No Country for Young Men - Music Diaries - Forums : Best Ever Albums

zdwyatt

Gender: Male
Age: 45
Location: Madison WI

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Nashville Obsolete by Dave Rawlings Machine

I love Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings plays a big part in that. His guitar playing has this meandering quality and old-time sound [1] that is immediately recognizable. Unfortunately, his songwriting is not always to my taste. This is a mixed collection overall, with half the length gobbled up by two unremarkable songs. The great guitar work is there, along with Rawlings' passable singing, though he too often does this Dylan-esque speak-singing thing. The good songs like "Bodysnatchers" are good enough that I am left feeling like he has a great album in him, if he could divorce himself of the need to do silly numbers like "Candy."

[1] Rawlings plays a 1935 Epiphone Olympic, which has led many players to assume that the vintage instrument is the key to his sound. But the last time I saw him playing with Gillian Welch, he was holding up the show dealing with some technical issue. So Welch picked up his Epiphone and played a bit of "Wildwood Flower." It sounded about the way any middling guitarist would sound on a loud old guitar, which is to say not that great. When she finished, she said, "Just in case you think it's the guitar..."

zdwyatt

Gender: Male
Age: 45
Location: Madison WI

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If I've Only One Time Askin' by Daniel Romano

This is classic country pop, like you'd hear back when men wore sequins on everything. I am to understand that this particular artist is hated as something of a hipster, loath as I am to use that word. It is his authenticity that is called into question, which is fair, if you care about that sort of thing. I don't, so long as you're not claiming a false heritage to give credibility to your lyrics. I don't think you have be from a certain place or brought up a certain way to know you like the sound of a style of music. If this guy is faking it, it's still better than most of what Nashville considers "real" country. It's a pleasant homage with a couple of standout tracks, most notably the title track.

RockyRaccoon
Is it solipsistic in here or is it just me?

Gender: Male
Age: 33
Location: Maryland

Moderator

zdwyatt wrote:

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If I've Only One Time Askin' by Daniel Romano

This is classic country pop, like you'd hear back when men wore sequins on everything. I am to understand that this particular artist is hated as something of a hipster, loath as I am to use that word. It is his authenticity that is called into question, which is fair, if you care about that sort of thing. I don't, so long as you're not claiming a false heritage to give credibility to your lyrics. I don't think you have be from a certain place or brought up a certain way to know you like the sound of a style of music. If this guy is faking it, it's still better than most of what Nashville considers "real" country. It's a pleasant homage with a couple of standout tracks, most notably the title track.

I'm in love with this album, glad to hear you liked it.
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BrandonMiaow

zdwyatt wrote:

Link

This is something really special, wow. I'll be looking into his music. Your music diary is already one of my favourites. Just out of curiosity, are you from NC?

zdwyatt

Gender: Male
Age: 45
Location: Madison WI

BrandonMiaow wrote:

Just out of curiosity, are you from NC?

I'm originally from East Tennessee and I spent a lot of time in western North Carolina. Pisgah, Lake Lure, and of course the Smoky Mountains. Met my wife in Saluda (home of Coon Dog Days). Spent my fair share of time in Boone and Asheville, too.

RepoMan

zdwyatt wrote:

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Traveller by Chris Stapleton

I listened to it back when it came out, thought it was good but not mind-blowing, and never revisited it. To quote samistake2ice:

Quote:

I think I want to like it more than I actually do... [T]here is something that doesn't quite resonate with me, and I fail to ever really connect emotionally.

But then I saw this performance on Wednesday, which has to be the best thing that's been on the CMA stage in years. I felt like I was hearing a totally different Stapleton than the one on the album.

I've now listened to it again and I am going to reluctantly suggest the problem is the much-celebrated producer, David Cobb. He's the go-to guy for Nashville outsiders, most notably Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson. But between them, I'm seeing a common problem: he fails to capture the raw energy those guys have when they play live. The albums are good, but they just lack something.

With that in mind, my opinion on this album has improved. Stapleton has had a long career as a songwriter and the positive response to his first solo album is much deserved. Whatever it lacks, I do think this is one of the strongest country releases this year. If nothing else, I am happy to see this style of country getting so much attention from within the Nashville bubble. Maybe there's hope for that struggling enterprise after all.

Yeah, this album is a total grower. I was nonplussed at first as well thinking what's the fuss this is pretty vanilla and yeah, over produced as you say. But boy these songs do grow on you after some prodding from this log and some best-off lists. I know I would just love these songs playing on the juke at a dive bar late night.

zdwyatt

Gender: Male
Age: 45
Location: Madison WI

RepoMan wrote:

Yeah, this [Chris Stapleton] album is a total grower. I was nonplussed at first as well thinking what's the fuss this is pretty vanilla and yeah, over produced as you say. But boy these songs do grow on you after some prodding from this log and some best-off lists. I know I would just love these songs playing on the juke at a dive bar late night.

I absolutely agree. I am so glad I returned to this one. I've been playing it a lot over the past couple of weeks and it keeps climbing up my chart.

zdwyatt

Gender: Male
Age: 45
Location: Madison WI

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All A Man Should Do by Lucero

These guys get called a variety of things. Wikipedia says they're "country-punk rock" with a sound that's a "synthesis of soul, rock, and country [that] is distinctly Memphisian." For this album at least, I'd say they're alt-country, with intermittent horns. This particular album is a great example of one that will need more listens. On this first pass, it all sort of blends together, but I still really enjoyed the overall feeling it created. It's gritty, it's minor key, and judging from the excellent closer, "My Girl & Me in '93," these guys are around my age. That one is really speaking to me.

Look me in the eyes and tell me on more time / You love me you need me you'll always be mine
Just another screw up / Who meant well enough
Seems I never do what I'm supposed to do / Don't ask me why cause I couldn't tell you

It was 1993 / The Land of Opportunity / It was just my girl and me
Us against the world

I am sure there's more hidden in there that will grow on me.

zdwyatt

Gender: Male
Age: 45
Location: Madison WI

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You're Dreaming by The Cactus Blossoms

This album is straight out of the 50s. It's a couple of brothers playing guitar and singing in a vocal harmony that readily evokes the Everly Brothers. But this hews even closer to country than the Everlys did. This isn't the kind of thing I am likely to return to many times (a bit too precious for my tastes), but I sure respect them for producing something in 2016 that sounds like it came out of Sun Studio 65 years ago.

zdwyatt

Gender: Male
Age: 45
Location: Madison WI

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Midwest Farmer's Daughter by Margo Price

This one was released to critical praise, with the consensus being that this a fresh, modern take on the classic country sound. I can't quibble with that, but I don't find the album especially striking. It's serviceable, the kind of thing I'd happily sit in a bar and listen to. But nothing in her voice or in the instrumentation compels me to return to it. There are a couple of standout tracks--"Tennessee Song" and "How the Mighty Have Fallen"--but the album mostly sounds like the loathsome lead single, "Hurtin (on the Bottle)."