Josh Turner – Page 3 – Country Universe

Daily Top Five: Favorite Country Name Drop Songs

August 12, 2015 Leeann Ward 34

Ah…Remember the days when a name drop of a country singer actually meant something and made sense within the context of the song? Before Jason Aldean’s gratuitous and inane name checks of Johnny Cash, Alabama

Daily Top Five: Better With Time

June 9, 2015 Leeann Ward 9

As we grow older, our tastes change and some would even say that they mature. Such is the case with me, as you’ll see in the list below. There was a time when I did

Album Review: Ralph Stanley & Friends, Man of Constant Sorrow

April 18, 2015 Sam Gazdziak 1

Ralph Stanley & Friends Man of Constant Sorrow Perhaps the uninitiated may have “discovered” Ralph Stanley through his participation in the O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack, For those who have spent their lives appreciating

Single Review: Josh Turner, “Lay Low”

October 5, 2014 Leeann Ward 12

“Lay Low” Josh Turner Written by Ross Copperman, Tony Martin and Mark Nesler Good for Josh Turner for sticking with his neo-traditional country sound, even though he’s in the oft talked about minority nowadays. I

Song Talk: Music that Moves Me

July 12, 2014 Leeann Ward 10

My local Public Radio station has a wonderful series called Music that Moves Me, which was conceived and originally produced by the inimitable Suzanne Nance who has now (sadly for us, but happily for her)

We Need to Have a Little Talk about Randy Travis

July 12, 2013 Kevin John Coyne 21

In a year that has already brought the deaths of immortal talents like George Jones, Slim Whitman, Patti Page, and Jack Greene, not to mention the untimely loss of Mindy McCready, it is understandable that the recent news regarding Randy Travis is having the country music fans collectively holding their breath with nervousness and dread.

There is something distinctly different about how I am processing the news about Randy Travis. The thought of losing him is inextricably linked with a feeling that we’d be losing an essential core of the country music that I fell in love with more than two decades ago. Now, I remember Randy Travis from when I was a child. What little kid wouldn’t be in love with a catchy song like “Forever and Ever, Amen”?

Single Review: Clay Walker, “Like We Never Said Goodbye”

February 22, 2012 Tara Seetharam 9

As the title suggests, Clay Walker’s latest single plays out like the alternate ending to Faith Hill and Tim McGraw’s fiery “Like We Never Loved At All.” Whereas the latter finds the woman agonizing over her ex moving on, “Like We Never Said Goodbye” tackles a smaller, more predictable range of emotions as its characters rekindle their relationship over wine. On paper, it’s the less interesting road taken.

Single Review: Josh Turner, “Time is Love”

January 9, 2012 Kevin John Coyne 8

Remember the first time that you heard Josh Turner?

You must have been in awe of that baritone. Here’s a guy who can sing deeper than the rest without sacrificing tone and nuance.

Album Review: Scotty McCreery, Clear as Day

October 25, 2011 Ben Foster 14

Scotty McCreery

Clear as Day

In listening to American Idol winner Scotty McCreery’s debut album, it becomes all too clear that either McCreery is being carefully reared by the unabashedly commercial-minded execs of 19 Entertainment… or that he simply enjoys playing follow-the-leader. The former is most likely, but almost every track on Clear as Day sounds like an emulation of the style of one of country radio’s favorite hitmakers. We get to hear Scotty McCreery play Montgomery Gentry. We get to hear Scotty McCreery play Kenny Chesney. But there are precious few moments in which it sounds like Scotty McCreery is being Scotty McCreery.

Single Review: Scotty McCreery, “I Love You This Big”

May 26, 2011 Dan Milliken 29

Any review of this single anywhere is like begging for site traffic from impassioned fans/haters. I don’t do nearly enough favors for Country Universe most of the time, though – so allow me to greet you down on my knees, Scottyfolk.

A preface: I didn’t watch this past season of American Idol, so this single is basically my first exposure to its winner, and I feel no sour grapes that he beat out So-And-So or What’s-Her-Face, and I don’t care about his adorable TV backstory or any of that. The only metric I’m using is whether “I Love You This Big” sounds like something I’d want to hear on the radio between “Teenage Daughters” and “Amen.”