers: Jesse Frasure, Miranda Lambert; Label: MCA
– Breezy, silky and dreamy. She’s a ramblin’ gal who doesn’t let grass grow under her feet. Wafting, celestial strings soar high above. Cool and refreshing.

LUKE BRYAN / “Made It a Memory”
Writers: Jamie Paulin/Matt Alderman/Shane Profitt; Producers: Jeff Stevens, Jody Stevens; Label: Capitol Records Nashville
– “Country and She Knows It” remains the current single. Bryan releases this love ballad as another advance of his ninth studio album, Signs, due this fall. In the soaring tune’s lyric, she turns an ordinary night into a romantic memory.

KALIKO / “Whiskey Nights”
Writers: Robin Williams; Producers: Daniel Ramirez, Deangelo Khonaisser, Sigh Griffin; Label: Soundgame Supreme
– Mixed messages of heartbreak, perseverance and resilience wrapped up in a wildly catchy and infectious groove. His jaunty tenor vocal draws on soul and honky-tonk influences in equal measure.

JELLY ROLL / “Hands Up”
Writers: Chase McGill/Jason DeFord/Joe Fox/Michael Hardy/Rocky Block; Producers: Ben Johnson, Charlie Handsome; Label: Stoney Creek Records
– Throbbing and uplifting. He goes to a concert and “gets religion” in the communal experience. Now he urges us all to raise our imperfect souls up toward heaven. An instant classic.

BENNETT WOOLSEY / “Cigarettes and Alcohol”
Writer: Bennett Thomas Woolsey; Producer: Tone Def; Label: Third Generation Music Group
– There’s something wonderfully mysterious and graceful about this echoey production. His soothing, laid-back delivery settles into its groove as he muses about leaving his misspent youth behind and growing up with a heartache. Very promising. Send more.

Robert K Oermann
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