Tag: Country

Dolly’s Discography – My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy

Picasso’s ‘Blue’ period was characterised by dark and somber paintings, expressing the emotional turmoil of the traumas of his youth. For a woman known to bring sunshine and rainbows it’s perhaps a surprise to find an album in Dolly Parton’s career which creates a similar morose tone, lyrically if not musically. There were no hits generated from My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy and the music confronts topics that she would shy away from as her career progressed: death, suicide, prostitution, pain, failure, anger, regret and suffering. Continue reading “Dolly’s Discography – My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy” →

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Dolly’s Discography – In The Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)

When Dolly joined Porter’s popular television show there was an inevitable backlash from the audience, who were used to hearing their favourite Norma Jean and stubbornly resistant to change. In order to increase her public popularity Porter masterminded a campaign to flood the market with as much music by Dolly Parton as possible. He would make her a star, come what may.

In the years 1968 and 1969 Dolly released three solo albums and featured on three duet albums with Porter. Even for someone of Dolly’s prodigious songwriting talent that’s spreading yourself extremely thin. On these six albums there are 22 original songs written by Dolly, not counting her multiple co-writes, which suggests there’s at least one classic album lost among all the filler.

In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad) was the first of two solo albums released in 1969, reaching number 15 on the country charts. Since their duet albums were regularly hitting the top ten at this point, Dolly’s solo work appears to be struggling somewhat in comparison. While production is again credited to Bob Ferguson, Porter himself was in charge of the sound, much to the eventual frustration of Dolly herself. This album features a few gems but it is padded out by recordings of popular country hits, which makes it by far her weakest early collection. Continue reading “Dolly’s Discography – In The Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)” →

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Laura Benitez and the Heartache – With All Its Thorns

It’s my opinion that the current attempt in the blogosphere to ‘save’ country music is misguided and ultimately irrelevant. Genre boundaries are useful for the marketing people but artists should be free to go in any direction they wish – look at how the most popular Americana artists of the last few years are heavily indebted to indie and rock, as much as mainstream country is chained to pop and RnB. Blurring the lines of genre doesn’t cause any harm if the music is good, especially when there are still some artists out there who are concerned with keeping the traditional sounds authentic and alive. With All Its Thorns by Laura Benitez and the Heartache would have sounded like ‘classic’ country music twenty years ago but that feeling of nostalgia is exactly why this album is so appealing. Continue reading “Laura Benitez and the Heartache – With All Its Thorns” →

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Dolly’s Discography – Just Because I’m A Woman

Dolly’s career changed in 1967 when she got a phone call from Porter Wagoner. At first she thought he wanted to record one of her songs with his onscreen partner, Norma Jean, but little did Dolly know that she was actually being interviewed as a potential replacement for her. Soon Dolly was hired and began appearing on television performing to audiences of millions every week.

Starting on the show meant that Dolly left Monument Records and signed with Wagoner’s label RCA. Porter was central to Dolly’s move, as she explained:

“He made RCA a guarantee to get them to sign me. Porter told them he would pay them every cent they ever lost on me out of his own pocket. He never had to pay a dime.”

Porter’s belief in Dolly’s talent helped her career to flourish, although you could argue she was well on her way to success without him. Just Because I’m a Woman was released on May 4th 1968 and Bob Ferguson, RCA’s in-house man, is given the production credit, even though it was Porter himself who was in charge of the sound. The album contains songs which are populated by wronged women and suffering souls, yet somehow Dolly finds strength and even comedy in these dark moments. Continue reading “Dolly’s Discography – Just Because I’m A Woman” →

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Album Review: H.C. McEntire – Lionheart

Despite being raised on the sound of country music and hymns H.C. McEntire’s musical career actually began with her playing in punk bands, before eventually forming her alt-country group Mount Moriah. This debut solo album comes after McEntire spent time recently touring as part of Angel Olsen’s band. Lionheart is a quiet roar of a record, nine songs of experience which embrace a rich Americana sound. Continue reading “Album Review: H.C. McEntire – Lionheart” →

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Album Review: Gwen Sebastian – Once Upon A Time in the West: Act I

Gwen Sebastian is one of those talented singers who has been quietly working hard in the music business for years. She has released solo albums, appeared on The Voice and can now be heard singing as part of Miranda Lambert’s band. Being the backing singer pays the bills but Once Upon A Time in the West: Act 1 proves that Gwen deserves a chance to stand centre circle and be heard on her own merits.

Continue reading “Album Review: Gwen Sebastian – Once Upon A Time in the West: Act I” →

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Album Review: Dori Freeman – Letters Never Read

Some people are always pushing forwards, blindly searching for what’s new in the aim of ‘progress’. Others prefer to stand still and look backwards to appreciate what’s come before. Folk musicians have always been concerned with keeping songs of the past alive, because they understand the power of history and memory. On Letters Never Read Dori Freeman continues the traditional Appalachian style of honest country music, expressing herself through simple heartfelt covers and original songs.

Continue reading “Album Review: Dori Freeman – Letters Never Read” →

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Album Review: Lee Ann Womack – The Lonely, The Lonesome & the Gone

Lee Ann Womack had a long and successful mainstream country music career but a couple of years back she began releasing rootsier music that aligned itself more with what we loosely term Americana. She has been outspoken against the pop orientated sound coming out of Nashville right now, which immediately attracted me to her. Having never listened to her music before I came into this album with fresh ears and was instantly impressed. The Lonely, The Lonesome & the Gone is outstanding with quality songs and vocal performances throughout.

Continue reading “Album Review: Lee Ann Womack – The Lonely, The Lonesome & the Gone” →

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Presenting Tammy Wynette: The World’s Most Broken Heart

Released in 1976 Tammy Wynette’s fifteenth album ‘Til I Can Make It On My Own’ includes some of her best vocal performances (the title track was Tammy’s personal favourite song to sing) but also features the overlooked gem The World’s Most Broken Heart, a song whose lyrics now seem to be a concise commentary on her own life and method acting singing style.  Continue reading “Presenting Tammy Wynette: The World’s Most Broken Heart” →

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