Tracy Byrd
100 Greatest Men: #68. Mark Chesnutt
100 Greatest Men: The Complete List
Even among the new traditionalists of the early nineties, Mark Chesnutt stood out as a traditionalist, bringing pure country to the radio dial for more than a decade.
Single Review: Easton Corbin, “I Can’t Love You Back”
Any song that starts with a guitar melody so eerily reminiscent of Rosanne Cash’s “Blue Moon With Heartache” is going to reel me in right away. Throw in an understated production that recalls early Alan Jackson, and the fact that Corbin is an actual country singer instead of just a country personality, and things get even better.
The song is beautiful. Really, really beautiful. Like so many great country ballads, someone who’s been left alone because a relationship failed can relate to it just as well as someone who has been left alone because they’re a widow. On the verses, Corbin sounds so good that he could’ve sent this to radio in 1992 and stood tall among the Mark Chesnutts and Collin Rayes of that time.
The 201 Greatest Singles of the Decade, Part 2: #180-#161
The 201 Greatest Singles of the Decade, Part 2: #180-#161
#180
“These Days”
Rascal Flatts
2002
Peak: #1
It’s the pairing of aching nostalgia and all the power that comes with a Flatts country-pop ballad that makes this song so potent. – Tara Seetharam
#179
“Takin’ Off This Pain”
Ashton Shepherd
2007
Peak: #20
Like a fiery-eyed hybrid of Loretta Lynn and Jennifer Nettles, Shepherd burst onto the scene snapping her newly ring-free fingers at the clueless sap not treating her right. Next Decade, please take note: you’ve got a star in waiting. – Dan Milliken
The Worst Singles of the Decade, Part 2: #40-#31
The banality continues. Read Part 1 here.
The Worst Singles of the Decade, Part 2: #40-#31
#40
Kenny Chesney & George Strait, “Shiftwork”
A stab at the working class blues still ends up on a tropical island by the third verse.
#39
Anita Cochran featuring The Voice of Conway Twitty, “(I Wanna Hear) A Cheatin’ Song”
In which a duet is formed from beyond the grave by chopping up bits and pieces of old Conway Twitty songs and reassembling them word by word.
#38
Billy Dean, “Let Them Be Little”
Thirty seconds in and you’ll be headed to your dentist for a cavity filling.
#37
Montgomery Gentry, “She Couldn’t Change Me”
Sorry boys, but “some hip-hop mess” would be a great improvement over this hillbilly trainwreck.
Tracy Byrd Starter Kit
One of the side effects of the nineties boom was that every Nashville label started looking for young male acts that looked good in a Stetson and could sing with an accent.
The end result was that some solid talent was discovered a bit too early, before they’d fully refined themselves into artists. Tracy Byrd’s a great example of this. Only 25 years old when his first single went to radio, Byrd had been plucked from the Beaumont, Texas music scene that had groomed Mark Chesnutt.
Byrd’s hit material from the nineties was reflective of what the B-list hat acts recorded during that era, though his vocal charm helped him elevate middling songs from time to time. He also turned in a few gems, with his music getting far more consistent as he entered his thirties.
His last studio album, 2006’s Different Things, was excellent, but radio had already moved on to the new twentysomethings at that point, artists who will probably be making better music a decade from now and being overlooked for the new, new twentysomethings.
Ten Essential Tracks:
“Holdin’ Heaven”
from the 1993 album Tracy Byrd
When surprisingly strong sales greeted the release of Byrd’s debut album, radio jumped on board. This catchy tune briefly knocked Garth’s “Ain’t Goin Down” out of the top spot, though Brooks would return to #1 a week later.