Month: July 2009

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Picking the CMA Nominees: Album of the Year

July 31, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 31

This year’s eligibility period runs from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009. In those twelve months, there have been some solid albums released, and while there isn’t a wealth of treasures to choose from, there are enough good albums to round out this category.

Here are the five albums that I would nominate for Album of the Year:

Joey + Rory, The Life of a Song

The past twenty years have brought several excellent breakthrough albums by groups, especially those by Sugarland, Little Big Town, Brooks & Dunn, Diamond Rio, and Big & Rich. This set by Joey + Rory is better than all of them, and is selling quite well despite limited airplay.

Jamey Johnson, That Lonesome Song

It’s been nominated for ACM’s trophy and for the Best Country Album Grammy, but Johnson’s best shot at winning has always been with the traditional-leaning CMA voter membership. If both Sugarland and Taylor Swift secure a nod, he’s a shoo-in.

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Picking the CMA Nominees: Vocal Duo and Vocal Group

July 30, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 34

It’s often argued that Vocal Duo and Vocal Group should be combined into one category, but this is one of those rare years where the two categories have more than five worthy nominees between them.

My picks for Vocal Duo:

  • Big & Rich
  • Brooks & Dunn
  • Joey + Rory
  • Montgomery Gentry
  • Sugarland

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Anthony Smith, “Bringing Back the Sunshine”

July 30, 2009 Leeann Ward 6

Anthony Smith is likely better known as a songwriter than a recording artist. As a well established songwriter, he’s written songs for Trace Adkins”I’m Tryin’”, “Chrome”), George Strait (“Run”), Tim McGraw (“Kristofferson”), Montgomery Gentry (“What Do You Think About That”), Trisha Yearwood (“Who Reinvented the Wheel”), and countless other big name stars. As a recording artist he has struggled, releasing his 2002 If That Ain’t Country to some positive critical reception, but ultimately met with limited commercial success. In an attempt to revive the singing part of his career, Smith has recently signed with Stroudavarious Records, which has released the offbeat rocker, “Bringing Back the Sunshine”, as the upcoming album’s lead single.

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Recommend a Track: John Conlee, “Friday Night Blues” and “She Can’t Say That Anymore”

July 28, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 4

The only thing that’s kept me from doing a Starter Kit on John Conlee is the scarcity of digitally available material. Thankfully, two of his best songs from one of his best albums can be downloaded, and they’re just the sort of forgotten classics that all country fans should have in their collection.

“Friday Night Blues”

One of those great “scenes from a marriage” songs that paints a sympathetic portrait of both the wife who’s been home alone all week waiting for a night out with her husband, and the husband who is too wiped out from the work week to get up off of the couch: “He’s been working all week, he’s got mental fatigue, and that old couch sure looks fine. All week he’s been gone, she’s been sitting alone, slowly going out of her mind…”

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Picking the CMA Nominees: Female Vocalist

July 27, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 115

As I work my way through these categories, it’s becoming apparent to me that this was a very weak year for country music. I’m struggling to come up with a list of five women who actually made a musical impact over the twelve months that make up the eligibility period.

Only two women have made any serious commercial impact this year, so I’m filling up the category with the women who put out solid music that also did reasonably well:

Patty Loveless

If the Grammys can acknowledge her, I don’t see why the CMA should overlook her. She made an excellent covers album that has sold as well as several major label efforts. She was a surprise nominee in 2003 on the strength of Mountain Soul, and it would be nice to see the CMA show such good judgment again.

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Bargain Hunter: Sugarland’s Twice the Speed of Life ($2.99)

July 27, 2009 Leeann Ward 12

It has been awhile since Amazon has had a Daily Deal worth mentioning here. However, they have returned to country music in a big way today by offering Sugarland’s smash debut album, Twice the Speed of Life for just $2.99.

This album, by one of country music’s most popular duos, famously includes the radio hits, “Baby Girl”, “Something More”, and “Just Might (Make Me Believe)”. it also includes my new personal Sugarland favorite (as I’ve just bought the album thanks to this deal), the unreleased organic-sounding “Hello.”

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Alan Jackson, “I Still Like Bologna”

July 27, 2009 Dan Milliken 14

Jeez, talk about your “Good Artists Gone Bad.” Alan Jackson’s latest manages to take two things I really like – honky-tonk music and silly song titles – and make them seem duller than a bad Learn-To-Type program.

It’s almost the kind of song Tim McGraw’s “Back When” once poked fun at, actually, except the subject matter here is the progression of technology, and this doesn’t even feel like enough of an effort to warrant spoofing. I mean, there’s not much to say about a song whose first three minutes basically break down to, “I kind of like my plasma T.V….but also, I kind of like whippoorwills.”

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Picking the CMA Nominees: Male Vocalist of the Year

July 26, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 21

The past two decades have only brought eight winners in the CMA Male Vocalist race, with only two of them – Toby Keith and Clint Black – winning only once. Compare this to the Female Vocalist race, which has brought twelve winners during the same time frame, though even that race has become more streaky of late, with Martina McBride and Carrie Underwood combining for seven victories in the past eleven years.

Is it time for an overhaul in the Male Vocalist race? Yes and no. There’s no denying that some of the multiple nominees/winners over the past nineteen years remain the genre’s strongest male voices. Still, there’s room for some others at the table. The problem is that there are so very few of the genre’s male artists that are genuinely at the top of their game. Even most of the men listed below have had weak singles this year.

Still, if I picked the five nominees for the 2009 CMA Male Vocalist of the Year, they would be:

Jamey Johnson

If Johnson earns fewer less than five nominations at this year’s CMA Awards, I’ll be shocked. In fact, I think he’ll earn six, with the surprise nomination being in this category. These aren’t predictions, though, so I’ll state that while I’m not particularly a fan of Johnson, his success at retail with a traditional project that has only received airplay for one single is darn impressive. Along with Brad Paisley, he’s one of only two artists I’ve listed that were determined by genuine merit, not process of elimination.

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If I Were In New Hampshire, I’d Go To This

July 25, 2009 William Ward 0

With the gracious permission of Tom Spurgeon, the creator of this feature at The Comics Reporter, I would like to introduce the Country Universe version of “If I Were In _________, I’d Go To This.” With interesting events around the country it is hard to know about everything, so starting with “If I Were In New Hampshire, I’d Go To This” we will present you with our picks of unique or particularly interesting upcoming shows or events.

The Big Surprise Tour – featuring Old Crow Medicine Show, Dave Rawlings Machine (w/ Gillian Welch), The Felice Brothers and Justin Townes Earle – kicks off in Hampton, NH on Tuesday Aug. 4.

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