For those that follow this site on a semi-regular basis, you recognize
that we cast a very wide net with our definition of country music. The genres
of traditional classic, bluegrass, Americana, red-dirt, pop-country and even a
little Delta blues make it across these pages. Hell, we even give some print to
the bro-country movement sweeping the FM dial. But for the most part, it isn’t
that proverbial radio dial that is producing what That Nashville Sound considers
to be the finest music released thus far this year.
Before I get commentary about how we consciously exclude any modern trends or mainstream artists, let it be known that they represent on the list as well. But clearly the finest music being released thus far is far from the party-first summer dirt road anthems that are claiming to be more country than you. No, these artists are releasing deep lyric-first songs with drama. They make you feel. Pleasure. Pain. Happy. Sad. They tell stories that, like a great movie, run the gamut of emotions and make you stop and take notice. And there have been some fantastic releases so far.
There will certainly be some names on here that you don’t immediately recognize. I encourage you to track them down and sample some of their music. I promise you will not be disappointed in the least. Without further ado… That Nashville Sound’s Best Albums of 2015.
1. Chris Stapleton - Traveller
As I had written in an interview with Stapleton at Saving Country Music: It isn’t often that a musician achieves an illustrious 15-year career that includes five number one hits, Grammy Award nominations, feature film contributions, producer credits and the respect of his peers before he ever releases his first solo album. But Chris Stapleton isn’t your average musician. The near-universal critical acclaim that has been heaped upon his debut album Traveller has been nothing short of amazing.
With a ZZ Top look-alike beard, Stapleton doesn’t look like your average country artist. With a booming voice that Rolling Stone’s Jon Caramanica called “liquor-thick and three-drinks limber,” he doesn’t sound like your average country artist. And with an incredible songwriting sensibility that draws as much inspiration from blues and soul as it does from country in his birthplace of Kentucky, his music doesn’t even sound like the average country artist—which is one of the reasons, for nearly everyone who listens, it stands out as a superior piece of art.
His songwriting credits span all genres and include artists like Adele, George Strait, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Darius Rucker, Josh Turner, and Jason Aldean. His work with the The SteelDrivers gave the band nearly unprecedented success in bluegrass circles. He even dabbled with some southern rock with a project under The Jompson Brothers. But it is Traveller that has brought the proper spotlight on Chris Stapleton as a solo artist.
5. Randy
Rogers and Wade Bowen - Hold My Beer Vol. 1
The album, produced by Lloyd Maines (Dixie Chicks, Robert Earl Keen), is a studio extension of their Hold My Beer and Watch This Tour, a fun-loving, friends-first trek across Texas and nearby states off-and-on tour that the two have been on for the better part of the past decade.
The album is representative of everything that’s good about friends collaborating. They cover their personal favorites, including a cover of Willie and Merle’s “Reasons to Quit." But it's the originals that stand out on the album including the phenomenal story-song of "El Dorado" and the introspective "In The Next Life." As you would expect, it's full of the Texas-standards of fiddle and steel and is equal parts smiles and deep-thinking. It's terrific enough for us to hope for Volume 2 and beyond.
17. George Strait – Cold Beer Conversations
Before I get commentary about how we consciously exclude any modern trends or mainstream artists, let it be known that they represent on the list as well. But clearly the finest music being released thus far is far from the party-first summer dirt road anthems that are claiming to be more country than you. No, these artists are releasing deep lyric-first songs with drama. They make you feel. Pleasure. Pain. Happy. Sad. They tell stories that, like a great movie, run the gamut of emotions and make you stop and take notice. And there have been some fantastic releases so far.
There will certainly be some names on here that you don’t immediately recognize. I encourage you to track them down and sample some of their music. I promise you will not be disappointed in the least. Without further ado… That Nashville Sound’s Best Albums of 2015.
1. Chris Stapleton - Traveller
As I had written in an interview with Stapleton at Saving Country Music: It isn’t often that a musician achieves an illustrious 15-year career that includes five number one hits, Grammy Award nominations, feature film contributions, producer credits and the respect of his peers before he ever releases his first solo album. But Chris Stapleton isn’t your average musician. The near-universal critical acclaim that has been heaped upon his debut album Traveller has been nothing short of amazing.
With a ZZ Top look-alike beard, Stapleton doesn’t look like your average country artist. With a booming voice that Rolling Stone’s Jon Caramanica called “liquor-thick and three-drinks limber,” he doesn’t sound like your average country artist. And with an incredible songwriting sensibility that draws as much inspiration from blues and soul as it does from country in his birthplace of Kentucky, his music doesn’t even sound like the average country artist—which is one of the reasons, for nearly everyone who listens, it stands out as a superior piece of art.
His songwriting credits span all genres and include artists like Adele, George Strait, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Darius Rucker, Josh Turner, and Jason Aldean. His work with the The SteelDrivers gave the band nearly unprecedented success in bluegrass circles. He even dabbled with some southern rock with a project under The Jompson Brothers. But it is Traveller that has brought the proper spotlight on Chris Stapleton as a solo artist.
2. Will
Hoge - Small
Town Dreams
As I had written in an interview with Hoge for Saving Country Music: With all the hullabaloo surrounding recent radio executive comments about the importance of radio in validating a country artist’s career, Will Hoge stands as a shining star example about how you can carve out a career in music doing it independently. Despite a year-and-a-half stint with Atlantic Records, Hoge has developed a significant following of fans and produced ten albums over the course of the last two decades. An extremely prolific songwriter, Hoge has written a small catalog of songs for others and even received a Grammy nomination for Eli Young Band’s number one hit, “Even If It Breaks Your Heart.”
What comes next is (the) release of Small Town Dreams, a new album produced by Marshall Altman and assisted by the likes of Chris Stapleton, Gary Allan and Vince Gill. Now with two boys at home, Hoge seems to have entered a new phase in his songwriting with plenty of nostalgia. It’s pure Americana. It’s Americana in its sound at times, but much more so in its topic of storytelling. He’s telling the small town American story of growing up, moving away to chase dreams, looking back and making a new home.
The album also includes “They Don’t Make ‘Em Like They Used To,” which should be one of the early favorites for Song of the Year. A dedication to his father, the song has a level of intimate poignancy that rivals anything else released to the marketplace in recent memory.
As I had written in an interview with Hoge for Saving Country Music: With all the hullabaloo surrounding recent radio executive comments about the importance of radio in validating a country artist’s career, Will Hoge stands as a shining star example about how you can carve out a career in music doing it independently. Despite a year-and-a-half stint with Atlantic Records, Hoge has developed a significant following of fans and produced ten albums over the course of the last two decades. An extremely prolific songwriter, Hoge has written a small catalog of songs for others and even received a Grammy nomination for Eli Young Band’s number one hit, “Even If It Breaks Your Heart.”
What comes next is (the) release of Small Town Dreams, a new album produced by Marshall Altman and assisted by the likes of Chris Stapleton, Gary Allan and Vince Gill. Now with two boys at home, Hoge seems to have entered a new phase in his songwriting with plenty of nostalgia. It’s pure Americana. It’s Americana in its sound at times, but much more so in its topic of storytelling. He’s telling the small town American story of growing up, moving away to chase dreams, looking back and making a new home.
The album also includes “They Don’t Make ‘Em Like They Used To,” which should be one of the early favorites for Song of the Year. A dedication to his father, the song has a level of intimate poignancy that rivals anything else released to the marketplace in recent memory.
3. Courtney
Patton - So This Is Life
As I had written in an interview with Patton for Saving Country Music: Come hell or high water, Courtney Patton was determined to make a true country record. Her Kickstarter headline read, “A Traditional Country Record.” Her notes on that same crowdsourcing campaign describe the end-product perfectly: “It’s country. And it’s full of waltzes. And I’m not apologizing for either of those things.”
The hell might be the life material that she’s been handed to draw upon for autobiographical lyrical fodder. It includes a divorce of her parents after 30+ years of marriage, a death of a college-aged sibling, a divorce of her own and the trials and tribulations of being a female singer-songwriter in the hugely male-dominated radio airspace that’s called Texas. (A location that just might be even more difficult to cut through the glass ceiling than even Nashville.)
The high water? It could be the title from her 2013 critically-acclaimed second album, Triggering a Flood. It could also be the devastating Texas floods that impacted Patton’s friends and family within the last month.
But like a diamond, true talent has a tendency to shine through the darkness and Patton’s skill as a singer-songwriter has done just that. She is quickly becoming a driving force within the Red Dirt and Texas music scenes. Patton married fellow musician Jason Eady in March of last year and released So This Is Life.
The album is phenomenal. In an era in which clichés and bravado is mistaken for bold noteworthiness, there’s something far more brave in peeling back highly personal and emotional open-book songs and delivering them with sensitivity and sentiment. Patton has done just that. She is the consummate storyteller on this project and her producer Drew Kennedy lets the soft arrangements breathe and let the truly intelligent lyrics be the focal point. Heartache isn’t just described, it’s tangibly felt. Nowhere is this more evident than on the title track. She channels the heartbreaking story of a stay-at-home mom whose supposed fairytale life crashes around her with such realistic honesty, it can only mirror life experience. It’s clearly one of the best songs of 2015.
As I had written in an interview with Patton for Saving Country Music: Come hell or high water, Courtney Patton was determined to make a true country record. Her Kickstarter headline read, “A Traditional Country Record.” Her notes on that same crowdsourcing campaign describe the end-product perfectly: “It’s country. And it’s full of waltzes. And I’m not apologizing for either of those things.”
The hell might be the life material that she’s been handed to draw upon for autobiographical lyrical fodder. It includes a divorce of her parents after 30+ years of marriage, a death of a college-aged sibling, a divorce of her own and the trials and tribulations of being a female singer-songwriter in the hugely male-dominated radio airspace that’s called Texas. (A location that just might be even more difficult to cut through the glass ceiling than even Nashville.)
The high water? It could be the title from her 2013 critically-acclaimed second album, Triggering a Flood. It could also be the devastating Texas floods that impacted Patton’s friends and family within the last month.
But like a diamond, true talent has a tendency to shine through the darkness and Patton’s skill as a singer-songwriter has done just that. She is quickly becoming a driving force within the Red Dirt and Texas music scenes. Patton married fellow musician Jason Eady in March of last year and released So This Is Life.
The album is phenomenal. In an era in which clichés and bravado is mistaken for bold noteworthiness, there’s something far more brave in peeling back highly personal and emotional open-book songs and delivering them with sensitivity and sentiment. Patton has done just that. She is the consummate storyteller on this project and her producer Drew Kennedy lets the soft arrangements breathe and let the truly intelligent lyrics be the focal point. Heartache isn’t just described, it’s tangibly felt. Nowhere is this more evident than on the title track. She channels the heartbreaking story of a stay-at-home mom whose supposed fairytale life crashes around her with such realistic honesty, it can only mirror life experience. It’s clearly one of the best songs of 2015.
After a brief affair with a major
label, Pat Green returns to his independent (and largely Texas) roots with a
fantastic introspective album that showcases his songwriting chops. It features
one of TNS’s favorite songs of 2015, “While I Was Away,” a track that shares
the heartache of living life on the road as a musician away from family. Some
accused Green of “selling out” with his big-label releases. (He didn’t.) Some
felt like he lost his Texas roots. (He didn’t.) If anything, this release on
the Thirty Tigers label simply gave him the freedom and freedom of mind to
pursue his muse however it hit him.
"I think it's funny that
people thought I sold out," he told Rolling Stone Country. "I'm like,
'Nothing changed; I just got paid more.' Certainly, there are times when you're
on a BNA or RCA [label] when they're like, 'We've gotta polish this up for radio.'
That's the way it goes. But I think everything else sounded like what I would
do, anyway.”
"With [Home singles] 'While I
Was Away' and 'Girls From Texas,' we weren't going out there gearing for
mainstream country radio at all," he continues. "We were going
straight at Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana — taking that core audience
that is mine and really giving them something for them."
"I
really just wanted to make a statement to our hometown fans — the ones that
were with me forever — and say, 'I recognize that what I did, I did on
purpose,'" Green explains. "And it might have distanced me a bit,
going out on tour with Keith Urban and Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews. I don't
regret that, but at the same time, I can understand why there are people out
there that aren't the keenest on it.
The album, produced by Lloyd Maines (Dixie Chicks, Robert Earl Keen), is a studio extension of their Hold My Beer and Watch This Tour, a fun-loving, friends-first trek across Texas and nearby states off-and-on tour that the two have been on for the better part of the past decade.
The album is representative of everything that’s good about friends collaborating. They cover their personal favorites, including a cover of Willie and Merle’s “Reasons to Quit." But it's the originals that stand out on the album including the phenomenal story-song of "El Dorado" and the introspective "In The Next Life." As you would expect, it's full of the Texas-standards of fiddle and steel and is equal parts smiles and deep-thinking. It's terrific enough for us to hope for Volume 2 and beyond.
6
Whitey Morgan and the
78's
- Sonic Ranch
The history of country music has no shortage of characters hit by hard luck: the hard-working man who can't seem to make ends meet, the heart-of-gold drunk who just can't seem to put down the bottle, the woman who wants to do right but ends up, time and again, doing wrong. No matter the tragedies at the center of the songs, in most cases those characters come off like just that – characters; inventions of either a particularly gifted songwriter looking to spin a tall tale or a lazy one looking to pad out an album. But in the case of Whitey Morgan, those characters – the drinker, the troublemaker, the struggling, hard-working man – all seem arrestingly real.
That's largely because the stories on Sonic Ranch -- a big, nasty, whiskey-slugging, bare-knuckle bruiser of a country record – are pulled from Morgan's own back pages.
Credit most of the album's fighting spirit to Morgan's childhood in the economically challenged town of Flint, Michigan. A teenager who, in his own words, "got my ass kicked on a daily basis," Morgan witnessed the toll the city's troubled economy took on the people closest to him. "I experienced Flint through my parents and relatives," he explains. "A lot of them lost jobs at General Motors, and I saw a lot of factories close and get torn down." Despite the turmoil, Morgan's family was close. "We never dwelled on the negative. My mom always had dinner on the table and my dad worked every day for GM to make sure there was always food. They never let on that things were getting bad, ever. Growing up in Flint ignited the 'never give up' attitude I apply to every part of my life. That's what you learn when you grow up in that town. You also learn that you don't take shit from anyone, ever."
Morgan dishes it back out on 'Sonic Ranch.' On the grizzled, smoky cover of Waylon Jennings’ "Goin' Down Rocking," he digs his heels in against anyone who would dare try to steamroll him. On "Low Down on the Backstreets," over staggering piano and glistening apostrophes of pedal steel, he's pushing back against a broken heart with country songs and dancing girls. And on the harrowing cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Waitin' ‘Round to Die," he's staring down mortality with his jaw set and his eyes narrowed. "I have loved that song since the first time I heard it," Morgan says. "It's a dark masterpiece that looks in on a not-so-perfect, but not uncommon, life story. I did my best to put my own heart, soul and experiences into my version. I had a vision of making it sound as if it could be the score for the next Sergio Leone classic." Morgan achieved his vision; with its ominous, shadowy guitars and spectral lap steel, the song serves as the album's grim, potent centerpiece.
Even in its lighter moments – the holler-along revelry of "Ain't Gonna Take It Anymore"; the tender ‘Good Timin’ Man,” which tackles the pressures of love and persona – Sonic Ranch embraces the grit while maintaining a determinedly unvarnished sound. Much of that has to do with the relaxed atmosphere in the studio that gives the record its name. "My manager told me about this place he had been to outside of El Paso called Sonic Ranch," Morgan says. "That was a real departure from the usual studio vibe. My manager knows how much I do not like the 'studio' thing -- I never feel comfortable. This was exactly what I needed: a laid-back place with great gear where we could make a great record."
"The goal for me on this album was to keep moving forward musically, and try to give the fans my best album yet," Morgan says. "I don't really look at the big picture, I just always try and outdo myself." On Sonic Ranch, he's done exactly that.
The history of country music has no shortage of characters hit by hard luck: the hard-working man who can't seem to make ends meet, the heart-of-gold drunk who just can't seem to put down the bottle, the woman who wants to do right but ends up, time and again, doing wrong. No matter the tragedies at the center of the songs, in most cases those characters come off like just that – characters; inventions of either a particularly gifted songwriter looking to spin a tall tale or a lazy one looking to pad out an album. But in the case of Whitey Morgan, those characters – the drinker, the troublemaker, the struggling, hard-working man – all seem arrestingly real.
That's largely because the stories on Sonic Ranch -- a big, nasty, whiskey-slugging, bare-knuckle bruiser of a country record – are pulled from Morgan's own back pages.
Credit most of the album's fighting spirit to Morgan's childhood in the economically challenged town of Flint, Michigan. A teenager who, in his own words, "got my ass kicked on a daily basis," Morgan witnessed the toll the city's troubled economy took on the people closest to him. "I experienced Flint through my parents and relatives," he explains. "A lot of them lost jobs at General Motors, and I saw a lot of factories close and get torn down." Despite the turmoil, Morgan's family was close. "We never dwelled on the negative. My mom always had dinner on the table and my dad worked every day for GM to make sure there was always food. They never let on that things were getting bad, ever. Growing up in Flint ignited the 'never give up' attitude I apply to every part of my life. That's what you learn when you grow up in that town. You also learn that you don't take shit from anyone, ever."
Morgan dishes it back out on 'Sonic Ranch.' On the grizzled, smoky cover of Waylon Jennings’ "Goin' Down Rocking," he digs his heels in against anyone who would dare try to steamroll him. On "Low Down on the Backstreets," over staggering piano and glistening apostrophes of pedal steel, he's pushing back against a broken heart with country songs and dancing girls. And on the harrowing cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Waitin' ‘Round to Die," he's staring down mortality with his jaw set and his eyes narrowed. "I have loved that song since the first time I heard it," Morgan says. "It's a dark masterpiece that looks in on a not-so-perfect, but not uncommon, life story. I did my best to put my own heart, soul and experiences into my version. I had a vision of making it sound as if it could be the score for the next Sergio Leone classic." Morgan achieved his vision; with its ominous, shadowy guitars and spectral lap steel, the song serves as the album's grim, potent centerpiece.
Even in its lighter moments – the holler-along revelry of "Ain't Gonna Take It Anymore"; the tender ‘Good Timin’ Man,” which tackles the pressures of love and persona – Sonic Ranch embraces the grit while maintaining a determinedly unvarnished sound. Much of that has to do with the relaxed atmosphere in the studio that gives the record its name. "My manager told me about this place he had been to outside of El Paso called Sonic Ranch," Morgan says. "That was a real departure from the usual studio vibe. My manager knows how much I do not like the 'studio' thing -- I never feel comfortable. This was exactly what I needed: a laid-back place with great gear where we could make a great record."
"The goal for me on this album was to keep moving forward musically, and try to give the fans my best album yet," Morgan says. "I don't really look at the big picture, I just always try and outdo myself." On Sonic Ranch, he's done exactly that.
7.
Ashley
Monroe- The Blade
I’m going to borrow a line from
wonderful writer Jewly Hight who described this album perfectly in three
separate words for Billboard: “exquisite bruised sensitivity.” Ashley Monroe and
her producer Vince Gill have earned the right and have been given carte blanche
by her label to tackle adult topics in an adult manner. Heartache, loss and
emotions are transcribed and delivered with subtle kid gloves, careful not to
miss an ounce of care.
Monroe balances the pain with a
couple of playful romps as well, though. "Winning Streak" serendipitously
suggests that when it comes to losing, the song's subject is on a roll.
Similarly, "I Buried Your Love Alive" rocks to a wicked, bluesy groove.
Her tone and vocals remind consistently of fellow East Tennessee native, Dolly
Parton, who always knew how to use that voice to fit the music, knowing just
when to turn up the heat or bring it down to almost a whisper to convey heartbreak.
All the while, a fantastic group of musicians are highlighted by exquisite
steel guitar and hot electric-guitar work.
That
Nashville Sound first fell in love with Logan Brill with her release of
2013’s Walking Wires. The minute that album
started out with the Chris Stapleton penned track, "There's No Such Things
as Ghosts," the listener recognized the power in the album. The sound was
fresh and the lyrics were poignant. At only 22, her storytelling belied her
age. Now two years later, with her sophomore album, Logan ups the tempo ever so
slowly with still delivering hauntingly beautiful vocals, particularly when
singing of loss and heartache.
“Recording my first record, Walking
Wires, was enormously rewarding, but it presented me with a pretty steep
learning curve,” says Logan. “When I began to work on Shut Eye, I
had a much stronger sense of myself as an artist, and I built a collection of
songs—a little blues and Americana and a lot of country and rock—that would
reflect my tastes, demonstrate my growth and evolution as an artist, and get
people out of their seats and onto the dance floor.”
9. Statesboro
Revue - Jukehouse Revival
Led by the strong and unique
lead timbered vocals of Stewart Mann, The Statesboro Revue have
delivered a terrific surprise collection of tracks that rank amongst this
year's very best. While leaning a little more on the Americana side of
things, the band reminds of some of Zac Brown Band's best work. At times, the
guys deliver an intimate acoustic feel, but turn right around and crank it up
Southern Rock style with electric licks, organ, harmonica and steel
guitar. Delivering a “groove” is something that these guys know how to do
very well. The songwriting is impeccable, diving into great depths of blue
collar workers, every man day to day duties, relationships and love lost.
Said Mann about the inspiration process
for Revival, “For me, sometimes
inspiration isn’t even sparked by a current band, but rediscovering older
music. Like, if I’m in the house having a drink and decide to put on J.J. Cale
or Jim Croce, who are two artists I was definitely listening to over the course
of the last two years, I found myself rediscovering their music and hearing
different things. Then, all of a sudden, I’m like, I want to dig further in,
and I buy another record of theirs that I don’t have and maybe become inspired
by that. I was also listening to some boogie-woogie stuff like Chuck Berry, and
there’s really no reason for it….sometimes you just find yourself at a record
store, or you are cleaning out a drawer, and you come across some record you
haven’t heard in a while and wonder who those artists are influenced by. Then I
look into that and find someone I’ve missed, someone I might not know, but
someone I probably should....which is usually the case. My brother [Garrett]
and I always talk about who we listen to, but he’s worse than I am, to a
degree, because he obsesses over bands when he discovers a new one. He listens
to everything they ever put out, for months at a time. He takes a different
approach, but I think it’s awesome because you start to develop an ear for the
little intricacies they use in songs.”
While The Outsiders was all tough guy standing that played to the
arenas, it had no cohesiveness and made this listener long for the true genius
of Carolina and Chief. It was a mixtape, not
an album. This album picks up where "Chief" left off, with truthful
and honest lyrics and perfect instrumental arrangements. The cohesion is
present from song to song, and while these songs are distinctively different -
sonically and lyrically - they feel like they belong together. It’s a Heartland
album with some country, blues, and singer/songwriter influence- with the one
exception being "Chattanooga Lucy," which is a bit funky and
interesting. More importantly, it’s introspective and revealing, something that
was drowned out by electric guitars the last go-around.
Lyrically, Eric Church has never
been better than on "Mr. Misunderstood." Many of the songs have
lyrical highlights including “Three-Year Old” and "Kill a Word." The
latter is the anti-bullying song that songwriters have been yearning to write
for a long time and has now come to fruition courtesy of Eric Church, Luke Dick
and Jeff Hyde.
11. Cody
Jinks - Adobe Sessions
For those
traditionalists that are complaining that there’s not real country music being
played any longer… please meet Cody Jinks. The album includes one of our
favorite tracks of the year, a dark memory retold about a car-wreck that took
the life of his friend, “David.” While the listener doesn’t know the victim
personally, it’s so well-told through the protagonist, you can’ t help but be
emotionally tied to the track. The idea behind the album name actually comes
from the place it was recorded. Jinks laid down the album at Sonic Ranch, which
is a large residential recording studio complex set on 2,300 acres in Tornillo.
Jinks said the old building used to be a border checkpoint, and the owner of
Sonic Ranch repurposed it into a recording studio.
“We
recorded in this tiny adobe room,” said Jinks. “We got in there and started
recording and we just thought the name would be great.”
If songwriting is storytelling set
to song, then one must look to a musician’s wishing well of history to see the experience
from which they draw from. For Chris Roberts, that well is deep and pure with
an undeniable passion for music. Few artists can lay claim to have been born in
the Deep South delta blues, grown up in the Wild West of Montana, stood in
front of Broadway’s bright lights in New York (in the production of The Civil
War), sung blissful harmony across the country radio airwaves (as part of
Decca-signed trio One Flew South), shared the stage with Willie Nelson and Neil
Young at Farm Aid, published an incredible catalog of songs written alongside
some of Nashville’s brightest stars and writers, produce albums for multiple
other artists, laid claim to being his church’s music director in a
congregation that reads like a who’s who of the music business (St. Augustine’s)
and lastly, been as active in using that music gift for charitable and
patriotic endeavors.
I have been blessed to have
listened to much of his rich catalog of material across this new project and
beyond, and it provides a reminder that there’s still meaning in the music
being made each day in Nashville. While radio can come off as one-dimensional,
Roberts’ catalog persuades you that there still can be a diversity in sound and
content produced out of Music City. It has meaning in the lyrics, nuances in
the musicianship, emotion in the narrative and differentiation in the
production. In this cookie-cutter age, it stands out for its content and for a
skill for imparting that sensation to the listener.
Chris Roberts once told me in an
interview I did with the band One Flew South back in 2009 that a song “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.” That musical guiding post, his moral compass, has
pointed him to a new home. Catch This Music is a small collective of
songwriters/producers/musicians that are skilled in providing a new song one
day, record a demo the next, produce an independent album the following day as
a recording studio, and release a solo album for one of its artists on day
four. It is completely vertical as a music company, the staff is nimble and
multi-talented in their abilities.
Roberts’ new album The Way West
features many of Chris’ favorite co-writers, including Jason Gantt, Sam
Ashworth (Switchfoot, Joy Williams, Kris Allen), Johnny Bulford (Lee Brice,
Chris Young), Chris Gelbuda (Meghan Trainor, Billy Currington), and Scott
Stepakoff (Tim McGraw, Kip Moore). The Way West is an album full of the kind of
musical diversity and emotional longing you might expect from a wanderer such
as Chris Roberts.
13. Daryle Singletary
– There’s Still A Little Country Left
As he enters the middle of the independent
portion of his career, Singletary has taken up as a flag-bearer for those fans
that describe themselves as “hardcore country traditionalists.” “My fans are
not fans of the bro-country movement, which doesn’t bother me a bit,” he says.
“They’re people who like it real, and that’s what I give them.”
Singletary delivers an album that
is more than just steel guitar and fiddle. It includes some very meaningful
stories that carry the storytelling flag as much as they do any traditionalist
flag. Combine the two? You get one of our favorite albums of the year.
14. Jason
Isbell – Something
More Than Free
Isbell told the Wall Street
Journal: “I’m not very interested in people whose lives resemble `Entourage,’ I
don’t want to write songs about my agent. He’s probably got a hell of a story,
but I’d rather write about people who hate their jobs but still get up and go
to work every day.” And in some ways, Isbell's America is bleak. It matches
life. It has ups and downs, joys and sorrows. Somehow, Isbell has documented
the American life story in song, recorded the process of living. The lyrics are
thoughtful and deliver a full range of emotions over the course of the album.
It could be the smartest album put out all year long.
15. Lindi Ortega-
Faded Gloryville
Armed with one of the most
distinctive voices in country music, this Canadian and Nashville transplant utilizes
a bevy of unique characters to help build her latest release- following Tin Star (one of That Nashville Sound’s
favorite’s in 2013). It’s at times dark and brooding but with a contrast of
that vocal element of hers that sometimes belies the message it’s delivering.
It’s an incredible mixture of elements. "Faded
Gloryville isn't just about music," Lindi Ortega says about her new album.
“It's about anything that brings you down, whether it's dreams not coming true
or relationships not working out, and its message is this: you can go to place
where you're feeling really down about things, but it's what you do afterwards
— do you decide to reside there forever, or do you leave and make the situation
better — that matters. You have to travel through Faded Gloryville to get to Paradise."
“Who really wants to be white as
snow, the thing about black is that the dirt don’t show,” Hailey Whitters
confesses in the title track of her newest LP Black Sheep. It’s a line
that carries forth throughout the entire album, at times candid, vulnerable,
sassy, introspective and deep- but always with a trace of imperfect characters
that one consistently finds interesting. Flaws and scars make for good stories
and the protagonists in Whitters’ songs are the perfect silhouettes for
exploring those dark corners and shadows through song. It’s truly a phenomenal album
and one that we hope this listener hopes to hear more from. And soon.
17. George Strait – Cold Beer Conversations
18. Don Henley –
Cass County
19. Mavericks
– Mono
20. SteelDrivers
- The Muscle Shoals Recordings
21. Ray
Wylie Hubbard - The Ruffians Misfortune
22. John
Anderson - Gold Mine
23. Kacey
Musgraves - Pageant Material
24. Elenowen
- Pulling Back the Veil
25. Emily
Hearn – Hourglass
26. Jamie
Lin Wilson - Holidays & Wedding Rings
27. Aaron
Watson - The Underdog
28. Alan
Jackson – Angels and Alcohol
29. Darrell Scott - 10 -
Songs of Ben Bullington
30. Levi Lowrey - My Crazy
Head
31. T.
Graham Brown - Forever Changed
32. Wade
Hayes - Go Live Your Life
33. Maddie
and Tae- Start Here
34. Carrie Underwood - Storyteller
35. Corb Lund – Things That Can’t Be Undone
36. Reba McEntire - Love
Somebody
37. Stoney LaRue – Us Time
38. Zac Brown Band - Jekyll and
Hyde
39. Dwight Yoakam - Second Hand
Heart
We include this album as a special
nod to an incredible vocalist that has delivered on a promise to herself to
finally do an album her own way. West has shifted gears from the pop country
music that Capitol Nashville implored her to deliver while on their label to
the big voiced standards that got her into music in the first place. It’s less
Patsy Cline and more Dionne Warwick. But a second-place finish in America’s Got
Talent got her a record deal with Sony Masterworks she made the most of it. A
handful of covers are hit out of the park and she finally has an opportunity to
showcase that amazing vocal talent of hers that no country song could ever do.
It’s her voice first, instruments second. As it should be with a gift like
that.
Cass County is far and away my favorite album this year. Others that I would have included include "Now Playing" by the Western Swing Authority and "Nothing But the Silence" from Striking Matches.
ReplyDeleteI'm pleased to see Pat Green on your list. You even mention While I Was Away twice.
ReplyDeleteI think it is important that you know where that song came from. It was written and recorded by Zane Williams, it was a late addition to his 2013 release, Overnight Success. So late in fact, that it was not on the promotional CD. Pat heard it at a charity event in Ft. Woth, Texas. The rest as they say is history.
Any list of this ilk that doesn't have "The Light" by Uncle Lucius near the top, let alone even on it, has minimal credibility. I know that the writer can't listen to everything on the planet, but I'm concerned about comment, "artists and PR agencies interested in providing music to be reviewed can send it to..." You see, discovering music isn't supposed to be easy like that. You have to work for it. Not just journalists, but also the fans. Great music doesn't just show up at your doorstep, in fact most music that we're "fed" isn't great or even good for that matter. Go ahead, put Singleton and Isbell on this list, but for the very same reasons, you should know about Uncle Lucius.
ReplyDeleteYour commentary above illustrates that you don't read this blog very often and for you to dismiss the balance of this list because it doesn't have a single artist that you're a fan of minimalizes the musical efforts of a lot of incredible artists. We're all about discovering new music through a variety of different means and championing the independent artist. I'm familiar with Uncle Lucius and own that album- in fact, I purchased that one. It's a fine album, barely missing this list. More than half of this list is small indie artists that weren't "delivered to our doorstep."
ReplyDeleteLove this list, and thanks for putting it together! I turned it into a Spotify playlist for anybody that might be interested: https://open.spotify.com/user/kylerohde/playlist/0mjIk9lVkTCueaBN7cYPuU. Every album was available, except the John Anderson one. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteKudos to the choice of Lindi's FADED GLORYVILLE; it is really one of the great albums by anybody in any genre for 2015, especially with rootsy barrelhouse rockers as "Run Amuck" and "Run Down Neighborhood."
ReplyDeleteAnd a word about Emily West's album: it includes a sterling cover of the Moody Blues' 1968 progressive rock classic "Nights In White Satin"
Erik
The Devil Makes Three (the name will fool you) should be on that list, along with William Elliot Whitmore, and Whiskey Myers.
ReplyDeleteThe Devil Makes Three (the name will fool you) should be on that list, along with William Elliot Whitmore, and Whiskey Myers.
ReplyDelete