Kevin John Coyne

Album Review: Sugarland, The Incredible Machine

October 25, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 52

Sugarland
The Incredible Machine

There’s no point in dancing around it.

The Incredible Machine is a terrible album, an unmitigated disaster that manages to fail in ways that shouldn’t even be possible, especially on a mainstream album created by established professionals and released by a major label.

At its best, Sugarland has made successful music by combining clever musical arrangements with strong lyrical hooks, delivered by the inimitable vocal talent that is Jennifer Nettles. I would have deemed a full album being completely devoid of all three components inconceivable, but The Incredible Machine comes frighteningly close.

American Country Awards

October 18, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 22

I guess I’ve been living under a rock, because the First Annual American Country Awards caught me by surprise. I assumed it was some online poll and that was it, but, no. It’s apparently a full-fledged network award show airing on Fox in December.

I’m actually on board for this. For all the talk about country music being about the fans, there hasn’t been a proper fan-voted award show since the TNN/Music City News thing ended. The CMT Awards is the closest thing, but its category structure prevents it from being a Fan’s Choice CMA or ACM Awards. I also find it funny that the five nominees for Artist of the Year are the exact same five that I thought deserved CMA Entertainer nominations this year.

Fiddle and Steel Guitar

October 17, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 26

Dear Country Music,

More fiddle and steel guitar, please.

Fiddle and steel guitar make country music sound better.

Say What? – Hillary Scott

October 11, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 40

From an interview with The Boston Globe, via Country California:

Country music has always been filled with artists who write their own songs. But I think in the ’80s and ’90s it went through a phase where everyone was recording songs written by other songwriters; which gives those songwriters great success and a way to provide for their families, but I think the fans also love to hear what the artist has to say from the artist’s mouth. And that’s, I think, one of the reasons why Taylor Swift has done such an amazing job and has been so successful, because she’s baring her heart to her fans and it’s so relatable. – Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum

Where to begin? I’ll start with the fact that Scott is wrong on the merits. There were plenty of artists who wrote their own songs during the eighties and nineties, though the best ones had the good judgment to balance their best compositions with great songs written by others, rather than weaken an album by not recording outside material that’s superior to what they’ve written themselves.

Movin’ On Up

October 10, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 17

We’re proud to note that our very own Dan Milliken has been published by CMT.com for the first time.

Check out his write-up of the Toby Keith classic, “Who’s That Man”:

The impossible question of divorce is how to divide lives that have become so intricately knitted together. As Keith demonstrates in this dark, brooding song, no answer to that question comes without its toll. The narrator of “Who’s That Man” has lost every staple of his former life in the collapse of his marriage, and as if that weren’t bad enough, someone else is filling his shoes without any apparent hitch.

Of course, this is an awesome and impressive new platform for Dan’s writing, but let’s be honest. Just like Country Universe got a hell of a lot better once he joined us, CMT can only be elevated by his trademark wit and undeniable talent.

Single Review: Craig Morgan, “Still a Little Chicken Left on That Bone”

October 3, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 24

This is why I don’t even bother defending country music anymore.

Single Review: Tim McGraw, “Felt Good On My Lips”

September 27, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 28

I think Tim McGraw is one of country music’s strongest singers. He doesn’t have the range or depth of a Vince Gill or a Toby Keith, but he can do what a great singer is supposed to do: deliver a song with sincerity and believability. That may seem like a low bar to clear, but it never ceases to amaze me how many country artists trip over it these days.

McGraw has a stellar track record in this area, but you’d never know it listening to “Felt Good On My Lips.” In fact, it seems that the record itself has so little confidence in McGraw’s ability to deliver a song that it puts every modern recording barrier it can think of between his vocal and the listener.

Single Review: Mary Chapin Carpenter, “The Way I Feel”

September 9, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 15

A song about finding liberation on the open road shouldn’t put you in danger of falling asleep at the wheel.

I don’t know what’s going on with Mary Chapin Carptenter. She made my favorite album of all-time, Stones in the Road, and it wasn’t particularly upbeat. But the songs were amazingly good. I’m still learning new things from that album a full sixteen years after its release.

Back to School

September 6, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 12

Another summer has come and gone. For those of you headed back into the classroom, here’s some helpful advice from some country music stars:

1. Avoid social stereotypes.

The girl in the bleachers might be your dream girl…

Single Review: Sara Evans, “A Little Bit Stronger”

September 3, 2010 Kevin John Coyne 43

This isn’t very good.

Perhaps it could have been, with a stronger melody and a more refined concept. The song itself is pretty good, but Evans turns in a listless performance, delegating all of the “oomph” to the background vocalists and studio musicians. And they’re pretty listless in their own right.