Saturday, October 30, 2010
TNS Video History- Salty & Mattie Holmes- "The Ghost Song"
Salty Holmes, was an American country musician and Western B-movie actor.
Holmes was born in Glasgow, Kentucky. He became a virtuoso on the harmonica, specializing in the style known as "talking harp" which imitated the human voice (much like Sonny Terry). He also played the jug and guitar. He formed the group The Kentucky Ramblers in 1930, who changed their name to The Prairie Ramblers in 1933 and began broadcasting on Chicago radio station WLS-AM with new vocalist Patsy Montana. While a member of the Prairie Ramblers, Holmes befriended Gene Autry, who invited him to Hollywood to star in Westerns in 1936 and 1944; among the films Holmes appeared in are Arizona Days and Saddle Leather Law. In a scene of Arizona Days, Holmes played two harmonicas using his mouth and nose. The Prairie Ramblers also backed Autry on some of his recordings in the 1930s.
He collaborated with Jean Chapel as Mattie & Salty, playing regularly on the Grand Ole Opry. The two married in 1947.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Charlotte Church Seriously Considering Country Music Album
The 24-year-old singer is currently promoting her new album Back to Scratch, which sees her experimenting with a pop sound. Charlotte shot to fame as a child star and released a series of classical albums. She says she would love to be trained as an opera singer and has also confessed an interest in working on some country music. Charlotte recorded her latest album in Nashville and felt inspired by spending time there.
“I didn’t go over there to write country songs, I just love being there. Nashville is just saturated with music and amazing musicians and writers and producers. I have been there a few times when I was younger and I loved the atmosphere. I went there for a month and took kids, it was lovely,” she revealed in an interview on This Morning. “I could definitely see myself being influenced by country. Some country music is amazing and absolutely mind blowing – Alison Krauss and the like. They are able to stay very true to their craft and there isn’t a lot of compromise there.”
Charlotte would love to showcase some of her new tracks and is considering going on tour in December. She has revealed her latest material shows off her “natural voice” and she feels far more “comfortable” performing the songs. While she is keen to experiment with other genres, she has ruled out returning to her roots and releasing another classical album for now.
“I have done that, my selling point when I was younger was that I had a big voice,” she said when asked why she hasn’t released a classical album. “Probably what would have been a selling point now would have been to get my kit off and release a catchy up-tempo number, but that’s just not where I am at in my life.”
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Jason Eady Raising Money In A Unique Way For AM Country Heaven
was ranked as one of the top ten country albums by this very site. It will be a collection of 12 brand new country songs and the album will feature some of the greatest country players around today. Recording is scheduled for December 2010 with a tentative release date of Spring 2011. This is a self-funded album so Eady is asking for your help. Says Eady, "If you are interested in helping get this album made please select one of the contribution levels below and you will also receive gifts based on your donation. We greatly appreciate your support!"
With each level you will automatically receive all of the items included with each lower level. For example, a $30 donation would include both the signed, pre-release copy of AM Country Heaven and the signed copy of "Play Me A Song". For a full list of what is included with each level click on the dollar amounts.
CD Reviews- Sugarland- The Incredible Machine
To hear Jennifer Nettles tell it, it’s a brand new day in Sugarland. Despite winning multiple Grammy, CMA and ACM awards—and selling more than 8 million records—the country-music duo of Nettles and Kristian Bush is embracing a creative rebirth, a musical awakening that permeates their adventurous fourth album, The Incredible Machine.
“We are in a place of discovery,” Jennifer says. “It is the essence of who we are as people in this band. There is never a moment where we think, ‘This is good enough.’ There’s always a place for growth.”
The Review
Sugarland’s new The Incredible Machine album could just as easily be called The Stretched Boundaries. Borrowing as much from Queen’s Freddie Mercury and Jason Mraz as they do from Patsy Cline, Sugarland has unveiled an album that further pushes the needle left from anything resembling modern country. Machine is like a Cirque de Soleil event. It’s a big show with lots of sparkle and sizzle, loosely held together with stories that aren’t especially lyrically profound. It’s complete with an interlude song and prologue song ends to further cement the analogy.
Sugarland band mates Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush instead rely on unique production, instrumentation and most importantly, creative lyrical delivery throughout the album to differentiate it from nearly everything else in the marketplace.
They have to get some kudos for finding a sound all of their own. In this digital age where music is as abundant as it ever has, developing a musical style that hasn’t been done before is near impossible. Sugarland has also never been one to play it safe. Whether it’s a concert cover of the Bee Gees, covering a 1980’s pop classic like “Life In A Northern Town” for country radio, or duets with Jon Bon Jovi, they’ve pushed the envelope since they became a cultural sensation.
Where The Incredible Machine is different from their previous albums is the more dramatic production. Certainly the tempo is upped along on nearly every track. There are big drums, tons of percussion, much more energy and many songs written to be arena anthems. Missing is the naked tenderness of previous songs like “Stay.” Almost by design, track after track seem to be designed to get people on their feet jumping up and down. What results is a consecutive track tempo that comes off at times as almost frantic. But hard as I tried not to, damn if I wasn’t tapping my toe along the way.
The album’s first track “All We Are” opens up sounding like the opening of St. Elmo’s Fire and then evolves into a wide array of genres. There’s reggae on “Stuck Like Glue,” hip hop lyrical skipping on “Every Girl Like Me” and a little U2 feeling embedded on “Incredible Machine.” Nettles even channels Debbie Harry’s voice and Gwen Stefani shoutbacks on “Find The Beat Again.”
Beyond the pop production, vocals take second priority across the album. Nettles wide-mouthed big-voiced delivery can be an acquired taste. Perhaps no other modern country star’s voice has a stronger love/hate relationship with different country music fans. Bush plays a slightly bigger role on vocals on this album versus previous ones. When used separately, his Bon Jovi/Joe Cocker breathless and gravelly delivery makes a terrific contrast with Nettles. When they harmonize like on the title track, he gets lost and adds a grainy texture to Nettles that’s not nearly as strong as her solo delivery.
Overall, the album is a somewhat fascinating case study in what happens when two very skilled musicians abandon all genre historical paradigms and let their own pop-leaning whims control the direction and production. It’s also exhausting and over-produced in areas, trying much too hard to pound a beat into our subconscious. Now… how do I get that foot from tapping?
Sounds Like:
Good 1980's Pop
The Verdict:
Three Stars Out Of Five
Free Music From Laura Bell Bundy
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Tuesday, October 26, 2010
CD Reviews- Joe Diffie- Homecoming: The Bluegrass Album
Joe Diffie is returning to his roots. The multi-platinum-selling singer, who began in bluegrass music before soaring to the top of the charts with mainstream hits such as 'Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)' and 'Pickup Man,' is coming full circle by releasing a bluegrass album on Rounder Records. Homecoming: The Bluegrass Album, includes some of the most well-known musicians in the genre. Making guest appearances on the CD, which was produced by Joe and Luke Wooten, are Rhonda Vincent, Alecia Nugent, Bradley Walker and the Grascals. The 12-track disc also pays homage to some of the genre's most beloved songwriters, with Joe's version of the Flatt & Scruggs tune 'Somehow Tonight,' as well as Larry Cordle's 'I Know How It Feels'
The Review:
Joe Diffie has long be a mainstay of country music, as both performer and songwriter. He has twelve number one hits under his own name, while writing hit tunes for the likes of Tim McGraw, Conway Twitty, and Joe Dee Messina. Casual fans might only recognize him for some of his humorous novelty songs such as “Third Rock From The Sun” or “John Deere Green.” If that's the case, they’ve missed the full story, however. Diffie not only got his start in music playing bluegrass, but some of his best work has been heartfelt with poignant lyrics such as “The Road Not Taken” and “Ships That Don’t Come In.”
Diffie’s main instrument- his voice- is recognizable, warm and friendly. Having produced so many hits- so many GREAT tracks across his career- it’s a comfort to know that he’s still going strong. He slips into this bluegrass collection like a hand in a glove. It’s an easy listen, like an old friend. And best of all, Diffie sounds inspired with recharged batteries.
The album leans heaviest on modern bluegrass but draws on all the strengths of what we’ve loved about Diffie- (for the most part) a traditional country approach with song topics that celebrate family, faith and community. And while it just might be that we’re used to him singing that Nashville delivery, he puts a slightly more country music spin on these bluegrass tracks than perhaps an Appalachian stalwart might. It’s beautiful. The instrumentation is outstanding- with beautiful picking on each and every song. It’s naturally all acoustic filled with traditional bluegrass instruments including guitars, dobro, and fiddles. Notice there’s no percussion. It weaves beautiful tapestry of sound.
As for specific tracks, the album includes the best single I’ve heard all year in “Route 5 Box 109.” It’s a reflection on days gone past filled with nostalgia such as Martha White’s Flour, childhood fishing for brim and Schwinn bicycles. Like the Judds “Flies On The Butter” and Miranda Lambert’s “The House That Built Me,” he forgoes all the radio-common cliché’s of down home living and why the country is so much better than the city and concentrates on his own powerful personal reflections of the sentimental minutia that made his own upbringing so special and memorable. It’s a stunningly beautiful track. If it had a color, it would be black and white or sepia. On the flip side, there’s a great mini story-song on “’Til Death.” Diffie lets lots of evil thougts run through his mind as he deals with the morality, betrayal and revenge from his song-wife’s cheating. The song ends appropriately with tragedy, with his protagonist eventually figuring out that he’s married until “death do us part.” And he doesn’t want to be married any longer. In between is the fun tune of the life of a cornfield- given fears and emotions- on “Tall Cornstalk.” He even puts a fantastic spin on "Fit For a King," last heard on Garth Brooks' Sevens album.
Homecoming: The Bluegrass Album is easily one of our favorite albums of the year- easily in the Top 5. It's true bluegrass bliss.
Sounds Like:
Classic Joe Diffie Singing In Front Of The Grascals or Infamous Stringdusters
Track Highlights (suggested iPod adds):
Route 5 Box 109
I Know How It Feels
Tall Cornstalk
Free And Easy
‘Til Death
Fit For A King
The Verdict:
Four & A Half Stars Out Of Five
Monday, October 25, 2010
Canada's Country Music's Finest Honor Soldiers and their Families with Benefit Single- Watch The Music Video Here
Many of Country Music's finest gave of their time and voices during CCMA weekend this past September in Edmonton to participate on "Standing Strong and True (For Tomorrow)," a single which is dedicated to the fallen Canadian soldiers and their families.
Proceeds raised from this project will go to two special funds - The Military Families Fund and Boomer's Legacy.
Artist List: Aaron Pritchett, AJ Woodworth, Alex J Robinson, Beverley Mahood, Chad Brownlee, Chris Thorsteinson (of Doc Walker), Crystal Shawanda, Dean Brody, Diane Chase, Emerson Drive, Hey Romeo, Jake Mathews, Jamie Warren, Jason Blaine, Jason McNabb (of Marshal Reign), Jaydee Bixby, Jessie Farrell, Jo Hikk, Michelle Wright, One More Girl, Ridley Bent, Sean Hogan, Stacey McKitrick, Tara Oram Terri Clark, The Heartbroken, The Higgins, and Victoria Banks.
About Military Families Fund (MFF): The Military Families Fund (MFF) was created in April 2007 by General Rick Hillier, the former Chief of Defence Staff, to assist military families faced with unforeseen and often immediate needs that have resulted from military conditions of service. The fund continues to grow through the generous contributions of Canadians, corporations and other organizations, adding a new vehicle to support Canadian Forces members and their families. The MFF enhances and complements, it does not replace, existing public and non-public programs. The Fund fills the gaps by providing for the unforeseen and often immediate needs that families may have due to conditions of service. The MFF allows for several areas of support by way of grants, including rehabilitation, education, financial assistance in the case of injury or death of a Canadian Forces member due to service.
Charlie Louvin Releasing The Battle Rages On November 9th
will be released Tuesday, November 9, 2010. The album is available to pre-order now, but will not be shipped until the release date.The Battles Rage On
is a sweeping and emotional collection of war songs dating back to the American Civil War, and includes the talents of special guests Del McCoury and Jamie Dailey.Louvin, a Country Music Hall of Famer, is revered as a true icon of country music. He began his career as one half of The Louvin Brothers, and has released nearly 20 albums spanning over four decades. His music has influenced such acclaimed artists as Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons, and The Raconteurs.
The title of the album has special meaning. As Charlie Louvin was turning 83 this year, he discovered a new foe. He has been fighting a recent diagnosis of stage 2 pancreatic cancer.
Track Listing:
1. Smoke on the Water
2. More Than a Name On a Wall
3. I Wonder If They Ever Think of Me
4. There's a Star Spangled Banner
5. Just Before the Battle Mother
6. What We're Fighting For
7. Mother I Thank You for the Bible
8. A Soldier's Last Letter
9. Weapon of Prayer
10. Robe of White
11. Searching for a Soldier's Grave
12. Down by the Riverside
1980's Sensation Lacy J Dalton Releasing New Hank Sr. Cover Album In November
on Shop Records in 1999; The Last Wild Place
, on Sun Dog Records in 2004; and her brand new album being released next month entitled Here's To Hank
being released November 16th.This new CD by Lacy honors some of the famous songs by Hank Williams, Sr.
Track Listing:
1. Hey Good Lookin'
2. Lovesick Blues
3. My Bucket's Got a Hole In It
4. Long Gone Lonesome Blues
5. Your Cheatin Heart
6. (I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle
7. Jambalaya (On the Bayou)
8. Why Don't You Love Me
9. Cold Cold Heart
10. Honky Tonk Blues
11. Take These Chains from My Heart
12. You Win Again
Sunday, October 24, 2010
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