Tag: Country

EP Review: Charlie Marie EP

Rhinestone cowboys sometimes glitter so brightly in the sun, it’s hard to see beyond the surface. You can play dress up easily, put in some pedal steel – does that make you an authentic country artist? And then there’s the complicated debate about artists combining country with pop and hip hop. To be honest all this arguing about ‘what makes you country’ often just ends up giving me a headache. What I do know is that I just really want to hear great songs and a great singer, whatever genre. Of course I admit I have a soft spot for vintage sounding country music and am always looking to support artists who honestly embrace that style. Charlie Marie hails from small town Rhode Island, which might be far from Nashville but her music is comfortingly familiar classic country. Continue reading “EP Review: Charlie Marie EP” →

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EP Review: Maddie & Tae – One Heart To Another

Everyone from die hard fans to causal observers can plainly see that there is a serious problem in the mainstream country music genre. Women are not getting air play or streaming spots on major playlists and this has a knock on effect on chart placing, touring and festival bills. A few years back Maddie and Tae managed the impossible by breaking into the charts with Girl In a Country Song, which hilariously sent up the sexism of the industry and the bro country tropes. They followed that up with a well received debut album and yet here we are four years later, still waiting on a second album, while endless faceless male nobodies hit the charts with ease. The fact that this new release, One Heart to Another, is only an EP is a little disappointing but it is a relief to finally hear new material from the duo, plus the bonus news is that they have been invited to go on tour with Carrie Underwood. Continue reading “EP Review: Maddie & Tae – One Heart To Another” →

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Album Review: Reba McEntire – Stronger Than The Truth

Credit must go to Reba McEntire for making a concerted choice to record a classic country album, working with a range of songwriters to make music that appeals to her already established audience. She makes no play for younger fans or the radio or even rootsy Americana fans either. Stronger Than The Truth sticks close to the slick, polished brand of country that made her name and the result is something listenable, credible and really damn enjoyable. Continue reading “Album Review: Reba McEntire – Stronger Than The Truth” →

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Dolly Parton’s Discography – Here You Come Again (1977)

In the middle of the eternal debate about what defines the country music genre it’s interesting to consider some of these late seventies Dolly Parton albums. She aimed for the pop market but hoped to keep her country fanbase happy too. By 1977 Dolly was on her twentieth solo album in ten years. She’d written every style of country song you could think of. Pop music was limitless in a way that country music could never be – sonically and commercially. Dolly wanted the same success as Elvis or Elton John – not just an occasional cross over from the country charts. Jolene proved she could take country with her over to the mainstream and on Here You Come Again she again attempted to find a place in both worlds. Continue reading “Dolly Parton’s Discography – Here You Come Again (1977)” →

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Album Review: Maren Morris – Girl

If being ‘country’ is about where you’re from and how you sing then Maren Morris has a Texan twang which should be perfect the genre. Her debut single My Church promised much – here was a singer who could sell authentic sounding country pop in a radio-friendly way. When her debut album was released it divided critics, some of whom were disappointed by the more pop leanings of the rest of her music. Those who were less concerned with genre heard a confident young singer with a talent for catchy hooks, who has since managed to find herself a place on country radio despite the odds against women succeeding in that notoriously male-dominated format.

Her second album Girl comes after recent Grammy nominations in both the country and pop categories. The traditionalists will find little to get behind here, but those predicting a full jump to EDM after her crossover guest spot on Zedd’s ‘The Middle’ are wrong. Morris forges her own path with an appealing blend of country, pop and r’n’b. Continue reading “Album Review: Maren Morris – Girl” →

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Album Review: Yola – Walk Through Fire

Dolly, Aretha, Loretta, Dionne, Tammy, Dusty – the biggest stars in country and soul music are all recognisable by their distinctive first names. The musical spirit of these artists has been channeled into this new album ‘Walk Through Fire’ by rising star Yola, whose similarly unique first name is already familiar to Americana fans in the U.K. With her appealing blend of musical styles and charismatic voice Yola is surely poised to capture the hearts of listeners everywhere in 2019. Continue reading “Album Review: Yola – Walk Through Fire” →

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Dolly Parton’s Discography – ‘New Harvest…First Gathering’ Review

The title and the relaxed styling of Dolly’s hair and clothes on the cover of this album tells us immediately that something is different. Dolly may have written her goodbye song in 1974 but it wasn’t until this 1977 album New Harvest…First Gathering that she was finally free from Porter Wagoner’s involvement in her music and career. She produced the album herself and embraced the opportunity to push herself in a brand new musical direction. This album then also became her escape from the confines of country music itself. Dolly’s ambitions were to find a way into the mainstream, into the movies, into the ears of all music listeners. There was simply no way Porter, or country music itself, could contain her. And hey, when a horse wants to run there ain’t no point in closing the gates. Continue reading “Dolly Parton’s Discography – ‘New Harvest…First Gathering’ Review” →

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