Personal Top 10 Country Albums

I asked a friend to compile her list of top 10 books ever. In return, she asked for my top 10 country albums I thought she should have. Ten is all?! So hard. But here's what I came up with-


Without further ado,
10 (+) Country Albums You Must Have:

1. Deana Carter, The Chain.
A very cool album which consists completely of covers- all music her dad, who is/was a studio guitarist and producer, had a hand in in the original stages. Also includes much collaboration with many of the original artists. Fresh sound. SO COOL.

2. Lori McKenna, Unglamorous.
There's just something about this woman. She was "discovered" by Faith Hill and has tracks recorded by Faith, Tim McGraw, Sara Evans, among man others. Still, the songs are way better when she sings them herself. The last track on this album kills me every time.

3. Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors.
I'm always surprised at how much Tim McGraw music I actually own because I don't consider myself one of his biggest fans or anything, but this particular album has a really organic sound for such a commercial artist. The songs are good, and as a whole it feels timeless. I've owned this one for four or five years and it's a go-to when I don't know what else I want to listen to.

4. Phil Vassar, Shaken Not Stirred.
I DO consider myself a big Phil Vassar fan- he's a great songwriter, lyricist, pianist, and performer. This album is the most cohesive and I prefer the sound of this one to his others. Another to check out might be his Greatest Hits, though. He rerecorded some of the hits he's had as a songwriter for other artists (like Jo Dee Messina's "Bye Bye") and they're really simple, nice recordings.

5. Sugarland, Love on the Inside.
Their music just keeps getting better. I love this one because Kristian does a lot more singing and their arrangements don't feel like stuffy commercial country. Very vocal, very organic. The deluxe fan edition has some awesome stuff at the end like a live Matt Nathanson cover, and that track alone is worth the extra two dollars or whatever it is.

6. Nickel Creek, Reasons Why: The Very Best.
I saw these guys live and never expected any four people (counting the bass player) to be able to make THAT MUCH SOUND come out of those little acoustic instruments. They're perfect in nearly every way and the subject matter isn't so typical, which is refreshing.

7. Miranda Lambert, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
This girl does real country music up right. She's got attitude and songwriting chops and is not afraid of a good old-fashioned steel guitar.

8. Reba McEntire, It's Your Call.
You have no idea how hard it was for me to pick just ONE Reba album. Pretty much any of her '90s albums, especially the early '90s, are The Tops in my book. Even so, I own almost everything she's done since 1986. Maybe even since before that. No. I'm serious. It's Your Call is full of reasons I really fell in love with her, though. Take It Back, He Wants to Get Married... it's a good album.

9. Brad Paisley, 5th Gear.
Some people just don't get it, but I find Brad Paisley HILARIOUS. He's got a way with melody, too, and can play guitar like a dreeeeeeam. It's traditional with a twist, and I'm all about country sounding like country. Plus, "Online" is a little too appropriate, I think.

10. Sara Evans, Restless.
Girl can SING, and this is probably her best collection of songs as a whole. "Otis Redding" is still my favorite- just paints a lighthearted, romantic little picture.



Honorable mentions go to Dierks Bentley, only because I absolutely could not decide which of his albums you should have. I love them all equally, in different ways, and so just couldn't make the decision. I couldn't even give you a Dierks playlist and pick favorite tracks because I seriously love THEM ALL.

Also to Bethany Dick, whose latest is only 4 tracks long BUT you can download it for free (www.myspace.com/bethanydick)! She's originally a Montana girl like I am, and she and my friend Fiddler actually know each other, so it's kinda cool.




What do you think, country fans? What did I leave out? Anything you wouldn't have included? Which Dierks album would you have chosen?

Home

I decided, in light of the direction my personal blog has taken, to start a new blog just for my thoughts on music. Eventually, the music posts I've written over the past few years will be moved here, but for right now, I have some something pressing to talk about.

My station was securely tuned into country radio, and so when I heard the intro to "Home," originally by Michael Buble, I couldn't help but cringe. I think I actually shouted out loud to the red light in front of me, "No... come on!"

Thoughts of Alabama singing "God Must Have Spent a Little More Time On You," Mark Chestnut singing, "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing," and Jack Ingram's "Lips of an Angel," raced through my mind. Who could have been stupid enough to think they could do a Michael Buble original any kind of justice?! WHO, I ask!

It didn't take me long to recognize the voice as Blake Shelton's.

But, before you get angry at me, I have to admit, there is a bit of a twist to the story.

"Home," was the very first Michael Buble song I heard. I saw him sing on Regis and Kelly, and I remember my complete and utter disappointment at the impression he was failing to make. He was wasn't bad, but he wasn't fantastic either. The voice was fine, but where was its character? Where was his personality? For whatever reason, though, he won me over eventually, and I did come to hold some sort of appreciation for that song. It never was my favorite on the CD; it just didn't hold the life some of the others did.

It only took Blake a few phrases to convince me. I fell in love with his vocal performance. I am not the biggest Blake Shelton fan in the world. But his voice plus "Home" equals perfection.

Guess what else I heard, once I made myself stop singing along? The song features Miranda Lambert on background vocals. Once I realized that, I understood. This song is perfect. It's perfect in every way.

The arrangement is fairly true to Michael's arrangement, actually. The instrumentation is a touch different (with a pedal steel thrown in here or there) but every change that was made was made with discretion and true musical consideration. In spots, I prefer the country version, especially when the strings reach a climax they never quite achieved in Michael's version.

It's not that Michael's recording is bad. It's really quite good, and the song itself, which he co-wrote, is incredibly gorgeous melodically and harmonically and lyrically. But Blake and Miranda singing this song together makes some kind of sense that Michael couldn't have made alone, even if these kinds of songs were his strength.

I fell in love with it, and that surprised me, but I'm glad I stuck around long enough to be surprised.