Country Universe

Single Review: Rascal Flatts, "Come Wake Me Up"

July 12, 2012 Kevin John Coyne 5

“Come Wake Me Up” is the best composition that Rascal Flatts has tackled in a very long time, and the opening verse is a beautiful throwback to the sound of their best song to date, “I’m Movin’ On.”

Album Review: Zac Brown Band, <i>Uncaged</i>

July 10, 2012 Ben Foster 3

Zac Brown Band
Uncaged

Uncaged may be the product of studio recording sessions, but it pulses with the energy of a live set.

Single Review: Pistol Annies, "Takin’ Pills"

July 9, 2012 Jonathan Keefe 11

A standout cut from the Pistol Annies’ terrific Hell on Heels album, “Takin’ Pills” served as a thesis statement for the project, introducing each individual member of the group by her reputation and her preferred vice and giving the group’s exploits a broad narrative arc.

Single Review: Big & Rich, "That's Why I Pray"

July 9, 2012 Kevin John Coyne 7

Scattershot social commentary, too wide in scope and too narrow in perspective.

Here’s how it works:

100 Greatest Men: #47. Rodney Crowell

July 8, 2012 Kevin John Coyne 10

100 Greatest Men: The Complete List

First as a songwriter, then as a new country superstar, and currently as an alternative country icon, Rodney Crowell has made an indelible mark on country music for nearly four decades.

Single Review: Jerrod Niemann, "Shinin' on Me"

July 7, 2012 Kevin John Coyne 3

I’ve got an idea about how we can stop the bleeding.

Let’s make it mandatory for all new country singles to have arrangements like the ones on Jerrod Niemann records. While we’re at it, let’s keep Zac Brown Band on retainer, too.

Single Review: Don Williams featuring Alison Krauss, "I Just Come Here For the Music"

July 6, 2012 Ben Foster 2

A musical pairing that combines two of the most beautifully understated, comforting voices in country music. How could it not be good? Happily, songwriters John Ramey, Bobby Taylor, and Doug Gill turn out a fine piece of hillbilly poetry worthy of both talents.

Single Review: Lee Brice, “Hard to Love”

July 6, 2012 Kevin John Coyne 5

Hard to love, but easy enough to like.

100 Greatest Men: #48. Kris Kristofferson

July 6, 2012 Kevin John Coyne 4

100 Greatest Men: The Complete List

Though his Hall of Fame career has now stretched several decades, Kris Kristofferson will forever be defined by his legendary songwriting in the late sixties and early seventies.

Single Review: Carrie Underwood, "Blown Away"

July 5, 2012 Sam Gazdziak 49

Four albums into her career, Carrie Underwood’s career growth has been fairly stunning.

It’s hard to imagine that the talent-show winner who sang “Jesus Take the Wheel” would morph into a fully fledged pop superstar with speaker-rattling pop-rock songs like “Good Girl” and “Blown Away.”

While the evolution has been fascinating to watch, the problem is that someone who was thought of as the next female country superstar has effectively left country music behind and moved on to bigger things, and it’s a loss for the genre.