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COUNTRY MUSIC COLUMN
by Scott
Stem
HOT COUNTRY
TELEVISION…
“Country
Music’s Biggest Night” takes place Nov. 5, as “The 37th
Annual CMA Awards” broadcasts live from Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry
via CBS. Vince Gill hosts. CMT recently taped two amazing episodes
for their acclaimed “CMT
Crossroads” series. Dolly
Parton teamed up with Melissa
Etheridge in Los Angeles to perform songs such as “I
Honestly Love You,” “Come To My Window” and “Somebody
Bring Me Some Water.” The
duo also performed “I Walk The
Line” in tribute to Johnny
Cash. In Nashville, Martina McBride joined Pat
Benatar for an incredible night of music. Both episodes will air on
CMT in coming months. Great
American Country (GAC) premieres a new television show on Nov. 4 –
“Country Music Across America.”
Hosted and produced by Storme Warren (formerly of “Crook
and Chase”), the show will feature the latest Country Music news
and events. GAC also
recently began airing “The Grand
Ole Opry” previously shown on CMT. Shania Twain will have yet another NBC Television Special airing around Thanksgiving, which was filmed in Nashville. When not filming specials, Shania is currently in the midst of her North American tour. IMPRESSIVE LIVE
STUFF… Gary
Allan recently performed at The Trap in Nashville, celebrating his
new CD, See
If I Care. Allan’s
past songs include – “Right
Where I Need To Be,” “Man To Man,” “Loving You Against My
Will,” and “Smoke Rings In The Dark.”
He’s the honky tonk Chris
Isaak and a riveting live performer. The 90-minute set included the hits, his
new single, “Tough Little
Boys,” and other new songs, “Drinkin’
Dark Whiskey” and “Nothing
On But The Radio.” Allan
is one of the most underrated talents in Country Music today. I attended a rare acoustic performance from Ryan Shupe & The Rubber Band. This high-energy band is in final negotiations for Capitol Nashville deal and call their sound, “PostHeeHawFunkadelicHipHopNewGrass.” That sums them up perfectly. Find them at: www.shupe.net and grab a copy of their indie CD, Hey Hey Hey. Great new artist! COUNTRY MUSIC NEWS… Emmylou Harris returns with her latest, Stumble Into Grace, the second CD to feature songs written/co-written by Harris. The first was Red Dirt Girl. Both should be in your collection. Daniel Lanois, Anna & Kate McGarrigle, Julie Miller, Linda Ronstadt and Jane Siberry all contribute background vocals. Harris is a national treasure. Troubadour Robert
Earl Keen is back with –– The
Party Never Ends: Songs You Know From The Times You Can’t Remember
–– an album featuring 13 songs that are just plain fun.
With titles like “Copenhagen,”
“Gringo Honeymoon,” “Dreadful Selfish Crime,” and “The
Five Pound Bass,” you know can’t go wrong. Also returning this month with a new CD is
the Del McCoury Band.
The new disc –– It’s Just The Night
–– features 14 great tracks from this stellar Bluegrass band.
McCoury was just invited to join Grand Ole Opry.
Pick up this album and you’ll understand why. One of my favorite new discoveries this
year is the debut CD from Josh
Turner called, Long
Black Train. I was
surprised by Turner’s rich, deep baritone voice –– he’s too
young to have that experience in his voice that adds such authority to
songs such as the title cut as well as a remake of the Jim
Croce hit “You Don’t Mess
Around With Jim.” Turner
wrote or co-wrote three songs on the project, with such master
songwriters as Harley Allen,
Bobby Braddock, Tim Mensy and Jamie
O’Hara also contributing. Turner is one of the best new vocalists
in Country today. Mark
Wills is back with And The Crowd Goes Wild. Wills
has been around for nearly a decade with songs such as “Jacob’s
Ladder,” “Don’t Laugh At Me” and “Nineteen Something” among
others, yet he just recently turned 30. Country Music artists are among the most prolific when it comes to releasing Christmas music albums. Here’s two... Kenny
Chesney’s All I Want For Christmas Is A Real
Good Tan, has been on the back burner from the East
Tennessee-native for the last few years.
It features a duets with Willie
Nelson on “Pretty Paper”
and Randy Owen of Alabama on “Christmas In
Dixie.” He is joined
by his mother and aunt on “Silent
Night.” Steve
Wariner gives up Guitar
Christmas. This all-instrumental album recorded without overdubs
or accompaniment is simply beautiful.
It’s as if Wariner was sitting in the room with you while he
plays these songs. Wariner
was actually born on Christmas Day, and you can feel his affinity with
the day of his birth in every note. It’s available at: www.SteveWariner.com NOT EXACTLY
COUNTRY…BUT STILL COOL! Three other projects that I want to mention, are not strictly country, but have a lot of ties to our musical genre. Joan
Baez is back with her first new disc in years, Dark
Chords On A Big Guitar. The
album features Baez and her beautiful voice on songs written by Ryan
Adams, Caitlin Cary, Steve Earle, Joe Henry, Natalie
Merchant, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings and others.
Baez has always had a wonderful song sense, choosing well-written
songs from the best writers of the time. It’s great to see so many
songwriters associated with Nashville represented. A friend recommended this next project and
I am grateful. Robinella And The
CC Stringband is the name of both the group and their self-titled
album. Daily
Variety writes – “Imagine
a country-influenced, trained Billie Holiday; she’s sultry and
engaging, her vocals sitting atop the music like decorations on a
cake.” The CD
features songs written by the band, as well as songs written by Duke
Ellington, Hugh Prestwood, Shel Silverstein and others.
If you like Norah Jones, you will love this CD. Highly recommended –– perhaps one of my favorites of the
year. Finally, did you catch the great
seven-part TV series “Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues” on PBS?
It was an amazing presentation of the history of one of
America’s greatest musical art forms and its continuation. My 8-year
old son and I were totally captivated watching each episode. The soundtrack box set contains five CDs featuring –– Louis Armstrong, Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, Buddy Guy, W.C. Handy, Jimi Hendrix, Billie Holiday, John Lee Hooker, Robert Johnson, Janis Joplin, Keb’Mo’, Lead Belly, Bonnie Raitt, Bessie Smith, Koko Taylor, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Muddy Waters and dozens more. Why mention this in a Country Music
column? First off, it’s an American heritage we
should ALL be proud of and
more knowledgeable about. Secondly, Blues and Country are pretty
similar in theme, as demonstrated by the appearance of country music
forefather Jimmie Rodgers on
this box set and Lucinda Williams
in the television project. Third, it was the coming together of
Country Music and the Blues that gave birth to rock ‘n’ roll. And fourth... this box set is just pretty damn cool.
Celebrate American music and buy the Martin
Scorsese Presents The Blues Box Set. Have a great Thanksgiving.
Be thankful for family, friends and all the wonderful music we
have around us. |
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