I’ll admit right up front this struck a deeply personal chord with me, and maybe I can’t separate that to fairly judge this, but in the spirit of Leon of Country Music Minds, music is all subjective, and this is just my opinion. And when I went out to find the new Chris Stapleton song today to review it, I found this instead, and listening to the song I had a connection with it that is so unique to music and so rare nowadays in the mainstream. It just made me want to share this.
So, with that said, what makes “Church Clothes” special? Well, it’s a story of a troubled relationship, told from the point of view of the woman as the couple get ready for and attend church. every detail is mentioned, from the curl in her hair to the way he shakes the keys to the five they slip in the Bible for the offering. everything they do is rehearsed and perfect, and the lyrics paint a great picture. But even though they hold hands “like we’re supposed to,” their church friends don’t know there’s trouble in their marriage. They never speak, and ultimately there is nothing left between them, but they worry about what people would say if they give up. It’s a great picture of hiding ourselves from the public and especially from the church. People assume that all those around them in the pews on Sunday are living a perfect life, but this story and others like it are more common than we might think, and this song illustrates that truth beautifully.
As far as the production, there is some really nice steel guitar here, but ultimately this would be pop country. Some may not like this, but I think this is a case of pop country being done right. This would have been a radio hit ten years ago. Credit to Kelleigh Bannen for releasing a great song with substance, even if it is modern-sounding. I haven’t been a huge fan of Bannen’s music in the past, but this really has me excited for a future album from her.
When Megan and I began discussing this feature and how it’d be all about albums released prior to the birth of Country Exclusive, I knew I had to do an article on Turnpike Troubadours’ breakout album, Diamonds & Gasoline. The band have continued to gain in popularity and musical genius, but I figured why not talk about the album that really got things going for them? Plus, it’s where I first discovered the Turnpike Troubadours, and it’s become one of my favorite albums.
Release Date: 2010
Style: Red Dirt, Country
Who Might Like This Album: Fans of Jason Boland & the Stragglers, fans of traditional country music with lots of fiddle
Standout Tracks: “Every Girl,” “7 & 7,” “The Funeral,” “Diamonds and Gasoline,: “Long Hot Summer Day”
Reflections: If you haven’t heard this album, by the end of the first two songs, you’ll know what you’re in for. Lots of fiddle, some awesome guitar, and the thing that makes Turnpike Troubadours just so much more, outstanding lyrics. Evan Felker is an amazing songwriter, weaving alliteration and deeper thinking into songs that are also catchy, and that display the talent these guys have. You’d think “7 & 7” was just another drinking song, but it’s actually not. It’s based around the line “I had no clue I’d be the boy who your mama warned you about”. Stuff like that just shows off the greatness of the lyrics. “Every Girl” should have been a hit song outside of the Red Dirt and Texas country movement, because it’s just so upbeat and catchy, plus that fiddle play! Who can forget that fiddle? The title track proves that the band can do acoustic songs very well, too. All in all, this was an amazing release. The band hadn’t been together very long when this album came out, and I just find it pretty astounding that the songwriting was so deep, the playing so skilled, and how well it all came together. It’s a fantastic listen all the way through. In short, if you haven’t heard this album, you’re missing out on some amazing country music. If you’ve liked the newer albums by the Turnpike Troubadours and haven’t given this one a listen, what are you waiting for?
Well, I don’t have much experience with the Mavericks prior to this album, but it’s made me go back and look through their extensive catalog, and I’ve found a lot to enjoy. I add this here because Brianna, who has had much more experience with the group, said that this album didn’t really live up to their last two. She couldn’t find much originality in it, and that seems to be sort of a consensus, even if her overall opinion isn’t; it seems the Mavericks didn’t really do anything groundbreaking despite the album title Brand New Day, but from where I’m sitting, that’s certainly not a bad thing, as what they do is pretty great.
The album opens with the infectious “Rolling Along,” a song about rolling on through life despite its worry and hardship. The accordion here caught my attention immediately, and that’s one of the best and most unique features of the whole album. You’ll find plenty of accordion and other great instrumentation sprinkled throughout. This opener is probably the best one I’ve heard so far in 2017, and it’s good because the next few songs didn’t blow me away like that, but the residual greatness of this one kept me listening. The lively, positive mood continues for the title track and “Easy as it seems,” and these two have grown on me after a couple listens. There’s some vagueness in the lyrics which holds them back a little, but the laidback, fun instrumentation permeating this record still holds my interest. “I Think of You” features some nice horns and sees the narrator thinking of and missing a former lover. It’s more introspection than heartbreak. The low point of the album for me is “Goodnight Waltz,” and it’s unfortunate that it’s the longest track because it just drags on. I just found this one very boring. All in all, the front half of the album is solid, but still nothing has blown me away like “Rolling Along.”
That all changes with “Damned, if You Do.” This one is more rock and features more great horns, saying that when it comes to taking chances on love, “You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.” This is a definite highlight of the record, and the back half is strong throughout. “I Will be Yours” is a great love song, and the lead singer, Raul Malo, really sells the emotion in this one, trying to convince a woman to take a chance with him. He says if she ever needs someone, he will always be there. “Ride with Me” is another upbeat, energetic track inviting us all to travel to various places across the country with them. It’s the fun, memorable version of Dailey & Vincent’s “America, we Love You.” You’ll find even more horns here, along with some nice guitar. “I Wish You Well” sees the main character lamenting the end of a relationship and hoping she’ll be happy. There’s more accordion here, and again, it’s more reflection than outright sadness. The Mavericks do a great job of keeping that laidback vie going even in more serious moments. The album closes with “For the Ages,” another nice love song that could have been a sequel to “I Will be Yours,” saying their love will last through the ages.
This album reminds me a lot of the Shinyribs record; they are both fun records that get better with time, but whereas Shinyribs was loud and energetic and in your face, this one is laidback and easygoing and works its way in slowly. I have a feeling it’s one of the eights that will keep growing on me throughout the year. Some records don’t have the staying power that this one will have with me, and indeed has already been having. The instrumentation is just excellent, and their sound is quite unique. There are some outstanding tracks like ‘Rolling Along” and “Damned, if You Do.” The back half does hold up better than the front half, but overall, it’s a really nice listen and definitely a fun record. You should absolutely check out this album–and get to know the Mavericks as well.
Let me preface this by saying I have absolutely no authority on bluegrass; I can probably count the number of bluegrass albums I’ve ever even listened to on two hands, and that’s being generous. It’s something I want to rectify, but right now, I can’t tell you what makes good bluegrass music–so patience, bluegrass fans–but I know when I hear good music, and this album deserves my attention despite my ignorance. Besides, bluegrass doesn’t get talked about enough on these blogs, and that only furthers the ignorance of country listeners like myself. So with that in mind, I’d like to present my favorable, if somewhat clueless, thoughts on the new Dailey & Vincent record, Patriots and Poets.
As I probably say way too often, I place a great deal of importance on album openers. They can set the tone of the record and sometimes decide whether or not I’ll even listen. ‘this album opens with the energetic love song “Gimme All the Love You Got,” and it held my attention right away. That says even more considering my relationship with bluegrass. There are several other highlights on the front half of the record. “Baton Rouge” and “Until We’re Gone” seem to go together; the former is an upbeat track with some excellent fiddle where the narrator is driving from Baton Rouge to Birmingham to be with his lover. The latter, featuring Taranda Green, is about a couple who are still together after many years despite people telling them in the beginning that they were too young. The two songs are both standouts, but together, they tell an even better story. “Bill and Ole Elijah” is another great song, this one about two cell mates who become lifelong friends. Bill wants to escape, but Elijah convinces him it would be foolish. IN the end, Elijah escapes and leaves a note for Bill, telling him to run north because all the guards and dogs are headed south after Elijah. He says his life is through anyway, and he’d rather die this way than in the cell with Bill. It’s a really nice story with that great instrumentation only found in bluegrass. “Unsung Heros” is a nice ode to the people who don’t get recognized for their good deeds. It’s a little sappy, for lack of a better word, but it has a good message, and a lot of people will surely enjoy it. I mentioned instrumentation before, and I have to add that the album’s two instrumental tracks, “Spring Hill” and “255 North” are pretty great as well.
The back half of the record starts to drag on a little. This album is sixteen songs, and some of the back half could have been left off without effect. There’s nothing bad, but it’s not as memorable. One gigantic exception is “Here comes the Flood,” arguably the best song on the whole thing lyrically. It tells the story of a flood that wrecked a town and ruined a family farm; eventually, the narrator’s dad drinks himself to death. The lyrics combined with the vocal delivery make this one something you should absolutely hear. The other highlight of the back half is “That Feel Good Music,” a fiddle-driven track lamenting the disappearance of the music from the past. It follows “Here Comes the Flood” which really brightens up the album after the darkness of that track.
As I mentioned, the album tends to drag on some, especially in the back half. There are several religious songs which is by no means a bad thing, but with the exception of “Beautiful Scars” on the front half of the album, I didn’t find any of them especially memorable. “America, we Love You,” the last track with words, comes from an honest place, naming off different towns across the country and speaking of the group’s experiences, but it feels a little underdeveloped. It’s solid, as all these tracks are, but in an album of sixteen songs, it’s one that gets lost.
If it were up to me, I’d probably have cut this down to ten songs, and that would have made a killer album. As it is, it’s a sixteen-track album with many good songs and some filler. But the good is pretty great, and I definitely suggest checking this out. You won’t want for banjo and fiddle and lively, fun instrumentation. There is some really nice songwriting in places too, and the front half of the album is pretty great throughout. If you aren’t very familiar with bluegrass, this is a nice place to start. And if you’re a bluegrass fan, this is another good album for you to enjoy. It compelled me to do a bluegrass review, so that’s special in itself. Definitely give this a listen.
Yes, I know I’m late to the party; I was out of town when the uproar broke out. And yes, I know maybe I shouldn’t give Whiskey Riff the satisfaction of even acknowledging this idiocy, as plenty of other outlets have already done it. If you don’t know by now, Whiskey Riff posted an article Friday asserting that the reason we all hate mainstream country music is because we were all losers in high school. Florida Georgia Line, Sam Hunt, Luke Bryan–well, they’re the good-looking jocks who get the popularity and the girls, and we’re all just jealous because we didn’t live this lifestyle in high school and can’t relate to or understand it. Essentially, we’re all just the geeks and misfits, and now we’re holding some sort of grudge against the jocks.
I won’t waste time doing what other blogs have already done fantastically; others have already defended the reasons we criticize mainstream country music. I won’t tell you my back story in an effort to explain my situation in high school, and I won’t lie and say I was extremely popular either. I won’t tell you about the mainstream artists I do enjoy–you can find that for yourself in the reviews. I will say the most offensive part of this for me was the part where we’re all jealous of FGl, Luke, and Sam because they’re good-looking and get all the girls. Ok, so even if we go with this assumption, and even if that twisted bit of logic explains the problem men have with these artists and their music, where does that leave women? What about all the women who are offended by this music? Or have all the listeners of bro country and Sam Hunt’s “Body Like a Back Road” become so desensitized to the thoughts and feelings of females that they can’t imagine them doing anything but shaking their asses on tailgates?
Now, I can’t truthfully say I hate all this music, and there are good or decent songs in all of these artists’ catalogues. I’m not close-minded enough to say everything they release is pure shit, and I will be the first to praise good material from them. As far as Sam hunt, some of his music would be fine in pop, it’s just not country. But can you not understand how offensive these songs are to women? We are treated like objects in these songs, as Maddie & Tae pointed out in “Girl in a Country Song.” There’s a reason that song was a hit–women everywhere related to it. It’s not a compliment to tell me to “slide that sugar shaker over here’ or to say I have a “body like a back road.” I said I wasn’t going to state my back story, but I will say that I have been “complimented” in this way, and when that’s all you hear, all it makes you feel is cheap. Women want to be told we’re beautiful, not just sexy, and we want to be appreciated for our minds, not just our bodies. And we have dreams beyond driving around in some guy’s truck on Friday night with our bare feet on the dashboard.
And women, you’re selling yourself short if some of this doesn’t offend you. These songs objectify us and make us things to be possessed; indeed, the article even says the artists “get’ the girls. It’s why women have disappeared so drastically from the airwaves in such a short time. Who wants to listen to a song by a female? How can a woman even have an intelligent thought when all she does is drive around in a truck with a guy? Nobody wants to hear her point of view; they want to hear from the guy who’s “getting” her. Pretty much the only consistent exception on country radio is Kelsea Ballerini, and that’s because she’s sold herself short to sing about being this type of girl.
It’s fine if you like this music, I’m not attacking you for personal taste. This is not an attack on the artists either; some of them seem like perfectly nice people. This is simply about the music and the lyrics and the lessons they teach. and if you think I’m making a big deal out of this, I refer you back to the Whiskey riff article. People are simply jealous because they weren’t good-looking and popular and didn’t get the girls. The writer doesn’t even consider the girls at all in making this argument. That’s how insignificant songs like this make females. He didn’t even take into account females who might have a problem with this when he made that assumption because all he could see were losers who didn’t get them. And if a large portion, as he says, can relate to this type of music, then a large portion of the country are learning to be sexist pigs and think it’s normal. And I know this will not change a thing, but I can’t stand by either. Next time, consider your audience before you make an idiotic statement like this.
P.S. None of these artists are good-looking/sexy at all, give me a man who sings bass, and actually knows a George strait song instead of just name-checking him to sound cool.
P.P.S. Can you please refrain from writing any more stupid pieces, so I can get back to reviewing artists instead of replying to this shit?
