Country Universe

Dierks Bentley, “Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)

May 17, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 5

Dierks Bentley, “Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)” Bentley continues with his string of compelling road songs. While previous single “Long Trip Alone” was laced with melancholy, even as it asked for a

Collin Raye, “A Soldier’s Prayer”

May 17, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 24

Collin Raye, “A Soldier’s Prayer” Wow, talk about bad timing. Tim McGraw debuts “If You’re Reading This”, the most powerful soldier song I’ve ever heard, on the ACM’s and brings down the house. Then poor

ACM Burning Questions, Answered

May 16, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 0

Before I started the live blog of last night’s ACM Awards, I listed a few burning questions. Here are the answers: Will Carrie Underwood pull a Dixie Chicks and go five for five tonight? I

ACM Awards: 2007 Live Blog

May 15, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 12

ACM Winner Miranda Lambert (above) ACM LIVE BLOG 10:59: Just FYI: Carrie won Video, so she went 3/5. “Building Bridges” by B&D, Vince and Sheryl Crow won Collaboration. 10:57 Entertainer: Kenny Chesney, three in

ACM Awards 2007: Picks & Predictions

May 12, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 10

There are three major country awards given by the music industry, and each particular show reflects the preferences of a different section of it. The CMA Awards, given every fall, are the Music Row awards,

LeAnn Rimes, "Nothin' Better to Do"

May 10, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 5

LeAnn Rimes, “Nothin’ Better to Do” She hasn’t done anything quite like this before, a muddy water twang-fest that has her sounding like a mature woman who has seen some hard times, but still has

Amy Dalley, “Let’s Try Goodbye”

May 10, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 7

Amy Dalley, “Let’s Try Goodbye” Curb Records is continuing its maddening approach with Dalley’s debut album: keep throwing singles at radio until one sticks, and keeping the album shelved until one does. The travesty is

Travis Tritt, “You Never Take Me Dancing”

May 6, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 24

Travis Tritt, “You Never Take Me Dancing” Good Lord, this is good. I’ve always thought Tritt was trying too hard when he did the southern rock thing, but with age, he’s really grown into the

Sarah Johns, “The One in the Middle”

May 6, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 113

Sarah Johns, “The One in the Middle” Too long, too drawn out and not nearly clever enough to sustain an entire song. Johns has a nice, twangy voice that is being wasted on this futile

Tim McGraw & Faith Hill, “I Need You”

May 5, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 8

Tim McGraw & Faith Hill, “I Need You” Most of the time, these two superstars just take turns singing backup and call it a duet. This is only the second full-fledged collaboration the two have