Keith Urban

It’s a testosterone festival.

There are way too many guys in the mix today. Plus, there’s much too much rock music on hand. Trace Adkins, Kane Brown and Chase Rice are all rocking their brains out. So is Jason Aldean, but at least he has the good taste to do so melodically and with production finesse.

Thus, it comes as no surprise that the single that stands out today is a ballad performance. Give Keith Urban the Disc of the Day award.

The DisCovery Award performance belongs to a former college rugby player from North Carolina. Lend Luke Combs your ears. I think you’ll enjoy his sound as much as I did.

LUKE COMBS/Hurricane
Writers: Luke Combs/Thomas Archer/Taylor Phillips; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; River House (track)
– She wrecked his world by coming on like a super storm. The stately pace, echoey atmosphere, macho vocal and screaming guitars come together to cast a dramatic spell. Recommended.

TOBY KEITH/A Few More Cowboys
Writers: Toby Keith/Bobby Pinson/Dean Dillon; Producer: Toby Keith/Bobby Pinson; Publishers: Tokeco/Bobby’s Lyrics Land & Livestock/Do Write/Sixteen Stars/Tenorado/HoriPro, BMI; Show Dog (CDX)
– Adding echo to a voice this powerful is kinda like gilding the lily. But this has a mighty melody and a mighty message. So sing away, bub. Echo and all.

AARON GOODVIN/Woman In Love
Writers: Aaron Goodvin/Bart Butler/Brice Long; Producer: Bart Butler; Publishers: WB/Goodvin Fifty One/Bill Butler/Golden Vault/Woodspring/Blongsongs, ASCAP/BMI/SESAC; Warner Music Canada (AJG) (CDX)
-Pleasant, if ordinary.

JASON ALDEAN/A Little More Summertime
Writers: Jerry Flowers, Tony Martin and Wendell Mobley; Producer: Michael Knox; Broken Bow (ERG)
– Less bombastic and more melodic than usual, which is a welcome change of pace. Also, he wears heartache well. The icing on the cake is a delightful, swirling production.

RYAN FOLLESE/Float Your Boat
Writers: Ryan Follesé, Adrienne Follesé, Jamie Follesé, Keith Follesé, Cameron Montgomery; Producer: Cameron Montgomery; Publishers: Sony/ATV Music Publishing, LLC / Black Saturday Music; BMI; Big Machine (ERG)
– I liked him better when he was a pop artist. That said, this is crunchy and catchy and clever.

TRACE ADKINS/Lit
Writers: Mickey Jack Cones, Monty Criswell, Derek George; Producer: Mickey Jack Cones; Wheelhouse (ERG)
– It lists the ways that things are hot while the production blazes. But it’s all rocked up with no place to go.

KANE BROWN/Thunder In The Rain
Writers: Kane Brown, Josh Hoge, Matthew McVaney; Publishers: Songs of Universal/EMI Foray Music/B Frank Entertainment; BMI/SESAC; RCA (ERG)
– More crashing rock. His vocal performance is kinda cool, but there’s just too much noise around it.

CHASE RICE/Everybody We Know Does
Writers: Jeremy Bussey, Travis Denning; Publishers: Universal Tunes/I’m About To Go Red On Ya Music; SESAC/BMI; Columbia (ERG)
– It’s one of those “country-and-proud-of-it” thangs with a raucous party vibe.

ERIC SOWERS BAND/My Kind of Country
Writers: Eric Sowers; Producer: Gary Carter; Publishers: none listed, BMI; ESB (track)
– This northern Ohio band has a hearty warmth and an engaging earnestness. Welcome to the dance, boys.

KEITH URBAN/Blue Ain’t Your Color
Writers: Steven Lee Olsen/Hillary Lindsey/Clint Lagerberg; Producers: Dann Huff/Keith Urban; Publishers: Warner-Tamerlane/Songs of the Corn/HillaroddyRathbone/BMG/House of Sea Gayle/Clearbox/Spirit Two, BMI/ASCAP; Capitol Nashville
– I dig the “old school” vibe on this ballad. The first time you hear it, the song sounds like a classic. Urban goes four-for-four from the Ripcord album.

Miranda Lambert. Photo: Becky Fluke

Some days, the decisions are as clear as a bright blue sky.

There is no question, for instance, that the Disc of the Day award belongs to Miranda Lambert. In a sea of songs about beer drinking, hot honeys, pickup trucks and being proud to be redneck, she has a lyric about real life. She has always had an edge that other artists lack. No more so than she does today.

We have a number of newcomers in today’s column. But, again, the choice is easy. Cody Johnson triumphs over the competition to win the DisCovery Award.

MAGNOLIA BELLE/Lucky Number
Writers: none listed; Producer: Kimo Forrest; Publisher: none listed; Heartland (track)
– It’s kinda synth-y and pop, but very sunny, upbeat and bright sounding. Enjoyable.

FRANKIE BALLARD/Cigarette
Writers: Kip Moore/Chris Stapleton/Jaren Johnston; Producer: Marshall Altman; Publishers: WB/Cool Change/Music of the Corn/Spirit Catalog Holdings/Spirit Two/Sony-ATV Harmony/Texa Rae, ASCAP; Warner Bros.
– Get a load of those writer credits. Too bad he couldn’t get anybody talented involved. This is the song of a man in lust, loaded with steamy vocal phrasing and intensely atmospheric production. A hit.

ZACH SEABAUGH/Nothing Good Happens After Midnight
Writers: Bruce Burch/Wally Montgomery; Producers: Zach Seabaugh, Jason Pendley & Bruce Burch; Publisher: none listed; Open Roads
– This Georgia teenager competed on The Voice last year. His solid baritone carries this uptempo romantic number with confidence and aplomb. The thumping rhythm track is especially cool. A contender, for sure.

VINCE GILL/Me and My Girl
Writer: Vince Gill; Producers: Vince Gill/Justin Niebank; Publishers: Vinne Mae/Songs of Kobalt, BMI; MCA Nashville
– A gentle rhythm carries this along like a summer breeze. It’s a lovely “road” song about traveling side-by-side with the one you adore, heading for nowhere under a yellow moon. In a word, enchanting.

MIKE SMITH/Green Eyed Girl
Writer: Mike Smith; producer: Nioshi Jackson; Publisher: Color Blind, ASCAP; EMS (track)
– The track rumbles along nicely. He’s not the strongest singer I’ve ever heard, but he gets the job done without drifting off pitch or meter.

CODY JOHNSON/With You I Am
Writers: David Lee/Cody Johnson/Trent Willmon; Producer: Trent Willmon; Publisher: Mood Merchant Music/4 Cow Ranch Songs/Cojo Country Publishing/Ascamp/Barnes and No Bull Music, ASCAP/BMI; Cojo (track)
– I dig this guy. He has a smooth-as-silk delivery, a relaxing warmth and an instantly likable vocal personality. The lyric of this mid-tempo charmer is about a man who changes his ways because of love.

AARON LEWIS/That Ain’t Country
Writers: Aaron Lewis; Producer: Buddy Cannon; Publisher: WB/Greenfund, BMI; Dot
– Country, country, country, complete with stuttering electric guitar, whining steel and a classic shuffle rhythm. Waylon, Jones, David Allan Coe, Johnny & June, Hank Jr., Haggard, Willie and Charlie Daniels all get name-checked along the way. What he wants, you see, is a return to heartache and gritty real life that he used to hear in country music.

BOO RAY/Sea of Lights
Writers: none listed; Producer: Noah Shain; Publisher: none listed; BR (track)
– The mix is kinda muddy. But the song about a country boy with shattered dreams in Hollywood is right on the money.

Curtis Wright

Today’s stroll through the fields of bluegrass has several scenic views.

First, female personalities continue to make news in this once almost exclusively male genre. Kristin Scott Benson of The Grascals, singer-songwriter Irene Kelley and the women in the young bands NewTown and Flatt Lonesome are all in the spotlight today.

Second, three of this column’s discs come from performers who have migrated to bluegrass after making names for themselves in mainstream country. Kelley is one of them. Another is Ilya Toshinskiy. The third is Curtis Wright, a veteran who nonetheless wins a DisCovery Award for entering a new genre.

Third, there’s a new sheriff in town, label-wise. Companies such as Rebel, Pinecastle and Rounder have long dominated bluegrass music. But in today’s column, fully half of the entries come from the North Carolina based label Mountain Home, which has been expanding its influence dramatically during the past decade.

One of the Mountain Home entries is the Disc of the Day. That would belong to the utterly endearing Flatt Lonesome.

Flatt Lonesome

LONESOME RIVER BAND/Showing My Age
Writers: Brandon Rickman/Jerry Salley; Producer: Lonesome River Band; Publisher: We Don’t Rent Pigs/Universal Brentwood Benson/Lasso the Moon, SESAC; Mountain Home
– These guys have been at it for 25 years, now. Their new Bridging the Tradition finds them exploring some deeper lyrics and sounds. One example is this terrific meditation on turning 40 years old. The midtempo groove is as mellow and flawless as the men’s harmony singing. I remain a fan.

ILYA TOSHINSKIY/Red Grass
Writer: Ilya Toshinskiy; Producer: Ilya Toshinskiy; Publisher: Uncle Hadley, ASCAP; Hadley Music
– The seven-time MusicRow Guitarist of the Year winner returns to his first loves of bluegrass and banjo playing on his new Red Grass album. The “Red” in the title refers to his roots in the much-applauded Russian country band Bering Strait. This signature instrumental from his debut solo CD has lightning-flashing playing not only by Toshinskiy, but such wizards as Jerry Douglas, Bryan Sutton and Andy Leftwich. Prepare to be dazzled.

CURTIS WRIGHT/Mama Prayed For Me
Writers: Curtis Wright; Producer: Jimmy Metts; Publisher: none listed, ASCAP; Voxhall
– In the ‘90s, this guy landed a country deal at Liberty Records. He always was a sublimely expressive vocalist, and now he’s applying his talents in the bluegrass field. This outstanding story song from his debut ‘grass collection is beautifully crafted, deeply emotional and tenderly performed. In addition to his own songs, the Curtis Wright CD includes interpretations of works by such talents as Shawn Camp, Merle Haggard, Jerry Salley, Lowell George and John Scott Sherrill. Through it all, this is a performer with a huge country heart.

NEWTOWN/Harlan Road
Writers: Tyler Childer; Producer: Barry Bales; Publishers: Hickman Holler, BMI; Mountain Home
– Kentucky’s NewTown is a fairly recent addition to the bluegrass scene. It brings a modern sensibility to song selection and a vaguely jazzy sensibility to playing. This yearning-for-love CD title tune showcases both. Highly listenable, as is the entire set.

IRENE KELLEY/Carolina Wind
Writers: Irene Kelley/Thomas Jutz/Milan Miller; Producer: Mark Fain; Publishers: Shiny Stuff/Thomm Songs/Songs From the Sillhouse, BMI/SESAC; Mountain Fever
– Like NewTown’s Kati Penn and the gals in Flatt Lonesome, Irene Kelley is part of the next wave of female bluegrassers. Kelley sings like a hillbilly angel on her new These Hills collection. But what is just as jaw dropping is her songwriting. She co-wrote all 11 selections, and they are all shimmering jewels. The collection kicks off with this breezy, rippling mountain melody that has already found favor at bluegrass radio. But you’re in for a treat wherever you land on this CD. Its cast is stellar — Stuart Duncan, The Whites, Adam Steffey, Dale Ann Bradley, Randy Kohrs, Ronnie Bowman, Claire Lynch and Bryan Sutton are just a few of the bluegrass biggies who drop by to pick and sing with her.

THE GRASCALS/I Know Better
Writers: Billy Droze/Christopher J. Myers; Producer: Grascals; Publishers: Broad Vision/Chris Myers, BMI; Mountain Home
– The irrepressible Grascals are back with an album titled And Then There’s This. Its breakneck-speed lead-off track is already at No. 2 on the Bluegrass Unlimited hit parade. Kristin Scott Benson’s fleet-fingered banjo work sets the pace, and the boys are right behind her. The album’s cover photo was shot at Carter Vintage Guitars, a Nashville site that’s well worth visiting.

STEEP CANYON RANGERS/Radio
Writers: Graham Sharp; Producer: Jerry Douglas; Publisher: none listed; Rounder
– This North Carolina group gained fame by backing banjo player, actor and comic Steve Martin. On its own, it has generally been a somewhat more mundane band. But this new Radio CD has a definitely more progressive, denser and increasingly complex sound. An intriguing step forward.

CHRIS JONES & THE NIGHT DRIVERS/Laurie
Writers: Chris Jones/Jon Weisberger; Producer: Tim Surrett & Chris Jones; Publishers: Gal Sal/Wise Kings Global, BMI; Mountain Home
– Infectiously catchy, this single from the band’s current Run Away Tonight collection manages the tricky feat of sounding old-timey and thoroughly modern simultaneously. Lead singer Jones has a hearty, warm baritone delivery that is always immensely appealing.

ROB ICKES & TREY HENSLEY/Pray Enough
Writers: Oliver Wood/Chris Wood; Producers: Rob Ickes/Trey Hensley; Publishers: Royal Kook/Wood Sound, BMI; Compass
– This collection contains folk, honky-tonk and blues tones, as well as bluegrass performances. This track, for instance, is an acoustic-funk number, embellished by Ickes’ jazzbo resonator-guitar solo. Elsewhere, the repertoire on The Country Blues CD includes such eclectic sources as Ray Charles, The Grateful Dead, Hank Williams, Elton John and Charlie Daniels. It’s a joyful journey of discovery. Happy hunting.

FLATT LONESOME/You’re The One
Writers: Dwight Yoakam; Producers: Danny Roberts, Jeff Collins & Andrea Roberts; Publishers: Figs D, BMI; Mountain Home
– This harmony-soaked, ballad-tempo treatment of Dwight Yoakam’s 1991 country hit has been a fixture on bluegrass radio for months. The overtones in the blending voices of Tennessee siblings Charli Robertson, Kelsey Robertson Harrigill and Buddy Robertson are simply thrilling. And heart melting. There’s a another single called “You’ll Pay,” plus stupendous versions of Gram Parsons’ “Still Feeling Blue” and their own gospel rouser “In the Heat of the Fire,” but I have a hard time tearing my ears away from this audio masterpiece. All four songs are on this young band’s third album, Runaway Train. Buy it.

Elizabeth Cook

There is a whole lot to like in today overview of current Americana recordings.

So much so, that I’m splitting the Disc of the Day award in two. Our female winner is Elizabeth Cook, and our male prize goes to Paul Burch. These two are among the best this genre has to offer.

The DisCovery Award goes to singer-songwriter Derik Hultquist. His is the most “different” sounding record in this stack, and for that we applaud him. Don’t be surprised if pop/rock programmers aren’t smitten by him as well.

DARRELL SCOTT/Love Is The Reason
Writer: Darrell Scott; Producer: Darrell Scott; Publisher: none listed; Full Light (track)
-Scott’s songwriting resume includes “Born to Fly,” “It’s a Great Day to Be Alive,” “Long Time Gone,” “Heartbreak Town,” “No Way Out,” “Family Tree” and “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive,” all of which are best known in versions by others. But he remains his own finest interpreter, as the performances collected on his new Couchville Sessions CD demonstrate. The album includes treatments of songs by Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Townes Van Zandt, Peter Rowan and James Taylor, but at its heart are the nine gems from the songwriter, himself. This one is a rippling, lilting, uplifting tune sung in Scott’s characteristically warm, enveloping voice.

THE HONEYCUTTERS/On The Ropes
Writers: Amanda Anne Platt; Producers: Amanda Anne Platt; Tim Surrett; Publishers: Button Down/Windsor Forest, ASCAP; Organic (track)
– Don’t let the name throw you: This is a country combo. The group is fronted by singer-songwriter Amanda Anne Platt, who delivers the goods in a tart, yearning tone that is captivating. Her fellow band members are tight and super engaging. This title tune to The Honeycutters new CD is a portal into a myriad of alternative honky-tonking delights. The group is a cornerstone act on the Asheville, North Carolina, music scene. Sign me up for the Nashville fan club.

SAM BUSH/Bowling Green
Writers: Sam Bush/Jon Randall Stewart; Producer: Sam Bush; Publishers: Samanda Lynn/BMG/Whayasay/Reynsong, BMI; Sugar Hill (track)
– How do I love him; let me count the ways: Awesome instrumentalist, hearty vocalist, great record maker, fabulous human being. Bush’s upcoming Storyman CD is all over the map, stylistically. Which is another reason to love him. Jazz, folk, blues, reggae, swing and more bubble in the mixes. This toe-tapping ode to his hometown is so rootsy and grassy it sounds like a folk song. It is immediately followed by a honky-tonk shuffle called “Handmics Killed Country Music” (co-written with Emmylou Harris and complete with Pig Robbins on piano) and then a down-home blues titled “Where’s My Love.” Go, man, go.

DERIK HULTQUIST/Dark Side Of Town
Writers: Derik Hultquist; Producers: Frank Liddell/Eric Masse; Publishers: Scrambler/Carnival, ASCAP; Carnival (track)
– This singer-songwriter is a real find. This clear, dark, direct song is delivered in a conversational hush that’s surrounded by an ethereal electronic soundscape. The mysterious audio settings throw his super-strong songwriting skills into high relief throughout his Southern Iron collection. Enthusiastically endorsed. Pop tastemakers also take note.

ELIZABETH COOK/Straightjacket Love
Writer: Elizabeth Cook; Producer: Dexter Green; Publishers: Agent Love/Wixen, SESAC; Agent Love (track)
– Exodus of Venus is Cook’s brand new collection. She simply doesn’t know how to make a dull disc. This rousing mountain country rocker features harmony vocals by the sublime Patty Loveless. It’s great, but you can “needle drop” anywhere on this record and strike audio gold.

NED VAN GO/Lost In The Trouble
Writers: N. Hill/B. Grant/R. Becker/C. Becker/M. Webb; Producer: Michael Webb; Publisher: none listed, ASCAP/BMI/SESAC; DSF (track)
– This Nashville band used to lean toward a rock sound. But the addition of mandolin ace Bob Grant in 2010 led to its evolution into an Americana act. The group’s current CD, The Dirt and the Sun, features this wildly energetic crowd favorite. It brilliantly fuses rock attitude with acoustic instrumentation.

TONY JOE WHITE/Hoochie Woman
Writers: Tony Joe White/Leann White; Producer: Jody White; Publishers: Wampus Cat/Wolf Woman, BMI; Swamp/Yep Roc (track)
– This ageless cult figure still conjures magic with his groove-tastic swamp rhythms and spooky lyrics. His womper-stomper guitar sets the tone in this dark, sexy, throbbing portrait of a witchy beguiler. It leads off a splendid collection titled Rain Crow.

JENNIFER WARNES/The Well
Writers: Jennifer Warnes/Doyle Bramhall; Producers: Martin Davich/Jennifer Warnes; Publishers: Warnes/BMG, BMI; Porch Light/BMG
– I have been in love with this woman for years. Best known as a peerless interpreter—“Right Time of the Night,” “I’ve Had the Time of My Life,” “Up Where We Belong” and the like—she now emerges as a songwriter of striking strength. This CD was originally recorded in 2001, but is only now getting an “official” release. Its title tune is a heartbeat pulsing meditation on nature that marries lilting instrumentation to her always caressing vocals. The album also features her silky versions of songs by Tom Waits, Billy Joel, Jesse Winchester, Cindy Walker and Arlo Guthrie, in addition to her originals. Warnes is now working on a new collection. I can’t wait.

PAUL BURCH/Back To The Honky Tonks
Writers: Paul Burch; Producers: Paul Burch/Dennis Crouch; Publishers: Borrowed & Broke, BMI; Plowboy (track)
–Meridian Rising is a stunning achievement. Burch imagines the life of the legendary Jimmie Rodgers in a 20-tune song cycle that takes the Singing Brakeman from his Mississippi roots to his premature death from TB in a Manhattan hotel room. On this tune, he’s vowing to die as he lived, to the accompaniment of a cool little jazz combo. This whole project is absolutely essential listening. Buy it now.

JIMBO MATHUS/Play With Fire
Writers: Jimbo Mathus/Robert Earl Reed; Producer: Jimbo Mathus; Publisher: none listed; BLM (track)
– Mississippian Mathus is a mainstay of the esteemed vaudeville/folk/swing ensemble The Squirrel Nut Zippers. His new solo project is a nine-song, gumbo/voodoo delight titled Band of Storms. This track is a neo-rockabilly summons to romance featuring twang guitar, echo-chamber vocal and a cool, lingering hiss each time he sings the word “yes.” Elsewhere on the collection, you’ll find elements of blues, rock, honky-tonk and bluegrass. It’s all good.