Showing posts with label Mike & The Moonpies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mike & The Moonpies. Show all posts

Saturday, January 1, 2022

That Nashville Sound's Best Albums Of 2021 - A Year-End Best Of List

Despite two music-hampering Covid shutdown years in a row, the amount of great music that has been released into 2021 has been nothing short of remarkable. We live in an incredible time. The internet, YouTube and a variety of digital platforms give independent artists a more playing field to get their music heard than ever before- and as a result, we have more options at receiving that music than at any time in our history. From all parts of the world, artists are contributing to this incredible umbrella of music we call country music. True, a few stakeholders have a clear stranglehold on what's being heard on country radio, but clearly the tide has shifted and we are seeing time and time again, the ability of cream to rise to the top and artists become wildly successful without the support of the radio dial.

Albums still matter. Patrick McGuire wrote this in ReverbNation and I've read it several times and wanted to share: "Albums still matter because they tell the unique story of who a band is at a specific moment of time that one or two singles just don’t have the ability to do. Imagine if the songs from ... The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band were released one at a time over the course of a year. Yes, the songs would still be incredible, but the meaning of these hugely important albums would be far less impactful. Whether it’s a concept album or not, good albums feature some sort of story or larger narrative whether it’s in the lyrics or instrumentation. Singles can’t tell the stories albums can." The platform of the album continues to be a tapestry that unites songs into a thematic quilt.

A handful of those 2021 country music releases stand out above all others. That's where this list comes in.

Here's a list of our favorite albums over the last few years for comparison:

2005 - Gary Allan - Tough All Over (tie)
           Lee Ann Womack - There’s More Where That Came From
2006 - Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways
2007 - Alison Krauss & Robert Plant - Raising Sand
2008 - Lee Ann Womack - Call Me Crazy
2009 - Eric Church - Carolina
2010 - Zac Brown Band - You Get What You Give
2011 - Pistol Annies - Hell on Heels
2012 - Marty Stuart - Nashville Volume 1- Tear The Woodpile Down
2013 - Brandy Clark - 12 Stories
2014 - Don Williams - Reflections
2015 - Chris Stapleton - Traveler
2016 - Ryan Beaver - RX
2017 - Jason Eady - Jason Eady
2018 - Ashley McBryde - Girl Goin' Nowhere
2019 - Erin Enderlin - Faulkner County
2020 - Hailey Whitters - The Dream

These are the albums that struck an emotional chord and moved this listener to fall in love with their projects over and over again.


1. Mike and the Moonpies - One To Grown On
2. Larry Fleet - Stack of Records
3. Darrel Scott - Jaroso
4. Addison Johnson - Dark Side of the Mountain
5. Morgan Wade - Reckless
5. Lainey Wilson - Sayin' What I'm Thinkin'
6. Robert Plant and Allison Krauss - Raise the Roof
7. Josh Grider - Long Way From Las Cruces
8. Erin Enderlin - Barroom Mirrors EP
9. Canaan Smith - High Country Sound
10. Jason Eady - To The Passage Of Time
11. Cody Johnson - Human
12. Brandi Carlile - In These Silent Days
13. Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram, Jon Randall - The Marfa Tapes
14. Cody Jinks - Mercy
15. Lily Winwood - Time Well Spent
16. Dillon Carmichael - Son Of A
17. Flatland Cavalry - Welcome To Countryland
18. Alan Jackson - Where Have You Gone?
19. Eric Church - Heart and Soul
20. Margo Cilker - Pohorylle

Best of the rest: 
- Jackson Sellers - Breaking Point
- Barry Gibb - Greenfields
- Kirsten Kelly - Something Worth Saying 
- Sturgill Simpson - The Ballad of Dood and Juanita
- Travis Tritt - Set In Stone
- Carly Pearce - 29
- Blackberry Smoke - You Hear Georgia

Saturday, May 30, 2020

That Nashville Sound Saturday Newsbytes - Unheard Johnny Cash, New Moonpies, New Videos and Dani Rucker

With our nation at odds with itself on many topics including politics, race relations, COVID-19 response and who knows what else, here's hoping that music can continue to be a respite from the rest of the noise and be a place that brings you comfort and bliss on this Saturday morning.

~ Many Texas singer-songwriters have been doing a digital guitar pull dedication show across Facebook every Monday night that has quite possibly been the musical highlight of this music fan since the quarantine began. The group has paid tribute to some legendary musicians such as John Prine,  Joe Diffie, Willie Nelson, George Strait, Dolly Parton, Tom T. Hall and Don Williams. Monday night, June 1st, catch the tribute to Guy Clark starting at 6pm CDT. As for the featured songwriters, the list is star studded with some of your favorites such as Jamie Lin Wilson, Walt Wilkins, Heather and Max Stalling, Drew Kennedy, Courtney Patton, Cody Canada, Jason Eady, Josh Abbott, Mike Harmeier and Wade Bowen… the list goes on. You can watch it on their Facebook page HERE.

~ Darius Rucker now might have the second-best vocals in his house. The Opry member and Hootie frontman made the best of stay at home orders and family time and decided to play around with garage band and put his producer hat on. With his daughter Dani Rucker back home from college, she joined on lead vocals on a new track called "I Don't Love You Like That." 

~ New music videos from the last couple of days: 

      Charlie Crockett - "Welcome To Hard Times"
      Marc Broussard - "Fire on the Bayou"
      Cam - "Redwood Tree"
      Ray Wylie Hubbard and The Cadillac Three - "Fast Left Hand"
      John Berry - "The Graduation Song"
      Courtney Marie Andrews - "It Must Be Someone Else's Fault"
      Jordan Davis - "Church in a Chevy"
      
~ Vlogger Grady Smith broke down the many sub-genres of country music for the "beginner."  

~ Be sure to check out the phenomenal new album from Mike and the Moonpies. The full-length album is called 'Touch of You - The Lost Songs of Gary Stewart.' The most interesting piece of news about this project is that these are unreleased tracks (circa: 70s and 80s) from country music icon Gary Stewart. The band has been working closely with Stewart's daughter, Shannon, and his longtime friend/confidante Tommy Schwartz to get these songs recorded and out in to the world.  The band had initially intended to release this album later this year. Due to circumstances with COVID-19//tour dates on hold, they decided to finish recording it and release it early on Stewart's birthday, May 28. The album was produced by Adam Odor and recorded remotely from each band member's home studios and at yellow DOG Studios in Wimberley, TX. One highlight to note is "Smooth Shot of Whiskey" featuring Mark Wystrach from Midland. Other guests include harmony vocal help from Jamie Lin Wilson (“Heart A Home”), Courtney Patton (“Heart A Home,” “Dance With Barbara”) and Zac Wilkerson (“The Gold Barstool”). 

~ Despite the struggles independent musicians have been facing recently, twenty-five Texas artists have banded together to help raise money and awareness for a population of people with even greater struggles than their own. The group of singer-songwriters, along with notable band and orchestral musicians, have joined forces as the Fort Worth Musicians Choir, to support the area’s struggling refugee community, with the release of their grand version of the Willie Nelson classic “Living in the Promiseland,” written by David Lynn Jones and originally released by Nelson in 1986. All proceeds from the song and video, as well as an upcoming benefit concert scheduled for June 21st in Fort Worth, benefit the Refugee Services of Texas, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to finding homes and jobs for, educating, and acclimating the area's refugee population. You can listen to the track HERE. 

~ Johnny Cash’s often overlooked and underappreciated chapter of his body of work will be showcased with a suite of releases via Mercury/UMe including a comprehensive new box set, The Complete Mercury Recordings 1986-1991, and a new greatest hits album, Easy Rider: The Best Of The Mercury Recordings, a newly assembled collection that compiles 24 highlights selected from Cash’s Mercury catalog. The CD version of The Complete Mercury Recordings 1986-1991 is augmented with several rare or previously unreleased tracks and an additional 20-track disc of spare early mixes aptly titled Classic Cash: Hall Of Fame Series (Early Mixes), mastered from tapes newly discovered in the Mercury vaults.  

Saturday, March 21, 2020

That Nashville Sound Saturday Newsybytes- Goodbye To The Gambler, New Albums & Videos

~ Country music lost and icon last night. Kenny Rogers, known around the world at The Gambler, passed away. “The Rogers family is sad to announce that Kenny Rogers passed away last night at 10:25PM at the age of 81,” his rep said. “Rogers passed away peacefully at home from natural causes under the care of hospice and surrounded by his family. The family is planning a small private service at this time out of concern for the national COVID-19 emergency. They look forward to celebrating Kenny’s life publicly with his friends and fans at a later date. Rogers achieved an amazing 30 Number One singles across the U.S. pop, country, and adult contemporary charts from 1977 to 1999.  He earned three Grammys, six CMA awards, and eight ACM awards, along with induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Some of his biggest career hits included “The Gambler,” “Lucille,” "Coward of the County" and “Islands in the Stream."  He was a restauranteur, an actor, a philanthropist and a champion of women singers throughout his career.

~ Sara Evans announced that May 15, 2020 will be the release of her new covers album called Copy That. The 13-song collection, spanning six decades, finds Evans putting her distinctive creative stamp on some of the most iconic songs in country and pop music, songs that have inspired her life and career, as well as shining a spotlight on some little-known gems. Copy That is Sara’s first solo studio album since 2017’s critically-acclaimed Words and is released on her Born to Fly Records, distributed by ADA. The project features collaborations with Old Crow Medicine Show and Little Big Town’s Phillip Sweet. 

~ New England songwriter Greg Klyma rewrote a Johnny Cash classic into a song about the COVID-19 pandemic with "I've Been Everywhere."

~ Beloved singer/songwriter Darrell Scott will release a new album called Darrell Scott Sings the Blues of Hank Williams on April 24, 2020.  "I grew up on Hank Williams - it came from my dad who idolized him - as I heard the entire catalogue of Hank from my crib and beyond, I recognized what he loved about Hank: poetic, yet totally understandable, honest, heart broken, love sick lyrics and the possibility of forgiveness from a woman, or from one's self, or from one's Creator. I listened closely" recalls Scott. "I was always struck by the blues in Hank's songs in that beautiful blend of black blues tradition and poor white boy belting, having way more in common than what oughta separate them in lyrics, in voice and in chords. I heard Hank, I heard my dad, and I heard the blues that was only a guitar grab away for me," Scott says. "It did not occur to me to play or sing it like Hank; but, I strive to be true to the spirit and throw my version of blues towards Hank songs. This recording is that."

~ Former Trick Pony lead and singer/songwriter Heidi Newfield is releasing a new album called The Barfly Sessions on June 5. The collection was co-produced by Newfield with Jim “Moose” Brown (Bob Seger/Erin Enderlin). “It’s inspiring to see an artist who’s had the kind of success she’s had be so determined to push new musical boundaries and get outside of her comfort zone,” Brown says. “Heidi and I have been friends for many years and I’ve always been a fan of her music, but I really had no clue as to the depth of her musicianship, songwriting, and general bad-assery until now. She is a deep mix of old school country, Texas twang, blues and straight-up soul, and she absolutely delivers the goods on this record.”

~ Longtime songwriter Ramsey Kearney passed away at the age of 86.  He wrote dozens of cuts over the years including Brenda Lee’s 1961 international pop smash “Emotions.” Other notable cuts included “Nine Little Teardrops” for Sue Thompson (1961), “Lonely People” for Eddy Arnold (1964) and “Big Flicking Baby” for Moe Bandy. 

~ New music videos over the last couple of days:

      LANCO - "What I See"
      Mike and the Moonpies - "Miss Fortune"
      Sarah Siskind - "A Little Bit Troubled"
      Trace Adkins - "Better Off"
      The Wood Brothers - "Little Bit Sweet"

Monday, December 9, 2019

That Nashville Sound's Best Albums Of 2019- A Year-End Best Of List

The amount of great music that has been released into 2019 has been nothing short of remarkable. We live in an incredible time. The internet, YouTube and a variety of digital platforms give independent artists a more playing field to get their music heard than ever before- and as a result, we have more options at receiving that music than at any time in our history. From all parts of the world, artists are contributing to this incredible umbrella of music we call country music. True, a few stakeholders have a clear stranglehold on what's being heard on country radio, but clearly the tide has shifted and we are seeing time and time again, the ability of cream to rise to the top and artists become wildly successful without the support of the radio dial.

Albums still matter. Patrick McGuire wrote this in ReverbNation and I've read it several times and wanted to share: "Albums still matter because they tell the unique story of who a band is at a specific moment of time that one or two singles just don’t have the ability to do. Imagine if the songs from ... The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band were released one at a time over the course of a year. Yes, the songs would still be incredible, but the meaning of these hugely important albums would be far less impactful. Whether it’s a concept album or not, good albums feature some sort of story or larger narrative whether it’s in the lyrics or instrumentation. Singles can’t tell the stories albums can." The platform of the album continues to be a tapestry that unites songs into a thematic quilt.

A handful of those 2019 country music releases stand out above all others. That's where this list comes in.

Here's a list of our favorite albums over the last few years for comparison:

2005 - Gary Allan - Tough All Over (tie)
           Lee Ann Womack - There’s More Where That Came From
2006 - Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways
2007 - Alison Krauss & Robert Plant - Raising Sand
2008 - Lee Ann Womack - Call Me Crazy
2009 - Eric Church - Carolina
2010 - Zac Brown Band - You Get What You Give
2011 - Pistol Annies - Hell on Heels
2012 - Marty Stuart - Nashville Volume 1- Tear The Woodpile Down
2013 - Brandy Clark - 12 Stories
2014 - Don Williams - Reflections
2015 - Chris Stapleton - Traveler
2016 - Ryan Beaver - RX
2017 - Jason Eady - Jason Eady
2018 - Ashley McBryde - Girl Goin' Nowhere

These are the albums that struck an emotional chord and moved this listener to fall in love with their projects over and over again.

1. Erin Enderlin – Faulkner County – Timeless. In a single word, that’s how you can describe Enderlin’s new album. It could literally be picked up and dropped into the 60’s with the best of Wynette, the 70’s with Emmylou, Loveless in the 80’s or Womack in her best 90’s (and everything since) music. There’s nary a throwaway line on the whole project. Pain, loss, substance and storylines interweave seamlessly like classic mini movies at the small-town cinema. Producers “Moose” Brown, Jamey Johnson and Alex Kline let the production perfectly compliment the depth of the lyrics. The steel guitar aches like the hearts on those achy love-lost numbers. No song embodies the project more (or rips your heart out) like “Broken,” a story of giving up a child to break the cycle of self-destructive family history. “A broken limb from a crooked family tree. When you have got that kinda history, it’s hard to break free. When’s broken’s all you know, it’s all you know how to be.” It’s poetic virtuosity. Timeless.

2. Austin Jenckes – If You Grew Up Like I Did - The album features a seamless blend of blues, folk, and country, combined with his unmistakably soulful vocals from this The Voice participant from season #5. Jenckes’ gift is in conveying vulnerability and isolation in a way not often seen in country music during the recent bro-country era like on tracks “Fat Kid” (a co-write with Lori McKenna) and “If You’d Been Around,” a deeply personal ballad about the father he lost to suicide when he was 16. “I’ve been searching for a long time trying to figure out what I wanted to say with music — I want to connect with people on a deeper level. I don’t want to do it just for the sake of moving my career forward. To me, music is healing and it’s meant for more than just that.” Jenckes vocals are commanding and comforting at the same time, but it’s his rich depth of songwriting that make this project so spectacular.

3. Jon Pardi – Heartache Medication – This project is everything that a mainstream major label artist record should be. This is traditional country music at its finest modern moment. Right out of the gate, he makes a statement. Pardi’s “Old Hat” asks what’s wrong about keeping those old-school music traditions alive and asks “when did old-fashioned become so out of fashion?” With a big country sound with plenty of fiddle, it feels like Pardi is making a statement. Pardi is operating in his own lane, but one that’s been paved by all the neo-traditionalists that have come before. He’s developing a sound that pays homage to his heroes and influences, but also works in the modern charts. Pardi may have launched his career in 2014 in the middle of the bro-country movement, but this doubling down of his honkytonk style has Pardi producing one of the most entertaining albums of the year.

4. Jack Ingram – Ridin’ High Again – If you’ve ever heard Jack play live, you’ll know that the conversation in-between the songs are sometimes as important, more revealing and entertaining as the songs between the stories. As Jack grows in his role as elder-statesmen of the Texas Music Scene (do he and Ray Benson inherit that role from Guy Clark and Willie Nelson?), he leans on this skill heavily on his latest album. The songs have a lived-in backstage feel to them – almost like you’re in the studio watching demos being cut. But what binds consistently from song to song is a firm handle of songs rooted in stories about real people. One of those, “Sailor and the Sea,” is an absolute devastating dedication to his hero, the previously mentioned Clark. The title itself is a tip of the hat to Jerry Jeff Walker’s 1975 record Ridin’ High, which followed up his well-known Viva Terlingua! classic. The rest of the record has Ingram reconnecting with his Texas roots, including covering Clark’s “Desperados Waiting For A Train,” Kris Kristofferson’s “Jesus Was a Capricorn,” Willie Nelson’s “Gotta Get Drunk,” Rusty Wier’s “Don’t It Make You Wanna Dance,” and Hayes Carll’s “Down The Road Tonight.”
5. Mike & The Moonpies – Cheap Silver and Solid Country Gold – This album was probably the most ambitious and greatest undertaking of all of the albums on this list. Imagine an Austin-based Red Dirt-born honkytonk band doing a strange, yet brilliant collaboration with the London Symphony. Imagine Elton John’s famed Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra album but in country music form. The depth of the strings are perfect and provide a rich sound behind the skilled songwriting across the whole project. In a world where country acts find the need to collaborate with rappers and pop artists to stretch their boundaries, a country act bringing a modern version of The Nashville Sound is a welcome respite.

6. Tyler Childers – Country Squire - Tyler Childers is the Michelangelo of Appalachia right now, producing music with beautiful poetic lyrics, incredible instrumentation, and a cast of backing musicians that will make you appreciate his work no matter where you’re from. With songs rooted in his hometown, they center on life as a blue-collar son and the everyday man, giving them a substantive feel with a heavy influence on their authenticity.

7. The Highwomen – The Highwomen – Do you hear that? That’s the revolution headed up by Brandi Carlile against the system. Being a politically-active gay female in this crazy conservative male-dominated (both executives and on radio) music industry might normally be hurdles for success. But tell that to her GRAMMY, CMT and Billboard awards that she’s pulled home as a solo performer. With a big assist from Shooter Jennings, she’s relaunched the career of legend Tanya Tucker- with her producer role on her new album up for another GRAMMY for Record of the Year. And if that’s not enough, she co-founded the country music supergroup The Highwomen with Amanda Shires and Maren Morris, later adding Natalie Hemby to complete the line-up. The record is a whole lot of things. As widely discussed across music media, the entire project came together in a search for female representation in country music. That and the line-up make it noteworthy. But there’s a lot more to this album than that statement. What makes it special is the fantastic songwriting, magnificent harmonies, and powerful performances that take every preconceived notion we had for The Highwomen and exceeds expectations at every turn.

8. Midland – Let It Roll – In this age where the amount of music being released is greater than in anytime in our history, it’s harder than ever to develop a unique sound. Midland has done just that, however. This throwback-leaning outfit runs through all the classic country topics including, but not limited to, cheating, drinking, road-dogging and leaving. But there’s such cleverness to how they run through these themes, they make everything old in country seem new again.

9. Del Barber – Easy Keeper – Leaning on folk/singer-songwriter stylings as much as country, Barber has a poet’s heart. Imagine a countrier James Taylor and that’s your analogy for this album. The understated productions gives breathing room for the depth of the verse. Throwaway lines are deeper than the wishing well on the song “Leads You Home.” “The bucket couldn’t go deep enough to get the wish that fell.” The project is truly special collection of stories, full of characters with small-town flaws and generally-overseen virtues.

10. Luke Combs
– What You See Is What You Get – Let’s face facts. In 2019, it seems like only the young pretty people get a seat at the table. That’s one of the clear reasons why you know talent has risen its way to the top and made Luke Combs country music’s most improbable superstar. There’s something more authentic and relatable when the artist that’s singing to you looks like us average Joes. With his big booming country voice, Combs knows that his 90’s inspired country honky-tonk rabble-rouser country music is his wheelhouse and he does it really really well. From the complete ear-candy “Beer Never Broke My Heart” to the closing piano-driven “Better Together,” it’s terrific. Song topics never vary from tried and true themes of love, having a good time and good old-fashioned sentimentalism- and that’s perfectly okay. He’s one of us.

11. Josh Grider and Drew Kennedy – Live at Main Street Crossing – Quietly and with a growing former regional Texas reach, Grider and Kennedy (best friends and singer/songwriters that call themselves the Topo Chico Cowboys when playing together) have written some of the smartest and richest music coming out of the Lone Star State over the last decade or so. Here on Main Street Crossing, they play some of their favorite hits and favorite deep cuts while backing one-another. Kennedy has a wicked sense of humor and some of the stories in between the songs are laugh-out-loud funny- so much so, I found myself looking forward to the commentary almost as much as the songs in-between the stories. And that’s what makes the project truly special. Each artist has a gift of storytelling that comes through their songs easily and unforced, bringing the listener along like they were a passenger with them on those long lonesome highways of Texas.

12. Flatland Cavalry – Homeland Insecurity – This five-piece band out of Texas released their sophomore album this year and it shines brightly, making it the epitome of the Red Dirt scene. Their songs pour out harsh realities of broken relationships, lessons that learned along the way and ask some questions that are frankly still looking for answers.

13. Vince Gill – Okie – As Vince Gill has entered this latest phase of his career, he has chosen a path to make music that lights his fire. Whether it be his Western swing band he plays in weekly, or this, a highly personal collective of songs that reveal the man, they’re rich in message and heartfelt in delivery.

14. Cody Jinks – After the Fire/The Wanting – Former rocker-turned-songsmith Cody Jinks released two full albums in back to back weeks and each of them highlight his phenomenal strength as a songwriter. Each record has a somewhat loose lyrical theme with After The Fire focusing on the aftermath of events and The Wanting focusing on opposites like light vs dark and good vs evil.

15. Sheryl Crow – Threads – Crow was quoted before this album was released as complaining that the album isn’t valued in this modern age as much as it used to be (or should be). Then she went out an proved just why it’s as important as ever. She called in every favor from every musical friend she knows and put together the strongest collaborative music collection of the year. Guest-names like Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Mavis Staples, Chris Stapleton, Joe Walsh, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Stevie Nicks and more make the project rich in diversity, truly interesting and an incredible tribute to Crow’s own heroes and influences.

16. Reba McEntire – Stronger Than The Truth
17. Cody Johnson – Ain’t Nothin’ To It
18. The Rhyolite Sound – Mojave Gold
19. Miranda Lambert - Wildcard
20. George Strait – Honky Tonk Time Machine
21. Brooks & Dunn - Reboot
22. Randy Houser – Magnolia
23. Whiskey Myers – Whiskey Myers
24. Willie Nelson – Ride Me Back Home
25. Aaron Lewis – State I’m In
26. Stoney LaRue - Onward
27. Trisha Yearwood – Every Girl
28. Charles Wesley Godwin – Seneca
29. The Randy Rogers Band – Hellbent
30. Jamie Floyd – New Girl

Sunday, August 4, 2019

Mike & The Moonpies Release Surprise Album, Cheap Silver and Solid Country Gold

Artist: Mike and the Moonpies
Album: Cheap Silver and Solid Country Gold
Label: Prairie Rose Records
Release date: August 2, 2019

If you've ever trusted That Nashville Sound to uncover special music projects, let it be known that this one is one that needs to be on the top of your listening list. Now. Mike and the Moonpies released a groundbreaking project this week without any advance fanfare and you need to get it in your ears.

Says the band, "We're so proud to share with y'all our new album 'Cheap Silver and Solid Country Gold'! Recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London with our producer Adam Odor and featuring guest appearances by Shooter Jennings Official, Nikki Lane, and Season Ammons and accompaniment by the London Symphony Orchestra."

It's a wildly ambitious project for the red dirt Texas-based band but makes sense when you fully understand the Austin music scene.

1. Cheap Silver
2. You Look Good In Neon
3. Danger
4. Young In Love
5. Miss Fortune
6. If You Want A Fool Around
7. Fast as Lightning
8. London Homesick Blues