Category: Reviews
DISClaimer 4-7
B-o-r-i-n-g. In general, that’s what this week’s listening session was. There is nothing in this stack of platters that will change your life. Indeed, most of these discs will barely rouse you from your spring slumbers. The most exciting thing here comes courtesy of our DisCovery Award winner. Kyle Park is a triple threat as a singer, writer and producer. Lend him your ears.
Seeger Bio Celebrates “Power of Song”
In the new Pete Seeger biography, To Everything There is a Season: Pete Seeger and the Power of Song by Allan M. Winkler (Oxford University Press, 2009), the author notes that throughout his life, Seeger “didn’t smoke, drink or chase women; instead he chased causes.” Pete Seeger’s life was “singing truth to power” and author […]
DISClaimer (9/25/09)
Yikes: How did it get to be the end of September already? The official first day of Autumn was Tuesday, and everyone is polishing up their late-year releases. Tim scores big points in this column with “Southern Voice,” the title tune of his Oct. 20 CD. Last night, Miranda debuted her Revolution at the Ryman. […]
Category: Reviews
DISClaimer (9/18/09)
No cash this week, because there’s not a clunker in sight. Everybody is playing at the top of their game, especially the ridiculously talented Steve Wariner, Gene Watson and Darius Rucker. Programmers are going to hate this next sentence. All 10 of these platters deserve airplay. Polish off a DisCovery Award for Chris Heers. He […]
Category: Reviews
DISClaimer (9/16/09)
The Americana music convention begins today in Nashville, so what better time to run a column about the genre? The artists we’re talking about today are all up for awards at Thursday’s gala at the Ryman Auditorium. So we’re talking the cream of Americana, here. Earlier in the year, I raved about nominees such as […]
Category: Reviews
DISClaimer (9/11/09)
It’s country collaboration day! Ronnie Milsap is singing with Trace Adkins. Bruce Springsteen turns up as a guest on John Fogerty’s album. Billy Gibbons meets Brooks & Dunn in a roadhouse rumble. And in the most unlikely scenario of all, Hank Williams Jr. takes a ride in Appalachia with The Grascals. And mostly the match-up […]
Category: Reviews
DISClaimer (9/4/09)
This is quite a mixed bag. Leeann Atherton clocks in with a dreamy blues tune. Rocker Ronnie Godfrey has a Tennessee Titans fight song. We have excellent Nashville songwriter albums from Bill Luther and Kent Blazy. And there’s a whole flurry of newcomers. Among them, Melanie Denard wins our DisCovery Award. And to add some […]
Category: Reviews
DISClaimer (8/28/09)
The stars are twinkling so brightly that I am temporarily blinded. That is to say, I simply can’t make up my mind. Should I choose the hearty male country vocal? What about our teen-queen sales champion? And then there’s the refreshingly rocking group performance. All three qualify for a Disc of the Day prize, yet […]
Category: Reviews
DISClaimer (8/21/09)
We live in an era of singles and tracks, but there are still a few out there who buck the trend. It pleases me to report that there are several folks in this week’s stack of platters who still make true ALBUMS. There is an art to this that many mainstream country artists seem to […]
Category: Reviews
DISClaimer (8/14/09)
It is independents’ day. We are in what are known as the dog days of summer, when major-label releases slow to a trickle in anticipation of the big fall product push. What better time for the indies to scurry about and make some noise? As is generally the case in surveying indie singles, the quality […]
Category: Reviews
DISClaimer (8/7/09)
This stack of platters is a nice mix of veterans and baby acts. In the former column are Marty Raybon and Brady Seals, both of whom have splendid CD’s coming your way. Somewhere in between vet and baby are Trey Hensley, The Coal Men, Emma Jacob, Mica Roberts and Lee Brice, all of whom competed […]
Category: Reviews
