Country Universe

Single Review: Taylor Swift, “White Horse”

November 26, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 12

Fairy tale dreams collide with hard reality on “White Horse.” Swift effectively uses the standard imagery of the prince on a white horse, and there’s just something about the fairy tale not coming true that

Discussion: Giving Thanks

November 26, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 5

On the eve of Thanksgiving, it’s a good time to say what we’re thankful for. Keeping the focus on country music, here are some things that are inspiring gratitude on my part: New Channels of

Jewel, Perfectly Clear

November 26, 2008 Guest Contributor 1

Jewel Perfectly Clear It seemed to be a suave career move. An Alaskan-born woman of the wilderness, wedded to a rodeo cowboy, embraces her down-home roots and heads for Nashville to join the ranks of

Discussion: Hidden Gems of 2008

November 25, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 4

Over the course of the next three weeks, Country Universe will be looking back on 2008. We’ll be starting by reviewing some albums that we missed over the course of the year. With such a

Single Review: Josh Gracin, “Telluride”

November 25, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 14

If you’re going to comb through an artist’s catalog looking for missed hits, Tim McGraw is a good guy to start with. “Telluride” was on Tim’s Set This Circus Down album, which produced four #1

Discussion: The Right to Write

November 24, 2008 Guest Contributor 10

Mary Chapin Carpenter has been tapped by the Washington Times to write a regular column in the paper’s “Show” section, and her first article appeared on Friday, November 21. A press released last week lauded

Recap: American Music Awards, Country Style

November 24, 2008 Guest Contributor 12

It’s hard to imagine a time when the American Music Awards consistently trumped the Grammys in terms of viewing audience while also giving off an air of importance and prestige. Since the days of Dick Clark,

Trace Adkins, X

November 24, 2008 Guest Contributor 5

Trace Adkins X Making a major label album is a commitment to the art of compromise, and Trace Adkins provides a prime example of this exercise. His musical output has been schizophrenic, with playful absurdity

Giveaway: Toby Keith Autographed CD – That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy

November 24, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 33

We’re feeling like good guys here at Country Universe, so we’re giving away an autographed copy of Toby Keith’s latest CD, That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy. You can read Blake’s review of the

Discussion: Different Approaches

November 23, 2008 Guest Contributor 8

Typically, I listen to the songs on my iPod via the various playlists I’ve created. However, the other day, for some reason, I listened to my iPod on shuffle. These were the first two songs