How Very Nineties: George Jones & Friends, and other All Star Jams
New fans of country music in the nineties were hit over the head with the assertion that country music was one big family. Nothing demonstrated this mythos better than the all star jams that cropped up during the boom years.
There were some variants of this approach. A popular one found a veteran star teaming up with one or more of the boom artists to increase their chances of radio airplay. George Jones was big on this approach, with the most high profile attempt being “I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair.” Seventeen years later, it’s amazing to see how young everyone looks – even Jones himself!
Album Review: Dierks Bentley, Up on the Ridge
Dierks Bentley
Up on the Ridge
As Dan observed in his single review of “Up on the Ridge”, there was a noticeable decline in Dierks Bentley’s music after his well received Long Trip Alone album. It is purely speculative to suggest, but one can’t help but wonder if Bentley himself felt staleness creeping into his music as well. It’s not farfetched for the idea to be true, since Dierks has proven himself to be an astute artist in the past. So, why wouldn’t he notice if there was, indeed, a shift?
Classic Country Singles: Donna Fargo, “You Can’t Be a Beacon (If Your Light Don’t Shine)”
You Can’t Be a Beacon (If Your Light Don’t Shine)
Donna Fargo
1974
Written by Martin Cooper
In which preaching to the choir takes on an entirely different meaning.
Donna Fargo burst on to the country scene in 1972 with the gold-selling hits “The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.” and “Funny Face,” which helped establish her as a burst of positivity against an increasingly dour national landscape.
The Watergate scandal challenged Fargo’s shiny outlook on the world, and influenced the material of her 1974 album Miss Donna Fargo. The lead single, “U.S. of A.”, found her speaking to the country directly, celebrating that the country’s strength comes from its plentiful natural and human resources.
That song went to #9, but it was the follow-up that became a #1 hit, one of Fargo’s first big hits to come from an outside writer. Built upon the biblical passage Matthew 5:16, it is a challenge not to those who do not have God in their life, but rather those who claim that they do:
Single Review: Carrie Underwood, “Undo It”
Much like no pop star has ever been able to learn all of the right lessons from Madonna, no country star has yet to learn all of the right lessons from Shania Twain.
But darn if Carrie Underwood isn’t getting close. “Undo It” is short, sweet, and undeniably catchy. “Undo It” features both “We Will Rock You” drum riffs and twangy fiddle, as if those two things together are as natural as peanut butter and chocolate.
It even has a chorus of “Na Na Na’s” so infectious that somewhere in the world, Steam is reflexively adding, “Hey Hey, Goodbye.”
Single Review: Trace Adkins, “This Ain’t No Love Song”
Trace Adkins has been around for a long time, perhaps even been counted out once or twice along the way. He’s had a handful of big singles that have brought back some forward momentum when his career has started to lull.
But even when he has faltered, it usually hasn’t been because of a lack of good material or good vocal performances. But therein lies the rub: his material and vocal performances are usually good, not great.
Single Review: Steel Magnolia, "Just By Being You (Halo and Wings)"
That’s quite a bit of title for so little song. Late nineties filler rock continues its transition on to the country airwaves, as Steel Magnolia sings a song that could put a Matchbox Twenty fan to sleep.
It’s not so much bad as it is unnecessary. By the end of the song, I’m still wondering, “Why did this need to exist?”
New Review Roundup
Oh, recreational blogging. One day, it’s as easy as finding a Waffle House exit on a Tennessee interstate. The next day, it’s like trying to digest what you ate there. You do your best, but you never really know when real life might start beckoning you and all your other writer buddies at once, leaving behind a skinnier website than any of you intended to keep.
Which is all good and well, of course; I certainly enjoy all my inadvertent time off, and I’m sure our more tasteful readers enjoy it, too. But Country Universe has always tried to stay on top of the album and singles markets, and in that regard, we’ve got a fair bit of catching up to do.