Country Universe

Brooks & Dunn, “Proud of the House We Built”

June 1, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 12

Brooks & Dunn, “Proud of the House We Built” It’s a decently good lyric that celebrates a love that started with nothing and still is fairly modest, but worthy of pride nonetheless. I have trouble

Bruce Robison, It Came From San Antonio

May 28, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 0

Bruce Robison It Came From San Antonio Bruce Robison has always been a fantastic singer-songwriter, but he usually takes his time between projects. After last year’s superb Eleven Stories, it’s a wonderful surprise to hear

Pam Tillis, Greatest Hits

May 28, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 2

Greatest Hits June 3, 1997 Ah, the nineties. What seemed so perfect back then, time has taken the shine away from. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking about the quality of

Gretchen Wilson, One of the Boys

May 28, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 6

Gretchen Wilson One of the Boys Gretchen Wilson continues her baffling descent from the promise of her debut album, Here For the Party. Its follow-up, All Jacked Up, suffered from overconfidence, a cocky attitude of

Pam Tillis, All of This Love

May 27, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 0

All of This Love November 7, 1995 You can learn much about an artist’s commitment to their craft by how they capitalize on their success. Pam Tillis had credibility and commercial clout to burn after

Daryle Singletary, “Jesus and Bartenders”

May 27, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 0

Daryle Singletary, “Jesus and Bartenders” Singletary covers an Rebecca Lynn Howard album track from a few years back. It’s a classic country honky-tonk number, and while Howard’s original version has its charms, Singletary’s a

Pam Tillis, Sweetheart’s Dance

May 27, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 2

Sweetheart’s Dance April 26, 1994 After two successful albums with producers Paul Worley & Ed Seay, Pam Tillis needed a change. She approached her label with a request to co-produce her third country album, and

Sugarland, “Everyday America”

May 24, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 6

Sugarland, “Everyday America” A charming slice of country pop Americana. Jennifer Nettles has such an infectious voice that she can sell just about anything, but she has some good material to work with here. I

ACM Sales Bounce? Not So Much.

May 22, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 5

So I’m checking out this week’s from Hits Daily Double, and expecting to see a sales bounce among country artists who performed on the ACM show early in the tracking week. Turns out, that didn’t

John Anderson,Easy Money

May 19, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 1

John Anderson Easy Money By Paul W. Dennis John Anderson and George Strait are about the only two with a high profile left from the generation of male singers that came to prominence in the