Compilation albums feel like cheating, but this one is getting nonstop play at my house. It was put together by Dave Cobb, the producer behind Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, and Chris Stapleton. It's a nice collection of new and old artists contributing songs about what family means. The whole thing is solid (the weakest track for me is Zac Brown's "Grandma's Garden") with a couple of knockout tracks ("Sweet By and By" by Miranda Lambert and a surprisingly good version of "You Are My Sunshine" by Morgane and Chris Stapleton). This will be a top 10 record for me this year for sure.
This a good album from a promising young band. Their Facebook page lists their genre as "Somewhere between John Mayer and country. 'MERICAna." I have no idea what they think that means, but I would call this country. And for the most part, it's good country. There is a song that contains the refrain "sippin' on a Shiner," which is maybe the most annoyingly Texas thing a songwriter could write. Setting aside that song, which was clearly meant to be their foot-stomping bar-band song, it's a really nice collection.
I forgot about this little project and want to try to get back into it. How about a recap of 2017 country releases? Let's start with everyone's favorite is-he-country-though critical darling, Jason Isbell!
Isbell is now in the unenviable place in his career where every release is scrutinized and people pass judgment on whether he deserves to be so beloved. I read many reviews that dismissed this album as somehow lacking, which I simply don't understand. I personally think it's better than the previous release, Something More Than Free, which I already think is a damn fine album. But this one just feels more cohesive somehow.
And the writing is spectacular! I am a sucker for a solid lyric, which is a big part of Isbell's appeal to me. Nearly every song on this one has a lyrical gem. My personal favorites are "Last of My Kind," "Cumberland Gap," and "If We Were Vampires" (which has to be one of the best songs he's ever written).
I will also make a plug for seeing these guys live. I have seen them several times, but on this tour, they have it locked in. The band is so tight; seeing them live is like listening to the album, but the album has been cranked to 11.
In my opinion, even "alt-country" is a stretch for this one. But that seems to be how many people classify Ryan Adams, and I love this album, so I'll go with it. I have always been mixed on this guy. I liked Whiskeytown, which was definitely alt-country. I was less keen on his solo work immediately after and, honestly, the guy had a good run of acting like a jackass. Then he put out Jacksonville City Nights under the name Ryan Adams And The Cardinals, which I quite liked. I didn't really follow him after that.
But this album. Damn. So he got divorced and clearly poured that heartache into songwriting. And the result is just an amazing collection of sad bastard songs. What I think really clicked for me on this one is how it sounds. There's a pretty obvious Springsteen influence on many of the compositions. But there's also a lot of Johnny Marr coming through in his guitar sound. If you had told me "it's like Springsteen but with Marr on guitar," I don't know that I would have been eager to check it out. But I am telling you: it works!
My favorites are "Prisoner," "Shiver and Shake," and "Anything I Say To You Now."
I don't totally understand why he felt the need to release two albums in the same year. I know Stapleton's been writing forever and has a huge catalog to pull from. But given how good the best songs on these two albums are, a single curated collection would have been insane. As a standalone album, I think Volume I is the stronger of the two. But I also haven't had Volume 2 for as long. It's definitely solid, but there aren't any major standouts for me yet. Meanwhile, Volume I has "I Was Wrong," "Second One to Know," and "Without Your Love," which are all fantastic. And, most importantly, it has "Either Way," which is hands down the best song of the year.
I really don't like any of the current versions of all the genres of country music, but the older versions of genres like bluegrass, countrypolitan, Nashville, Western Swing and others were fantastic. But all the neo versions are rotten. Thankfully, the old records are still around. Who needs Neo-traditional or neo- bluegrass when you can still listen to the old ones?
Who needs Neo-traditional or neo- bluegrass when you can still listen to the old ones?
Yeah, who needs innovation when you can just listen to the same things over and over again lol
... or was it ironic?
Awesome diary btw. I wasn't aware of its existence but it will certainly be of great help to me. Starting with this Stapleton guy when I get the time...
This was the hidden gem of 2017 for me. The song "Whitehouse Road" came up on a playlist and I said, "Hold the fuck up, who is this?" I have since learned his dad is in coal and his mom is a nurse, which is basically about as Kentucky as a kid can be. This is his second album, which he somehow got Sturgill Simpson to produce. Maybe he wants to help another Kentucky boy make good. Or maybe, like me, he just loves this dude's voice.
In addition to the previously mentioned song, I am loving "Feather Indians" and "Universal Sound."
I forgot about this little project and want to try to get back into it. How about a recap of 2017 country releases?
Awesome! Loving this diary as always.
This will make an awesome side project when I'm done with 1991. The perfect detour to clear the palette.
Anyone else have recs for the best Country, alt country, bluegrass, blues, Americana, etc of 2017, please send it my way!!! I think my 2017 chart has like 5 albums in it if that. lol
2018 starts off with this delightful surprise. Marie/Lepanto is Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster of Water Liars and Will Johnson of the late, great Centro-matic. The two bands toured together during Centro-matic's farewell tour a few years back. These two guys got into one another's music and now they've collaborated on this album.
The name of the duo is a reference to a highway sign in Arkansas and the album title references a lake in eastern Oklahoma. And those two facts are as good an indication as any of what this music sounds like; it would be the perfect soundtrack to driving around that general area. It's alt-country, sometimes more Centro-matic rocking, sometimes more Water Liars spare. I am loving the combination.
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