Earlier this month, I received a press release announcing Todd Snider’s upcoming set. Peace Queer, which will be released digitally on August 19. Snider’s a personal favorite of mine, as longtime readers know, and I always dig his album titles. This one’s certainly memorable, don’t you think?
While perusing other upcoming releases, I learned that Rodney Crowell will also be coming out with a new album this year, due for release on September 2. The title? Sex and Gasoline.
I can take a cosmic hint. Today’s open thread is Greatest Album Titles.
For my pick, I’m going old-school. Tribute albums are fairly commonplace, and some of them have cool names, like Pam Tillis’ tribute to her dad, Mel – It’s All Relative: Tillis Sings Tillis. Others establish the personal connection between the artist and the subject, like Loretta Lynn’s I Remember Patsy and Willie Nelson’s To Lefty, From Willie.
But the tribute album that also carries my favorite album title was released by Merle Haggard in 1973: A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (Or: My Salute to Bob Wills). It would’ve been a great album title without the alternate moniker, but that little addition clinches it as my all-time fave.
What do you think is the greatest album title in country music history?
I also noticed the new Snider and Crowell titles and thought they were eye-catching.
The old-school album title I really like is Willie Nelson’s hits album: Greatest Hits (& Some That Will Be). It just seems kinda cocky, so I always found that funny. I always thought if I ever had a greatest hits album, it would be named something like that. Keith Urban’s Greatest Hits: 19 Kids is creative too.
back, when i bought dwight yoakam’s “population: me” i tought for a moment it would be quite cool to be able to look some years down the line and see the same album cover with the title: population: 945’601 – showing how many people had been joining him in the meantime by buying the cd.
I always liked the title from K T Oslin’s Greatest Hits album SONGS FROM AN AGING SEX BOMB
My favorite album title of all was by the venerable Irish folk group the CLancy Brothers & Robbie McConnell – OLDER BUT NO WISER
I liked Keith’s album title much better when it was Eighteen Kids, the fact that it’s turned into Nineteen Kids just annoys me on principle.:)
I like Toby Keith’s White Trash With Money, as inappropriate is it may be. I’m sure it’s fitting.
Can we have a thread on worst album titles?
I nominate Toby Keith’s Shock’n Y’All. Wildly insensitive.
“Did I Shave My Legs For This” Deana Carter; “Blame It On The Dog” The Thompson Brothers Band
Gotta second ‘For My Broken Heart’ and add Alan Jackson’s ‘Under The Influence’. I think that’s about the greatest title one could have for a country covers album. But the artist that really stands out and is consistently great at naming his records is Dwight Yoakam. I can think of several just off the top of my head like ‘Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room’, ‘South Of Heaven West of Hell’. Even Dwight’s 2 hits CDs, ‘Last Chance For A Thousand Years: Greatest Hits of the 90s’ and ‘Dwight’s Used Records’ have memorable titles.
Also, I give a shout-out to Rosanne Cash’s “King’s Record Shop’ as well as her former hubby Rodney Crowell’s ‘Diamonds and Dirt’ – though that album certainly had more diamonds than dirt.
Dolly Partons “New Harvest… First Gathering” and “The Grass Is Blue”, I thought that was a really cool title, as well as her “Slow Dancing With The Moon”. Emmylous “Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town”, “Pieces of the Sky”, “Rose in the Snow” those are pretty cool too. I also like Martina’s “Waking up Laughing” and Brad Paisleys “Time Well Wasted”. Also Alan Jacksons “Drive” and Kenny Chesneys “Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates” … I like titles that are different and get you thinkin!
Speaking of Dwight, Under The Covers is a good title for a covers album too.
I kind of think it was cool how Garth came up with titles that weren’t derived from an album track. Then again, I find that it does make it a little harder to associate the correct songs with their respective albums at times.
I always thought the title for Trisha’s “Heaven, Heartache And The Power Of Love” was brilliant. Describes country as a genre.
“Waking Up Laughing” by Martina is also very sweet.
It’s also cool when an album title captures the mood or theme of the record, even if it’s just a title borrowed from one of the album’s songs. I thought Trisha’s “Real Live Woman” was perfect like that. Mark Chesnutt’s “Saving the Honky Tonk” too.
“Trouble With The Truth” … Patty Loveless
“Neck & Neck” … Chet Atkins & Mark Knopfler
“George Jones Sings Like The Dickens!” … George Jones
(cuz ya just wouldn’t hear a title like that today)
Rodney Crowell’s new album title sounds like a rip-off of the Fred Eaglesmith album “Lipstick, Lies, and Gasoline”. Hmmm….
One of my favorite album titles from a recent offering that is not a song title on said album:
J.R & The Roadkill Choir – Bring A Shovel! (How’s that for appropriate?)
or how about:
Trish Murphy – Girls Get In Free (Also not a song title)
I must say most country music album titles are typically not very interesting……
They don’t make album titles like they used to:
Dolly – New Harvest…First Gathering
Hank Jr. – After You, Pride’s Not Hard to Swallow
Johnny Cash – Johnny Cash and His Hot and Blue Guitar, also Junkie and the Juicehead Minus Me
Tammy – Tammy’s Touch
Tammy & George – We Love To Sing About Jesus
Buck Owens – Arms Full of Empty
Crystal Gayle – We Must Believe In Magic
Interesting album titles – even when the risk doesn’t quite pay off – make an artist infinitely more appealing to me. I almost bought Big & Rich’s debut, Horse of a Different Color, solely because of the title.
Corb Lund’s “Hair in My Eyes Like a Highland Steer”
HAND SOWN, HOME GROWN–Linda Ronstadt: This was Linda’s first solo album (after the demise of the Stone Poneys in 1968), and depicts Linda in a white shawl out in the boondocks (or Topanga Canyon). This 1969 album, which has C&W standards like “Silver Threads And Golden Needles” and “Break My Mind” mixed in with songs by Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, and others, is arguably the first alternative-country album by a female artist.
As noted by others here, Dwight Yoakam has had some great album titles like:
Buenas Noches From a Lonely Room
Population Me
Tomorrow’s Sounds Today
I also agree that Drive and Under the Influence were great choices for album titles by Alan Jackson.
Trisha’s album is “Hearts IN Armor”.
Still a great title.
sugarland- love on the inside
blake shelton- pure bs (so funny)
miranda lambert- kerosene
brad paisley- 5th gear
brad paisley- time well wasted
kellie pickler- small town girl
Heaven, Heartache, and the Power of Love
Still a winner for me, I like how it’s kind of long. xD
I like the title of Jeffrey Steele’s album of songs that he’s written for other artists called Gold, Platinum & Steele