Swap a CD: 15 Recently Posted CDs

Im Alright - Jo Dee Messina

Jo Dee Messina — 2009-11-21T23:28:09-05:00

On the follow-up to her self-titled breakout debut, Jo Dee Messina and her production team of Tim McGraw and Byron Gallimore don't mess with what's not broke. Messina took two years to get I'm Alright to the fans, quite frankly because she was so busy touring in support of her hit record. Certainly a fencepost in the foundation blueprint for contemporary country records in the 21st century, I'm Alright contains ten cuts that either walk the line between country and straight-up radio-friendly pop or fall just to the country side of that fence. Messina has an enormous voice. While she doesn't have to stretch her contralto range much, her sense of dynamics is a near trademark, learned from the very best in the business. For proof, all one needs to do is go to the ballads, such as the Kostas and John Sherrill-penned "Because You Love Me," with its sense of restraint until the key moment in the refrain when caution is tossed to the wind and the singer delivers the proof in her conviction. The other tune Sherrill contributed to the set is the poignant "Even God Must Get the Blues," co-authored with Dene Anton. Messina's real musical companion in the tune is a lost and lonely Hammond B-3 organ -- which seems to have become a standard in contemporary country just as the upright piano was to the countrypolitan sound of the '60s -- and she walks with it, strolls with it, and dances with it through this socially conscious heartbreaker. But Messina can deliver party tunes, love songs, and break-up songs as well as anyone, as evidenced by the title cut that opens the disc. Driven by banjo, mandolin, pedal steel, and acoustic guitars, this one rolls with a backwoods back-porch vibe, and all is well with the world. Certainly the record is clean, perhaps a bit too clean, but the song selection is close to impeccable. Gallimore and McGraw were still finding their way with Messina here, and they hit pay dirt with her next record, 2000's Burn, where they found the perfect balance between country, pop, and '70s soft rock to dress Messina's voice in. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

My Heart - Lorrie Morgan

Lorrie Morgan — 2009-11-21T23:27:18-05:00

My Heart, a 1999 album recorded by Lorrie Morgan, earned a Grammy award nomination, but not as much attention as expected. It would have probably done a lot better with more backing from Morgan's label at the time and the release of a few more singles from its track list. Though not well celebrated, it is still a good album filled with all new material. Morgan had some special help on this offering, including the vocal talents of gifted singer Jo Dee Messina on the tune "The Things That We Do." There is also a duet, "Maybe Not Tonight," with popular country singer Sammy Kershaw. This album is filled mostly with ballads, such as "I Did," "Where Does That Leave Me," "Strong Enough to Cry," and "Between Midnight and Tomorrow." There are a few songs added in to pick up the pace and invite a little toe-tapping, like the title track and "The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You." ~ Charlotte Dillon, All Music Guide

Roy Rogers Tribute - Roy Rogers & The Sons of the Pioneers

Roy Rogers & The Sons of the Pioneers — 2009-11-21T22:49:37-05:00

This Time - Dwight Yoakam

Dwight Yoakam — 2009-11-21T22:46:33-05:00

Six years after his monumental debut recording, Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc., Dwight Yoakam is still delivering the goods. After inadvertently (and unwillingly) being credited with creating the new traditionalist movement, Yoakam takes his hard-edged country influences from Buck Owens, Johnny Horton, Ray Price, and Merle Haggard and expands them to include new instruments and textures as well as voices -- one can hear in these broken love songs the voice of Gene Pitney as well -- and come up with something new again. This Time is not a party record in the way his first pair of albums were. Take the first half of Buenos Noches From a Lonely Room and add a marvelously played Hammond B-3 courtesy of Skip Edwards and keep the downer flow going and you got it. Buck Owens' spirit appears on "This Time," a song that, while deep in the Bakerfield groove, has a more elegiac tone thanks to Yoakam's songwriting collaboration with country songsmith legend Kostas (who first worked with Yoakam on If There Was a Way); they wrote half the album together. Kostas' lush approach to melody is not alien to Yoakam's as demonstrated by the tunes Dwight penned himself -- "Pocket of a Clown" (with a doo wop backing chorus in swing harmony) and the devastating ballads "A Thousand Miles From Nowhere" and "Home for Sale," among others. But in Kostas Yoakam found a writer as interested in textures as in unique ways to use his voice. "Two Doors Down" is a stunning example, as is the lone cover on the disc, by Kostas and James House, "Ain't That Lonely Yet," where Yoakam moves into Roy Orbison territory with strings and lush backdrops that meld Bakersfield with Pitney's conceptual mini-soundtracks and the arrangements on Jim Reeves' best records. With production help from Dusty Wakeman (Lucinda Williams' self-titled and Sweet Old World albums), Pete Anderson was able to add depth and dimension to an already full sound. The echoes of early rock and soul entwine the honky tonk tempos and instruments and become something wholly other. This album is a welcome addition to Yoakam's formidable catalog. This Time is no sell out; it's a new way to present the timelessness of hard, torn, wasted-love country love songs with less reckless sentimentality and more honest emotion. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

Love Travels - Kathy Mattea

Kathy Mattea — 2009-11-21T21:51:23-05:00

Though the glossy production may put off some of her old country-folk fans, Love Travels is a typically tasteful and compelling record from Kathy Mattea. While it is more uneven Walking Away A Winner, most of the record is first-rate, finding the perfect middle-ground between country-folk and mainstream contemporary country. ~ Thom Owens, All Music Guide

Three Wooden Crosses - Various Artists

Various Artists — 2009-11-21T19:19:27-05:00

Three Wooden Crosses is a collection of modern country music by some of the biggest names in the business past and present, and deals with issues of faith, hope, community, spiritual consciousness, and mortality. How times have changed. Once upon a time these would have all been country gospel tunes; now they are called "inspirational songs" and are far more secular. Actually, it's a welcome change the proves that Nash Vegas has been forced by its artists and the success of the music beyond non-traditionalist country borders -- thank you Garth Brooks -- to embrace this less overtly Christian brand of singers like Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Jo Dee Messina, Wynonna Judd, Alison Krauss, Lee Ann Womack, Vince Gill, and others. McGraw's hit "Live Like You Were Dying" is here, as is Hill's "There Will Come a Day," Amy Grant's "Carry You," Steve Wariner's syrupy "Holes in the Floor of Heaven," Rascal Flatts' "When the Sand Runs Out," and many more. While it's true this won't make many hardcore Christian music fans run out and buy it, country fans who can stand a little inspirational music will be delighted. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

The Sweetest Gift - Trisha Yearwood

Trisha Yearwood — 2009-11-21T16:42:59-05:00

Sweetest Gift is Trisha Yearwood's addition to the christmas album market. Her countrified renditions of these christmas classics remain pretty faithful to the original songs despite the genre she steers it towards. Fans of country would probably enjoy this album, as Yearwood has a beautiful voice that suites these songs just fine. ~ Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide

White Christmas 1999 - Martina McBride

Martina McBride — 2009-11-21T16:42:03-05:00

Martina McBride's White Christmas features the singer's countrified versions of holiday classics like the title track, "The Christmas Song," "Silver Bells," "I'll Be Home for Christmas," and "Silent Night." [The 1999 reissue includes new art work and two bonus tracks.] ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide

The Gift - Kenny Rogers

Kenny Rogers — 2009-11-21T16:36:46-05:00

As a latter-day holiday album from Kenny Rogers, The Gift isn't half bad, thanks to the professional production and Rogers' honeyed voice, but it does suffer from uneven material and the occasional indifferent performance. There are enough good moments here to make it worthwhile for hardcore Kenny fans, but not enough to make it of interest to less dedicated listeners. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

AllTime Favorite Hits Capitol Special Markets - Glen Campbell

Glen Campbell — 2009-11-21T15:49:39-05:00

While CEMA Special Markets' All-Time Favorite Hits is far from being definitive -- turn to Razor & Tie's double-disc Gentle on My Mind if you want that -- it is a good budget-priced collection, containing ten of his most popular songs, including "Gentle on My Mind," "By the Time I Get to Phoenix, " "Dreams of the Everyday Housewife, " "Wichita Lineman, " "Honey Come Back, " "Galveston, " "Rhinestone Cowboy, " "Country Boy (You Got Your Feet in L.A.), " and "Southern Nights." Sure, there are a number of hits missing, but the selection is first-rate, and many budget-minded listeners who don't care about liner notes or comprehensive collections will find this compilation just their speed. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Unconditional - Clay Davidson

Clay Davidson — 2009-11-21T15:44:30-05:00

When you think of Nashville tastemakers, the name of pop/rocker Jude Cole may not be the first that comes to mind, but it was Cole who saw Clay Davidson at a party thrown for him by Virgin Records Nashville and became his sponsor. A more likely choice would be Virgin Nashville's President and CEO Scott Hendricks, who actually drew up the contract and co-produced this, Davidson's debut album. What the two heard, one supposes, was an artist capable of heading in the more hard rocking direction Nashville seemed to have decided on for turn of the century country music. "Makin' Hay," the album's lead-off track, has a definite Lynyrd Skynyrd/Allman Brothers Band sound, and by "I Can't Lie to Me," the second track, there is an acoustic guitar (courtesy of Cole) reminiscent of the Marshall Tucker Band. Later on, Wet Willie vocalist/harmonica player Jimmy Hall guests on "Doghouse Rights." Not all of the album sounds like '70s southern rock, by any means. There are ballads of romantic devotion with a steel guitar chiming in and songs that are more honky tonk than rock. But Unconditional stakes out a crossover sound that reflects Nashville's hunger to extend its reach beyond its base. As the vehicle of this marketing strategy, Davidson is a likely enough candidate, with a sturdy baritone that can be gruff or smooth, and as a writer or co-writer on seven of the 11 tracks, he seems a willing participant. But there's nothing here that's particularly striking from a creative standpoint. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Strong Enough - BlackHawk

BlackHawk — 2009-11-21T15:33:29-05:00

After their debut album became a platinum success, Blackhawk decided to follow the same formula for their follow-up, Strong Enough. Not merely a reproduction of their self-titled debut, Strong Enough finds the group consolidating their strengths as songwriters and performers. Throughout the album, the group turns in first-rate songs and tight performances, distinguished by their strong harmonies. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

The Woman in Me - Shania Twain

Shania Twain — 2009-11-21T14:59:16-05:00

Sometimes, all it takes for a singer to break it big is to have the right collaborator and nowhere is that truth more evident than with Shania Twain. After years of independent local releases and demo records, she released an OK major-label debut on Mercury in 1993 -- a record that was perfectly fine but not all that memorable. Not long after that, her path crossed with Robert John "Mutt" Lange's, the producer behind some of the greatest albums in hard rock history, including AC/DC's Back in Black and Def Leppard's Hysteria. Based on that, Lange didn't seem like an ideal match for Twain, but they turned out to be expertly matched collaborators -- and romantic partners, too; they married as they were working on the material that became her second album, The Woman in Me. Together, they totally reworked Twain, turning her into a bold, brassy, sexy, sassy modern woman, singing songs that play like tongue-in-cheek empowerment anthems even when they're about heartbreak. She demands that "Any man of mine/better walk the line," tells a poor sap that "(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!" and when she confronts her lover asking "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?" it sounds like a threat, not a lament. All these songs are painted in big, broad strokes and Lange uses all the arena-filling tricks he's learned from Def Leppard, giving these steady rhythms and melodic hooks that are crushed only by the mammoth choruses which drill their way into permanent memory upon the first listen. That's not to say that The Woman in Me is nothing but heavy-handed pop/rockers dressed as country tunes -- they are good at ballads like the title song, but they're even more impressive on "No One Needs to Know," as swinging slice of neo- Bakersfield country so good you'd swear that Dwight Yoakam is singing harmony. And that speaks to the skill of Lange as a producer -- this is surely pop influenced, but he doesn't push it too far, for no matter how many rock tricks are in the production or how poppy the tunes are, they still feel like country songs, especially on "Any Man of Mine" and "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?" anthems for the post-"Boot Scootin' Boogie" era, when country slowly, steadily became the sound of middle-American adult pop. Garth Brooks started the ball rolling, but this is where the movement gained momentum, and although this isn't pure country, it is country in how it sounds and feels, particularly in how it captures the stance and attitude of the modern women, thanks in no small part to Twain who plays this part to a hilt. And, like all the best Lange productions, it's so exquisitely crafted from the songs to the sound that it's not only an instant pleasure, it's a sustaining one. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Come on Over - Shania Twain

Shania Twain — 2009-11-21T14:58:55-05:00

Shania Twain's second record, The Woman in Me, became a blockbuster, appealing as much to a pop audience as it did to the country audience. Part of the reason for its success was how producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange -- best-known for his work with Def Leppard, the Cars, and AC/DC -- steered Twain toward the big choruses and instrumentation that always was a signature of his speciality, AOR radio. Come on Over, the sequel to The Woman in Me, continues that approach, breaking from contemporary country conventions in a number of ways. Not only does the music lean toward rock, but its 16 songs and, as the cover proudly claims, "Hour of Music," break from the country tradition of cheap, short albums of ten songs that last about a half-hour. Furthermore, all 16 songs and Lange-Twain originals and Shania's sleek, sexy photos suggest a New York fashion model, not a honky tonker. And there isn't any honky tonk here, which is just as well, since the fiddles are processed to sound like synthesizers and talk boxes never sound good on down-home, gritty rave-ups. No, Shania sticks to what she does best, which is countrified mainstream pop. Purists will complain that there's little country here, and there really isn't. However, what is here is professionally crafted country-pop -- even the filler (which there is, unfortunately, too much of) sounds good -- which is delivered with conviction, if not style, by Shania, and that is enough to make it a thoroughly successful follow-up to the most successful country album by a female in history. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Super Hits - Doug Stone

Doug Stone — 2009-11-21T14:56:55-05:00

Super Hits is a brief but strong compilation of Doug Stone's biggest hits, including "These Lips Don't Know How to Say Goodbye," "Faith in Me, Faith in You," "Fourteen Minutes Old," "I'd Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)," "Come in Out of the Pain," "More Love," "In a Different Light" and "Why Didn't I Think of That." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide