Toby Keith

It all begins with a song.

The thing that unites all of the standout records this week is that they all feature the craftsmanship that good country music has always boasted.

Whether it’s Zane Williams’s outstanding story lyric, Chris Stapleton’s road tune, Rich Karg’s cool description of momentary love without commitment, Toby Keith’s meditation on decaying society or Steve Azar’s musing about lost innocence these discs contain writing that makes me proud to be a country fan.

Throughout the career of Toby Keith, the consistent excellence of his songwriting has beamed brightly. He wins the Disc of the Day.

The DisCovery Award goes to Rich Karg. His CD is full of unexpected pleasures.

DIANA UPTON-HILL/Do Love Well
Writers: Mitchell T. Goudy; Producer: Bryan White; Publishers: Bread N Pants, ASCAP; Third Floor (track)
-Sunny and sugary. Sorry, I’ve never had much of a sweet tooth.

LADY ANTEBELLUM/Long Stretch of Love
Writers: Dave Haywood/Charles Kelley/Hillary Scott/Josh Kear; Producers: Nathan Chapman/Lady Antebellum; Publishers: Beards and Bullets/30A Getaway/Hobbs Hill/Kobalt/Global Dog/Book of Spells, ASCAP/SESAC; Capitol Nashville
-The multiple audio layers make it sound like there are a lot more than three voices on this. Dense sounding, but highly commercial.

RICH KARG/Beautiful Distraction
Writers: Weston Burt/R. Karg/S. Mitchell; Producer: Rich Karg; Publishers: Rich Karg/Green Hills Music Group/Grin Like Dog, SESAC; RK (track)
-This Nashville singer-songwriter is selling a CD titled U Turn at his gigs. It contains this deliciously melodic power ballad about hooking up with no strings attached. You big-time stars and producers out there need to be mining this and the other tunes on this collection for gold. Recommended listening.

JOSH GOODLETT/Why You Gotta Be That Way
Writers: Bobby E. Boyd/Brad Wolf/Phillip Moore; Producer: Bobby E. Boyd; Publishers: Boyd Where Prohibited/Green Dog, BMI; Good
-The country-rocking production is on the money, and he is a fine country singer. The song doesn’t do much for me, but overall this is a perfectly OK effort.

TOBY KEITH/35 MPH Town
Writers: Toby Keith/Bobby Pinson; Producers: Toby Keith/Bobby Pinson; Publishers: Tokeco/Bobby’s Lyrics Land & Livestock/Do Write, BMI; Show Dog (CDX)
-This is an extremely well written song about a mother who doesn’t like what she sees around her these days. She cautions her boy that things aren’t like they used to be. Toby’s vocal is a masterpiece of urgent phrasing, and the dramatic production totally kicks butt. Play it again.

STEVE AZAR & SOPHIE YOUNG/The Sky Is Falling
Writers: Steve Azar; Producer: Steve Azar; Publishers: Steve Azar, BMI; Ride (CDX)
-Their duet about lost youth and forgotten innocence glides on wafting wings of sound. Ear catching.

CASEY JAMES/Fall Apart
Writers: Will Bowen/Joshua Carter/Zach Carter; Producers: Chris Lindsey/Casey James; Publishers: Vaughn Fenwick/Little Extra/Ten Thousand Hours/Petite-T/Music of Parallel, BMI; Columbia (CDX)
-Pleading with a broken heart, he sings the fire out of this. But I’m sorry: “Every time I run into you, I fall apart” is not exactly the most original idea in songwriting history.

TYLER HAMMOND/Wild One Tonight
Writers: Chris Jones; Producer: Chris Jones; Publishers: Chris Jones, ASCAP; Milley (CDX)
-I like the moody, thumpy production and the up-close-and-personal quality in his singing. I also like the way it builds in sonic complexity. I’m intrigued. Send more.

CHRIS STAPLETON/Traveller
Writers: Chris Stapleton; Producer: Dave Cobb; Publishers: WB/Ken Tucky, ASCAP; Mercury (CDX)
-He remains one of the most gripping vocalists on today’s scene. This lonely-wanderer song is right up his alley. The tempo rolls along appropriately. Super listenable.

ZANE WILLIAMS/Jayton and Jill
Writers: Zane Williams; Producers: Zane Williams/Tom Faulkner; Publishers: Born Into Love/Be Original, ASCAP; Be (CDX)
-I love a good country story song, and this one is a pip. Jayton is an everyday guy working at a filling station and feeling suicidal. Jill is preacher’s daughter gone wild. They meet, talk all night and save one another’s troubled souls. A dandy, an instant classic.

Brendon Preece

In today’s exploration of the fringes of the country music world, I found plenty to like.

Here are some folks you might not know about, but should: Chris Heers, Dexter Roberts, Cash Creek, Brendon Preece, Ricky Gunn and John Moreland. All but Heers, a former DisCovery Award winner, are making their debuts in DisClaimer this week.

Today’s DisCovery Award honoree comes from this list. It is Brendon Preece. I know very little about him, other than the fact that he’s a Texan. But his debut single made me sit straight up, pay attention and want to know (and hear) more. Whoever he is, he has star quality.

The Disc of the Day goes to American Idol alumnus Dexter Roberts.

JUSTIN PECINA/Rude To Share
Writers: Justin Pecina; Producer: Greg White; Publisher: none listed; JP
-Pleasant and inoffensive, if not exactly gripping. He has a smooth tenor voice, and the production is unobtrusive.

DEXTER ROBERTS/Dream About Me
Writers: Dexter Roberts/David Jones/Brad Wolf/Don Goodman/Erik Nelson; Producer: Erik Nelson; Publishers: Honky Tonk Skool/Morris Bedell/Sounds and More/First Launch, BMI/ASCAP; First Launch
-This fellow was a top-10 finalist on Season 13 of American Idol. His jaunty debut single is quite engaging, with a flirty, built-in smile and a catchy, winning chorus. Promising.

BRENDON PREECE/Truck
Writers: Brendon Preece; Producers: Tim Phelan/Brendon Preece; Publishers: none listed; BP
-Now here’s a solid honky-tonk singer. His baritone drawls and dips in all the right places. The tempo tune cooks with gas as it tells the tale of a guy who muses, “looks like I’m livin’ in my truck now.” You see, she’s kicked him out because of his partying ways. Mr. Preece has it all going on as both a writer and a vocalist. Send more, pronto.

CASH CREEK/Even Angels Have Bad Days
Writers: Harris/Barker; Producer: Kimo Forrest; Publishers: none listed; Heartland (track)
-This hooky, easy-going country rocker boasts tight band harmonies, cool guitar work, propulsive percussion, deft fiddling and a wistful, likeable, pop-ish lead vocal. Extremely programmable. Spin it.

SUZANNE JARVIE/Spiral Road
Writers: Suzanne Jarvie; Producer: Hugh Christopher Brown; Publishers: Modern Works, SOCAN/ASCAP; SJ (track)
-It’s a mystical, poetic meditation with Southwest Native American imagery. Her alto is mixed so you can follow every line in the spacey spiritualism. Direct this folkie outing toward your Americana listeners.

RICKY GUNN/King of This Town
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publishers: none listed; New Canvas
-As a teen, he ruled his rural flyspeck village: “Nothin’ but cornfields for miles around/I was the king of this town.” Alas, now he’s grown up and no one remembers. Well written (uncredited) and expertly (if anonymously) produced. You have talent. Start packaging yourself with some professionalism.

JOHN MORELAND/High on Tulsa Heat
Writers: John Moreland/John Calvin Abney; Producer: John Moreland; Publishers: FTWSNGS/Bullet in the Chamber Folk, BMI; Old Omens/Thirty Tigers (track)
-The title tune of Moreland’s new collection has a really groovy, jingle-jangle sound. Not only that, he sings with a heart-grabbing rasp that would do any blue-collar rocker proud. Somewhere, Springsteen is smiling. I wish all country music sounded as cool as this.

CHRIS HEERS/Road Trip
Writers: Chris Heers/Sammy Steele; Producers: Pat McGrath/Chris Heers; Publishers: Saddlefarm, ASCAP; Saddlefarm (track)
-I have admired this man in the past, and his second CD more than delivers on the promise of his first. Titled The Road Ahead Shines, it features this breezy, steel-soaked highway tune about a guy who tells his boss to kiss his keister and heads off for parts unknown. You can practically feel the wind in his smiling face as he glides through the countryside in search of American beauty. Get hip to this guy’s songwriting: you won’t find many more cinematic, vivid character portrayers working today.

JEFF BLANEY/Go Now, Don’t Look Back
Writers: Jeff Blaney; Producer: none listed; Publishers: none listed; Very Entertaining
-The bouncing fiddle and brushed drums kick this off with elan, but when the singing starts, things become rather more tentative. labored and uncertain. I recommend some seasoning. Or a demo singer.

DON MIDDLEBROOK/Bluer Skies Down The Road
Writers: Don Middlebrook; Producers: Don Middlebrook/Ricky Nalett; Publishers: none listed; DM (track)
-The title does not occur in the chorus. The verses don’t scan. The noodling band is lame. He can just barely sing. Other than that, “How did you enjoy the play, Mrs. Lincoln?”

This is a week for beginners. Fully eight of these 10 artists are making their debuts in the DisClaimer column. And both of our winners are first timers.

Young RaeLynn wins our Disc of the Day prize. Heaven knows, we need more solo females in this format. Native Texan Darwin Macon bursts on the scene with one of the finest singles in this stack of platters. And it is, hands down, the best song of the day. Give that man a DisCovery Award.

GREG SHIRLEY/The Good Drugs
Writers: Chris Wallin/Dave Gibson; Producers: T.W. Cargile/Greg Shirley; Publishers: Ole Red Cape/29 Cent Hamburger/ASCAP; Garage Door
-Alabama’s Greg Shirley was one of the dozens of new artists showcasing during CRS last week. His ballad is tastefully produced, sung with country authority and carries a cautionary message from an old man to a youngster. Recommended.

RAELYNN/For A Boy
Writers: RaeLynn/Laura Veltz; Producer: Joey Moi; Publishers: Super Big/I Take the Bull By the Horns/Big Machine/Prescription/Kobalt/Warner-Tamerlane/Oh Denise, ASCAP/BMI; Valory Music
-Catchy and youthful. Accompanied by a bouncing, beefy track, she’s urging a guy to go ahead and make a move.

EILEEN CAREY/Sweet Love
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publishers: none listed; RolleyCstr
-Thin sounding. The band is spare, and her singing is pretty lightweight.

MITCH GOUDY/My Girl’s Hand
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publishers: none listed; Third Floor
-He kinda mumbles and meanders in the heartbroken verses. He opens up vocally in the choruses, finally getting to the point: “He’s holding my girl’s hand.”

DARWIN MACON/I Still Drink About Her
Writers: Bobby Terry/Jason Sellers; Producer: Jason Rooks; Publishers: none listed; Macon Bacon
-This wins points for the title, alone. The singer is solidly country and the production jangles admirably. And you can’t beat a lyric like this: “One more to remember, one more to forget, one more for the road that I can’t seem to go down yet.” A winner.

ADRIAN JOHNSTON/Avalanche
Writers: Heather Morgan/Zac Maloy; Producer: none listed; Publishers: Sony-ATV/Warner Chappell, no performance rights listed; AJ
-The intent is rock ‘em, sock ‘em. I wasn’t convinced.

ERNIE OLDFIELD/Seven Days
Writers: Peter Jordan; Producer: none listed; Publishers: none listed; World International
-I sort of like the drum-machine, Euro-pop production mixed with the on-the-road, sing-songy country tune. Ear grabbing.

POOR J. BROWN/Daddy’s Son
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publishers: none listed; PJB
-This is the debut single from a six-piece Texas band. Vocally and instrumentally, they sound like they have the goods. The song, however, has almost no melody whatsoever.

HEATHER DICKSON/Eventually
Writers: Terri Sharp; Producer: Rick Durrett; Publishers: Bocephus/Paradise Cove, BMI; Heartshake (track)
-The singer is from Scotland. The songwriter is from Texas. The producer is from Nashville. They all seem talented, but the sum of their efforts just lays there lifeless.

MOONLIGHT SOCIAL/Heading South
Writers: Jeremy Burchard/Jennica Scott; Producers: Matt Noveskey/Jeremy Burchard; Publisher: none listed; MS
-This is male-female duo. She sings with striking, full-throated volume, and he wails harmony with equal force. The track burns with fiery energy. The only drawback is that the song’s title is buried. Send more. I am definitely intrigued.

The women of Americana are in the spotlight more than ever this winter.

Rosanne Cash swept all three Americana categories at the Grammy Awards. Lucinda Williams, Mary Gauthier, Brandi Carlile, Amy Speace and Rhiannon Giddens (of The Carolina Chocolate Drops) are all promoting strong new music.

And both of the top discs in this week’s edition of “DisClaimer” come from female singer-songwriters. Actually, Beth Nielsen Chapman and Gretchen Peters are two of Nashville’s finest writers, regardless of gender. Gretchen Peters gets the edge as the Disc of the Day, but you really need to own both of these women’s recordings. Gretchen guests on Beth’s, by the way.

The DisCovery Award goes to another act that’s on the current Americana radio chart. That would be Canada’s The Bros. Landreth.

GURF MORLIX/Dirt Old Buffalo
Writers: Gurf Morlix; Producer: Gurf Morlix; Publishers: Crankbait/Bug, SESAC; Rootball (track)
-This longtime Americana favorite has made his mark as a producer (Lucinda Williams) and a guitarist (Warren Zevon), as well as the creator of eight solo CDs. His latest, Eatin’ At Me, leads off with this dark word portrait of his hometown and its lost, rust-belt citizens. His hushed rasp matches the lyric perfectly, and it goes without saying that his stark electric-guitar work is gripping, too. The collection isn’t exactly a million laughs, but it is nonetheless heartily recommended.

GRETCHEN PETERS/Blackbirds
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Scarlet Letter
-The title tune of this recent Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee’s new CD is a murder ballad with a minimalist production dominated by an electric guitar’s chopped. haunting notes. You’ll hang on every line. But, then, that’s the case for everything this stupendous talent writes. If you care anything at all about songwriting craftsmanship, buy this collection at once.

JOEY MISKULIN/Avalon
Writers: Goodwin; Producer: Joey Miskulin; Publishers: none listed; MusicWagon
-The new solo CD by this Grammy-winning member of Riders in the Sky is called The Other Side of the Fence. It is a jazz accordion (I’m serious) instrumental collection containing standards he heard growing up in Chicago. The lively, lilting “Avalon” dates from 1921, and is best known via a vocal version by Al Jolson. Miskulin’s zippy accordion riffs are abetted by the solos of Denis Solee’s clarinet and Andre Reiss’s guitar. This is the soundtrack of my next dinner party, for sure.

CRAIG MARKET & THOMM JUTZ/Nowhere To Ride
Writers: Craig Market/Thomm Jutz; Producers: Thomm Jutz/Craig Market; Publishers: Drop D/ThommSongs/Bluewater, BMI/SESAC; NTH (track)
-This is the title tune of a splendid set by two Nashville troubadours, performing with simple, rippling, twin acoustic guitars and brotherly, folkie harmonizing voices. The warmth in their performances glows through every one of these 12 tracks.

BOB DYLAN/That Lucky Old Sun
Writers: Smith/Gillespie; Producer: Jack Frost; Publishers: none listed; Columbia (track)
-As you have probably heard by now, Dylan’s latest, Shadows in the Night, is a collection of him singing songs associated with Frank Sinatra. The original popularizer of this Nashville pop standard was actually another Frank, Frankie Laine (1949). As flawless as this new instrumental arrangement is, Bob Dylan simply does not have the pipes for the song’s upper register, to be perfectly “frank.”

KEVIN SO/Countryside
Writers: Kevin So; Producer: Kevin So; Publisher: none listed; Wingtone (track)
-Singer-songwriter Benita Hill tipped me off to this guy. I was completely unaware of him, but others evidently aren’t. In addition to Hill, his songwriting collaborators include such notables as Keb’ Mo,’ Jan Buckingham and Lisa Aschmann. This title tune to his disc-and-DVD combo is a lulling rural ode. For a little more twang, check out the witty “June Carter Cash.” For some folk-pop, try “Five Days in Memphis.”

The Bros. Landreth

THE BROS. LANDRETH/I Am The Fool
Writers: Wally Landreth; Producer: Murray Pulver; Publisher: Wallace Landreth, SOCAN/ASCAP; Slate Creek (track)
-Country-rock with stinging, grinding guitar work; a tough, snappy backbeat; a bluesy, drawling lead vocal and tight sibling harmonies. The CD is titled Let It Lie. Extremely promising.

BETH NIELSEN CHAPMAN/Simple Things
Writers: Beth Nielsen Chapman/Darrell Brown/Jim Brickman; Producers: Beth Nielsen Chapman & Darrell Brown; Publishers: BNC/Brickman/Universal/Grey Ink/Chrysalis, ASCAP/SESAC; BNC (track)
-I love everything this lady records. Her latest, UnCovered, is a collection of hits she’s written for others, but has never recorded, herself. You know these songs as sung by Tanya Tucker (”Strong Enough to Bend”), Alabama (”Here We Are”), Faith Hill (”This Kiss”), Lorrie Morgan (”Five Minutes”), Willie Nelson (”Nothin’ I Can Do About It Now”) and the like. Her take on this Jim Brickman favorite serves as the CD’s title tune. Her heart-in-throat vocal, as always, is a thing of lustrous wonder. The Kim Carnes harmony parts are beautifully layered. Other guests on this terrific collection include Morgan, Pam Tillis, Bekka Bramlett, Suzi Bogguss, Gretchen Peters, Matraca Berg, Vince Gill, Duane Eddy, Jessi Colter, Amy Grant, Muriel Anderson, Darrell Scott and George Marinelli. Miss this one at your peril.

MAC WISEMAN/You’re A Flower Blooming in the Wildwood
Writers: traditional; Producers: Thomm Jutz/Peter Cooper; Publishers: public domain; Wrinkled (track)
-When he was a little boy, Mac watched his mother listening to country radio and patiently transcribing song lyrics in notebooks. The repertoire of his new CD is drawn from those notebooks. The album is thus titled Songs From My Mother’s Hand. This sweet mountain tune is typical of the set, with its gentle, acoustic backing and the still-caressing singing of the man dubbed “The Voice With a Heart.” The 89-year-old, new Country Music Hall of Fame member is joined here by young Sierra Hull on mandolin and backing vocal. Others in this super-sympathetic folknik cast include Jelly Roll Johnson, Jimmy Capps, Alissa Jones Wall and Thomm Jutz.

LES KERR/The Sun Also Rises
Writers: Les Kerr; Producer: none listed; Publisher: O.N.U., ASCAP; O.N.U. (track)
-Nashvillians are accustomed to experiencing Kerr with his Bayou Band. But he also books solo acoustic shows, which his hearty tenor and deft guitar picking are more than capable of carrying. His new As Is CD is a document of one of those solo performances, a recent WDVX “Blue Plate Special” appearance in Knoxville. He kicks off the set with this light-hearted ditty in praise of Bourbon Street. How timely, since Mardi Gras festivities were this week in the Crescent City. The 12 Southern-themed songs are interspersed with the songwriter’s anecdotes and descriptions. He dedicates the album to his beloved late wife, Gail Kerr.

Kip Moore

With no bro country in sight this week, the Nashville songwriting community is strutting its stuff.

Will Hoge, Austin Webb, Carrie Underwood, Kip Moore, Bobby Wills and Keith Urban all have new singles with true composing craftsmanship on display. And two of them wind up with this column’s awards.

Canadian Bobby Wills wins the DisCovery Award. He’s already an award winner north of the border, and here’s hoping he can duplicate that success stateside. Longtime “DisClaimer” favorite Kip Moore takes home the Disc of the Day prize. This guy seems to go from strength to strength.

Coincidentally, both of these fellows are singing “bad-boy” songs.

Bobby Wills

BOBBY WILLS/Crazy Enough
Writers: Pyle/Aldridge/Wills; Producer: Michael Pyle; Publishers: none listed; Willing (track)
-Infused with personality and raucous energy. The sidewinder guitars are perfect for the on-the-edge lyric. His ad-libbed chuckles in mid song are groovy, too.

KIP MOORE/I’m To Blame
Writers: Kip Moore/Justin Weaver/Westin Davis; Producer: Brett James; Publishers: WB/Cool Change/Music of the Corn/Magic Mustang/Reefer Road/Big Loud Bucks, ASCAP/BMI; MCA (CDX)
-The double-tracked vocal, distinctive rhythmic sounds, banjo ripples and urgent production are all ear catching, not to mention the excellent n’er-do-well lyric. This one’s a keeper.

AUSTIN WEBB/All Country On You
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publishers: none listed; Streamsound
-There’s no telling what a gal might do if you cross her. She might go “Carrie Underwood” your truck, flip you the bird, “tear you something new,” binge on your credit card or “post naked pictures with your ink showin’ through.” Cleverly written and produced with zippy zest.

CARRIE UNDERWOOD/Little Toy Guns
Writers: Carrie Underwood/Chris DeStefano/Hillary Lindsey; Producer: Mark Bright; Publishers: Carrie Okie/EMI April/Sugar Glider/Sony-ATV/WB, BMI/ASCAP; Arista (track)
-Carrie follows her hit baptismal rocker with a thunderous, complex, layered production about a little girl who wishes mommy and daddy would stop fighting. Power pop.

WILL HOGE/Middle of America
Writers: none listed; Producers: none listed; Publishers: none listed; Cumberland/Thirty
-Little slices of life from the heartland add up to one fine, rocking anthem. He sings with just as much passion as there is in the songwriting. I love this guy. Please make him a star.

SHERRY LYNN/What Are You Running From
Writers: Leah Crutchfield/Brian Nash; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Steal Heart
-The instrumental arrangement is way bigger than her vocal ability.

KEITH URBAN & ERIC CHURCH/Raise ‘Em Up
Writers: Jaren Johnston/Jeffrey Steele/Tom Douglas; Producers: Nathan Chapman/Keith Urban; Publishers: Sony-ATV Harmony/Texa Rae/Jeffrey Steele/BPJ/tomdouglasmusic, ASCAP/BMI; Capitol (CDX)
-As uplifting and positive as its title implies. Both men sing with conviction and authority. The instrumental track both crackles with energy and dazzles with echoey splendor. This thing is a smash if I’ve ever heard one.

MICHAEL RAY/Kiss You In The Morning
Writers: Justin Wilson/Michael White; Producer: Scott Hendricks; Publishers: Magic Mustang/Big Loud Bucks/Downtown DMp/Music of Parallel, BMI; Warner Bros.
-He pretty much sounds like every other male country performer.

THE MAVERICKS/All Night Long
Writers: Raul Malo; Producers: Raul Malo/Niko Bolas; Publishers: Big Machine/Raul Malo, BMI; Valory (track)
-This horn-punctuated, salsa-inflected slab of latino pop kicks off the upcoming Mavs collection, Mono. Elsewhere on the CD, you’ll find flavors of r&b, classic balladry, Tex-Mex, swing, folk and more. All of it sounds pretty dang cool.

MICHAEL TURNER/Matches and Moonshine
Writers: Pete Stewart/Brian White/Megan Conner; Producer: Ilya Toshinsky; Publishers: none listed; Rustic
-Dreamy and sultry in the verses; pert, bright and bopping in the choruses. I guess it’s either creative or jarring, depending on your point of view.