Rolling Country 2012

Press sheet. Several mentions of who sings what on this, here and there:
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Jamey Johnson

Living For a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran

When word got out that acclaimed Nashville artist Jamey Johnson was recording a tribute album to beloved songwriter Hank Cochran, musical superstars clamored to participate.

“When we were talking about who to call, people just kind of presented themselves,” Johnson says. “I think the word got out after awhile, and we were getting phone calls from people wanting to do it. There weren’t a whole lot of arms that needed twisting.”

The resulting cast, plus the brilliant and timeless Cochran songs, make this recording one of the musical events of the year. From the ranks of the Country Music Hall of Fame came George Strait, Emmylou Harris, Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, Ray Price and Vince Gill, not to mention Cochran’s oldest and truest friend, Willie Nelson. Veteran stars Leon Russell, Elvis Costello, Bobby Bare and Asleep at the Wheel perform on the album alongside contemporary artists such as Alison Krauss, Lee Ann Womack and Ronnie Dunn.

“Everybody got to pick their own songs, so for me, it was just as much a journey as it was for anybody else involved,” Johnson reports. “I thought I’d heard all of Hank’s songs, and I hadn’t heard anything.”

Johnson is quick to praise the efforts of co-producer Buddy Cannon, who worked with co-producer Dale Dodson to recruit artists and explore Cochran’s vast catalog. “By the time Buddy was done with it, it was the easiest thing in the world. I can’t give him enough credit.”

Johnson grew up singing gospel harmonies in church and believes this is why he was able to sing so capably with so many different stylists on the album, as well as in Cannon’s various musical settings. Johnson performs Cochran’s Keith Whitley hit “Would These Arms Be in Your Way” as his only solo on the tribute album.

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Hank Cochran died in 2010, but he left behind a song catalog that the world reveres. Masterpieces such as “Make the World Go Away,” “I Fall to Pieces” and “Don’t You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me” merely scratch the surface of his genius that produced hits on the country charts for more than four decades.

Cochran was also widely loved for his generosity of spirit, charming personality, easy-going humor and boundless kindness. During the final years of his life, he became a mentor to Johnson.

The two met when Johnson was celebrating the Gold Record success of his 2008 CD That Lonesome Song (which eventually achieved Platinum certification) as well as the Song of the Year trophies he collected for “Give it Away” and “In Color” from both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. Johnson’s renown continued with the 2010 release of his ambitious double album The Guitar Song, which also became a Gold Record winner. In addition, he picked up five Grammy Award nominations along the way. But throughout his rise, he remained close to Hank Cochran, who was slowly dying of cancer.

“Hank loved Jamey’s music, and Jamey just latched onto him,” says the songwriter’s widow, Suzi Cochran. “Jamey always wanted to hear Hank’s stories. Shortly after they met, Hank was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. So for the two years he lived after that, Jamey would get off the road, pull his bus right up to the hospital, run up and see Hank and raise his spirits.

“Hank adored Jamey. Jamey was there when a lot of people weren’t coming around. A lot of people are afraid to be around sick people. They don’t know what to say, or they don’t need you anymore. But Jamey was a constant in the last chapter of Hank’s life.”

“Hank influenced me, not only as an artist and a songwriter, but also just as a person,” says Johnson. “If I had to dream up someone to influence songwriters, I couldn’t do better than Hank. For Willie and for a lot of people, he was such a helpful friend. If he knew you needed help with something, he was there. And that’s what I want to be for the people in my life, the same kind of friend that Hank was.

“Buddy Cannon was the one who told me that it was getting to be about time, that if I wanted to say goodbye, now was my chance. So I met him at Hank’s house. Billy Ray Cyrus was there. Merle Haggard called. We did what we knew we could do. We just sang Hank songs and hung around with our friend.”

Recalling the night before Cochran died, Suzi Cochran says, “They all sat and sang Hank’s songs to him. Hank was very weak by this time. He couldn’t talk, but he’d kind of hum along. I think they left about 11 o’clock that night, and it was about five o’clock the next morning when Hank passed away.”

Johnson says it was Cochran’s passing that kicked off the idea for this project. “Willie Nelson was the first person I knew I wanted to include. Bobby Bare introduced me to a bunch of Hank’s songs that I didn’t know. Having Merle on it meant a lot to me, too. Bobby introduced me to him. Elvis Costello flew to Nashville [in 2009] when they had an event to honor Hank, so I knew he would want to be a part of this.”

On Livin’ For a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran, Johnson and Nelson sing “Don’t You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me,” and the duo is joined by Leon Russell and Vince Gill on “Everything But You.” “When you start talking about songwriters, you’ve got to say his name first – then you start talking about everybody else,” says Nelson of his departed friend. “Hank had a lot to do with me getting started. He was responsible, really, for me going to Nashville.

“I thought this [tribute record] was a great idea, that if it had never been done before, it was about time, “Nelson says. “I think also that he should be in the Country Music Hall of Fame. That’s my nomination for the next guy they put in there.”

Bobby Bare, who joins Johnson on “I’d Fight the World,” is delighted that his dear friend (and best man in Bare’s wedding) is being honored in this manner. “It just makes my heart warm to see all the great names who are on this album for no other reason than they respected and loved Hank’s songs. I still think about Hank. I hear Hank throughout all his songs. Hank was his songs, and the songs were Hank.”

Johnson teams with Haggard on the Patsy Cline 1961 hit “I Fall to Pieces.” “It’s important, historically, for people to know who Hank Cochran was and what he did,” Haggard believes. “He always wanted to be the Hemingway of country music, and I think he did it.”

Johnson, Nelson, Haggard and Kris Kristofferson sing “Living for a Song,” a poignant recording that includes Cochran’s voice. “Hank’s ability to perform comes across right there,” Haggard says of the song he describes as “our life on paper, music.” He says, “I mean, he’s in there with some of the best singers in the world and he gets it across better.”

“He wrote a kagillion classic songs,” adds Ronnie Dunn, who duets with Johnson on “A-11.” “It’s stunning when you look at the body of work that he was able to accomplish. He stayed relevant for so long.”

“Who wouldn’t want to be a part of this?” says Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel, who joins Johnson on “I Don’t Do Windows.” “Hank Cochran is, without a doubt, one of the greatest songwriters ever on earth. His songs transcend time because they’re based on emotion. I think the collection of artists on this album shows the respect that we all have for Hank’s artistry.”

“Hank’s songs bring out the best in anybody,” Johnson observes. “You don’t go on auto pilot and skip over the words. He’s going to make you focus in on a song. That’s the beauty of a skilled songwriter. A good song just inspires you. It makes you want to do better. The songwriter puts the spirit in it. That’s why everybody had the desire to make something great.

“It doesn’t make the Hall of Fame worthless that Hank Cochran is not in there, but it certainly makes it worth less that he’s not in there. It’s a matter of just recognizing good country music.”

Suzi Cochran pays perhaps the highest compliment this album could receive. “I wish Hank had been here to see it. He wouldn’t believe it. He would have cried. He’d be happy. It’s exactly like Hank would have done it.”

Caramanica in the NY Times re Jerrod Niemann, sensitive bro

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/06/arts/music/jerrod-niemanns-big-hearted-good-time-country.html?ref=music

The sensitive bro is a relatively new country paradigm: The outside is tough, mostly, and sometimes muscled, but the heart is big and often bursting. It’s become a stand-in for masculinity in the post-outlaw age, in which real rebellion isn’t an option, but a hint of it is welcome, particularly if it comes with a big, warm embrace and maybe a nibble on the earlobe.

Blake Shelton is the figurehead of the movement, the gentleman who provides cover for the rowdy boys in back. Those second-tier guys include Lee Brice, Randy Houser, Kip Moore, Bradley Gaskin and Jerrod Niemann. Of those, Mr. Niemann may be the sharpest and the most apt to throw curveballs.

I read it a couple days and disagreed -- so Alan Jackson is not a sensitive bro?

otm bout boring Blake Shelton though

also Miranda's consort (hey, enough of a job in itself)

If his presence contributes to her making good records, then his existence is justified, amen.

I guess Niemann is a sensitive bro, but he's also a trickster (which Caramanica does get at a little). 600 characters I wrote on his new one:

http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/jerrod-niemann/album/free-the-music

Couple moments of the first song on the album also remind me of Everclear (who I know a lot of people hate.) Weird, since Niemann had a song called "For Everclear" on his debut album that didn't remind me of Everclear at all -- at least not at the time, when I wrote this about it:

http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/jerrod-niemann/album/judge-jerrod-and-the-hung-jury

Been re-playing 2012 country albums the past few days. 3/4 of the way (plus a week) in, my top 13 would look something like this:

1. Jerrod Niemann – Free The Music (Sea Gayle/Arista Nashville)
2. Blackberry Smoke – The Whippoorwill (Southern Ground)
3. Thomas Rhett – Thomas Rhett EP (The Valory Music Co. EP)
4. Kix Brooks – New To This Town (Arista Nashville)
5. Bhi Bhiman – Bhiman (Boocoo Music)
6. Miss Willie Brown – Sampler (A&M/Octone EP)
7. Darrell Scott – Long Way Home (Thirty Tigers/Full Light)
8. Turnpike Troubadors – Goodbye Normal Street (Thirty Tigers/Bossier City)
9. Bryan Clark & The New Lyceum Players – Southern Intermissions (Rainfeather)
10. Kip Moore – Up All Night (MCA Nashville)
11. Lionel Richie – Tuskegee (Universal)
12. Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band – Between The Ditches (SideOneDummy)
13. Dwight Yoakam – 3 Pears (Warner Bros./Via)

(Last six are pretty close, though -- which is why I didn't stop at 10. Order could easily change. And I also might decide that Bhi Bhiman stretches the "country" definition too much, like I did with Elfin Saddle's Devastates, which'd be my #1 if I counted it as country.)

and Niemann wrote a good song about Everclear!

Haven't listened in a long time, but I used to like Everclear, and Pazz & Jopped Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile. So Jarrod's still got good judgement (get it, Judge Jarrod, hyuk hyuk). I will check out his latest ruling.

"Jason Aldean is giving fans the chance to listen to his upcoming fifth studio album NIGHT TRAIN in its entirety for the week leading up to its Oct. 16 release, with an exclusive iTunes pre-stream found at www.iTunes.com/JasonAldean The stream is available only on desktop and iPad devices in the United States and Canada." Eh, I dunno if I'll check it, but there it is.

That was sic, but this might be better http://www.iTunes.com/JasonAldean

actually really enjoying that record, even more than the last

I'm mixed on it; probably need to listen to it more. But it's really long, just like his last one. So far, two songs stand out for me: closest thing to a "rap" song (and rock song, and novelty track) is "1994," nostalgia for a year I didn't realize anybody was nostalgic for yet and for a country singer (Joe Diffie!??) who I didn't expect anybody would ever be nostalgic for, though I liked his chaos theory/butterfly effect hit "3rd Rock From the Sun" back in 1994 too; Aldean's musicians a little space in that to get funky. There's also a song near the end I like -- "Black Tears," a sort of sad hair-metal fallen-angel-working the-strip-club-and sniffing coke ballad, but maybe darker than that sounds, plus there's a recurring "Stairway To Heaven" motif running through it, which I don't remember country doing before. Rest of the album, so far, strikes me as just typical Aldean, who-cares rock-wannabe stuff and ballads, with okay small-town details (an abandoned factory in one song, for instance, where a party happens), more I could take or leave, and some that will probably grow on me a little over time.

So I just now checked out Jerrod Niemann – Free The Music (Sea Gayle/Arista Nashville) on his MySpace. Crisp white sand Carribean country appeal, rec to fans of Sublime, Chesney Buffett, RIYL associations esp. relevant on the five tracks I so far don't particularly care about. But some of that same appeal on the seven I perk up for, "Guessing Games" being the most meta, like what will the arrangement do next, with suave switcheroos, "I could waste a day or two with my hippies out west/Cajuns on the bayou" ect., little bits "Southern Nights"-era Allan Toussaint and early Big Kenny solo turns flash before mah eyes,and I'm there for the horns, a bit "Kenny Lane" on the title track, though usually with a sly riverboat Dixieland tinge(as heard on riverboats near casinos and minor league ballparks in the modern South). When he disclaims being a "Rhodes scholar/rough edges, blue in the collar", is he maybe actually disavowing all of that, so "Rhodes" could also be "roads" ("blue in the collar" could also imply "red in the face", he's not overselling or embarrassed, also not red in the neck) and he's not afraid to show musical evidence of being an unstudied combo of non-generic brains and beauty? Maybe does crossword puzzles, albeit with a pencil and eraser; only wears cologne on the right dates,if atall. Good to hear and think about, but I dunno about Top Ten Albums; h'm-m-m, seven keepers, five so-whuts. Should be something for Singles though, unless his ballads tamely hog that category.

Mind you, the disclaimer goes with a very nice trad country-friendly track, mellow baritones singing along, made me wonder again about the xpost Jamey Johnson trib to Hank Cochran (also reminds me Niemann should have supporting vocals more often, on slower songs)

Great writeup, Don, but wait -- which are the stinkers again? (Agree there's a couple, though not nearly enough to sink the riverboat.)

The Aldean dig grow on me, a little -- At least enough to convince me to hang on to the promo CD I got sent. Is it my imagination, or is it possible he's actually singing better now? Or maybe I just never noticed before that he's pretty okay at it. There's something about his slightly fancy vocal swoops in "I Don't Do Lonely Well" that reminds me, in a good way, of Jon Secada doing "Just Another Day" two decades ago. Despite its rote farm-town tough-guy chauvinism I don't hate the other quasi-hard-rock quasi-rap shitkick song "The Only Way I Know", which apparently has Eric Church and Luke Bryan on it. But besides the two I mention above, I'd say the standouts are "Night Train" (I get that "going down to the tracks to listen to the night train in the middle of the night" or whatever is a metaphor for making out, but is it also something people actually do?) and "Water Tower," and maybe "This Nothin' Town" -- all partly for their hicktown specifics, I reckon.

Drew Nelson's Tilt-A-Whirl, on folk/blues/Americana-type indie Red House, has a real shot at my country top 10, it turns out. He sings just about as bleh as Steve Earle, so I have my reservations, but the first few songs are real nice Nebraska-style recession gloom that always grabs my bleeding heartstrings. Album tails off halfway through, though I like when his band stretches out "Copper" to 6 minutes.

"..did grow on me a little..."

And I didn't make it very far into the Jamey Johnson. Just seems like a lazy writer's-block stopgap and star-studded grandstanding move to me. Can't make myself care about it at all. Though I did notice that both Jody Rosen in Rolling Stone and Christgau (who never liked Johnson much before) gave it good reviews.

The last Niemann album was a sleeper: I got it two years ago and it kicked in last summer or fall. It's hard for charm to combat slack songwriting, but he won. The last single was terrific.

The Singles Jukebox on "Shinin' On Me":

http://www.thesinglesjukebox.com/?p=5386

Maybe the rest of Free The Music will grow on me like the prev did for Alfred, but meanwhile, keeping things positive, these are the ones I do like so far:
"Free The Music"
"Shinin' On Me"
"Honky Tonk Fever"
"Guessing Games"
"It Won't Matter Anymore"
"Real Women Drink Beer"
"Fraction of a Man"

The others aren't stinkers, just dull-normal pop country radio bait.

Oh man, back to MySpace, this time for Jamey Johnson and friends' Hank Cochran tribute, and now I wanna do bad things with you. Very sensuous autumn flames in the veins, righteous wounds and guilt, old weird passive aggressive Casonova singing in his chains and cowpoke leather. Well, it's a reverie anyway, but the object of his repentant booty doesn't seem so far away tonight, and actual female duet partners take it t another level, which may be why not so many of them. The faster, funnier tracks are welcome too, a little fresh cold air, not too far from the dancefloor, at-least-mental boudoir, or bar (I once read that songs of this era were judged by the amount of drinks sold while they were played on the jukebox and radio; not a conspiracy, just corporate tie-ins). Maybe it is just one more elaborate act of JJ's writerly procrastination, but he def holds his own amid all the guests. Sounds kinda like Merle but younger. Very edutaining too; I never heard most of these.

repentant booty *call*, that is.

"one more act of writerly procrastination" in all the world of writers, that is, and hold the JJ, not saying he's done this before. I like that so far, each album is different, whatever the circumstances might be.

Goood band too, discreet yet sparky and no-hesitation spot-on.

I'm kinda skittish about the Johnson album. I liked That Lonesome Song better than The Guitar Song, and albums of duets typically do nothing for me. But I'll check for it on Spotify.

So, is anybody in this thread watching the TV show Nashville? I'm kind of enjoying it.

I liked the Altman movie okay, despite its know-nothing condescension toward country music. But this is what I wrote about the TV show on facebook last week: " I miss Tami Taylor. And I have no Hayden Panettiere opinion. (Doubt I could identify her in a police lineup, to be honest.) And I might try out this show when Netflix gets it a year from now (just like I try out lots of shows), but I do not have high hopes. 'Real' country diva who's paid her dues vs. 'fake' country upstart superstar, right? Zzzzzzzzzzz."

Just my know-nothing gut feeling, though. Could be wrong, obviously. (And other people seem to like it. Except ones who are bored by it.)

Yeah, pretty decent last night, especially the music. Even the tween-aimed video song was totally believable, could see it as a hit in that fictional world and this one too. The final song was awesome, smoke curling down the scale seeping into certain little shifts, private places. "We shouldn't have done that song," the resolutely ex-lovers agree after this duet, which portends probs for their reunion tour (he plays in her band all along, but this is a reinstatement of the once famously hot, fraught, pre-rehab duo. Which is Rayna [Connie Britton of Friday Night Lights)'s desperate career move, having pissed off her label and precluded their support for new album, by refusing to open for the tween-aimed starlet (who wants to move to grown-up audience cred, busy trying to steal the reinstated duo guy). Anybody heard the soundtrack?

I think Hayden comes off as a *somewhat% sympathetic character: like Rayna/Connie, she doesn't want to be trapped in a niche, and when she witnesses the xpost duet, cries like she's being shut out, not only a power thing, it's evidence of a bond, a musical transmutation of experience she hasn't had. Clumsily trying to buy it with the coveted duet guy, and may succeed to some extent, judging by previews of upcoming episodes, which also include crying after an encounter with her own non-rehabbed mother, recalling rough upbringing of this by-her-bootstraps gal.

Well, Metal Mike Saunders sure likes it. This was waiting for me when I opened my email this morning (tried to un-jumble it a little; not sure how successful I was):

c.f. everyone's favorite TV adult actress Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights) and other things/etc. (and wow is the show as good as hyped, based on ep #2)
i'd seen only a couple (or three max) of co-star Hayden Panettiere's TV/movie credits (i.e. the straight-to-DVD BRING IT ON: All Or Nothing from 2006 which is rerun 16 times a week on Disn/Nick/Fox Family channels) (and the2009 movie I LOVE YOU, BETH COOPER that she had the lead role in) but had the definite impression (esp in the 2009 movie) that she had/has real cinema-stage-presence/etc. i never watched the TV series HEROES that made her a medium-big TV name 2006-2010) ("Nominated: Saturn Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role on Television Series (2008–10), and Teen Choice Award (2007) Choice TV: Breakout;") even though best-TV-show-ever-Veronica-Mars 's kristen bell had a character/role in it before moving over to big co-star movie roles
but wow does NASHVILLE have a perfect casting with HP and Britton (who is regarded as a national treasure for her five seasons' of Friday Night Lights)

...and hound dog, i mean T-Bone taylor, i mean T-Bone burnett owes me two snow cones if he's never heard the 1965 kitty wells pop-country hit (that i cite). ya fuckin' dumbass texas ya. it was a #4/country (hit single)! look it up in Whitburn!
there are a shitpile of original songs on this/that youtube page (several of them legit pop-writer gifted, i.e. melody lines) and a half billion cover songs all of which...need autotune like santa needs reindeer. hey, didn't stop Lila McCann from gettin a gold album or two in the 90's! (as a mid-late teenager from seattle/tacoma)
(like teenagers getting to review 1971 proto/early metal albums in CREEM/etc, i am wot? the first "music fan" to post a muso-comment into the brand-new youtube ABC-TV clip(s)? does not make sense. makes NO sense at all. now send me a fuckin' snow cone coupon for referring the great Kitty Wells 1965 hit back into public discussion so's they can sing it in a couple/few months from now on that should-be-a-hit TV show. just do not make me listen to a "J Henry Burnette and the B-52 Band" album (on Uni) from 1972, wow not good x 10)

(a nova scotia/canada country-songwriter highschool prodigy who's been writing since age 12; vocals extremely erratic w/good hard country/country-pop vocal sound that needs AUTOTUNE on 6 of every 10 notes. like taylor swift ha). ..u probably saw/heard this on TV (last night/wed, ep #2). wow, some baadass oldschool vocals, but w a slight folkie tinge just like late 60's-early 70's dolly parton. NO AUTOTUNE. hp is a real singer, even if she apprenticed in highschool doing random disney/Hollywood Records' comp tracks..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGOnFwJKabY

"hybrid hard country/folkie vocal sound, very similar to (late 60's-early 70's) (early-RCA) Dolly Parton. truth = HP has got an oldschool Hall of Fame country voice, in the key of D here anyway. so she used to cut tunes in highschool for Disney/Hollywood Records' comps/sdtks (Girl Next, Girl Next 2, DisneyMania 5, Cinderella III)?"

"doesn't matter, 'it's what's in the grooves that counts.' "

oh wait that was me sayin that haha. note: miranda lambert (1st lp that had a bunch of acoustic-y things) would have OVERsung this song, and she's an often-great singer. HP understates it -- gives the vibrato space at the end of lines -- like wow hella good.

NASHVILLE "Undermine" as sung in ep#2 (missing the "studio-recording" scene later in the epi)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irx8_XFI7Fs

NASHVILLE "Undermine" full studio recording

http://www.youtube.com/user/EmilyTaylorKelso

Uh, think I might've cut-and-pasted a couple of those comments in the wrong order...Oh well, deciphering Metal Mike is half the fun.

He also called it (in his subject line) the "best TV drama ever about the music biz."

Btw, I am with Phil in preferring Jamey's Lonesome to Guitar. And also in not being a fan of duet albums.

The Guitar Song is like the Use Your Illusion albums - a bunch of good stuff, but also a bunch of filler. Take all the good songs and make a solid 45-minute iPod playlist out of it. That's what I think I'm gonna do tonight.

well gosh, finally listened to Iris Dement's Sing The Delta, and don't want to say too much now, I need to listen more--it's really rich, deep, lots of turns in the syllables, imagery, piano--but gotta say something. First track reminds me of what I liked about Leon Russell: that rippling, bouncing/pouncing piano (thinking of his "Tightrope"), and what kept me at at armslength: those rippling, detouring syllables). But intriguing, and after that, more like Toussaint,Domino even, especially at her most country (reminds me, she played piano with Merle Haggard and the Strangers on tour; think she learned something from his sneakily flexible tightjaw, even though she can take such phrasing much further--usually I can follow her far enough, catch up with her often enough). And at least a couple, "The Night I Learned How Not To Pray" and "Mama Was Always Tellin' Her Truth" ("no back burners on her stove"), are like great lost Tom T. tracks. Would like to hear Lee Ann Womack, Miranda Lambert, Lucinda Williams cover some of these.

So much for making the good stuff singles, sez this email I just got:

Sea Gayle Records/Arista Nashville singer/songwriter Jerrod Niemann is poised to hit the airwaves with the stirring “Only God Could Love You More,” the new single from his recently released Free the Music album.

Yuck.

x-post to Dow

Would like to hear Lee Ann Womack, Miranda Lambert, Lucinda Williams cover some of these.

Does that mean you think Iris Dement's renditions are too stiff or something; or do you like Dement's takes but also want to hear what the others would do with such songs?

Really enjoy her takes. She has such a distinctive way with fairly familiar elements. And I don't think I've ever heard anybody else cover one of her songs, I'm curious.

Oh yeah, back to Jamey Johnson for a sec: I really liked the way he and his band continuously played in and out of songs--whole songs, not medleys--on The Guitar Song and in some live sets on YouTube. The lesser songs were helped by the momentum, ditto on the Cochran tribute, even though its tracks are separated, and "lesser" here just means some don't have an immediately hooky turn of phrase.

<<'Real' country diva who's paid her dues vs. 'fake' country upstart superstar, right? Zzzzzzzzzzz.">>

that's the basic premise, more or less, but the show, which i love so far, is a lot smarter and more interesting than that. the "real" diva who paid her dues relies on her producer to bring her songs. and the upstart, we learn in episode 2, is a good writer with serious ambition. and both of 'em have backbones. and that smoky duet that closed episode 2 was pretty damn great.

Indeed. Though I'm wondering if Connie Britton can project beyond her hopeful yet basically seen-it-all Friday Nights Light perspective--gettin' weary when she's even got time for that---can she be project showbiz-drama-appropriate charisma when she's not singing? Here's a bit about the music
http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/tv-film/big-machine-records-to-release-music-from-1007966002.story

it's not so uncommon to hear albums inviting comparisons to spaghetti western soundtracks, but few really 'ppreciate the possibilties of American and European give-and-take: Latin in the Southwestern and Transatlantic senses, small room jazz a la Weill, Ellington, Arizona highway lounge; steel guitars and twang bars with nothing left to prove, Giant Sand (many of whom have been Danish for some time) expanding into Giant Giant Sand and offering Tucson--billed as a country rock opera--without ever being anythang that can't be hitched to s dustcloud drum kit, usually bouncing through stagecoach ruts. Sometimes swinging a little, though a droll drawl and and a tall tale (of love yall--it's all very romantic, in a worldly, wide open spacey way) "You're so much like the river/Beautiful, twisted and blue/You appear to be here forever/Passin' through."

And like an old Giant Sand song mentions, "Baby, it's hot outside."

Anybody heard Big & Rich's Hillbilly Jedi? Several Amazon reviewers describe it as "conventional, though with sound effects", "thinning" etc.

I am having a go at Kurt Wolff's 100 Essential Country Albums Rough Guide
Somehow never did Roy Acuff seriously. Newsflash: This guy is good!

Those are accurate descriptions for the Big & Rich set. Reviewed it here a few weeks back; the first single stalled at #16, and the album hasn't sold particularly well, and there's not another standout choice for a single that could really turn the project into the "comeback" it was intended to be.

Absolutely love the new Iris DeMent. Have seen quite a few complaints about its overall tempo, which is something that I typically complain about (as with the comatose new Tift Merritt album), but I didn't hear that as an issue for Sing the Delta.

I've never been fond of Jamey Johnson's voice, but I was impressed by the range in his performances on the Hank Cochran tribute.

Me on the new Big & Rich, which I didn't like much:

http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/big-and-rich/album/hillbilly-jedi

Those reviews are all too plausible, ditto the Amazon. I guess I'll listen anyway, what is country without some sadness, after all. James Hand's Mighty Lonesome Man pays some mighty lonesome dues with mighty fine timing--unafraid to venture beyond deft word play into details that could easily keep him orbiting in mental and emotional rituals eternally--but 12 items, 34 minutes, as Windows Media Player sums up, hand him off, pass him along in the alone together jukebox of honky tonk pop. Good in the background or foreground; I'm tempted to say he'll be there when you get there--he's a stand-up guy--but whatcha say James? "Let's do it now, before they use a plow, 'cause then I won't be no earthly good to you."

Gotta head out before I can finish listening to John Fullbright's From The Ground Up, but the first 2/3 have me evangelistic 'bout it. Call it Southern Gothic or just past that. First song is like Randy Newman's "God's Song" and then some: He gives us the stuff to party with here, then He (or whoever's representing) got a hang over cure, if you can hang with that (party again, way out of or in the core of bounds). "Jerico" founds him heading east to find his destination all fallen down, but bury him in the vines, he wants to rise and be the trumpet sound all around the walls )which have to rise and fall again for him to do so). Oh, but he's a badass by day who prays at night, when the world disappears and he has to confront his fears, has an unmarked scar, wants to keep things unscarred (or looking that way), only flies so far. some things are nowhere to be found, but that's not nec bad: he might want to be a rich man in a big house where he can't be found--rich or poor, no matter how loudly he testifies, is always ready to take off again. So many shadows, such appetite, eh "Fat Man" (caricature taking on a life of its own). Another for Miranda or Lae Ann to consider, though the orig should be on the radio right now: "This is not reflection/Reflections are true/This is just me/Me wantin' you/Sweet silver mem'ries/Me wanting you", and the music starts another upward arc, then back to its perch, but as always (so far) with the talons to ride cows, whales, whatever you got. Strong, clean-cut voice; there's more to the boy next door than previously thought. Kid's got charisma, look out.

An unmarked "car" I meant (quoting him, and yeah wants to keep things unscarred, visibility-wise anyway, also based on transcript)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2012
TO CELEBRATE RECORD STORE DAY’S
BACK TO BLACK FRIDAY EVENT (NOVEMBER 23)
OMNIVORE RECORDINGS
READIES
FOUR TEN-INCH VINYL DISCS BY WANDA JACKSON,

GEORGE JONES, MERLE HAGGARD AND BUCK OWENS

Also from Omnivore, Jellyfish’s two-CD set Stack-a-Tracks offers
rare glimpse of band in an instrumental mode

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — In order to celebrate Back to Black Friday (November 23, 2012), Omnivore has prepared four ten-inch vinyl EPs by country legends Merle Haggard, Wanda Jackson, George Jones and Buck Owens, with much of the material making its vinyl debut. At another end of the musical spectrum, Jellyfish’s Stack-a-Tracks presents never-before-heard instrumental mixes of the band’s two studio albums in a limited-edition, numbered, first edition digipak.

On November 23, 2012, Omnivore will release these ten-inch discs, which will preview full albums due in 2013: George Jones’ United Artists Rarities; Wanda Jackson’s Capitol Rarities; Merle Haggard’s Capitol Rarities; and Buck Owens’ Buck Sings Eagles. Jellyfish’s Stack-a-Tracks also hits the racks on the same day.

According to Pawelski, “Our very first Omnivore release, the Big Star — Third [Test Pressing Edition, released on Record Store Day 2011] is an example of being a little extra creative for Record Store Day. It was an expensive release to make, and without the event that is RSD, we probably couldn’t have pulled it off. It gave us that extra latitude to be able to push the creative limits as far as we could go and justify it.”

The November 2012 Record Store Day releases:

• George Jones – United Artists Rarities: As Jones prepares for his farewell tour in 2013, Omnivore is planning the release of The Complete United Artists Solo Singles. Jones had two label homes prior to signing to UA in 1962, and while his tenure there was short (four years), it produced hits like “She Thinks I Still Care” and “The Race Is On.” The United Artists Rarities ten-inch vinyl EP in a beautiful picture sleeve presents four alternate versions of UA recordings plus two previously unissued duets with Melba Montgomery (“There Will Never Be Another” and “Alabama”).

• Wanda Jackson – Capitol Rarities: 2012 was a big year for the Queen of Rockabilly on the heels of career-reinvigorating new albums produced by Jack White and Justin Townes Earle. While Omnivore puts the crowning touches on its 2013 release The Best of the Classic Capitol Singles, the six-song vinyl EP Capitol Rarities sets the stage. Included are previously unissued versions of songs recorded between 1956-62 including “Step by Step” “In the Middle of a Heartache,” “The Wrong Kind of Girl” and three more.

• Merle Haggard – Capitol Rarities: One of the pioneers of the Bakersfield sound, Haggard toured with Buck Owens in the early ’60s and in 1965 was signed to Capitol Records (already home to Buck) by producer Ken Nelson. Omnivore is planning a full-length CD The Complete Capitol ’60s Singles for 2013 release, to which the Capitol Rarities ten-inch vinyl EP sets the stage. The EP contains songs never released back in the day, and alternate versions of well-known tunes. All six songs emanate from unique Nashville and Hollywood recording sessions, making this EP a very cool, collectible piece.

• Buck Owens – Buck Sings Eagles: If Buck Owens, Father of the Bakersfield sound, wasn’t already a household name by 1968, the advent of the hit TV series Hee Haw cemented his fame. Music for the show was recorded in Buck’s studio and then played back on the show with live-to-track vocals. Omnivore will issue these previously unissued made-for-TV recordings as Honky Tonk Man: Buck Owens Sings Country Classics in 2013. Among these recordings were four previously unissued cover songs by the California country-rock torch-carriers the Eagles that comprise the ten-inch vinyl EP.

• Jellyfish: Stack-a-Tracks: While recording their two pivotal studio albums, 1990’s Bellybutton and 1993’s Spilt Milk, “instrumental” mixes of each record were created by Jellyfish and their producers. Unheard and untouched for decades, these recordings will finally see the light of day on Omnivore Recordings’ Jellyfish – Stack-a-Tracks. This is not a “re-imagining” of what these records “might” sound like as instrumentals. They’re the real deal, transferred from the original 1/4-inch masters. With an individually numbered edition of 2,500 units, housed in a digipak for the limited first edition with new illustrated artwork (created for the release by artist Mike McCarthy), this two-CD set is destined to become the newest gem in the collection of power-pop fans everywhere.

About Omnivore Recordings:
Founded in 2010 by longtime, highly respected industry veterans Cheryl Pawelski, Greg Allen, Dutch Cramblitt, and Brad Rosenberger, Omnivore Recordings preserves the legacies and music created by historical, heritage, and catalog artists while also releasing previously unissued, newly found “lost” recordings and making them available for music-loving audiences to discover. Omnivore Recordings is distributed by EMI.

So...who is watching the Country Music Awards? I mean...I'm not