Curb Records has released Tim McGraw’s Greatest Hits 3 — just two years after the second volume. So, what’s new? Not much. Every song on it has been previously released, but it’s still a relatively diverse collection. “If You’re Reading This” is included, in case you didn’t buy the re-released version of his previous album. A concert version of “Real Good Man” is on here, too. Plus, he goes back farther in the archives for “Can’t Be Really Gone” and “Angry All the Time,” which remain two of my personal favorites.
Posted: October 7th, 2008 at 12:03 pm| By: Chris Parton
On Sleepless NightsPatty Loveless covers some of the best songs country music has to offer, and in this case I think she makes one her own. I’ve heard a few versions of Ray Price’s “Crazy Arms” from Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson … even BR549, but I’ve never heard it done with more conviction. She can take her voice from a whisper to soaring in an instant and sometimes it feels like both at the same time. The video is straightforward with Loveless milling around an empty and dimly lit house. She really does look lonely. Old wedding flowers and cake decorations litter the ground and the shot comes in and out of focus giving the impression of watching through teary eyes. Due to her performance, that may have been an unnecessary effect.
I’ll go see the bluegrass band Blue Highway every chance I get - unless it’s after midnight. Not even once during IBMA’s World of Bluegrass week was I able to pull an all-nighter, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying a full week of music. I missed Blue Highway’s official showcase on Wednesday night, but I was pleased to hear them on Friday, just one day after “Though the Window of a Train” won an IBMA award for song of the year. I’m always impressed with their original songs and their musicianship. Can you believe they have kept the same lineup since winning their first IBMA award in 1996? In bluegrass, that’s almost unheard of.
It was 1973 when I discovered James Taylor. The man, not necessarily the music. My sister did this drawing of him for her high school art class, and I instantly fell head over heels. I mean, look at him. His deep-set eyes. His high cheekbones. The way the sun is highlighting his feathered hair. The way his chambray shirt was faded, even before vintage denim was hot. She drew it from a picture that I think was inside the album cover of 1971’s Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon. I was only 8, but I knew love like that did not come along every day.
Congratulations to NoDepression.com, which launched its very attractive Web site this week. Lucinda Williams‘ face was there to greet me on my first visit - not exactly smiling, but you know … I liked the magazine, even if sometimes I thought it was a bit too self-indulgent. However, now that so much music writing is on the Web, reporters are almost expected to put their own personal experiences in the articles, and to that end, No Depression has always drawn intriguing parallels between the music and how it fits into the lives of their scribes. One of the magazine’s co-founders, Grant Alden, wrote a very nice piece on Chris Knight’s catalog, which will please longtime admirers of both the songwriter and the magazine. Plus, when you’re already in front of a computer, it’s so much easier to find out what those obscure bands actually sound like. So here’s to more online coverage of alt-country, whatever that is.
Posted: October 2nd, 2008 at 4:04 pm| By: Chris Parton
The first few things I heard were a wispy steel, a guitar hook, an image forming lyric and a Hammond B-3 organ. For me, that’s an excellent start to Wade Bowen’s newest album, If We Ever Make It Home. In the liner notes, he quotes Willie Nelson as saying, “You can’t make a record if you ain’t got nothing to say.” Here’s a few of the things he had to say, and for a limited time you can listen along to If We Ever Make It Home on CMT.com.
“This just feels right,” Kevin Costner said about playing county music. Hmm. Where have I heard that one before? Oh, yes. FROM EVERY OTHER CELEBRITY WHO WANTS TO BE A COUNTRY STAR. So now we must add Kevin Costner to the list. It’s apparently not enough for him to be ruggedly hot. Not enough that he has mastered the craft of acting. He needs more. His band, Modern West, has been out there playing for years. While he doesn’t come right out and call it a country band, his Web site defines it as a rock band with an edgy Western style. And his MySpace page lists Hank Williams and Lucinda Williams among his influences. On Nov. 11, his 12-track album comes out. So then we’ll all know if he’s just another wannabe or a real Nashville contender.
Posted: October 1st, 2008 at 4:38 pm| By: Chris Parton
With Time Flies, John Michael Montgomery offers up a country record that is reminiscent of his work in the early ‘90s. In fact, it’s a lot like Life’s a Dance with its powerful love songs and a few lighthearted ones sprinkled in to break things up. The lighthearted songs give some texture to the album, and I like “What Did I Do.” Others, however, seem like they are trying pretty hard to be funny. I think I like him better as a soulful singer, like on “Let’s Get Lost” and “If You Ever Went Away,” and there are plenty of songs like that on Time Flies. I won’t argue with his steady voice, though. For a limited time, you can listen to all the tracks from John Michael Montgomery’s Time Flies for free on CMT.com.
The handwriting is on the wall. Bailout or no bailout, the economy is headed straight to hell. But not every business will suffer because of that. There will always be the steadfast vice industries: gambling, smoking, drinking and pornography. Businesses that are pretty recession proof, no matter how bad things get.
Posted: September 30th, 2008 at 3:53 pm| By: Craig Shelburne
Kellie Pickler’s new, self-titled album is brimming with breakup songs. Considering that she’s a favorite among young women, I asked her to share any advice for those girls with broken hearts.
“I think the best advice that I could give a younger girl — and this is for someone in elementary school through high school — I would just advise young girls to not get into serious relationships so young,” she says. “I’m from a small town, so it’s kind of expected of you. When I graduated, there were girls in my graduating class that were barefoot and pregnant walking across the stage and the guy was not anyone to take home. And it’s already leading to a road of disaster.”
I’ll go see the bluegrass band 
It was 1973 when I discovered 
Congratulations to 
The first few things I heard were a wispy steel, a guitar hook, an image forming lyric and a Hammond B-3 organ. For me, that’s an excellent start to 
“This just feels right,” 
With Time Flies, 
The handwriting is on the wall. Bailout or no bailout, the economy is headed straight to hell. But not every business will suffer because of that. There will always be the steadfast vice industries: gambling, smoking, drinking and pornography. Businesses that are pretty recession proof, no matter how bad things get.
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