Country Universe

Chris Young, “Gettin’ You Home (The Black Dress Song)”

January 31, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 11

I remain a fan. Chris Young has one of the finest traditional country voices to come along this decade, easily on par with Josh Turner’s. He’s able to turn in performances that sound steeped in

Discussion: Unplumbed Depths

January 30, 2009 Guest Contributor 71

Blake’s recent review of Carrie Underwood’s single, “I Told You So” touched on a simmering issue for me. Underwood clearly has a stellar voice, an appreciation for country music and has acquitted herself very well

Country Music Awards of Australia

January 30, 2009 Guest Contributor 2

Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson cleaned up at the 37th CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia this past week. The couple acquired five Golden Guitar trophies, winning Album of the Year (Rattlin’ Bones), APRA Song

Jamey Johnson, “High Cost of Living”

January 29, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 11

The second single from Jamey Johnson’s That Lonesome Song is also the lead-off track for the acclaimed album, and it establishes both the theme and tone of the project. It speaks to Johnson’s confidence as

Discussion: Down on the Farm

January 29, 2009 Guest Contributor 32

Songs about the family farm are a dying breed, with wide open spaces now making way for sprawling suburbia. This shift in society is gracefully handled in Trisha Yearwood’s “Dreaming Fields,” (“And the houses they

Ben Kweller, Changing Horses

January 29, 2009 Guest Contributor 0

Ben Kweller Changing Horses He’s gone country, back to his roots.With Changing Horses, Ben Kweller shifts gears into a new groove, adding a touch of twang to his earnest tales of yearning. The Texas-bred bard,

Recommend An Album

January 28, 2009 Leeann Ward 43

Perhaps I’m entirely too critical, but I’ve recently realized that there are precious few albums on which I can say I love every song. Even most of my favorite albums seem to contain one or

Review: Sugarland, “Love”

January 28, 2009 Guest Contributor 13

“If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?” -William Shakespeare

Review: Carrie Underwood, “I Told You So”

January 27, 2009 Guest Contributor 43

When Randy Travis invited Carrie Underwood into the Grand Ole Opry last spring, the sprightly young maiden had fully arrived as the new torchbearer for the house of twang. Her reign as the genre’s princess

Review: Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel, “Hesitation Blues”

January 27, 2009 Dan Milliken 1

The lead single from Willie Nelson’s forthcoming Western Swing collaboration with Asleep at the Wheel (titled Willie and the Wheel, natch) offers lots of reasons to expect that the album’s February 3rd release will signal