Single Reviews – Page 75 – Country Universe

Single Review: Keith Urban, “Long Hot Summer”

August 17, 2011 Dan Milliken 23

The closest he’s come in two albums to capturing his old uptempo spark. Maybe that’s because he’s found his banjo again, and it pokes some much-needed holes in the thick layer of polish. Or maybe it’s because he dares to be a little lusty – “waiting on the sun to go down,” his passion rising like (nice touch) a lake in heat.

Retro Single Review: Shania Twain, “(If You’re Not in it For Love) I’m Outta Here!”

August 16, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 6

1995 | Peak: #1

Of historical note for two reasons.

First, it established Twain’s affection for the exclamation point, a punctuation mark that she would take to ludicrous extremes in the years to come.

Retro Single Review: Tim McGraw, “I Like It, I Love It”

August 12, 2011 Ben Foster 13

1995 | Peak: #1

Tim McGraw’s third number-one hit is an odd record to review, as it somehow defies the typical appraisal.

Retro Single Review: Alan Jackson, “Someday”

August 12, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 8

1991 | Peak: #1

The conversational approach that wasn’t quite as effective on “Wanted” delivers here, mostly because Jackson has eliminated the middle man.

Retro Single Review: Tim McGraw, “Refried Dreams”

August 10, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 8

1995 | Peak: #5

By all laws of logic and reason, I should hate this song. But I don’t.

Retro Single Review: Dolly Parton, “My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy”

August 10, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 1

1969 | Peak: #45

This one’s a masterpiece. Among Dolly’s southern gothic classics from the early days, it’s rivaled only by “Down From Dover.”

Reader’s Request – Single Review: Ronnie Milsap, “If You Don’t Want Me To”

August 9, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 3

Requested by reader Keith Means.

Veteran artists who have fallen out of favor at radio often kowtow to the current trends in an attempt to regain acceptance.

There’s certainly none of that going on here.

Retro Single Review: Shania Twain, “The Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You)”

August 8, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 8

1995 | Peak: #14

There are some majestic ballads on The Woman in Me, but the title track isn’t one of them.

Retro Single Review: Tim McGraw, “Not a Moment Too Soon”

August 5, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 4

1994 | Peak: #1

The intense heat of McGraw’s record sales helped propel a handful of middling songs to the upper rungs of the chart.

Retro Single Review: George Strait, “A Fire I Can’t Put Out”

August 5, 2011 Ben Foster 6

1983 | Peak: #1

The weeping fiddle intro sets the tone perfectly. The fourth and final single from George Strait’s second album Strait from the Heart, also his second number-one single, found him once again tackling the classic country theme of a memory that won’t go away… and nailing it.