Tag: Country

Album Review: Erin Enderlin – Whiskeytown Crier

I had a good feeling about this album before I even listened to it – the title and track listing alone was enough to intrigue me since Whiskeytown are one of my all time favourite bands and this album also includes covers of two great country classics. In my head I imagined this would be the soundtrack to some alcohol drenched evening in a honky tonk and that’s what I got. Erin Enderlin’s voice is world weary but wise, and Whiskeytown Crier is the work of a sharp-eyed storyteller.  Continue reading “Album Review: Erin Enderlin – Whiskeytown Crier” →

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Album Review: The Sweetback Sisters – King of Killing Time

I’m a huge fan of the TV show Fringe, in which a mad scientist discovers a parallel universe where there’s significant differences in the way the world has unravelled across time. That’s fiction, of course,  but when I look at the charts or hear the radio I can’t help but think there’s a real musical parallel universe running in tandem with ours. Two alternate timelines: one where music is a beautiful life-affirming thing in which talent and tradition are valued and respected and the other side is the MANstream hell of popular chart music. The Sweetback Sisters exist on the good side of the musical divide and the album King of Killing Time is a joyous celebration of classic country and vintage va va voom Continue reading “Album Review: The Sweetback Sisters – King of Killing Time” →

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Album Review: Karen & the Sorrows – The Narrow Place 

Karen Pittelman grew up listening to her parents’ country record collection and despite starting out in a punk band she eventually found herself wanting to sing songs about heartbreak. Only by using the pedal steel did she find the musical ‘essence of sorrow’ she was looking for, played here by Elana Redfield (drummer Tammi Johnson completes the trio). The Narrow Place is an album connected to the musical roots of country music but thematically and lyrically unique.  Continue reading “Album Review: Karen & the Sorrows – The Narrow Place “ →

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Live Review: Miranda Lambert, Glasgow Clyde Auditorium 21/08/2017

There’s always love for country music in Glasgow, so even on a Monday night with extortionately priced tickets Miranda Lambert still managed to draw a decent crowd of fans keen to listen and appreciate the music. However what was a great gig has now been overshadowed by something of a social media storm, due to the abrupt ending to the show.
Continue reading “Live Review: Miranda Lambert, Glasgow Clyde Auditorium 21/08/2017” →

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Feelin’ Empty: Ten Saddest Miranda Lambert Songs

Summertime sadness is the sweetest kind. It’s that feeling you get when it’s too hot outside and you just want to sit in a dark room and wallow in depressing music until autumn comes and you can breathe again. Miranda Lambert knows the power of the heartbreaker and how listening to sad music can actually make you feel better. So here’s a list of her ten most tearjerking songs – I recommend you drink some wine and hug a dog while you read/listen. Continue reading “Feelin’ Empty: Ten Saddest Miranda Lambert Songs” →

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Album Review: Jaime Wyatt – Felony Blues

 

Many artists pretend to walk on the wild side and do everything they can to create an outlaw style, as though being bad automatically gains you street credibility. Some even choose to go down that road on purpose, to live out that doomed rock star myth as a way to create authenticity. After Jaime Wyatt’s first record deal collapsed she went off the rails and found herself actually experiencing the hard reality of this kind of life. Felony Blues, a short album released in the UK this week, explores her addictions and convictions in songs with real grit and soul. Continue reading “Album Review: Jaime Wyatt – Felony Blues” →

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When Tina Turned the Country On!

 

The early life of Anna Mae Bullock sounds like the story of a potential country music star – she was raised in rural Tennessee, she worked in the fields, she only listened to country and western on the radio, she spent her childhood singing in church, her parents abandoned her and she raised herself the hard way. However instead of taking the path to the Grand Ole Opry she joined Ike Turner’s rhythm and blues band in St Louis, became Tina Turner and the rest is music history.

In the sixties and early seventies everything about her life was under Ike’s megalomaniacal control – it was his name, his songs, his style, his fist, his way. When Tina released her debut solo album, Tina Turns the Country On! in 1974 this signalled the beginning of her attempt to break with Ike both personally and professionally. While ultimately a commercial failure, the album is a fascinating glimpse into the life and times of one of music’s most successful female performers. Continue reading “When Tina Turned the Country On!” →

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