DISClaimer (8/28/09)

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Josh Turner

Josh Turner

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 they’re all quite different musically. So I’m copping out and giving a male, female and group award to Josh Turner, Taylor Swift and Jypsi, respectively.

The one thing I am sure of this week is that Steel Magnolia wins the DisCovery Award.

TSwift-fearless150JOSH TURNER/Why Don’t We Just Dance
Writer: Jim Beavers/Jonathan Singleton/Darrell Brown; Producer: Frank Rogers; Publisher: Sony-ATV/Beavertime Tunes/Crosstown Uptown/Kobalt/Grey Ink, BMI/ASCAP; MCA Nashville (CDX)
—This is a nice little groover of a romantic come-on. His voice retains a wondrous, burnished glow that makes even the simplest of sentiments sound profound. I remain a huge fan.

TAYLOR SWIFT/Fifteen

Jypsi

Jypsi

Writer: Taylor Swift; Producer: Nathan Chapman & Taylor Swift; Publisher: Sony-ATV Tree/Taylor Swift, BMI; Big Machine
—A high-school slice of life, winsomely and tenderly sung. The single comes with a “teen service announcement” that encourages kids to be themselves, to not be afraid to be different and to realize that these turbulent years are not the be-all and end-all of your life.

ANNA GARROTT/What A Way To Go
Writer: Bobby Fischer/Phil Vassar/Charlie Black; Producer: none listed; Publisher: Anyone’s/EMI/Phil Vassar/Flybridge Tunes/EMI Blackwood, ASCAP/BMI; Blue Steel (www.annagarrott.com)
SM-ART-COVER-SINGLE-KO#6612—Who spiked the session with amphetamines? Way beyond “peppy.”

JYPSI/Mister Officer
Writer: Ed Hill/Josh Kear; Producer: Nathan Chapman; Publisher: none listed, BMI/ASCAP; Arista (CDX)
—She’s so dizzy in love that she can’t help speeding. Joyously rocking.

JENNIFER KENNARD/Angeline
Writer: Kennard/S. Colvin; Producer: Russell Garrett; Publisher: none listed; Diamond Eye (track)
—She has a beefy pop sound, with plenty of echoey guitars and keyboards. Vocally, she is airy, but solid. Her six-song EP is titled Lonely Girl. Recommended.

JULIA BURTON/Party Down
Writer: P.R. Battle/Anthony Smith/Michael Garvin; Producer: Biff Watson; Publisher: Harris Gordon/Music Sales Corp./Notewrite/Michael Garvin, ASCAP/BMI; Emerald River (CDX) (615-533-7611)
—Don’t let the spoken-word intro throw you. As soon as it’s over, she rocks out, shouting her intention to “party down” and celebrate his leaving. Clever and listenable.

BEN GREGG/Radio Waves
Writer: Jerry Cupit; Producer: Jerry Cupit; Publisher: Cupit, BMI; Cupit (CDX) (www.cupitmusic.com)
—The raucous, rocking production completely swamps his vocal.

DELBERT McCLINTON/Starting A Rumor
Writer: Delbert McClinton/Gary Nicholson/Guy Clark; Producer: Delbert McClinton & Gary Nicholson; Publisher: Nasty Cat/Carol Vincent/Sony-ATV Cross Keys/Gary Nicholson/EMI April, ASCAP; New West (CDX) (www.newwestrecords.com)
—The swampy, R&B slow groove is a pure delight. Needless to say, the vocal is drenched with soul. Grab your baby and sway on the dance floor.

STEEL MAGNOLIA/Keep On Lovin’ You
Writer: Chris Stapleton/Trent Willmon; Producer: Dann Huff; Publisher: House of Sea Gayle/New Son of a Miner/Happy Cattle/Calhoun Enterprises, ASCAP; Big Machine
—This male-female duo was the winner on season two of CMT’s Can You Duet. Both vocalists have more than a little soul-music influence, but she has the edge. Whatever the case, their TV win was no fluke, because their debut disc is a winner, too.

BRYAN WHITE/The Little Things
Writer: Bryan White/Erik Bledsoe/James Dean Hicks; Producer: Bryan White & Derek George; Publisher: Dustbowl Dreamer/Pedal Down/Sally Pretzel/On the Market, ASCAP/BMI; Just a Pup (CDX) (www.bryanwhite.com)
—Where has this guy been? His return to disc is a sweet, romantic outing with swirling breezes of steel, organ, fiddle, acoustic guitar and piano. His tenor vocal wafts right along.

DISClaimer (8/21/09)

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GregForesman-Kodiak150We 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 have forgotten. To them, I say listen to the collections of sounds that are being released by Chuck Cannon, John Arthur Martinez and Greg Foresman. These three know how to vary audio textures, sequence songs and create deeply satisfying listening experiences.

LadyA-NeedYouNow150Greg Foresman has evidently released earlier albums, but since I
was unaware of them, he earns the DisCovery Award.

Not that there’s anything wrong with singles, mind you. In fact, you’ll find one of the finest examples of that craftsmanship here as well. That would be “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum. It is unchallenged as the Disc of the Day.

BECKY SCHLEGEL/So Embarrassing
Writer: Becky Schlegel; Producer: Becky Schlegel & Brian Fisher; Publisher: Lilly Ray, BMI; Lilly Ray/IGO (www.beckyschlegel.com)
—Her fragile-rose, soprano delivery wafts lightly from the speakers. The acoustic production and softly layered country harmonies add to the enchantment.

LOST IMMIGRANTS/Get Lost
Writer: James Dunning; Producer: James Dunning & Sean Isbell; Publisher: J. Mulligan, BMI; Lo-Fi Tofu (www.lostimmigrants.com)
—This Texas-based four-piece band drawls and twangs in all the right places. The label is aptly named, for the sound is, indeed, low fidelity. But in a pleasant kinda way.

LADY ANTEBELLUM/Need You Now
Writer: Dave Haywood/Charles Kelley/Hillary Scott/Josh Kear; Producer: Paul Worley & Lady Antebellum; Publisher: Warner-Tamerlane/DWHaywood/Radiobullet/Hillary Dawn Songs/Foray/Year of the Dog/Big Yellow Dog/Darth Buddah, BMI/SESAC/ASCAP; Capitol Nashville
—Utterly delicious, from the echoey production touches to the flawless harmonies in the hyper-melodic choruses. Stardom is on the march.

VERONICA BALLESTRINI/Amazing
Writer: none listed; Producer: Cliff Downs; Publisher: none listed; Timbob
—She was profiled recently in The New York Times in an article about new country females. The piece failed to mention how completely ordinary sounding she is.

GREG FORESMAN/Something I Can Use
Writer: Greg Foresman; Producer: Greg Foreseman & Howie Gano; Publisher: Communion, no performance rights listed; Greg Foresman (track) (www.gregforesman.com)
—Greg is Martina McBride’s lead guitarist. He also makes solo albums, and his newest is titled Kodiak. This slinky track burbles with nifty licks, thumping percussion and a bluesy vocal. There’s also something faintly Dylan-y about it. His other self-penned tunes are just as interesting. “Suicide Bomber” tries to get inside the head of a terrorist. “Big Sky Country” is a guitar-vocal ode to the great outdoors. “In Your Light” is chiming and uplifting.

DIAMOND RIO/God Is There
Writer: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Word/Curb/WB (track)
—A CD titled The Reason will mark this durable band’s CCM debut next month. Its single is a stately ballad about finding grace in the most unlikely places. As you might expect, it is performed with pristine perfection. Highly listenable. Also coming next month is Beautiful Mess, a book telling the remarkable story of six guys who have stuck together for all these many years.

JOHN ARTHUR MARTINEZ/Purgatory Road
Writer: Kent Finlay/John Arthur Martinez; Producer: Lew Curatolo; Publisher: none listed; Apache Ranch (track) (www.johnarthurmartinez.net)
—This former Nashville Star star drops his new album next month. Its title tune is a bluesy, downbeat look at these rough economic times. It swirls with drama that climaxes in murder. Gripping, to say the least. The production textures are superb throughout the set, from the Latin groove of “Que No Puede Ver” to the rolling country-rock of “On the Run” and the rumbling, accusatory “You Can’t Outdrink the Truth.” Heartily recommended.

LEON RUSSELL/Ballad Of Jed Clampett
Writer: Paul Horning; Producer: Leon Russell; Publisher: Carolintone, no performance rights listed; Leon Russell (track) (www.leonrussellrecords.com)
—The Best of Hank Wilson reprises many of the tunes that Leon has previously recorded in his country persona (”Rollin’ in My Sweet Baby’s Arms,” “I’m Movin’ On,” “Oh Lonesome Me,” “I’ll Sail My Ship Alone,” “Jambalaya” etc.). Among the bonus tracks is this banjo-driven bopper that served as the theme song of The Beverly Hillbillies TV sitcom that became one of the biggest ratings bonanzas of the 1960s. Leon’s humorously drawling delivery is absolutely perfect.

CHUCK CANNON/God Shaped Hole
Writer: Allen Shamblin/Chuck Cannon; Producer: Lari White & Chuck Cannon; Publisher: Built on Rock/Wacissa River, ASCAP/BMI; Nashville Underground (track) (www.chuckcannon.com)
—Among my favorite things to collect are albums recorded by members of our songwriting community, so I was thrilled when this arrived in the mail. Chuck is not only supremely gifted as a composer, he’s a vocalist of rare charisma. The title tune to his set is a gorgeous meditation on the limits of love. You will bask in its audio beauty. Much of the rest of the CD explores spiritual matters, but there is also the political “Something’s Wrong with the World,” the anti-alcohol/faithless love saga “Poison” and the prison ode “Bad to Worse.” This is one cool record.

GENE WATSON & TRACE ADKINS/We’ve Got A Pulse
Writer: Jerry Salley/Billy Yates; Producer: Dirk Johnson; Publisher: EMI Blackwood/Pay the Bill/EMI/Foray/Sea Keeper, BMI/SESAC; Shanachie (track) (www.genewatson.com)
—Gene’s forthcoming CD A Taste of the Truth includes guests such as Alison Krauss and Rhonda Vincent. This track is this year’s “Murder on Music Row” ode to preserving traditional country music. The “heartbeat” percussion thumps are nifty, and Trace’s verse ends, appropriately, with a basso profundo “sing it, Gene.”

DISClaimer (8/14/09)

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hannahMcNeil-150It 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 varies widely. Some sound as good as their major-label big brothers and sisters. And then you have the lunatic fringe, raving about everything from politics to eating chicken. Oh, and let’s not forget outer-space aliens.

One release here towered above all the others. That is “What Am I Getting Up For” by Hannah McNeil. It is, unquestionably, the Disc of the Day.

THE NEW RELICS/Beautiful
Writer: M. Arbogast/J. Swiger/B. Martin/J. Bidwell; Producer: Joshua Swiger & The New Relics; Publisher: none listed, BMI; Blues Alley/Spinville (www.thenewrelics.com)
—Nicely written, but apparently recorded on the cheap.

HANNAH McNEIL/What Am I Getting Up For
Writer: Hannah McNeil/Jesse Wray/Jeffrey Steele; Producer: none listed; Publisher: Positively Platinum/Jeffrey Steele/Wray Line, ASCAP/BMI; Spinville (www.hannahmcneil.com)
—Don’t wait for any upbeat resolution to this unrelentingly existential lyric, because there isn’t one. Instead, you’ll revel in the darkly atmospheric sound, exult in her inspiring vocal and punch your fist to the driving tempo. It may be somber, but somber has never sounded so grand and gripping. This is one excellent little record.

RICHIE FIELDS/Losing You
Writer: Gerald Smith/Wynn Varble; Producer: none listed; Publisher: Melody Roundup/Warner-Tamerlane/Precious Flour, BMI; Joint Journey (www.richiefields.com)
—Richie has earned consistently high marks in this column. His latest, a moody power ballad, features cool dips into his lower register and an oomphy, melodic chorus hook.

GRANDPA ROCK/The Bail Out Boogie
Writer: Jim Lusk/Gary S. Paxton; Producer: Gary S. Paxton; Publisher: Shala Kedon/House of Paxton, BMI; Skitzopax (www.garyspaxton.net)
—Former pop and gospel act Gary S. Paxton sent this from Branson. He hopes it becomes a theme song for the right-wing “Tea Parties.” I’ll give it this much, it is certainly repetitive and simple enough to remember. And its muddled message mirrors the movement. It includes shout-outs to Lou Dobbs, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly and all your other favorites. Be sure and listen to the long version with its rabid-dog dementia fade-out.

TWO TONS OF STEEL/Hold Over Me
Writer: Kevin Geil; Producer: Lloyd Maines; Publisher: Kevin Geil, BMI; Smith Entertainment (track) (www.twotons.com)
—These Texas favorites have a new CD titled Not That Lucky, which features this tuneful, pop-country bopper. It sorta reminds me of cowboys mixing it up with the British Invasion.

NIKKI BRITT/You Happened
Writer: Craig Wiseman/Steve Diamond; Producer: Brien Fisher; Publisher: New Diamond/EverPop/BMG/Mrs. Lumpkin’s Poodle, no performance rights listed; Rustic (www.rusticrecordsinc.com)
—Youthful sounding. The tinkling mandolin and acoustic guitar notes sparkle around her sweet, lilting delivery. She’s a little pitch-y, but most kids are.

JOHNNY SANDS/Blue Diamond Encounter
Writer: Johnny Sands; Producer: John Nicolson; Publisher: none listed, BMI; Invasion (615-429-5189)
—Blue Diamond Highway, we are told, is 14 miles out of Las Vegas. On it, this performer swears he had an encounter with two bald, paralyzing aliens after his car stalled. Alrighty then. You don’t find country singles with this topic every day.

JASON MITCHELL/Chicken Man
Writer: Dale Morris; Producer: Dale Morris & Dan Mitchell; Publisher: Morris Music Group, BMI; DMP (CDX)
—It’s an R&B flavored grinder about his obsession with chicken, no matter how it’s cooked. Whatever.

MARIE ANGELINE/Let’s Get Down To Makin’ Up
Writer: Jarry Ward & Mike Lawler; Producer: Mike Lawler; Publisher: Handover Fist/Cootermo, BMI/ASCAP; Star Base (CDX)
—She’s all steamy and hot to trot, with a Bo Diddley beat.

TIMOTHY CRAIG/Tell Me Where It Hurts
Writer: Timothy Craig/Sandy Ramos; Producer: Tom Harding & Timothy Craig; Publisher: Timothy Craig/Lawyers Wife, ASCAP/BMI; Ball & Chain (CDX) (www.timothycraig.com)
—The production is big and meaty, which contrasts sharply with his almost whispery vocal tone. The tune is nicely crafted, and the chorus hook digs right in.

DISClaimer (8/7/09)

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Lee Brice

Lee Brice

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 for Disc of the Day. Brice takes the prize.

Definitely in the baby category is Josh Thompson, whose debut single wins him a DisCovery Award.

JOSH THOMPSON/Beer On The Table
Writer: Josh Thompson/Ken Johnson/Andi Zack; Producer: Michael Knox; Publisher: not listed, ASCAP/SESAC/BMI; Columbia (CDX)
JoshThompson-beer150—Thumpa, thumpa, thumpa, thumpa. This rocking working man’s lament is a nice piece of writing, but his tenor vocal veers over toward Tim McGraw’s territory a little. In sum, I’d say he’s promising. Send more.

TREY HENSLEY/It Is What It Is
Writer: Steve Wariner/Lane Turner/Rick Carnes; Producer: Paul Martin & Steven Robinson; Publisher: Steve Wariner/Major Bob/Songs of Peer, BMI/ASCAP; Kid in the Hat (track) (www.treyhensley.com)
—I have praised this teenage prodigy’s talents before. The title tune to his latest collection has a delightful Buck Owens vibe. Co-writer Wariner provides the stinging guitar licks. Essential listening.

KELLIE PICKLER/Didn’t You Know How Much I Loved You
Writer: Troy Verges/Chris Lindsey/Aimee Mayo; Producer: Chris Lindsey; Publisher: Songs of Universal/Songs From the Engine Room/Universal Careers/Silverkiss/MGB Songs/Magic Farming, BMI/ASCAP; BNA (track)
—I am a fan of all things Pickler. Thus, it pains me to hear her releasing such a generic Music Row ballad instead of a smash.

EMMA JACOB/Julianna
Writer: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Black River
—This is her second home-run single in a row. She sings with such fire and passion. Here’s some even better news: The song’s lyric of a gal going wrong is brilliantly crafted. The heart-pumping production supports her performance at every turn. Somebody make this woman a star.

LEE BRICE/Love Like Crazy
Writer: Doug Johnson/Tim James; Producer: Doug Johnson; Publisher: Mike Curb/Sweet Radical/Warner-Tamerlane/T-Bird’s Music, BMI; Curb
—Nicely done. Lee’s vocal delivers the everyday-folks lyric with pitch-perfect dramatic sense. He goes from conversational intimacy in the verses to shout-to-the-heavens power in the choruses.

MARK WAYNE GLASMIRE/Everything Is Gonna Be Alright
Writer: Mark Wayne Glasmire; Producer: none listed; Publisher: Traceway, ASCAP; Spinville (www.markwayneglasmire.com)
—The factory closes. Daddy loses his job. The bank forecloses on their home. The family becomes homeless. But they survive with faith, love and hope intact. The hang-on-every-line story song is surrounded by an acoustic-based production that keeps the emphasis on the lyric. An admirable effort all around.

MICA ROBERTS/Days You Live For
Writer: Mica Roberts/Regie Hamm/Lee Thomas Miller; Producer: Regie Hamm; Publisher: Hears a Hit/BBGB/Writers of Sea Gayle/Emmas Garden, SESAC/BMI; Show Dog Nashville
—Hit songwriter Hamm (David Cook’s pop giant “The Time of My Life”) turns out to be a nifty record producer, too. The pumping energy in this track is terrific. Mica attacks the lyric with gusto.

BRADY SEALS/Ho Down
Writer: Brady Seals/Kizzy Plush; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; StarCity (track) (www.bradyseals.com)
—Are we allowed to say “ho” on country radio? The floozy passes out in front of the bandstand, hence “Ho Down.” This well-produced stomper advises the dancers not to tramp on the tramp.

THE COAL MEN/Farther Find Me Now
Writer: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Funzalo (track) (www.thecoalmen.com)
—The group’s new Kids With Songs CD includes this beautifully atmospheric audio masterpiece. This doomed session of hide-and-seek has already achieved a measure of notoriety by being featured last month in the Discovery Channel show The Deadliest Catch. I remain a massive fan of Dave Coleman and his power-Americana trio. I can’t wait for the rest of you to hear this.

MARTY RAYBON & FULL CIRCLE/Leavin’ On The Next Thing Smokin’
Writer: Joe Diffie/Danny Morrison/Johnny Slate; Producer: Marty Raybon; Publisher: Forrest Hills/Sony-ATV Acuff Rose, BMI; Synchoro (track) (www.martyraybon.com)
—Marty’s new This, That & the Other CD kicks off with this banjo-and-percussion driven romp. Try adding a little bit of bluegrass flavor to your playlist. Elsewhere on the CD are tastes of Cajun, honky-tonk, gospel and comedy from such stellar writers as Bobby Braddock, Mark Collie, Dickey Lee, the Hemphills, Red Lane and Ben Speers.

Book Review of “How The Beatles Destroyed Rock ’n’ Roll”

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beatles-hi-resHow The Beatles Destroyed Rock ’n’ Roll by Elijah Wald

(Oxford University Press, 2009)

Review by Belmont professor Don Cusic:

This isn’t really a book about the Beatles; rather it is a book that notes the distortion of the history of popular music through the years. Wald, who wrote an excellent book on Robert Johnson, notes that histories of rock ’n’ roll—or the music industry in general—tend to be written by guys who like cutting edge music much more than “popular” music. For example, Paul Whiteman was the most commercially successful early jazz big band leader, but historians ignore him in favor of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington (who both admired Whiteman) because 1) Whiteman was white and 2) he was commercially popular.

Once the party line is established, other writers tend to follow it.

This also happened when rock ’n’ roll comes into the picture. People like Bing Crosby, Perry Como and Patti Page (remember “How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?”) are dismissed as “white bread” because they do not suit the writer/critics taste. Pat Boone, who competed head to head with Elvis in the 1950s—and had a whole string of top chart hits from that era—has become a whipping boy for those who disliked his covers of R&B songs and disparage him instead of acknowledging that he, too, was a cultural force in that era.

As for the Beatles, well, those who write about them ignore the fact that “Hello Dolly” by Louis Armstrong pushed them off the top of the singles charts in 1964 and that Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Roger Miller (he never mentioned Roger—but I loved him!) had big hits during the British Invasion. After the Beatles and the British, according to Wald, rock music was frozen in time.

Wald laments that “the segregation of American popular music that began with the British Invasion has hurt white music more than it hurt black. Rock and its white relatives stagnated—not in the sense that no good music was made but in that there have been few major advances in the past thirty-plus years. Meanwhile, the black dance music of the 1970s led into hip-hop and rap, which have inspired and transformed popular styles around the world.”

Wald also criticizes rock bands for not being grounded in live performances. He states, “Facing an audience for four or five hours a night, seven nights a week, was tough work, but that was how virtually all my favorite musicians got their education, and its an education that very few artists will ever have again.”

Wald hits home here. Most young musicians today learn a few chords and then go directly to writing songs and recording them. In the past that’s where the big pay-off has been—being a celebrity through airplay and albums—but times are changing and records ain’t what they used to be. Still, as long as being a celebrity has a bigger payoff than being a musician, then who’s to blame the young folks for chasing stardom instead of craft?

Book Offers Cultural Bill Of Rights

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BOOK_ArtsBook Review

Arts, Inc.: How Greed and Neglect Have Destroyed Our Cultural Rights Bill Ivey (University of California Press, 2008)

Bill Ivey is one of the most articulate commentators on art and culture in America. He served as head of the National Endowment for the Arts during the Clinton Administration and prior to that was Executive Director of the Country Music Hall of Fame and active as a leader in NARAS, better known today as grammy.com. His lucid book, Arts, Inc., is  one of the most insightful looks at arts and culture that you will find. For those in the music industry it should be a “must read,” although large organizations owning vast amounts of copyrights may squirm a bit.

The book begins with a “Cultural Bill of Rights,” six “rights” that include the “right to our heritage,” to “the prominent presence of artists in public life,” “to an artistic life,” “to be represented to the rest of the world by art that fairly and honestly communicates America’s democratic values and ideals,” “to know about and explore art of the highest quality” and “to healthy arts enterprises that can take risks and invest in innovation while serving communities and the public interest.”

This book is a manifesto but it doesn’t hit you over the head with one man’s opinions; instead, Ivey demonstrates, through good journalism, research and personal background that we need to re-think the role of arts and culture in America, especially as it relates to copyright law.

In the Introduction, Ivey gives some personal stories of interacting with the Clintons while he was head of the National Endowment for the Arts as well as some personal glimpses of his childhood. He uses this as a springboard to talk about culture and the arts in America and notes that “culture is more than the surface sheen of civilization; it’s an important reservoir of both identity and individual expression—a reservoir that must be well secured.”

Ivey states that “Government…has failed to protect the expressive lives of citizens and instead politicized and trivialized the cultural conversation, even allowing self-interested punditry, advertisers, and media executives to trample free-speech principles” and quotes cultural critic Lawrence Lessig, who states, “the law’s role is less and less to support creativity, and more and more to protect certain industries against competition.”

In a chapter on “Heritage” he notes that “the concentration of ownership of America’s intangible cultural heritage in fewer and fewer hands has followed the trend toward consolidation in our arts industry.” He criticizes corporations for “owning” America’s past, claiming copyright on works that lead to a suppression of cultural history. Record companies are criticized for owning vast stores of recordings that the public never hears and these companies block access to these recordings through copyright, which leads to “controlling” our heritage. Further, these record companies really don’t know what they own or how much has been lost.

Ivey criticizes the current copyright law but offers solutions, such as requiring copyright holders to pay modest fees in order to maintain copyright ownership rather than the current 95 years that record, movie and TV companies now have.

He discusses the isolation that classical music has imposed upon itself, taking itself out of popular culture, and compares American arts and culture policies and practices in the rest of the world. (Many other countries have a “Minister of Culture.”)

A chapter on “The Failure of Government” gives a good behind-the-scenes look at government dealing with the arts and, for the most part, it ain’t a pretty picture.

In his conclusion, Ivey notes that arts in the United States has gone from being participatory—people sitting at home playing and singing—to a consumer culture where we are a non-participatory audience. He asserts that “Today intellectual property law constitutes a constellation of constraint that locks up heritage, ties the hands of creativity, and assigns a price to an ever-widening spectrum of our expressive life” and that “claims of ownership in the U.S. arts system have begun to undermine the creative process.”

This review is much too short to do justice to such a well-thought-out book. For those who think seriously about arts and culture it is a must read.

Bluegrass DISClaimer (10/2/09)

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AleciaNugent-hillbillygoddessThe best part of the bluegrass-music week starts today.

Up until now it has been mostly panel discussions, showcases, a trade show and last night’s awards gala. Today begins the Bluegrass Fan Fest part of the IBMA’s convention. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday you get nothing but music, music, music on the lower level of the Nashville Convention Center.

Friday’s 21-act lineup includes The Grascals, Dan Tyminski, The SteelDrivers, Cherryholmes, Del McCoury and our Disc of the Day winner, Alecia Nugent.

On Saturday, you can hear such greats as Dale Ann Bradley, Dailey & Vincent, Joe Diffie, The Infamous Stringdusters and The Lonesome River Band among the 22 performers.

It’s bluegrass gospel on Sunday morning, featuring Union Station’s Ron Block, plus Kenny & Amanda Smith and more. Have fun, music lovers.

ALECIA NUGENT/Don’t Tell Me
Writer: Buddy Miller/Julie Miller; Producer: Carl Jackson; Publisher: Bughouse/Music of Windswept/Bug, ASCAP; Rounder (track) (www.alecianugent.com)
—Alecia is rare as a bluegrass star with a music video. This gorgeous, heartbreaking ballad is like a rose petal floating on an icy lake. She is one of the greatest country singers alive, and shimmers on every track of her current Hillbilly Goddess CD. On its title tune and on “Nugent Family Band” she emerges as a songwriter for the first time. The all-star cast includes Rob Ickes, J.D. Crowe, Sonya Isaacs, Bradley Walker and Andy Leftwich, as well as her brilliant producer, Carl Jackson. An essential record. I wrote the liner notes, but don’t let that keep you from buying it.

RICKY SKAGGS/Foggy River
Writer: Fred Rose; Producer: Ricky Skaggs; Publisher: Sony-ATV, ASCAP; Skaggs Family  (track) (www.skaggsfamilyrecords.com)
—Ricky’s latest is called Solo: Songs My Dad Loved. It leads off with this dazzlingly melodic Carl Smith goldie. Ricky’s nimble guitar work on it is as stellar as his vocal. I’ll say one thing: Hobart Skaggs had excellent taste. The set also includes “This World Is Not My Home,” “What Is a Home Without Love,” “Branded Wherever I Go,” and a very cool, overdubbed Ricky-and-Ricky performance of “God Holds the Future in His Hands.”

DALE ANN BRADLEY/Don’t Turn Your Back
Writer: Louisa Branscomb; Producer: Alison Brown; Publisher: Millwheel, BMI; Compass (track) (www.compassrecords.com)
—Don’t Turn Your Back is Kentuckian Dale Ann’s first album since moving to Nashville last year. Appropriately, the title tune is a high, lonesome, wistful song about making a journey by train. She sings with the delicacy of bird in flight. The CD’s repertoire casts its net wide, from Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” to The Carter Family’s “50 Miles of Elbow Room,” from Fleetwood Mac’s “Over My Head” to Dale Ann’s own “Music City Queen.” This is the finest work of her career to date.

DAILEY & VINCENT/Years Ago
Writer: Donald Reid; Producer: Jamie Dailey & Darrin Vincent; Publisher: Songs of Universal, BMI; Rounder (track) (www.daileyvincent.com)
—Darrin and Jamie have always had a thing for The Statler Brothers, so it’s no surprise to find a revival of that group’s 1982 hit on their superb Brothers From Different Mothers CD. It remains a delightful, bitter-funny song, and no one sings with as much thrilling timbre as these two do. The bluegrass vocal treatment they apply to Roger Miller’s “You Oughta Be Here with Me” made the hairs on my arms tingle. They are particularly exciting on “Your Love Is Like a Flower” on the gospel tunes and in their twin-guitar and vocal duet of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings’ “Winter’s Come and Gone.” Oh what am I saying, every track is a minor masterpiece.

DISClaimer 7/31/09

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KChesney-greatesthitsII-150They didn’t win any of the big prizes, but two of our mid-level acts have some of the tastiest tunes this week.

Give an ear to the hilarious lyrics in Heartland’s “Mustache.” This thing is so wonderfully different that it could really perk up a radio station’s playlist. Also a writer’s delight is “Gypsy Boots,” the new Terri Clark single. Plus, it is sung and produced expertly.

Easton Corbin is a product of a Florida cattle farm in an area so rural that there isn’t even a fast-food burger joint in town. No wonder he sounds so marvelously countrified. “A Little More Country Than That” fits him so perfectly that it might as well be his true story. It also earns him a DisCovery Award.

The Disc of the Day belongs to a pair of unquestioned superstars. Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews are an audio delight on “I’m Alive.” It is the finale track on Kenny’s smash-packed Greatest Hits II album.

KATIE ARMIGER/Gone
Writer: Katie Armiger; Producer: Jonathan Lawson; Publisher: Lily Road, BMI; Cold River
—The track of this ballad builds nicely from an acoustic-based arrangement to big, oomphy, electrified, string-soaked choruses. The verses are cast in a key that’s too low for her, but the pay-off notes in the hook are right in the pocket.

KENNY CHESNEY & DAVE MATTHEWS/I’m Alive
Writer: Kenny Chesney/Dean Dillon/Mark Tomburino; Producer: Buddy Cannon & Kenny Chesney; Publisher: none listed, ASCAP/BMI; BNA (track)
—Very pretty. Both men sing with gentle intimacy, and the acoustic track is a shimmering swirl of liquid repeating riffs.

BROTHERS FINCH/I Know Where You Are
Writer: Brothers Finch; Producer: Brothers Finch; Publisher: none listed; Brothers Finch (www.brothersfinch.com)
—These siblings are former Can You Duet contestants who are now working on their debut album. Based on this advance, my advice is to get more clarity in the mix. This is too muddy.

REBA/Consider Me Gone
Writer: Steve Diamond/Marv Green; Producer: Reba McEntire & Mark Bright; Publisher: Teri and Steve’s/EverGreen/Warner Tamerlane, ASCAP/BMI; Valory/Starstruck
—I can’t believe this is the best song this superstar is able to find. There’s nothing really wrong with it, but it is definitely another routine day at the office on Music Row.

MIKE SCHIKORA/What’s Old Is New Again
Writer: Mike Schikora; Producer: Mike Schikora; Publisher: Tuck and Go, ASCAP; Front Range (track) (www.frontrangerecords.com)
—The title tune to this fellow’s CD has rippling Latin rhythm and a crisp production. His pitch-perfect, light tenor voice has an attractive “break” in certain notes. The acoustic guitar solos are cool, too. All in all, a job very well done.

EASTON CORBIN/A Little More Country Than That
Writer: Don Poythress/Rory Lee Feek/Wynn Varble; Producer: Carson Chamberlain; Publisher: none listed; Mercury
—Excellent. The song is extremely well crafted, and his performance is Strait-ahead country. After one listen, I was ready to sing along.

BRITTINI BLACK/America
Writer: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Star Tour/Slugfest (www.brittiniblack.com)
—She sings wonderfully. But when was the last time you heard a vocalist backed by only a keyboard on the radio?

TERRI CLARK/Gypsy Boots
Writer: Terri Clark/Jon Randall/Leslie Satcher; Producer: Terri Clark; Publisher: Hattitude/Tier Three/Wha Ya Say/Reynsong/Leslie Satcher/Sony ATV Tree, ASCAP/BMI; Baretrack (CDX) (615-324-2380)
—“I ain’t cut out for aprons or stayin’ home at night,” she observes. Plus, “My mama was a hippie, and my daddy was a rolling stone.” And this: “My middle name is Gone.” And this: “Don’t wanna rock no babies, but baby I’ll rock you.” Simply put, this is one of the coolest female ‘tude tunes I’ve heard in ages.

HEARTLAND/Mustache
Writer: Chris DuBois/Jimmy Melton/Neal Coty; Producer: Paul Compton; Publisher: New Sea Gayle/Songs of Universal/Write’em Rite/Bug/Murrah, ASCAP/BMI; Permian (CDX) (www.heartlandband.com)
—The “I Loved Her First” Alabamians are back, this time with a very funny bopper about a gal dating a guy who looks like a porn star, right out of 1979. Sung and performed with grand gusto.

BILL GENTRY/I Want What You Want
Writer: Ed Hill/David Frasier/Josh Kear; Producer: Garth Fundis; Publisher: Asierra/Sagrabeaux/Universal Music Careers/Cross Keys, BMI/ASCAP; Roadworthy (www.billgentrynation.com)
—It’s a frothing rocker with a galloping rhythm track and a catchy hook. The singer musters up just enough moxie to “sell” it.

Gretchen Wilson and Sony Parting Ways

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gretchenStatement from Sony Music Nashville:

Gretchen Wilson and her longtime record label group, Sony Music Nashville, have mutually decided to part ways. The Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter and Best Selling author, who exploded on to the country music scene and the national spotlight in 2004 with her smash hit “Redneck Woman,” released three No. 1 albums with Here For The Party, All Jacked Up, and One Of The Boys. Though Wilson will no longer record with the label as a solo artist, both parties look forward to working together on future catalogue projects.

Photos: Aquapalooza, Rascal Flatts, Jimmy Wayne on Crook & Chase

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aquapalooza

Pictured (back row, l-r): CMT Sr VP Production, Development and Talent John Hamlin; Arista Nashville Promo VP Skip Bishop; Sony Music Nashville Exec VP A&R Renee Bell; Arista Nashville National Promo Director Lesly Tyson; and Sony Music Nashville Exec VP Butch Waugh. (front row, l-r): Cracker Barrel Marketing VP Peter Keisner; Caitlin Lynn; Sony Music Nashville Marketing VP Tom Baldrica; Will Snyder; Sony Music Nashville Chairman Joe Galante; Jypsi's Scarlett, Lillie Mae, Amber-Dawn, and Frank; and Grand Ole Opry VP/GM Pete Fisher.

Alan Jackson headlined AquaPalooza 2009 on Lake Martin, Alabama on Sat., July 25. Numerous Nashville music biz execs made the trip to the boating and music festival which also featured performances by Columbia Nashville duo Caitlin & Will and Arista Nashville group Jypsi. More than 4,000 boats and 35,000 people attended, setting a new record for any single event on a lake. Boats were packed bow to stern for over a mile, and many fans donned their inner tubes and water noodles to paddle close to the water-pit at the bottom of the stage. During the show, which was taped for CMT’s Labor Day special, Jackson spoke about childhood visits to Lake Martin with his family.

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Photo credit: Will Byington

Photo credit: Will Byington

Elsewhere on Saturday (7/25), Rascal Flatts became the first country act to perform a concert in historic Wrigley Field in Chicago. The group entertained a sold-out crowd of 37,000 fans, at one of only four concerts ever played in the Chicago Cubs’ home stadium. Vince Gill and Darius Rucker opened. The Rascal Flatts American Living Unstoppable Tour visits its second stadium show of the summer Aug. 9 in Columbus, Ohio.

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jw1

Jimmy Wayne will appear on RFD’s Crook & Chase this week, performing his new single “I’ll Be That” and his No. 1 smash “Do You Believe Me Now.” He is pictured above with Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase on location at the Nashville Palace. The episode premieres Thursday 7/30.