Looks like it’s all-hands-on-deck for the CMA Fest edition of DisClaimer.

The most star-packed review column of the year to date includes such red-hot names as Thomas Rhett and Jason Aldean, plus plenty more. Because of all the big-time attractions, there was no room for newcomers today. Hence, no DisCovery Award.

The male contenders for Disc of the Day looked, on paper, to be a duel between our resident bruiser vocalists Luke Combs and Chris Stapleton. But both were bested by a come-from-behind dark horse, Gary Allan. It has been way too long since we have had new music from this talented fellow.

The female division appeared to be a contest between our happening ingenues, Lauren Alaina and Kelsea Ballerini. But here again, the front runners were beaten by a lesser known star, Maggie Rose. To retread a cliche, you go, girl.

MAGGIE ROSE/Body On Fire
Writers: Maggie Rose/Chad Carolson; Producers: Jimmy Robbins/Maggie Rose/Chad Carolson; Publishers: none listed; MR (track)
– A home run. Steamy, sensuous, slow-burning and sensational. Her voice explodes into little firecrackers and ignites sparklers throughout. The production is a beautifully textured tapestry of electronic wonder. Why is this gifted woman not on a major label?

 

LUKE COMBS/When It Rains It Pours
Writers: Luke Combs/Ray Fulcher/JOrdan Walker; Producer: Scott Moffatt; Publishers: Big Music Machine/50 Egg/Straight Dimes/Works of RHA/Atlas/Extremely Comustible/On Cor/PAJ, BMI; Columbia/River House
– A drawling good ole boy’s lament of love gone wrong becomes a toe-tapping celebration of freedom and good fortune. This guy sounds exactly like somebody you want to have a beer with.

CHRIS STAPLETON/Either Way
Writers: Chris Stapleton/Tim James/Kendall Marvell; Producers: Dave Cobb/Chris Stapleton; Publishers: none listed; Mercury (track)
– It’s just that magnificent voice and an acoustic guitar delivering a heartbreak ballad. And, boy, do they pack a wallop. Riveting and gripping and righteous and real.

KELSEA BALLERINI/Legends
Writers: Ballerini/Forest Glen Whitehead/Hillary Lindsey; Producer: none listed; Publishers: Forest Glen Whitehead/Jason Massey; Black River
– Echoey, atmospheric and utterly lovely. It’s about finding perfect love and soaring with the feeling.

 

CHRIS JANSON/Fix A Drink
Writers: Chris Janson/Chris DuBois/Ashley Gorley; Producers: Brent Anderson/Chris DuBois; Publishers: none listed, BMI/ASCAP; Warner Bros.
– He can’t fix the weather, job worries, a broken heart, the blues or the news. But he can sure ‘nuff fix a drink. Rollicking fun.

ELI YOUNG BAND/Fingerprints
Writers: Mike Eli/James Young/Ross Copperman/Josh Osborne; Producers: Ross Copperman/Jeremy Stover; Publishers: Small Town Kid/Young James Young/NTAC/EMI Blackwood/Rezolant/Sony-ATV/Songs of Black River/One Little Indian Creek, BMI/ASCAP; Valory Music
– Dense sounding, with loads of “bottom” in the mix. It’s not nearly as catchy as their big hits have been.

LAUREN ALAINA/Doin’ Fine
Writers: Lauren Alaina/Emily Shackleton/busbee; Producer: Busbee; Publishers: none listed; Mercury/19/Interscope (CDX)
– It’s a bit of a letdown as the follow-up to a star-making performance. But it has plenty of pluck, and she sings it splendidly, particularly in her upper register.

GARY ALLAN/Mess Me Up
Writers: Ashley Gorley/Ross Copperman/Shane McAnally; Producers: Gary Allan, Ross Copperman, Greg Droman; Publishers: none listed; EMI (CDX)
– Darkly compelling. In front of a throbbing track, he begs a woman he is obsessed with to torture his mind. As usual, he sings with tremendous fire and conviction. A burning cauldron of sound.

 

JASON ALDEAN/They Don’t Know
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publishers: none listed; Broken Bow (ERG)
– In defense of rural life, to the accompaniment of screaming guitars.

THOMAS RHETT & MAREN MORRIS/Craving You
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publishers: none listed; Valory Music (ERG)
– It’s a potent rocker with plenty of thump and crash. Despite the billing, this is essentially a Rhett solo with some occasional vocal coloring by Morris.

We have a wide variety of sounds this week.

Our DisCovery Award winner is Tim Elliott, and he’s as country as grits. But we also have Glee star Noah Guthrie, and he brings a folk-pop-Americana vibe to the table, not to mention a Prince song. Sarah Petite has Mexicali horns on her disc. Bubba T’s Honky Tonk Revival has rowdy-party sing-along people.

And then there’s our Disc of the Day winner, the peerless Brandy Clark. She’s the one with the soul-piercing heart song.

NOAH GUTHRIE/I Would Die 4 U
Writer: Prince; Producers: Noah Guthrie/Ian Guthrie; Publishers: none listed; The Holland Group
-This Glee alumnus and native South Carolinian caps his CD The Valley with this striking Prince cover. He slows it way down and adds stately piano chords and a string section. His aching tenor brings out the latent tenderness in the song’s lyric. Impressive.

SARAH PETITE/Getting Over You
Writer: Sarah Petite; Producer: none listed; Publisher: Sweet P, BMI; SP (track)
– This single from Petite’s fifth CD, Road Less Traveled, showcases her Tammy-esque vocal phrasing against a backdrop of Mexicali horns, sighing steel and hearty male backup harmony voices. I like her conversational musical manner a lot. Recommended.

RANDALL LEE RICHARDS/A Paradise Life
Writers: Randall Lee Richards; Producer: Stacy Hogan; Publisher: none listed; BMI; Ocean’s Ten (CDX)
– I like the hard-luck, blue-collar lyric and the driving, anthemic mood. I just wish he was a stronger singer.

BRANDY CLARK/Three Kids No Husband
Writers: Brandy Clark/Lori McKenna; Producer: Jay Joyce; Publishers: House of Sea Gayle/Highway 508/Songs of Universal/Hoodie, ASCAP; Warner Bros.
– This has become an emphasis track from Brandy’s Big Day in a Small Town album due to the overwhelming fan response it has been getting. It has been said that country music is “three chords and the truth.” Well, no one sings the truth like this woman does. With perfectly chosen words and profound empathy, she and co-writer Lori McKenna have written a mini art film about a reality faced by millions of American women. Listen to this with no distractions. It will touch your soul.

TIM McDONALD/Dad
Writers: Tim McDonald; Grant Austin Taylor; Producers: Tim McDonald/Paul Franklin; Publishers: none listed; ASCAP; Ranch King (CDX)
-He is more than a little pitch challenged.

McKENNA FAITH/Poison
Writers: McKenna Faith/Brittany Lane/Evan Gibb/Ethan Brewington; Producer: Caleb Sherman; Publishers: none listed; BMI/ASCAP; Treble (CDX)
– Four writers and none of you could come up with a melody?

BUBBA T’S HONKY TONK REVIVAL/Drink All Day
Writers: Brandon Kinney/Ben Daniel/Wynn Varble; Producer: Keith Gattis; Publishers: none listed; Amerimonte (CDX)
– The band’s name and the song title tell you just about everything you need to know about this tropical-redneck NASCAR outing.

GREG HUDIK/Mama’s Love
Writers: Greg Hudik; Producer: Greg Hudik; Publishers: none listed; BMI; Platinum (CDX)
– An audio trainwreck.

TIM ELLIOTT/Start Pourin’ Whiskey On It
Writers: John Wiggins/Randy Houser; Producer: Kent Wells; Publishers: none listed, BMI; BRE (CDX)
-He’s a solid honky-tonk singer. The song is a country, country, country winner about chasin’ away yer blues at the end of a hard work week. The production rocks. I’m in.

Americana music is in the news this week, what with the genre announcing its 2017 award nominees.

So what better time to survey some current records of the style?

The stand-out, Disc of the Day here is the new project by Old Crow Medicine Show. It is a blast.

The DISCovery Award goes to Ana Cristina Cash. In addition to our award-winners, don’t miss Tommy Emmanuel, Kelly & Ellis, David Starr and Dion.

ANA CRISTINA CASH/”Tough Love Woman”
Writers: Ana Cristina Cash/Shawn Camp; Publisher: none listed; Producer: John Carter Cash
– This swampy, bluesy track has a very cool retro-rockabilly vibe that is super catchy. Her alto voice is loaded with pent-up power and a confident swagger. A recording artist since age 15, Ana Cristina married John Carter Cash last fall, and her uniformly excellent Tough Love EP is her first Nashville project.

SUSAN ANDERS/”My Parachute”
Writer: Susan Anders; Publisher: none listed; Producer: Susan Anders & Tom Manche
– The forte of this Music City artist is harmony singing, which she teaches and writes books about. This pop-folk track from her Loop De Loop CD is a moody reflection on living with uncertainty. The unusual chords on guitar and piano give the track an appealing off-balance quality.

OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW/”Rainy Day Women #12 & 35″
Writer: Bob Dylan; Publisher: none listed; Producer: none listed
– The new CD by these Opry stars is a rousing, rollicking string-band re-imagining of Bob Dylan’s historic Blonde on Blonde Nashville LP. Recorded live, it kicks off with this terrifically energetic arrangement of the collection’s 1966 hit single. “Everybody must get stoned,” indeed.

 DAVID STARR/”The Head and the Heart”
Writer: David Starr; Publisher: David Starr, ASCAP; Producer: John Oates
– Wow. This folkie can really sing. This is classic, acoustic, songwriter/troubadour stuff that harkens back to the best of the James Taylor/Joni Mitchell era. I love the “heart” in his tenor tones. Produced in Nashville by the esteemed John Oates, this is the title tune of a EP that is unreservedly recommended.

ANGIE & THE DESERTERS/”Stay”
Writer: Guy Griffin; Publisher: none listed; Producer: Jeff Huskins
– Very well executed. The mandolin-focused arrangement compliments her teardrop-notes delivery perfectly. Her slight vibrato adds to the intrigue. The group’s six-song EP is titled You.

SON VOLT/”Back Against The Wall”
Writer: Jay Farrar; Publisher: Grain Elevator, BMI; Producer: Jay Farrar
– These longtime Americana favorites continue their roots-rocking ways on the new Notes of Blue CD. This, the collection’s single, has a stripped-down, blue-collar Springsteen-ish vibe. Recorded in St. Louis, which group leader Jay Farrar calls home.

KELLY & ELLIS/”Anyone Who Isn’t Me Tonight”
Writer: C. Kelly; Publisher: none listed; Producer: Dave Rivers
– The “Kelly” in this duo is Nashville singer-songwriter Casey Kelly, whose hits include Tanya Tucker’s “Soon,” T.G. Sheppard’s “Somewhere Down the Line” and more. He recorded a pair of fine Elektra LPs back in the 1970s. His return to disc finds him still in mightily expressive voice as the duet partner of scintillating singer Leslie Ellis. They reprise his 1978 Kenny & Dottie hit in a lively, almost bluegrassy arrangement. Elsewhere on their acoustic CD The Long Road to You, they revive his 1985 George Strait classic “The Cowboy Rides Away” and the Cats show tune “Memory,” which she performed back in her Broadway days. How Nashville is this? The two met at an in-the-round show at The Bluebird Cafe.

 TOMMY EMMANUEL & STEVE WARINER/”Workin’ Man Blues”
Writer: Merle Haggard; Publisher: Sony ATV, BMI; Producer: Tommy Emmanuel
– The 14 tracks on Tommy Emmanuel Live at the Ryman are mostly dazzling guitar instrumentals (”Classical Gas,” “Blood Brother,” “Windy & Warm,” etc.). Steve Wariner provides vocal support on this Haggard cover, but it’s the team’s fleet-fingered guitar workout on it that will melt your mind. Stay tuned for the following track, “Eva Waits,” the only studio recording on the collection. It will haunt you.

DION/”Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound”
Writer: Tom Paxton; Publisher: none listed; Producer: Tom Wilson
– Kickin’ Child is the “lost” album by this Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame member. Recorded in 1965, it falls between his “Runaround Sue” and “Abraham, Martin & John” eras, but was shelved by Columbia because the label didn’t understand the transition he was undertaking. Now released for the first time, it sounds like the classic folk-rock that producer Wilson was creating with Simon & Garfunkel (”Sounds of Silence”) and Bob Dylan (”Like a Rolling Stone”) at the same time. In addition to Dion’s originals, the CD includes this classic Tom Paxton tune, plus an early cover of Dylan’s “It’s All Over Baby Blue.” As a lifelong Dion fan, I consider this an essential record.

 NELL ROBINSON & JIM NUNALLY BAND/”Baby Let’s Take The Long Way Home”
Writers: Nell Robinson/James Nunnally; Publisher: Jim Nunnally/Nell Robinson, BMI; Producer: Peter Berkow, Jim Nunally & Nell Robinson
– These folkies harmonize nicely together. The steel-dominated accompaniment is spare and simple. Pleasant, if not exactly life changing.

To reverse a common expression: Out with the new, in with the old.

At 83 years young, Willie Nelson has the masterpiece du jour with his “True Love.” Written and sung by a master, it is head and shoulders above every other disc in this week’s stack. It is easily the Disc of the Day.

Mind you, there is plenty of “new” here to like, as well. In fact, there is so much talent among today’s first timers that the DisCovery Award is split three ways.

The male winner is a fellow named Blane Howard, who has an instant wedding classic for your listening pleasure. Blane moved to Nashville from Arkansas to attend Belmont, and now it sounds like he’s on his way.

The female honor goes to Brooke Woods, who has a dandy, sunny bopper. I know nothing about her, since her website refuses to open.

The group award goes to The Buffalo Ruckus, who have the freshest and most innovative country-rock sound I’ve heard in ages. These Texas boys sound like they carry their stompin’ party with them wherever they go.

NOE PALMA/I’ll Be Your Whiskey
Writers: Ryan Griffin/Jason Matthews/Emily Shackelton; Producer: Bart Busch & Jason Matthews; Publisher: none listed
– It says here that he’s a firefighter in Kansas City. Based on this full-throated, super melodic performance, I’d say its time he lit a fire under a country-music career. Well done, son.

THE BUFFALO RUCKUS/Born To Die
Writer: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed
– Rumbling thunder rolls through this rocking track. The bass-heavy production, dramatic guitar slashes, driving percussion and howling, passionate, edge-of-the-seat vocal performance are all fantastically gripping. A wild ride that’s packed with energy, energy, energy.

WILLIE NELSON/True Love
Writers: Willie Nelson/Buddy Cannon; Producer: Buddy Cannon; Publisher: Sony-ATV Countryside/Run Slow, BMI/ASCAP
– Heart tugging and utterly gorgeous. Nelson’s tender reading of this ballad is nothing short of brilliant, and Cannon’s production swirls around him like smoke. Play this and believe. The exquisite new album that contains this is titled God’s Problem Child. Buy it now.

SONIA LEIGH/Jack Is Back
Writers: none listed; Producer: Sonia Leigh & Anthony Olympia; Publisher: none listed
Her performance is quite startling and edgy. The production is even more eyebrow raising, what with its processed vocal effects and pop/rock attack. Fascinating, if not exactly straight-down-the-middle country.

BRAD PAISLEY/Last Time For Everything
Writers: Brad Paisley/Smith Ahnquist/Brent Anderson/Chris DuBois/Mike Ryan; Producer: Luke Wooten & Brad Paisley; Publisher: none listed, ASCAP
– Nostalgia has never sounded better. He looks back at his youth and realizes that so many of those experiences will never be repeated. Meanwhile, guitars stutter around him and the arrangement roars. Brad wins yet again.

JOE LASHER JR./Tap A Tall Light
Writers: Jeremy Stover/Jaren Johnston; Producer: Jeremy Stover; Publisher: none listed, ASCAP
– Very sincere sounding. He sings like he’s sitting right next to you, which is the mark of a real communicator. It doesn’t hurt that the song is splendidly written.

BLANE HOWARD/Promise To Love Her
Writers: Blane Howard/Jordan Kyle Reynolds; Producer: Brad Hill & Blane Howard; Publisher: none listed, ASCAP
– It’s a power ballad sung by a resonant baritone who’s pledging true romance. A ready-made wedding anthem. What’s not to love?

BROOKE WOODS/God Bless The World
Writers: Alex Call/Robby Calvo; Producer: Mark Coleman & Brooke Woods; Publisher: none listed
– The production pumps mightily, defying you to stay in your chair. If the lyric is a little on the goody-two-shoes side, the soaring melody makes up for it.

SARABETH/I Want It That Way
Writers: Andreas Michael Carlsson/Max Martin; Producer: Glen Mitchell; Publisher: none listed
– I never understood this lyric when The Backstreet Boys sang it. I still don’t.

JOHN HORD/More Than I’m Used To
Writers: John Hord; Producer: Rosewood Studios; Publisher: none listed, BMI
– There’s nothing really wrong with it, except that it is average. And compared to the rest of what we’re hearing this week, that just won’t cut it.