March 2013 – Page 2 – Country Universe

Single Review: Blake Shelton, "Sure Be Cool If You Did"

March 11, 2013 Ben Foster 21

Blake Shelton’s current hit takes a welcome break from the watery nineties rock of “Over” and “God Gave Me You,” instead going for a light R&B groove with a synthesized hand clap. (It’s anybody’s guess when we’ll see the return of the fiddler and steel guitarist who have been seemingly M.I.A. since circa 2009) To the single’s credit, this particular sonic backdrop affords some much-needed breathing room for Shelton’s vocals, the quality of which has generally remained consistent even when the song quality hasn’t.

Single Review: Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison, "9,999,999 Tears"

March 10, 2013 Guest Contributor 3

Written by Henry L. Carrigan, Jr.

On their beautiful new album Cheater’s Game, husband and wife Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison get together for the first time to deliver some moving music, including several covers of now-classic country songs. Among them is the Razzy Bailey-penned “9,999,999 Tears.”

Singles Roundup – Band Edition: ZBB, The Henningsens, The Band Perry, The Steeldrivers, Train

March 9, 2013 Dan Milliken 17

Zac Brown Band, “Jump Right In”

~”The Southern wind sings again an island lullaby!”~ What a fun way to say, “Here’s the token ‘tropical’ single from this ZBB album!” But whatever. It sounds like Mario Party.

Single Review: Big & Rich, “Cheat on You”

March 9, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 13

Many moons ago, when Big & Rich seemed like the most promising and interesting duo to hit the genre in eons, they put out a song called “Holy Water.”

It was a powerful song with empathetic feminism, the sort of solidarity with women that you usually don’t hear from men in cowboy hats. It cut through their cartoonish persona and showed that they could be incisively insightful. This was no small feat given it was the follow-up to “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)”, which had established that persona in the first place.

Remembering March 5, 1963

March 5, 2013 Ben Foster 8

Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of Opry stars Hawkshaw Hawkins and Cowboy Copas, pilot Randy Hughes, and most famously, the now-iconic Patsy Cline.

Single Review: Rachel Farley, "Ain't Easy"

March 5, 2013 Ben Foster 0

Seventeen-year-0ld Red Bow Records newcomer Rachel Farley is already making inroads at country radio with this recently released debut single, which was the #1 most added song on the Billboard and Mediabase charts for the week of its release.