CD Reviews- Holly Williams- Here With Me

The Background:
Most notably recognized as the daughter of Hank Williams Jr. and granddaughter of Hank Williams, Holly Williams has been, up until now, known more for her musical lineage instead of for her critically acclaimed 2004 first album, The Ones We Never Knew. That is about to change, however. Though still in her 20's, Holly has been using music to tell the story of her life and those around her for the better part of two decades. Starting at age eight, Holly filled a notebook she called "Holly's song folder" with her own compositions, though the lyrical content was far beyond the comprehension of your typical elementary school student. The first of these songs, titled "Who Am I”, told the story of a woman in her 20's facing a broken marriage. Holly's penchant for addressing life's ups and downs through song was clearly established at this point, as was her songwriting method. "The way I wrote then is the way I write now. A song comes to me in its entirety. The chorus and melody come at the same time, but I didn't really sing my songs for many people back then. It was just kind of the first hints of what I would do later. She says, "When it's in the blood, you can't help it."

The Review:
It’s almost impossible to disconnect the Williams legacy from this new young artist. What she brings to the table is much of her grandfather’s touch with a song. Her voice, while beautiful, has a unique ability to convey the nuances of feeling including sadness, genuine hurt, joy and disappointment. It’s a very emotional sound- most notable through her slower and quieter songs. This emotive songstress channels the very best of her musical legacy on nearly every song- drawing the listener in with some of the best melancholy textured ballads released this year. What further reveals that this album is part of her soul, is that Here With Me is the most autobiographical of releases. "Mama" gives us a child’s appreciative view on her divorced mother’s grace in handling a tough divorce from her father. "Let Her Go," a co-write between Williams and Marcus Hummon (producer on One Flew South’s album), has Williams giving heartfelt plea to an over-protective dad to let her "touch the universe" on her own. And Williams gets even more personal with a cut addressing her near-fatal car accident with her sister on "Without Jesus Here with Me." It’s an incredibly touching song, delivering that same mesmerizing and addictive emotion with every line- like only someone who has lived the pain can deliver. One of the exceptions on the album is the upbeat dedication to kicking out her man on the lead radio single "Keep the Change." Written by songwriting team Luke Laird and Hilary Lindsey, "Keep the Change" is a great uneven beat and guitar-driven pop-rock number that gets better with each listen. Here With Me feels “lived in.” The stories are told like only someone who has lived them can tell them. She allows us into her skin for forty minutes and allows the therapy of music to not only sooth her own bones, but feed our soul as well. It’s an outstanding album.

Sounds Like:
Bonnie Raitt & Carlene Carter

Track Highlights (suggested iPod adds):
Mama
Keep The Change
Let Her Go
Three Days In Bed
Without Jesus Here With Me

The Verdict:
Four Stars Out Of Five

National Radio Hall of Fame Announces 2009 Nominees- WLS Barn Dance Included

The National Radio Hall of Fame announced its 2009 roster of 16 nominees and launched the public online voting process at http://www.radiohof.org/. The 2009 National Radio Hall of Fame categories and nominees includes the famous WLS Barn Dance - the program debuted on April 19, 1924 on powerhouse WLS/Chicago's first day on air and became an instant hit, introducing country music to the masses with a heavy dose of down-home comedy.

The National Radio Hall of Fame online voting ends at midnight on Aug. 1, 2009. Voting is free and open, but online registration is required. The National Radio Hall of Fame inductions will take place during a live national radio broadcast from Chicago on Nov. 7, 2009.

An Interview With One Flew South- The 9513

I've occasionally made reference and provided links to a great country music website called The 9513- the leading country music review site in the country. I had an opportunity to interview the new group One Flew South for that website and you can read the entire interview for The Last Of The Good Guys here…

“Country music to me, done really really well, is an entire novel written in three minutes. It’s a Broadway show in three minutes. It’s an entire lifetime in three minutes. A great country song can be a guiding post for someone’s life. It can really be that important. I love the fact that in country music, a lot of different styles can move in there and still be considered country music lyrically. To me, it’s about lyrics and storytelling. That’s all.”

And Shannon over at Nashville Gab has a great story on the guys as well including lots of interesting tidbits about Royal's acting and broadway background. She has loaded two great videos of the guys singing "Jack & Diane" by John Mellencamp and a new song called "Two Nights In A Row." Watch them below:

Up & Coming New Nashville- Stephen Cochrane (With Exclusive Interview)

If great country music is still built on a foundation of real-life stories and soul-deep family tradition, Stephen Cochran was born to the breed. With a Music Row pedigree, a soldier’s sense of purpose and a lifetime’s worth of stories, this singer/songwriter came onto the country music scene in 2007. Born in Pikeville, Kentucky and raised in the creative heart of Nashville’s songwriting and recording community, Cochran watched his Dad, known as Steve Cochran, wrestle with the machinery of Music Row as a struggling songwriter and artist back in the '70s. Country greats Bobby Bare and the late Del Reeves are just a couple of the characters that drifted in and out of the Cochran home.

“That was my school, coming home and watching Dad practice and play and write,” he says. “With Dad doing his music hustle, I was raised in the business and I learned the ins and outs. I love music, and that’s what he instilled in me.”

Cochran’s life on his way to his own country music career is about as real as it gets. Following the tragic events of 9/11, with his career just getting off the ground, Cochran did an about face, joining the Marines’ elite reconnaissance division and headed straight to Iraq. He returned safely, but wasn’t so lucky on his next overseas tour – to Afghanistan. After losing a good friend to enemy fire, Cochran returned home with a broken back and a newfound determination to make his country music dream come true. He used his recovery time well, digging deep to reignite his passion for songwriting. “I love the Marine Corps,” Cochran says. “Everything they did for me structured my life and gave me the drive to know that I can do anything I want to do.”

In a town where an artist’s “story” is routinely embellished by teams of publicists, Cochran’s background is as refreshingly real as his music. His debut garnered critical raves and respectable airplay, but it only hinted at the power and the depth of Cochran's upcoming sophomore effort. With it's infectious summertime chorus and making-the-best-of-the-bad-times message, leadoff single "Wal-Mart Flowers" is generating fan excitement and lighting up radio request lines since its official April 13 release.



TNS- What brought you to music in the first place?

SC- I was brought to music by my Dad who was a songwriter in Nashville in the late 70's early 80's so it was no surprise to my family that music was my choice for career. I was playing guitar by 4 and singing on the radio by 3...its just always been in my blood. I call my music Mo Billy. I was raised in the summers by my grandparents in Detroit, Michigan and the winters I stayed in Pikeville, KY so I’m a Motown-hillbilly. And my music is a little southern rock country blues and bluegrass its just like me... confused, but loving it.

TNS- Describe your music, what's the mission behind the music?

SC- My mission in life is to make sure my brothers and sisters in the military are taken care of when they come home! I served in the United States Marine Corp and was injured in Afghanistan breaking my back in 6 places. I was told I would never walk again and yet after many surgeries and 4 lbs of cement in my l-1 to l-5, I not only walk, I run. And put on what I like to think is one of the most energetic concerts today.

TNS- What are couple of your career highlights so far?

SC- My biggest highlights are hard to say. I have had so many in the short career I have had so far. I have an amazing publicist Elaine Shock of Shock Ink. She has worked endlessly to build my career through the media and television. I played Jamboree In the Hills which to my family is the sign you had made it. This is the Woodstock of country music and is located very close to my part of Kentucky. I go back this year for my second appearance. I also got to play a show called Hoedown in Detroit this year where at 13 I watched my biggest influence, Garth Brooks, play. But two that stick out in my head the most are the past two New Years Eve shows I have been blessed to have. In 2008. I was asked by Fox to play Live from Time Square as the ball dropped. And this past year, I had the opportunity to return to Iraq and Afghanistan a place where I watched a lot of lives taken and nearly lost my own. But it was therapy for me to get to be back among the men and women who realize I have bled, sweat and cried in the same dirt they stand in today. I got to be almost like a chaplain and be there for them not as a Marine team leader with a weapon, but as someone who walked in their footsteps already. Fear of the unknown is the worst kind of fear. I hope by us getting to spend the holidays bringing them music from home made a difference to them. For some, it was the last bit of the US they will ever see again.

TNS- What kind of music are you listening to?

SC- I listen to everything...right now I’m loving the new Dave Mathews album. I think I rotate between that and Zac Browns new CD. I enjoy everything from Metallica to Queen, Zeppelin and Earl Scruggs, Ricky Skaggs...and of course anything by the Highwaymen.

TNS- What's next for you? Where do you hope to be career-wise a couple years from now?

SC- Good question on what’s next… I honestly don’t know. A lot changes in this business, but the one thing that doesn’t is that people want to make money. I hate the business involved in music. Seems sometimes the business becomes more important than the music or the person trying to make the music. I will never stop making music and I’m blessed with the best fans ever. As long as they keep supporting me, that’s all that matters. In the next couple years, I would like to get better and better at my craft and someday I would like to be bigger than Garth....is that possible?

Free iTunes Music From Love And Theft

Carolwood Records trio Love And Theft’s "Don’t Wake Me," from the band’s upcoming debut album World Wide Open, has been selected by iTunes as its free Discovery Download for the week. Starting today fans can download "Don’t Wake Me" for free on iTunes. Fans can also experience more Love And Theft music with the band’s digital EP Live In Savannah.

To get your own free copy of the single click iTunes.

Larry Gatlin And The Gatlin Brothers Release “Johnny Cash Is Dead And His House Burned Down”

In an interview with the Las Vegas Sun, Larry Gatlin says, “We decided to go back on the road because we got used to eating three meals a day and sleeping indoors. Just kidding — but it is part of it. That’s how we make our living. We didn’t take really good care of the money we made; that’s the bad news. The good news is we really love to sing music for people.”

After 17 years without a record deal, the Gatlins will release a new album, “The Pilgrimage,” this summer. The first single and music video off of the album is one that will draw lots of attention, “Johnny Cash Is Dead And His House Burned Down.”

“My first album was ‘The Pilgrim,’ and Johnny Cash wrote the liner notes for it,” Gatlin says. “His son, John Cash, wrote the liner notes for this one.”

Jimmy Wayne's Remarkable Collaboration At Country Music Hall Of Fame

During Jimmy Wayne's free concert at the Country Music Hall of Fame during CMA Fest a week or so ago, he called a girl up to the stage whose father won a trip to Nashville to meet Jimmy Wayne at the event. It seems she told Wayne that she could sing when they met backstage earlier so he wanted to put her on the spot and give her the opportunity of a lifetime. Her performance was, to say the least, very remarkable. Watch it below.

Crosby Stills & Nash Working On New Album With Rick Rubin

Crosby Stills & Nash are working on a new album of cover songs with producer Rick Rubin, known as much for guiding country legend Johnny Cash's later years as for his work with numerous rock acts such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Beastie Boys

"He's an amazing man," Nash said of the bearded music guru he's nicknamed the "Maha-Rubin." "He's a combination of somebody who has very, very little idea of how the technology works - in terms of faders and studio stuff - but he knows about songs. He knows exactly what he wants to hear when. (He says) 'No, no, no - we should go to the chorus! Let's go to the chorus there. OK, let's try that one a little slower. That's it - there you go!' He's really a musician, although he doesn't play music."

Some of the cover songs - which include the Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday," James Taylor's "Close Your Eyes," Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown" and the Grateful Dead's "Uncle John's Band" - are being "road-tested" on this CSN tour during an acoustic set that opens each show.

"When we started this project with Rubin, I went to my friend Joel Bernstein, who's our archivist, and I said, 'OK, here's what we need to do - I want 50 songs with beautiful melodies and words that mean something that can be CSN-ed to death.' And we came up with 50," Nash said. "I went back to the boys and cut it down to 30. The three of us went over to Rick Rubin's house and we cut it down to, like, 20. Now we have about 20 songs that we all really love."

An Interview With Charlie Daniels- The 9513

Over the last year or so, I've occasionally made reference and provided links to a great country music website called The 9513. I'm happy to say that I'll be writing and making the occasional contribution to the website as well. The first article was a great interview with a legend in our business, Mr. Devil Went Down To Georgia himself, Charlie Daniels.

"Country music, to me, is the heart of the flyover country. That’s swinging a little bit of a narrow loop because there are country music fans all over the place. I think these songs, for the most part, are about simple people, people that work for a living. To a big extent, it’s the blue collar crowd. It’s good honest God-fearing people who work hard and enjoy their off time. They’re raising families and paying bills and paying taxes and get out to vote when it’s time to vote."

That's just some of the wisdom from Charlie. You can read the rest of the interview HERE.

Things My Father Said by Black Stone Cherry

Occasionally, here at That Nashville Sound, we'll stretch the boundaries of country music a bit- skirting on the edge of the country sound. On this Father's Day, we do it again, only because we have a unique video from a southern rock band called Black Stone Cherry. The song is called "Things My Father Said" and it has appropriate and touching lyrics that I thought I'd share with all of my readers. It even has a dedication to Johnny Cash at the end of the music video. Enjoy. And for all the fathers out there, enjoy your day.

Black Stone Cherry - New Music - More Music Videos