Rolling Country 2018

Latest Dierks Bentley hit "Woman, Amen" has annoying arena-rock drums and production. Haven't heard the rest of his new album The Mountain which is coming in June (and was recorded in Telluride, Co)

i heard parts of it recently and liked it a lot but i like arena-rock drums and production

x-post--I like the Sam Hunt lyric

Downtown's dead without you
Girls walk by and friends say hi
Then Friday night it might as well be just another
Tuesday night without you
As long as you're still in my head
There ain't a way that I can paint a ghost town red
Downtown's dead, downtown's dead

I like Bentley’s “Drunk on a plane.” More clever musically

album’s pretty good. brothers osborne and brandi carlile guest

Reminding me I still need to check their latest albums as well as his.
Proceeding somewhut alphabetically, just trekked through Ashley McBryde's Girl Going Nowehre which of course is meant to be and moderately is an inneresting title for what I assume is meant to be a breakthrough album: starts right off not with a band but the foreboding, low-key title track, which is a twist on the obligatory-for-country-girls salute to the hometown. As performed, it's not an ironic twist: she sounds sincerely and humbly grateful for their telling her she's bound to fail, for giving her that much more incentive to make it. Quietly sincere, determined, and spooked.

It's a combo which works great on the better tracks, like "American Scandal," where she turns the volume up to make clear this is non-ironic desperation---she really really needs it to be like Kennedy and Monroe. But the next one, "Southern Babylon," seems, even before the unnecessary mention of "Hotel California," like an alibi for of the fodder it's sandwiched between, the Springsteeny "Radioland" and
and MellenPettyCarnes tap-tap-tap of "The Jacket, " both fortified with country-Americana namechecking o course.

There's a sincere etc. tribute to another kind of family, in a dive bar, but with unremarkable mumblecore imagery she might as well be nodding to the sunday school teachers and grannies as happens in the usual obligatory-for-girls etc. "Next Door To Leroy" at least singles out and details one of the fellow misfits who provided reinforcement early on: says something, pretty succinctly, about your high school years, when you have to recover from the results of peer pressure by going over to the junkie's house. Good loud guitar too (several of these, but she needs more, at least as distraction).

She sincerely can't live without her boring messy boyfriend, Andy."El Dorado" more intended radio fodder yadda yadda, but the countryiest (sincere note to a wholesome type), "Ef yew git tahhred of bein' happy, give me a cawl," may also be the most rocking, in a whiskey-cymbal-splashing, Eric-Church-with-a-much-better-voice kind of way, and is certainly one of the best at least. Ditto the finale, "Home Sweet Highway," sincerely horny ghosty eyes on the prize and distinctive musical twinges amidst the twangs.

"starts right off not with a *bang*," I meant, though might not be a band either on that opener: as I said, it's a very quiet track.

So title track of xp The Mountain is an ominous victory song, and Bentley stays out of the way as the guitar chords and the words skulk their way to the peak, still not satisfied (he turns up the volume on choruses to confirm this). Could be a Neil Young song, about "turning that hill to gravel."
Otherwise, these sundown views of younger wilder times and the road ahead drone on and on through greeting card sagas, til finally Brandi Carlile pipes up on Track 12, "Travelin' Light" (def not the JJ Cale' this 'un's about forgiving yourself and embracing yourself and floating along), and takes it away from him without even seeming to try---once again, he stays out of the way, without even seeming to try either---so many songs, so little voice; it's the longest 44-minute album---ever. Okay, a few others kinda work, and might grow on me, but would require more listening than seems likely.

That one hit on this one that I dislike has scared me away from the whole Bentley album, but maybe I should give it a shot.

I think the Bentley album is really solid. 2/3rds good songs, a couple duds.

I also happen to love (a) his voice, (b) the general lyrical perspective on this one, and (c) all the snow-capped, grizzly-bearded Colorado marketing around it. So YMMV.

agree ^^

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FuF1xcg5WU

this song is awesome. of all things it reminds me of american music club

colter will be releasing an album this year and this is one of the singles, just in time for the calgary stampede, which is surely not accidental

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYq6zKdqfkY

should mention it's a wilf carter cover

aha Brad I can kind of hear what you mean

I still can't get over that Colter Wall is the son of Brad, but I admit I'm a sucker for that voice of his

He has said him and his dad are very different people if that helps

I didn't really mean it in the sense that it was a problem, but it *does* help!

i really like this keith urban & julia michaels song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC7wWFQUUqU

Fans of the new Dierks album might find similar appeal on his guest Brandi Carlile's own By The Way, I Frogive You: looking out over the blue Rockies at her life's landmarks, incl. relationships w deep and still-rumbling layers, provisional peace, possible wisdom---Dierks sounds happier, but she's still strong, thriving on the drama under her boots and out there---a few tracks I haven't wrapped my head around yet, but overall good stuff.

er Forgive You

really a missed opportunity for a kermit led county classic. i have a one year old so please don't roll your eyes at me

Wish she'd thought of that!

by the way i forgive you is an incredibly powerful album, lots of great tracks with her vocals sounding very big

i have a personal quibble and it's really because i have old man ears at this point in my life

and it's that her vocals feel like they were recorded too hot and are overdriven, which affects my enjoyment of it

i think i understand why they did it though -- it's the whole raw/emotive feel of if, which is good

i just would've preferred warmer sounding vocals, but that would've removed the affect i guess

i'm sure this album is mind blowing live

party of one is one of my favourites

indeed, the Brandi album is great

ya gotta be OK with riding the blurry line between earnestness and over-the-top-ness to lock in to her, but she's definitely got the goods, imo. has for a long time.

She really sells it on party of one. My bro sent me that song and it was enough for me to want to check out the album.

Yeah you gotta be ready for her theatricality, and I kept thinking she's performed with this guy? Even before I got this update:
Elton John calls Brandi Carlile’s By The Way, I Forgive You his “Album of the Year” on his Rocket Hour radio show on Beats 1 on Apple Music. Listen to the full interview, which aired this past weekend(if you've got Apple Music or want to go to the iTunes Store yadda-yadda, anyway I can imagine her singing some of his early country-ish [& other] songs better than he did, no prob)

From Variety:

“I learned a lot about phrasing listening to Frank,” Willie said recently in an interview for AARP magazine (June/July 2018). “He didn’t worry about behind the beat or in front of the beat, or whatever-he could sing it either way, and that’s the feel you have to have.”

Nelson, who cancelled some shows earlier this year due to illness, is back on the road through the end of this year; the “My Way” tracklist appears in full below:

Fly Me To The Moon
Summer Wind
One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)
A Foggy Day
It Was A Very Good Year
Blue Moon
I’ll Be Around
Night And Day
What Is This Thing Called Love (with Norah Jones)
Young At Heart
My Way

First single and video is "Summer Wind." Album's out Sept. 14.

x-post

indeed, the Brandi album is great

ya gotta be OK with riding the blurry line between earnestness and over-the-top-ness to lock in to her, but she's definitely got the goods, imo. has for a long time.

― alpine static, Tuesday, 10 July 2018 02:27 (one week ago) Permalink

A tad melodramatic at times, but yes to Brandi Carlile

Willie doing "It Was a Very Good Year" might actually kill me

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/how-lori-mckenna-writes-the-most-devastating-ballads-in-country-music/2018/07/19/544b51e2-89f4-11e8-8aea-86e88ae760d8_story.html?utm_term=.84e448afa0e0

Chr*s Richards in W. Post on folky gone Nashville country songwriter Lori McKenna who lives in Stoughton, Massachusetts

But this is how her songwriting often begins — eavesdropping and people-watching while she runs her daily errands. “We’re all people-watchers in some way,” McKenna says over the telephone from her living room in Massachusetts. “We see a person, and we make a story up in our head. . . . I don’t know if empathy is the right word, but we develop some curiosity in one another.”...McKenna has said that she feels a pressure to write airtight lyrics to compensate for her limited vocal range — and while it’s hard to hear a voice as expressive as hers as limited, it’s easy to hear how wisely she deploys her resources.

McKenna’s exquisite new album, “The Tree,” directs that curiosity toward families — her family, other people’s families, imagined families, families where the kids grow up too fast, and the parents grow old too soon, families that make her new songs feel as mundane and urgent as life and death. And while many have praised McKenna for her ability to elevate our most piddling pedestrian life-stuff to profound heights, for her, there’s no heavy lifting involved. When the ordinary is already extraordinary, the music is all around us.

this is kind of big I think https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/eric-church-desperate-man-nashville-country-700750/

Church says he’s not a member of the NRA and never has been. “I’m a Second Amendment guy,” he emphasizes again, “but I feel like they’ve been a bit of a roadblock. I don’t care who you are – you shouldn’t have that kind of power over elected officials. To me it’s cut-and-dried: The gun-show (loophole) would not exist if it weren’t for the NRA, so at this point in time, if I was an NRA member, I would think I had more of a problem than the solution. I would question myself real hard about what I wanted to be in the next three, four, five years.”

Church knows he’ll get blowback from some fans for this. “I don’t care,” he says. “Right’s right and wrong’s wrong. I don’t understand why we have to fear a group [like the NRA]. It’s asinine. Why can’t we come together and solve one part of this? Start with the bump stocks and the gun shows. Shut a couple of these down. I do think that will matter a little bit. I think it will save some lives.”

Was just about to post. One of the best interviews I've read in months.

roger mcguinn, chris hillman and marty stuart & his fabulous superlatives, sweetheart of the rodeo full album show, los angeles, tuesday night. opening night of a short-ish tour. it was ragged, loose, occasionally awkward and more than occasionally great. they did one set of truncated versions of hits and deep cuts, and then the sweetheart of the rodeo set, played in full but out of order. i got the sense that stuart and the superlatives rehearsed thoroughly on their own and mcguinn and hillman maybe not so much. they missed cues left and right, were looking down frequently for chords and lyrics, and while hillman's voice was in good form, mcguinn was having a little trouble cutting through. but their instincts for harmony are still dead-on, and stuart fit right into that. i felt like i was watching a band still working out its sound, and as a result, when something gelled, when they hit a sweet spot, it was magical. like watching a band discover itself in real time. and that second set was way better than the first. it felt like having a piece of my own dna read back to me. maybe they felt the same.

encore: two byrds classics and three tom petty classics. i was wondering if maybe they would be able to coax david crosby (who i assume still lives here though i have no idea) onto the stage for a song or two. instead we got mike campbell, who joined for "american girl" -- after which they kicked him off and, strangely, played more petty songs without him. marty stuart did a bluegrassy take on "runnin' down a dream" (thumbs up) and hillman did a fairly faithful "wildflowers," which apparently petty produced for him for an album he put out last year.

they also told some stories. they're not particularly good storytellers. damn those harmonies though.

Was already hoping for an album from that tour, even more while reading your dispatch. Marty and His FS have the drive and expertise to keep those geezers functioning onstage for as long as possible.
Yeah, Hillman's always seemed better in bands, all the way back to the Hillmen, but the Petty=produced set has keepers; my comments from the most recent Nashville Scene ballot:
Have not yet made it through Chris Hillman's The Asylum Years---some hideous harmonies get wasted on the way---but will give it another shot. Some nice tracks on the new Bidin’ My Time, especially "Walk Right Back," one of the many under-covered Everlys Bros worthies, seeds of West Coast country rock at its best (he credits inclusion of this song to producer Tom Petty, who did what he could all over--Hillman's not the strongest solo artist among his peers, but has his moments, when the setting's just right, or just about) McGuinn and The Croz show up; some Heartbreakers, still radio-ready, also appear.

"Everlys Bros"? Oh well it's just a ballot.

yeah, marty and his fab superlatives really are great. versatile, too.

thanks for the hillman review, will have to check that out.

Not much of a review, but you're welcome, and thanks for the exciting concert review.

Speaking of ballots, I eventually revised my 2017 choices, aided by y'all's further listening tips.
whole thing posted here: https://thefreelancementalists.blogspot.com/2018/03/cant-stop-shakin-pt-1-nashville-scene.html, although a lot of the comments are the same as or based on Rolling Country 2017/early '18 posts.
As for the basic lists,
here we go:

TOP TEN COUNTRY ALBUMS OF 2017:

(just in the order they come to mind)

1. Lee Ann Womack: The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone (ATO)

2. Whitney Rose: Rule 62 (Six Shooter/Thirty Tigers)

3. Rodney Crowell: Close Ties (New West)

4. Amanda Anne Platt/Honeycutters: S/T (Organic/Crossroads)

5. Margo Price: All American Made (Third Man)

6. Shelby Lynne & Allison Moorer: Not Dark Yet (Thirty Tigers/Silver Cross)

7. Caroline Spence: Spades and Roses (Tone Tree)
8. John Moreland: Big Bad Luv (4AD)
9. Willie Nelson: God’s Problem Child (Legacy)
10. Jon Langford’s Four Lost Souls: S/T (Bloodshot)

TOP FIVE COUNTRY REISSUES OF 2017:
1. Various Artists: American Epic: The Best of Country (Lo-Max/Third Man/Columbia/Legacy)
2. Becky Warren: War Surplus (Deluxe Edition)(self-released, I think)
3.Various: Stax Country (Craft/Concord)

COUNTRY MUSIC’S THREE BEST MALE VOCALISTS OF 2017:
1. Willie Nelson
2. Rodney Crowell
3. John Moreland

COUNTRY MUSIC’S THREE BEST FEMALE VOCALISTS OF 2017:
1. Lee Ann Womack
2. Whitney Rose
3. Margo Price

COUNTRY MUSIC’S THREE BEST SONGWRITERS OF 2017:

1. Willie Nelson
2. Margo Price
3. Rodney Crowell
(and their collaborators)

COUNTRY MUSIC’S THREE BEST DUOS, TRIOS OR GROUPS OF 2017:

1. Margo Price & the Price Tags
2. Amanda Anne Platt & the Honeycutters
3. Willie Nelson, Lukas Nelson, Micah Nelson

COUNTRY MUSIC’S THREE BEST NEW ACTS OF 2017:

1. Alex Williams
2. Carly Pearce
3. Colter Wall

COUNTRY MUSIC’S THREE BEST OVERALL ACTS OF 2017:

1. Willie Nelson
2. Jon Langford’s Four Lost Souls
3. Lee Ann Womack
Comments after the following: ******************************************************************
Imaginary categories:
(They Came To And/Or From Nashville (Pop, Country-Related??):
Nicole Atkins: Goodnight Rhonda Lee, Walker Hayes, Boom, Kelsea Ballerini

Hon. Mention: Willie Nelson: Willie’s Stash Vol. 2: Willie and the Boys, Alex Williams: Better Than Myself, Carly Pearce: Every Little Thing, Lorrie Morgan & Pam Tillis: Come Lonely and Come Lost, Whitney Rose: South Texas Suite, Lindi Ortega: Til The Goin’ Gets Gone,, RaeLynn: Wildhorse, Natalie Hemby: Puxico, Lillie Mae: Forever And Then Some, Kip Moore: Slowheart, Zane Campbell: Ola Wave, Alex Williams: Better Than Myself, Brett Eldredge: s/t, Rhonda Vincent & Daryle Singletary: American Grandstand, Whiskey Gentry: Dead Ringer

Borderline: Sunny Sweeney: Trophy

About Half Good (60-45%): Nikki Lane: Highway Queen, Chris Stapleton: Songs From A Room, Vols. 1 & 2, Case Garrett: Aurora, Little Bandit: Breakfast Alone. Colter Wall: S/T, Angaleena Presley: Wrangled, Jason Isbell: The Nashville Sound, Justin Townes Earle: Kids In The Street, Steve Earle: So You Wanna Be An Outlaw, Midland: On The Rocks, Scott Miller: Ladies Auxiliary, Charlie Worsham: Beginning of Things, Marty Stuart: Way Out West

Borderline: Toby Keith: Songs From The Bus, Various Artists: Gentle Giants: The Songs of Don Williams

Less Than Half Good: Lady Antebellum: Heart Break, Little Big Town: The Breaker, Tim McGraw & Faith Hill: For The Rest of Our Lives, Thomas Rhett: Life Changes, Bruce Robison & The Back Porch Band: S/T

Countryoid/Americana/Related:

Jace Everett: Dust & Dirt

Howe Gelb: Further Standards

Jessi Colter feat. Lenny Kaye: The Psalms

Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real: S/T

Gregg Allman: Southern Blood

Modern Mal: The Misanthrope Family Album

Rev. Sekou: In Times Like These

David Rawlings: Poor David’s Almanack

Bonsoir, Catin: L’Aurore

The War and Treaty: Down To The River

Related Reissues:
1. Marisa Anderson: Traditional and Public Domain Songs
2. Various Artists: American Epic: The Collection
3. Lydia Loveless: Boy Crazy and Single(s)
4. Various Artists: Rough Guide To Jugband Blues
5. Various Artists: American Epic: The Soundtrack
6. Gillian Welch: Boots No, 1: The Official Revival Bootleg

Borderline (Docked A Notch For Being A Re-Recording Of A Good Old Album And Even Of Bonus Tracks From The Same Sessions):
Lucinda Williams: This Sweet Old World

Related Hon. Mention:
Pinegrove: Elsewhere, Shovels & Rope: Busted Jukebox Vol. 2, Howe Gelb: Open Road, Peter Stampfel & The Atomic Mega Pagans: Cambrian Explosion,
Valerie June: The Order of Time

Related Genealogically As Well As Musically Hon. Mention:
North Mississippi Allstars: Prayer For Peace, James Luther Dickinson: I’m Just Dead, I’m Not Gone: Lazarus Edition (also a Related Reissue)

Related Borderline:
Deer Tick: Vol. 1, Rhiannon Giddens: Freedom Highway, John Mellencamp feat. Carlene Carter: Sad Clowns and Hillbillies, Arthur Alexander: S/T
Related Less Than Half Good:
Banditos: VisionLand

Just got word about xp Colter Walls' Songs of the Plains coming out Oct. 12---link to first single, album & tour info here: http://www.sacksco.com/pr/colter_wall.html

Did not see this coming:
With ‘Blaze,’ Ethan Hawke decided to break all the rules by telling the story of an obscure singer who died in 1989.
https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-features/ethan-hawke-blaze-foley-movie-biopic-texas-songwriter-703024/

I've never been able to watch Ethan Hawke since he was in Square Pegs, but have heard that he's improved. Only know Foley's actual music (vs. backstory and a few reviews of his few albums) via Merle's version of "If I Could Only Fly."

That’s awesome and adds to the many reasons why i like ethan hawke

Wrt to colter wall, I follow his music releases closely so I’ve known about that single and the new album but don’t wanna fill this thread with colter fun facts

Anyway there’s another one from the album floating around on YouTube

Also two of my all time favourite colter tracks are on the new album (sask in 1881 and wild bill hickok if it actually is railroad bill)

Gonna go to one of his shows later this year

I'm seeing Colter this weekend. Pretty excited!

Here's Brandi Carlisle's whole set, just over an hour:
https://www.npr.org/2018/08/08/636376855/brandi-carlile-live-in-concert-newport-folk-2018

Xp

How was it

He sounded great, cracked a couple jokes, but I couldn't really dig in because of distractions. Saw about 15 minutes of two different sets, neither with a decent view, either.

I also think he's already much bigger than I realize.

Last year i paid like $15 to his show

This year i paid $40

He definitely blew up

from now on when non-mainstream country/roots acts jump from 400- to 1200-cap rooms in 6 months, they're on The Sturgill Journey

mm i would talk to some people in saskatchewan about him being "non-mainstream"

just feel like it's worth noting that he's received pushback from people less than thrilled with his dad

(also what even is "mainstream" these days that isn't like... florida georgia line)