Monthly Archives: November 2017

Reviews

Album Review: Ned LeDoux–Sagebrush

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Rating: 7/10

So, this is one of those albums that it’s a bit hard to talk about, and there’s not a ton to say about it in the first place, but that doesn’t mean it should be overlooked by any means. It’s an album that falls into that solid, consistent category, refreshing and comforting but not necessarily groundbreaking. And if you know anything about Ned LeDoux or his intentions with this project, this is arguably doing everything it set out to accomplish. That’s not to say it’s a perfect record, or one of the best of the year, it’s just to say that it serves its purpose quite well, and for that, some might rate it higher than my solid 7.

If you’re unfamiliar with Ned LeDoux or his aims here, he’s essentially trying to honor his father Chris LeDoux, a rodeo cowboy who sold his records independently out of a truck and wrote songs about cowboy themes and simple living. I wrote that we shouldn’t fixate on the fact that Lukas Nelson is Willie’s son, but with Ned, he wants you to remember his father. He’s going to make similar records, and you go into it knowing you’ll hear tales of the West, of eight-second rides, of endless stretches of the Wyoming prairie. And it works because like his father before him, he’s actually lived this life, so you can’t call him anything but authentic. And really, he’s making his father proud.

The biggest strength of this record, unlike oh, the majority of this year’s albums, is actually the production. It’s the western feel to this that keeps you listening, especially if you gravitate, as I do, toward western themes. The more country rock production serves to elevate many of these tracks, even when they’re lacking lyrically, and I’m glad these details were not overlooked or thought of as second to the lyrics.

Lyrics indeed are the weakest point of this record, and you aren’t really sold on Ned LeDoux as a lyricist at all until track four, when “Some People Do” comes on. This is an ode to the previously mentioned Wyoming prairie, complete with its bitter winters and miles of waterless land. But to the people that live here, it can be paradise. It reminds you that country is as much a story of the West as it is of the South, and you come away wondering why so few country projects lately explore this part of the genre’s heritage. “Better Part of Living” is also one of the better songs lyrically; this one deals more with life lessons and cautions us that the best things in life “can’t be measured out in pay.” For the traditionalists, this one is one of the most country, with some lovely steel echoing in the mix. And “The Hawk” is nothing less than a beautiful tribute to his father, stating that he believes his dad came back as a hawk to watch over their family. It seems there has been a hawk on the ranch ever since he died, always keeping watch over them. His dad dreamed that he could fly and be free like a hawk, and now he seems to be there with them. The simple acoustic guitar here really allows the words to be the focus, and I don’t know how anyone can come away from this song without being moved.

There are also a couple of covers of his father’s songs here. “Johnson County War” is one of the standouts despite this, giving us a great story song about the Powder river settlements in the 1880’s. There’s also a duet version of “This Cowboy’s Hat,” featuring, of all people, Chase Rice, who actually sounds surprisingly good here. This one tells of an encounter between a cowboy and a motorcycle gang. In the end, they realize they actually have a lot in common, as the cowboy’s hat is as important to him as their leather jackets are to them.

All in all, this is nothing earth-shattering, but it’s a solid, consistent effort that certainly does Chris LeDoux proud. And with songs like “Better Part of Living” and “Some People Do,” Ned LeDoux is showing his own potential as a songwriter as well. This is an album that’s going to appeal more to people who enjoy western themes, as well as to people who value interesting production more than groundbreaking lyrics. Nice, pleasant listen.

A final thought from Ned himself: “The Old West may have changed some, but it sure as hell ain’t dead.”

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Commentary

Let’s Hope Carly Pearce’s #1 Is Just the Beginning

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The very first opinion piece I ever wrote for Country Exclusive, back in June 2015, was a short comment on Kelsea Ballerini’s #1 song, “Love me Like You Mean It.” This was the first debut single by a solo female to hit #1 on the country airplay charts in nine years, and I called it a double-edged sword because while nine years is a ridiculously long time without this occurring, Kelsea Ballerini’s song was pop and shouldn’t have been the one to break the drought.

Carly Pearce, with her decidedly pop country ballad “Every Little Thing,” has become the next woman to achieve this feat, only the second woman to do so in all the time I’ve been writing. While definitely pop-influenced–you can blame that on Busbee being the producer, because the live version is very country–this song actually has country elements, even featuring a dobro. It did get some early help from On the Verge, but it reached the top of the charts on its own, as well as selling well and resonating with the public.

So let’s learn from this and not let this be Carly’s first and only radio success. We cheered when Kacey Musgraves hit the top ten with “Merry go Round,” and now, only a few years and two albums later, radio won’t play her at all. Cam’s “Burning House” was a huge success, making it to #2, yet she hasn’t found that success with her subsequent singles. Carly Pearce’s #1 with “Every Little Thing” is a great achievement, but can she get radio to play her next singles without assistance from ON the Verge?

Also, in my recent review of her album, I mentioned that pop producers took too much control of this and forsook much of Carly Pearce’s individuality. This ought to be a lesson to Carly and those around her that she doesn’t have to record and release stuff like “Catch Fire” for the public to pay attention. So take a chance. Try releasing the far superior, actually country-infused “If My Name Was Whiskey” or “I Need a Ride Home.” Carly could develop into a very cool artist and perhaps find favor with both mainstream and independent fans, but she’s got to be given a chance and not treated like every other pop singer manufactured and molded for country radio. The success of her debut single proves that the appetite for songs like this is there; this is a ballad slower than molasses, featuring a dobro and talking about heartache. So yeah, pretty much the opposite of everything that’s supposed to work on country radio these days. And yet, somehow, it did. So let this be, as it should be, the beginning for Carly Pearce, and don’t let her fade into the background. And let this also be a stepping stone so that she can perhaps be a gateway for more deserving women, both more traditional and modern, to have their songs see the same success.

Congratulations to Carly Pearce and “Every Little Thing” for breaking through, this #1 is well-deserved.

Reviews

Sorry, but I Don’t hate Keith Urban’s “Female”

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Rating: 5/10

I tweeted during the CMA’s that Keith Urban’s latest single, titled “Female,” was “quite a good song actually.” I didn’t say it was country, and I’d like to make two things clear here–one, Urban’s forsaking of his guitar talent to produce pop/adult contemporary stuff like this irks me beyond any semblance of reason, especially as a proud owner of his first six records, (you know, when he actually tried), and two, after being forced to hear this from virtually everywhere this past week, my opinion of the song has gone down some. Now it’s just there for me. It just exists. But apparently the fashion among everyone is to hate it with all vehemence and even, for some, to find it offensive. And as a woman, I’d like to add some equilibrium to that argument.

Even among people who hate this with all passion, there is a consensus that Keith’s heart was in the right place trying to say something and speak out about the recent rash of sexual assault claims and the systematic discrimination of women in general. And let me tell you, we need men to speak out about this. I keep seeing people say versions of, “well, the industry would make more of a statement by actually playing more women,” and I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment that this becomes an empty gesture if it’s not backed up by the actual inclusion of more women in say, the very industry in which Keith Urban makes his living. But having said that, if only women write about this and speak about this, nothing will change because in many cases, it’s mostly women who will listen. We need men to be up front about this, and I applaud Keith Urban for showing the leadership to do that, not to mention for recording this and releasing it in a timely manner when mainstream Nashville notoriously takes forever to transition songs from a pen and paper to the final product.

Keith Urban’s colossal mistake? Not actually writing the song himself, but recording a song penned in part by Shane McAnally. The verses in this song are actually quite good, and they address real, specific issues like how people say women deserved what they got because they wore tight skirts, or how many Christian men excuse their behavior toward their wives and other women because God made Adam first. The problem is that listastic thing characteristic of writers like McAnally and so many others who write by committee, coming out in full force to infect the chorus by throwing out a bunch of descriptors of women…oh, and some words like “suit of armor” and “river wild” that have absolutely nothing to do with women at all. It’s hearing this all week that has taken the song down for me, and yet it’s that part which will probably give this song its only fighting chance at radio. Still, it can’t be denied that country radio, an industry undeniably rampant with sexism, will hesitate to play this, and again, the fact that Keith Urban doesn’t give a shit about that should be commended. But it’s the efforts of McAnally and his cowriters to still make this song radio-friendly that deprive it of any substance, or at least that make the parts with substance somehow matter less.

So, I could take or leave this song when it comes down to it. It’s there, it exists, it stands at a 5 rating, and i daresay it’d be a 6 if it in any way, shape, or form resembled country. I don’t hate it. I don’t find it offensive, as some people have, for its use of the word “female,” although I understand how this can be offensive in certain contexts and by certain people. I don’t find the descriptors in the chorus stereotypical so much as lazy; it’s just a list of words thrown in there to, like I say, try to make this work on radio. So, it’s a great effort by Keith Urban, and it falls short in the writing, and ultimately, a song that could have said a lot, and indeed does manage to say something worthwhile in its verses, doesn’t really execute all the way through. That said, the vitriol this song is receiving is unnecessary. It’s forgettable, and perhaps a missed opportunity by Keith Urban, but it’s not the horrific mess some would claim it to be, at least not for this listener.

Written by: Shane McAnally, Nicolle Galyon, Ross Copperman

Reviews

Album Review: Dori Freeman–Letters Never Read

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Rating: 8.5/10

Dori Freeman was one of the coolest discoveries of 2016 for me, coming from out of nowhere and making an absolutely killer debut album. Bringing an Appalachian sound to her brand of country, she displayed a unique talent for taking the traditional and timeless and keeping it forward-thinking and fresh. And not just traditional country either, but vintage pop, bluegrass, and folk as well, proving that the best artists aren’t trapped by genre lines but simply write and perform material that suits them and their individual talents.

Read: Album Review: Dori Freeman Impresses With Her Self-Titled Debut

It seems one of Dori’s talents is a knack for simplicity, and another is instinctively knowing what works for her. IN fact, this record literally feels like a continuation of that first project, and that’s not a bad thing at all. It doesn’t feel like leftovers from the first record or seem as if it’s lacking something new to expand Dori’s sound; rather, it’s like a comforting reminder that Dori Freeman is going to be an artist you can count on for quality music. She’s still mixing up the styles, still singing a lot about love, and even has another a cappella tune on this album in the cover of “Ern & Zorry’s Sneakin’ Bitin’ Dog,” an old Appalachian song written by her grandfather. So yeah, it’s literally not breaking any new ground, but when something was flawless the first time, why deviate from it?

As mentioned, love is certainly a prevailing theme running through this record. Sometimes, it comes from a place of sheer contentment. “If I Could Make You My own” is sweet and simple in its delivery, and sung by anyone else, the poetic lyrics might come across as sappy and overdone, but Freeman exudes a sincerity that just makes it work to perfection. The same goes for “Turtle Dove.” This one leans more toward that folk/vintage pop style than the former, more traditional country song, and again, it’s delivered with such sincerity that you can’t help but believe the sentiments Dori is expressing.

But more often than not, we’re dealing with the darker sides of love and relationships. “Lovers on the Run” confronts men who make excuses for walking away because they can’t commit, asserting that one day, they will be lonely. This one feels a bit like “Go on Lovin'” from her debut album, but this is told in a more general sense rather than addressed to a specific person. “Just Say it Now” finds Dori confronting the impending end of a relationship and saying that she’s about to be back where she was before it began, “wondering what men are ever looking for.”

And then we have the stunning pair of songs, “That’s all Right” and “Cold Waves.” The former sees Freeman in an abusive relationship with an alcoholic; “you’re passing out, and I’m turning blue.” That natural thing in her voice which sells the sap on “Turtledove” also captures the desperation and heartbreak perfectly here. But despite that, she sings from a place of defiance as she tells the man, “You’ll be the only one whose cross you cannot bear” and looks ahead to when she won’t be with him anymore. She does eventually move on, as conveyed on the album’s crown jewel, “Cold Waves.” This is where the album all comes together, as she’s found a new love, presumably the one from “Turtle Dove,” but the previous abuse still haunts her every day. This is a fantastic song, describing the ongoing pain that she must deal with for the rest of her life as “cold waves” and “blue haze” that surrounds her and makes it hard to push through on some days. Though she is now happy, she will always carry this around with her like a weight, and she prays that her daughter will never know this type of heartache. This has to be one of the best songs written on this subject because it neither paints the abuse as something that permanently debilitated her nor as something from which she can ever completely move on. It’s probably the most realistic song about this that I have ever heard, and as I say, it serves to bring the different parts of the record together as well.

This album is indeed simple, and at only twenty-eight minutes of music, it can seem a little short, especially when four of these ten offerings are covers. But it’s also hard to second guess either the brilliant bluegrass arrangement of “Over There” or the aforementioned “Ern & Zorry’s Sneakin’ Bitin’ dog.” These two songs placed in the heart of the record really add that wonderful Appalachian flavor unique to Dori Freeman and so often overlooked in modern country, both mainstream and independent. And let me just add, how many vocalists in the independent scenes can sing a cappella like this? appreciate the vocal quality of Dori freeman, her smooth, undoubtedly country tone, her ability to enunciate clearly, and understand what it takes to pull off stuff like this song because many of her peers simply couldn’t. “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight” is definitely the weakest of the covers; it’s a solid song and a good performance from Dori, but it seems slightly out of place on the record. I wouldn’t call it filler by any stretch, but it just doesn’t really go with the rest of the material here.

In short, this is another great album from Dori Freeman, and she continues to make her mark as a rising artist in the independent country/Americana realms. Her commitment to the old styles and especially to the Appalachian sound is refreshing and indeed sets her apart from many of her counterparts. This is a sparse, simple record, yes, but with Dori Freeman, this is all it takes; in fact, less is often more. It’s not strictly country, but because of her diversity with several different styles, there’s really something here for everyone. Definitely recommend checking this one out.

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Commentary

Revisiting the Honeycutters’ Self-Titled Album

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Back in June, I reviewed the new self-titled release from Amanda Anne Platt & the Honeycutters. While I thought it was a pretty decent record with some standout songs, there was one major problem. It was mid-tempo and somber all the way through, and I made the comment that it would sound better in October, even advising people to only listen to specific songs at the time. It’s a release that, while I could see its potential, wasn’t right for June. There’s a certain mood around it, started with the opening song where Amanda Platt sings about the days getting colder and fall setting in, that just didn’t work in the summer.

So I did what I advised everyone else to do; I waited until the fall to listen to it again. I’ve revisited some songs, but I waited till now to really absorb the entire album again. And if you’re wondering why it’s November and not October, well, when it’s still 90 degrees in Oklahoma in October, there’s not really a fall atmosphere. But now autumn has finally found its way here, at least for the moment, and just as those colder days are better suited for pumpkin and vanilla candles than for island scents, they also bring about different atmospheres for music. Artists tend to release more serious music during this time, and indeed, my initial sentiment was that this record should have come out right about now.

So after listening to it again? This album is definitely better this time of year. There were quite a few little details I missed in the songwriting the first few times around that I absorbed now because frankly, I wasn’t nearly as bored. The mid-tempo songs throughout the record dragged this album down in June, but they just serve to make this relaxing now. Amanda Anne Platt remains one of the better vocalists in independent music, a fact I noted when I reviewed this, but more careful listening also reveals her talent as a songwriter and melodic composer. The mood is more introspective than somber as you start to really absorb the lyrics, and some of these songs are even quite joyous. The thing is, even when she’s content, on songs like “Rare Thing” and “Birthday Song,” the atmosphere created by the production still seems a bit melancholy. But Amanda Platt is actually content for much of this record, a fact you begin to uncover as you dig deeper into the lyrics. Actually, “Rare Thing” is one I underappreciated the first time, probably because it is toward the end of the record and started blending in to all the other mid-tempo stuff. But it’s a good example of a song that really stood out in a different way for me this time around.

This has pretty much gone from a decent, but kind of boring record at times to a rather pleasant, relaxing listen. It wasn’t right in the summer, but now, it’s working pretty well. Had it come out now it would have gotten a light 8 from me instead of the hesitant 7 it received back in June. So, if you’re someone who listens to different types of music based on their mood and gravitates toward different sounds in different seasons, I invite you to revisit this. If you found this boring or lacking energy the first time, well, it still doesn’t have a ton of energy, but it’s far from boring. You just need the right atmosphere and frame of mind to appreciate it.

P.S. “Eden” and “The Guitar Case” are still fantastic songs.