Album Reviews – Page 19 – Country Universe

Album Review: Blake Shelton, Bringing Back the Sunshine

January 13, 2015 Jonathan Keefe 2

Blake Shelton Bringing Back the Sunshine He’s been coasting on his celebrity status and his brand of aw-shucks humor for years, so it’s encouraging that Blake Shelton’s Bringing Back the Sunshine seems less phoned-in than

Album Review: Angaleena Presley, American Middle Class

January 13, 2015 Jonathan Keefe 0

Angaleena Presley American Middle Class Presley’s upbringing in the hollows of Eastern Kentucky provides her with an endless well of believable first-person details that she uses to create the quirky, cockeyed fictions on American Middle

Album Review: Brad Paisley, Moonshine in the Trunk

January 12, 2015 Jonathan Keefe 0

Brad Paisley Moonshine in the Trunk Paisley’s last four albums have established a pattern of something slightly progressive or challenging (American Saturday Night, Wheelhouse) followed by a course-correction back toward baseline (This is Country Music,

Album Review: Trisha Yearwood, PrizeFighter: Hit After Hit

November 17, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 34

Trisha Yearwood PrizeFighter: Hit After Hit PrizeFighter: Hit after Hit includes the first set of new material from Trisha Yearwood in seven years. That new material, six tracks in total, is uniformly excellent and often

Album Review: Tim McGraw, Sundown Heaven Town

October 10, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 9

Tim McGraw Sundown Heaven Town Tim McGraw returning to form is the musical equivalent of reconnecting with an old friend, where spending a little time with them suddenly reminds you why you were such good

Album Review: Dolly Parton, Blue Smoke

June 16, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 2

Dolly Parton Blue Smoke A big step up from her last few projects, Dolly Parton’s Blue Smoke is her most balanced album since Backwoods Barbie. While it lacks cohesion due to so many different

Album Review: Miranda Lambert, Platinum

June 8, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 26

Miranda Lambert Platinum Miranda Lambert’s life experience has caught up with her talent. Platinum is a confident, intelligent record that weaves the themes of nostalgia, femininity, and celebrity together over sixteen tracks. It’s a cohesive

Album Review: Emmylou Harris, Wrecking Ball: Deluxe Edition

May 26, 2014 Kevin John Coyne 0

Emmylou Harris

Wrecking Ball: Deluxe Edition

Nonesuch has released an impressive deluxe edition of the landmark Emmylou Harris album, Wrecking Ball. For those who are new to the set, this is the edition you should buy. But it’s also worth the upgrade for those who already have this set in their collection.

Produced by Daniel Lanois, this album was a stunning departure for Harris, so much so that she personally requested that it not be eligible for the country charts. That’s funny in retrospect, given that alongside legends like Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, and Neil Young, the album was anchored by compositions by up-and-coming songwriters like Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams, and Julie Miller. With further cuts by writers like Anna McGarrigle, Steve Earle, and Rodney Crowell, Wrecking Ball helped set a template for what would become a vibrant Americana scene over the years that followed.

Album Review: Rhonda Vincent, Only Me

January 28, 2014 Ben Foster 2

Rhonda Vincent
Only Me

Modern bluegrass legend Rhonda Vincent shows off two sides of her musical repertoire with her delightful new album Only Me, which is split across two six-track discs. The first disc is a collection of bluegrass songs, while the second showcases Vincent’s prowess in performing traditional country music.

Round Table Album Review: Brandy Clark, 12 Stories

October 22, 2013 Ben Foster 3

Brandy Clark
12 Stories

Our Brandy Clark coverage continues with a round table review of her hotly anticipated debut album, which is out this today.

She teased us earlier this year with “Stripes,” which I proudly awarded a solid A in my review of the song, calling it “a clever and original, not to mention humorous, twist on a tried-and-true country music theme.” It was more than enough to whet our appetites for the album to follow, which ended up going so far as to supersede expectations.