| PAM
TILLIS |
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RHINESTONED
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SPOTLIGHT
ALBUM |
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Tracks;
Something
Burning Out, Band In The Window, Train Without A Whistle, Life
Has Changed Us Around, Someone somewhere tonight, Down By The
Water, Crazy By Myself, Bettin' Money On Love, That Was A Heartache,
The Hard
Way, Over My Head.
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After
a five year hiatus, Ms Tillis comes up with a brand new CD, and
boy was it worth the wait!!
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There's no major
label constraint's this time out, allowing this former CMA Female
vocalist of the year to record her music as she want's it to be.
Her sound is contemporary, but still essentially, COUNTRY. Just
as in the mid 80's and 90's when the music changed to "NEW"
Country, cohort's Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, Reba, Patty
Loveless, Lorrie Morgan and Suzy Bogguss, they all still retained
that "COUNTRY" music identity. Even Shania Twain and
Faith Hill were recording REAL Country music back then.
The first single
to be taken from the album, "Band In The Window", is
already out and getting plenty of airplay on radio around the
world. The song refers to the artist's and bands who still to
this day perform in the window boxes along Music Row, in the hope
that they might get noticed by a music executive passing by. The
song is doing very well in the charts and is a good advert for
the rest of the album.
Although
a prolific writer herself, Tillis take's 9 of the 11 song's on
offer here from top writer's such as; Leslie Satcher, Lisa Brokop,
Jon Randall, Matraca Berg and Andrew Gold, only finding room to
add a couple of her own, such as the mid-paced, "The Hard
Way" with it's acoustic feel, and the rollicking duet with
John Anderson, "Life Has Sure Changed Us Around" a song
she wrote with Gary Nicholson. This is a great track, with stellar
performances from both artists, and I'm sure it will be a major
contender for single # 2!
Throughout
the album, the songs all have lasting and meaningful lyrics, not
as many of today's throwaway hit's tend to be, and the musicianship
is second to none!!! I don't know about Rhinestoned, this CD is
a PURE gem!!!
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M
C STAR RATING: **********
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KAREN
LYNN
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CHANGES
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SPOTLIGHT
ALBUM
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Tracks;
We Shouldn't Have Time For Love,
The Circle Is Small, When I Close My Eyes, Roses In The Snow,
It's Over, There Is A Reason, Changes, Jealous, The Healing Kind,
Blue Mountain Rain, It Wasn't Me, Loving Arms, Once More.
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I have admired Karen
Lynn for quite some time now, with her wonderful, captivating
vocals that are equally at home no matter what genré of
music she sings. While her previous releases have wandered between
Country, Folk and Bluegrass, even touching on pop at times as
she strived to find her comfort zone, she seems to have found
it with an excellent album of Bluegrass music.
Karen is a fine songwriter
but, chose only to include a couple of her own co-writes, alongside
an album of mainly covers from top writers like Dusty Owens, Wayland
Patten, Ron Block and Gordon Lightfoot.
Whether singing Bluegrass
classic's like "Roses In The Snow", visiting country
for a truly wonderful version of, "When I Close My Eyes"
(better than Kenny Chesney's chart buster) and the Dusty Owens
penned and much covered "Once More", or folk/pop for
Gordon Lightfoot's "The Circle Is Small", Karen's vibrato
infused vocals shine throughout.
Of the two self penned
songs, "Blue Mountain Rain"(written with Richard Porteous)
sets a blistering pace while "Loving Arms"(written with
Heather Field) is only moderately slower. Both very good songs.
Mention must also
be made of, the major contribution from, the very talented musician's
chosen for the project, who couldn't have been bettered had the
album been recorded in Nashville.
A top class album
from a world class singer!!!
MC
STAR RATING:
**********
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Website:
http://www.karenlynne.com/
E:Mail: KarenLynne@bigpond.com |
| LEAVING
Tx |
ANYWHERE
ON GOOD ROADS |
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Tracks:
State Of Mental Health, Be My Guide, Father's Son, Masquerade,Whiskey,
Hard Luck Story, Drinkin' Again, One More Seven, Lies, Next Of
Kin, Winter, For Years.
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| This
Washington DC based outfit have a style that could easily be described
as Country, alt.country, country/rock, or even Americana with their
hard driving electric guitar rhythm's, soaring pedal steel lick's
and Steve Earle - ish vocal's from frontman Chris Patterson, who
also wrote, or co-wrote, the quality material found on the album. |
| From
the first bars of the opening track, they command instant attention,
with a catchy, electric guitar riff that opens up the hard driving
country/rocker, "State Of Mental Health".
Then,
as I start to make my way through the album, I find myself making
comparisons with Idaho, singer/songwriter Pinto Bennett and his
Motel Cowboys, (sadly, now disbanded, they toured the UK club
scene extensively, in the early 90s) both in musical and vocal
style, none more so than in one of my favourite tracks on the
album, the wonderful "Whiskey", a great song that can't
help but put a smile on your face.
Whether
they're hard rockin' with "Lies" and "Next Of Kin",
or playing solid country tunes with "Whiskey" and "Hard
Luck Story", all colours of Country music are visited effortlessly,
in between.
I
predict a bright future for this band of very, talented musician's!!
"Anywhere On Good Roads" is a class album that you should
definitely have in your collection!!
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MC
STAR RATING: *********-
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MARY
CHAPIN CARPENTER
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THE
CALLING
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Tracks:
The Calling, We're All Right,
Twilight, It Must Have Happened, On And On It Goes, You're Life
Story, Houston, Leaving Song, On With The Song, Closer And Closer
Apart, Here I Am, Why Shouldn't We, Bright Morning Star.
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One
of contemporary country's finest singer/songwriter's, Ms Carpenter
records in a Nashville studio for only the second time in her
career. Hardly a traditional country artist, her music has
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always embodied
elements of Folk, Rock and Country and apart from the studio
location, the musical location is exactly the same here.
From a list of
around 20 songs, 13 were selected for inclusion on an album
of mainly thought provoking, observation's of life and event's.
Hurricane Katrina and the devastation it caused, is remembered
well in "Houston", with it's New Orleans, slow-dance
rhythm. You can very easily visualize the picture's, shown on
tv of the tragedy as you listen. In a rocky vein, "On With
The Song" takes a swipe at those who, blindly follow, what
others say, we should and shouldn't do instead of taking their
own direction, and I can certainly identify with the equally
rocky, "It Must Have Happened", as Ms Carpenter reflects
on memory loss.
The album leans
more towards the folk side of Ms Carpenter's repertoire, than
the Country of, probably, her finest album "Come On Come
On". But that is her appeal, she can cross many border's,
go where her songs lead and reach out to many different listeners.
The deep, meaningful lyrics on display here are more for serious,
than casual listening, but I have no doubt that this will be
another successful album for MCC.
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MC
STAR RATING; *********-
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ALAN
TYLER &
THE
LOST SONS OF LITTLEFIELD
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Tracks:
Cross Eyed Country, Guns, Little Big Man, Middle Saxon Town,
Favourite Child, I'm Never Gonna Sing That Song anymore, Hat
In The Road, The Meaning Of Love, Ghost Riders In The Sky,
I'm Still Here, Ladder Of Years, Love Her Like A Demon.
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Former frontman of
U.K band "The Rockingbirds", Alan draws inspiration
for the new band name from the hometown of his idol, Waylon Jennings
who, also provides musical influence, on listening to, this eponymous
album.
The album contains
13 tracks.....12 actual songs, as "Middle Saxon Town"
is split in two, with a spoken intro...... the majority coming
from Tyler's own pen, and are of a particularly good quality.
What is unusual is
that most of the songs, while keeping to the American country/rock
vein, are lyrically about UK places and values and in my book,
Tyler is to be commended for that!
Tyler's vocals are
good, his songwriting is strong, and the musicianship of his backing
band is excellent.
Well worth a listen!
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MC
STAR RATING:
*******---
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| THE
WILDERS |
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THROW
DOWN
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Tracks:
Hawk's Got A Chicken & Flew In The Woods,
Honky Tonk Habit, It'll Never Be thru With Us (Until It's Thru
With You), Won't You Sometimes Think Of Me, Squirrel Hunters,
Belshazzar, Jenny On The Railroad, Together Apart, Blues Come
Around, Goat Creek, Drivin' Nails In My Coffin, When I Get To
Heaven, When The Levee's Gone, January Waltz, I'm Gonna Find Her
- (Bonus Track), How Mountain Girls Can Love - (Bonus Track Recorded
Live On KEXP 90.3 FM, Seattle, Washington, Au..., Honky Tonk Habit
- (Bonus Trk Recorded Live On KEXP 90.3 FM, Seattle, Washington.
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Formed in 1996,
the band which consists of Ike Sheldon (lead vocals, guitar),
Betse Ellis (fiddle, vocals), Phil Wade (Dobro, mandolin, banjo,
vocals), and Nate Gawron (upright bass, vocals), resurrects 1940's
and 50's honky-tonk heroes like Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell.
Totally unplugged, they all huddle around a single microphone
and when the time comes for a solo, each player moves around as
required.
On this, their latest
release, they perform their very own original "hillbilly
riot" songs and fiddle tunes, mixed in with a decent helping
of vintage country, old time, and honky-tonk music. Containing
a very generous 17 tracks (14 + 3 bonus), of these 7 are self
penned, mixed in with covers from H Williams, Johnny Cash and
Ernest Tubb. "Belshazzar" is performed at a slightly
faster pace but with a lot more gusto than J.C originally recorded
the song, while Ernest Tubb would be proud of the treatment given
to his classic, "Drivin' Nails In My Coffin" with it's
slowed down verses, changing to uptempo on the chorus'.
There's are also
5 instrumental tunes on here, 3 of these traditional, rearranged
and given the Wilders own treatment, while 2 are written by the
girl of the band, Betse Ellis.
Bonus tracks include
a bluegrass version of Closing up the album are a couple of LIVE
tracks to give the listener a feel of the band on stage.
If you like Bluegrass
music, you'll love this album from a quartet of excellent, talented
musician's and songwriters!!!
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MC
STAR RATING: *********-
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| OTHER
ALBUM'S BY THE WILDERS |
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SPRING
A LEAK
2001/07
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Tracks:
Jawbone, Settin' The Woods On Fire, Kansas City Star, Oklahoma
Run, too Much Water, Night Train To Memphis, Going Across The
Sea, Once More, Old Leather Bonnet With A Hole In The Crown, Hallelujah
I'm Ready, Try Doing Right, Kansas City Railroad Blues. Bonus
Tracks: Keep My Skillet Good And Greasy, Rabbit Up A Gum Stump,
Ida Red.
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A good
selection of songs and fiddle tunes, both well known and obscure.
MC
STAR RATING: ********--
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ON
THE WINGS OF A DOVE
2001/07
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Tracks:
The Great Speckled Bird, Are You Washed
In The Blood Of The Lamb, Noah Found Grace In The Eyes Of The
Lord, When The Stars Begin To Fall, In The Garden, Farther On,
That Old Time Religion, Make Room In The Lifeboat, Trials Troubles
Tribulations, 'Tis Midnight And On Olives Brow, I'd Rather Be
An Old Time Christian/Waiting For The Boatman, The Fourth Man
In The Fire, Brighten The Corner Where You Are, On The Wings Of
A Dove. Bonus Tracks: There's A Higher Power, Angel Band.
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The Wilders go Gospel.
I didn't find this one as good as the other two album's, although
the quality is still there in the musicianship.
MC
STAR RATING: ******----
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WEBSITE:
http://www.wilderscountry.com/
E
MAIL: angie@pressdarlingpr.com
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