Winning and losing isn't something that usually comes to mind when thinking about music, but the guys in Reckless Kelly say that sometimes at the end of a concert you get one feeling or the other from a crowd. They definitely won Thursday night (Nov. 19) at Nashville's Exit/In. Opened by Scott Miller, the show ran past midnight for an audience that only seemed to want more.
Charlie Daniels is already spreading the good tidings of Christmas. First of all, he's released a new holiday album, Joy to the World: A Bluegrass Christmas, with guests like Jewel, Kathy Mattea and Aaron Tippin, as well as Suzanne and Evelyn Cox, the Grascals and Dan Tyminski. Instead of a duets project, Daniels lets the singers tackle a whole tune. (Tyminski's rendition of "The Christmas Song" is especially terrific.) Daniels also offers a nifty new original, "Mississippi Christmas Eve," and recites both an original short story ("A Carolina Christmas Carol") and a passage from the book of Luke.
I've loved Miranda Lambert's music since day one so this kind of shocked me: She told The Tennessean newspaper that her latest album is the one she would hand out to her heroes. She said, "The fact that Patty Loveless knows my music at all, that made me really pumped. This is the first time I've made a record that I want my heroes to hear. This one, I'd hand it to my heroes with no hesitation." I hope that doesn't mean she's not proud of her first two albums. Like if she were to hand those to her heroes, would she seriously hesitate? I mean, sure, she's come a long way since "Me and Charlie Talking" but those efforts produced deeper cuts like "Bring Me Down," "New Strings" and "More Like Her." I can't speak for all Lambert's heroes, but I have a feeling they'd dig everything she's done since her debut in 2004. She should be proud of it all.
If you've ever wondered what performing on the CMA Awards would do for your career, I have three words: triple digit spikes. That's what happened for Lady Antebellum, Sugarland and Jamey Johnson. After winning two awards and performing the snowy "Need You Now," Lady Antebellum had their biggest sales week ever and a 130 percent sales increase from the previous week for their self-titled debut album. And Sugarland's current album, Love on the Inside, had a sales jump of 136 percent, while its concert companion, Live on the Inside, rose 110 percent. Even better, Jamey Johnson's That Lonesome Song jumped 286 percent after his performance of "Between Jennings and Jones" with Kid Rock, as well as his trophy for song of the year ("In Color"). That makes him the CMA performer with the biggest album sales percentage increase this week and he is grateful for every album he's sold, because like he said on stage, "I've swung a hammer for seven bucks an hour so I appreciate every single person who supports country music."
Photo credit: Rick Diamond/Getty Images
Some of my earliest memories of really connecting with music come from a Creedence Clearwater Revival Chronicle Vol. 1: The 20 Greatest Hits CD that my mother owned, and usually it started with a guitar lick. The riffs that John Fogerty wrote with Creedence were so iconic and natural that I never gave any thought to his skill with his instrument. But according to this interview in The Tennessean, even after all of his success he felt guilty about his guitar playing and how he never reached the level of his inspiration, Chet Atkins. Disproving the old-dogs-can't-learn-new-tricks theory, he spent almost two decades practicing and now feels like he can jam with Buddy Miller -- who contributed to Fogerty's The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again album -- without having to apologize first. That's pretty amazing, if you ask me, and shows what determination can do. Needless to say, I am pumped to see what he's got this Sunday at the Ryman. Maybe it will be something like this trailer from his concert DVD, Comin' Down the Road.
In his nostalgic new video, "Charcoal Sky," esteemed singer-songwriter Chip Taylor reminisces about placing nickels on the rails as a kid and listening to his father chat with the conductors. Taylor sets numerous family stories to music on a new album, Yonkers NY, with one of the two discs bolstered with personal anecdotes. Taylor is most recognized for writing "Wild Thing" and "Angel of the Morning" -- which couldn't be more different -- but throughout his brilliant career he's also placed songs with the likes of Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra and Dusty Springfield. There's also a terrific new Chip Taylor anthology on Ace Records, with dozens of vintage artists offering their own renditions of his work, in case you're in the mood for memories too.
I've always liked a man with a good sense of humor, and if Bucky Covington's engaging personality is any indication of what to expect from his upcoming album, I'm Alright, due out next spring, it's surely a must-hear. Since he and his twin brother recently turned "32 years good," as he likes to call it, I asked him how they celebrated their birthday. He informed me that the two sat around a campfire at his new 80-acre farm and came up with the great idea of riding dirt bikes. "So, safety first, we took flashlights and duct-taped them to the front fenders," he laughed. Unfortunately, that wasn't quite enough light because Bucky crashed and hurt his left knee. Thinking on his feet, so to speak, he grabbed his nearest resource. "So I duct taped a ShamWow to my knee. It worked great, but by the time I got home, I was a pint low," he laughed. "ShamWow!"
Coming up as a journalist, I was encouraged to read as much as I could, to learn how to tell a story well. During an interview about his new album, Somedays the Song Writes You, I asked Guy Clark if songwriters should take the same tactic. "Yeah, of course, and read something good, too," he said. "Read Dylan Thomas or listen to it. I just got a new CD of the whole Under Milk Wood play. Every time Townes (Van Zandt) and I thought we were pretty hot shit writers, we would put on a tape of Dylan Thomas reading."
Sugarland captured their third consecutive CMA Award for duo of the year on Wednesday night (Nov. 11), capping a very successful 2009. Although there have been numerous highlights -- multi-platinum certifications, a network TV special, a new Christmas album -- Jennifer Nettles was forced to cancel several tour dates this year due to nagging health concerns. She fielded a question about it during a visit to the press room backstage at the CMA Awards.
"This year I started out on a limp leg because I was randomly sick several times before we went on the road. That started me out, when we were on the road, still dealing with that," she said.
It was mostly the usual suspects who got nominated for the awards that were presented Wednesday (Nov. 11) in Nashville, but the winners in some of the categories make you wonder what's going on among the voters who are card-carrying members of the Country Music Association. (I should mention that I am a CMA member, but I'm not sure I could locate my card if I had to.) Lady Antebellum had a great year, but what does it mean when they win over the longtime favorite, Rascal Flatts? And while there was much discussion about whether Taylor Swift would win the entertainer of the year award, I really thought CMA voters would make her wait at least another year before presenting her with the organization's highest honor. And when people accuse country music of sounding like pop music, the song of the year prize somehow goes to Jamey Johnson's "In Color." At the risk of stirring things up, what are your thoughts about the winners at the CMA Awards show?
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