The fall bumper crop of singles has plenty of keepers… BERING STRAIT You Make Loving Fun (Universal South) This sounds like something Janie Fricke or Barbara Mandrell would’ve had a hit with. That’s not a
The 400 Best Contemporary Country Singles Part 3: #350-#326 #350 “Only Here For A Little While” Billy Dean 1991 Peak: #3 Dean’s debut single is a moving appeal for valuing the time that we have,
The 400 Best Contemporary Country Singles Part 2: #375-#351 #375 “Take It Back” Reba McEntire 1992 Peak: #5 For a singer defined by weepy ballads, McEntire is remarkably brass on this jazz-tinged kiss-off number. She
Sixteen years ago, country music entered its modern era. The Class of 1989 – Garth Brooks, Clint Black and Alan Jackson among them – ushered in new levels of sales, media exposure and even production
The 2005 CMA Award nominations have been announced, and there’s a long overdue changing of the guard. The full list is here, and my comments follow each of the major categories below. On the whole,
BILLY DEAN “Race You To The Bottom” (Curb) This is an indictment of the “greed is good” mentality that corrupts, from the perspective of one of those that is corrupted. He overdoes it a bit,
ALAN JACKSON “USA Today” (Arista) Not exactly Alan at his best, but entertaining enough. AMBER DOTSON “I Ain’t Your Mama” (Capitol) A funny little post-honeymoon reflection. BLAKE SHELTON “Nobody But Me” (Warner Bros.) Uh-oh. I’m
Terri Clark has the best single this time around. BUDDY JEWELL “So Gone” (Columbia) Competent. CATHERINE BRITT & ELTON JOHN “Where We Say Goodbye” (RCA) A satisfying pairing between a pop legend and a country
We’ve been a bit overwhelmed in country music with patriotic songs since 9/11, and many of them have the stench of expolitation, poor taste, or just plain bad songwriting. In my opinion, the best songs
The new Rodney Crowell single is by far the best of the bunch this week. It might be the best single of the year so far. AARON LINES “It Takes A Man” (BNA) Once again,
