Tag Archives: A Thousand Horses

Album Review: Maddie & Tae–Start Here

Rating: 10/10

If you have read Female Fridays, you already know how I felt about Maddie & Tae up to this point. They are one of the main reasons I came back to country after losing all hope for the genre. I have recently become a reviewer of country music, but I am a fan first–those of us on independently-run sites are–and as a fan, I confess I had a lot of hopes for this album. I hoped it would be full of the country I heard on the EP. I could not bear to see another beacon of light for country become a singer of EDM (Zac Brown Band, talking about you), or some other trend. I am so glad to say this album reinforced my faith in Maddie & Tae and even gave me a shred of hope for country music.

The album opens with “Waitin’ on a Plane,” which is about a girl leaving town to chase her dreams. She’s sitting in seat 7A waiting for the plane to leave, thinking of the life she’s leaving and the future. Immediately I’m reminded of the Dixie Chicks’s “Ready to Run.” It’s not just the type of song, it’s their harmonies and style as well. People who said we’ll never hear anything like the Dixie Chicks again, think again, it’s here in Maddie & Tae. Next is their hit “Girl in a Country Song,” the anti-bro country anthem that put Maddie & Tae on the map. I wasn’t reviewing when this song came out, so I’ll say it now; this song is brilliant, and even more so in the context of an album. At the time of its release, many wondered why Maddie & Tae used hip-hop influences in their song and whether they would really be as “traditional” as they claimed. This song is the only one on the album with this type of influence, proving that along with the excellent, witty lyrics–which name-drop songs in clever, as opposed to obnoxious, ways–the instrumentation is there on purpose. They adopted the style to make fun of the trend while at the same time appealing to radio; if that song had been rife with steel guitar, it would never have gotten to radio, much less hit #1.

“Smoke” is a love song in which they are comparing a guy to “smoke.” I can’t help but think of the song by A Thousand Horses with the same name. In that song, a girl is “like smoke” because she is an addiction; in Maddie & Tae’s song, the “smoke” metaphor comes from this as well, but also lines like “You’re just like smoke blowin’ on the wind, one minute you’re by my side, and then you’re gone again.” This song has much better songwriting and paints a better picture of the guy described. “Shut Up and Fish” is one of my personal favorites; here, the narrator is fishing with “a city guy,” but all he wants to do is make out. He’s interrupting her while she’s trying to fish, saying, “It don’t get any better than this.” She responds, “Yeah, it could, if you would shut up and fish.” She ends up pushing him in the lake. I have unashamed bias toward this song because I am a female who both hates clinginess in guys and loves fishing. This song would be a great single.

The three other songs from the Maddie & Tae EP follow. “Fly,” their current single, is a nice inspirational song about not giving up and learning to fly. The lyrics could be a little better, but their harmonies are excellent, and this song should really connect with young girls everywhere. “Sierra” will connect with them as well–it’s a song where Maddie & Tae vent their frustration on a girl who ditches her friends, breaks boys’ hearts without caring, and generally acts like she’s better than everyone else. This might seem like just another song written by some teenage girls, but compare “Sierra, Sierra, life ain’t all tiaras” to Kelsea Ballerini’s “you can take your new blonde out to get your drink on” and tell me who writes better lyrics. “Sierra” would be a nice third single. “Your Side of Town” is an upbeat song with prominent country instrumentation that I could see as a single as well. It’s a song where they are telling some guy who broke one of their hearts to stay on his side of town and stay away from them.

“Right Here Right Now” has a little pop influence and is a youthful love song about taking the first step “right here right now tonight.” I love that I can write “a little pop influence”–it seems Maddie & Tae understand the difference between pop country and straight pop, an area in which the bros in their thirties and forties could take a lesson. “No Place Like You” is the actual country version of Kip Moore’s “Lipstick.” It actually tells the story of going to different places but still missing home and the one you love. This is actually country and does not go too far with the name-dropping, but rather balances out the place names with other details. “After the Storm Blows Through” is the most country song on the album and easily the best. This song about being there for a friend “after the storm blows through” features fiddles, acoustic guitars, and chilling harmonies. I feel like Maddie & Tae are singing to each other here, but I could be wrong. At any rate, this song gave me chills every time I listened to it and is one you definitely need to hear. The album closes with “Downside of Growing Up,” which is just that–an honest look at growing up that will be relatable to many young people.

Start Here is an excellent album. I have never heard anything resembling Dixie Chicks harmony and style before, but I hear it now in Maddie & Tae. The first country group I ever liked was the Dixie Chicks. I remember Wide Open Spaces was one of the first country albums I ever owned, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. That’s what Maddie & Tae can do. They can bring young people back to country. They can bring the ones who think of “country” as Sam Hunt and Kelsea Ballerini back to real country music. Pop makes an occasional appearance on this album, but mostly, we hear fiddles, acoustic guitars, and mandolins. Their songwriting is excellent, especially for a debut album–they co-wrote each of these tracks. Maddie & Tae have brought hope to country music, and Start Here is one of the best albums of 2015.

Listen to Album

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qnOuh_BIO0

Billboard Country Airplay and Country Albums Chart (August 1st)

Billboard Country Airplay

1. Jason Aldean–“Tonight Looks Good on You” (up 1)
2. Brantley Gilbert–“One Hell of an Amen” (up 3)
3. Little Big Town–“Girl Crush” (up 1)
4. Michael Ray–“Kiss You in the Morning” (up 2)
5. Canaan Smith–“Love You Like That” (down 4)
6. Luke Bryan–“Kick the Dust Up” (up 2)
7. Blake Shelton–“Sangria” (down 4)
8. Frankie Ballard–“Young and Crazy” (up 1)
9. Zac Brown Band–“Loving You Easy” (up 1)
10. Brad Paisley–“Crushin’ It” (up 1)
11. Sam Hunt–“House Party” (up 2)
12. Dustin Lynch–“Hell of a Night”
13. Thomas Rhett–“Crash and Burn” (up 1)
14. Eric Church–“Like a Wrecking Ball” (up 1)
15. Chris Janson–“Buy me a Boat” (up 1)
16. Brett Eldredge–“Lose my Mind” (up 1)
17. Keith Urban–“John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” (up 1)
18. Chase Rice–“Gonna Wanna Tonight” (up 3)
19. Maddie & Tae–“Fly”
20. Jake Owen–“Real Life”
21. Cole Swindell–“Let me See ya Girl” (up 1)
22. Kip Moore–“I’m to Blame” (up 1)
23. Kenny Chesney–“Save it For a Rainy Day” (up 4) [biggest gainer]
24. Old Dominion–“Break up With Him” (up 2)
25. Dan + Shay–“Nothin’ Like You” (down 1)
26. Lady Antebellum–“Long Stretch of Love” (down 1)
27. Florida Georgia Line–“Anything Goes” (up 1)
28. Cam–“Burning House” (up 1)
29. Big & Rich–“Run Away With You” (up 1)
30. Brothers Osborne–“Stay a Little Longer” (re-entering top 30)

  • new No. 1: “Tonight Looks Good On You”
  • next week’s No. 1 prediction: “One Hell of an Amen”
  • Little Big Town will not reach No. 1 sadly
  • Maddie & Tae will stall out soon, the bros are pushing them out
  • Easton Corbin’s “Baby, Be my Love Song” fell out of the top 30 from No. 7

Billboard Top Country Albums

1. Sam Hunt–Montevallo (really?)
2. Zac Brown Band–Jekyll + Hyde
3. Kacey Musgraves–Pageant Material
4. Little Big Town–Painkiller
5. Eric Church–The Outsiders
6. Various Artists–Now That’s What I Call Country, Volume 8
7. Brantley Gilbert–Just as I Am
8. Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard–Django and Jimmie
9. Jason Aldean–Old Boots, New Dirt
10. Florida Georgia Line–Anything Goes
11. Easton Corbin–About to Get Real
12. Luke Bryan–Spring Break…Checkin’ Out
13. Luke Bryan–Crash my Party
14. Chase Rice–Ignite the Night
15. Carrie Underwood–Greatest Hits, Decade #1
16. Blake Shelton–Bringing Back the Sunshine
17. Kenny Chesney–The Big Revival
18. Darius Rucker–Southern Style
19. Canaan Smith–Bronco
20. A Thousand Horses–Southernality
21. Zac Brown Band–Greatest Hits So Far…
22. Cole Swindell–Cole Swindell
23. Kelsea Ballerini–The First Time
24. Tim McGraw–35 Biggest Hits
25. Tyler Farr–Suffer in Peace

  • Sam Hunt’s awful Montevallo replaces Easton Corbin About to Get Real at No 1
  • Easton Corbin falls from No. 1 to No. 11
  • look at the staying power of Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson as opposed to say, Canaan Smith or Easton Corbin…just saying

Source: Billboard

Billboard Country Airplay and Country Albums Chart (July 25th)

Billboard Country Airplay

1. Canaan Smith–“Love you Like That” (up 3)
2. Jason Aldean–“Tonight Looks Good On You”
3. Blake Shelton–“Sangria” (down 2)
4. Little Big Town–“Girl Crush” (up 1)
5. Brantly Gilbert–“One Hell of an Amen” (up 1)
6. Michael Ray–“Kiss you in the Morning” (up 1)
7. Easton Corbin–“Baby, Be my Love Song” (down 4) [biggest loser]
8. Luke Bryan–“Kick the Dust Up” (up 1)
9. Frankie Ballard–“Young and Crazy” (up 3)
10. Zac Brown Band–“Loving You Easy”
11. Brad Paisley–“Crushin’ It”
12. Dustin Lynch–“Hell of a Night” (up 1)
13. Sam Hunt–“House Party” (up 1)
14. Thomas Rhett–“Crash and Burn” (up 1)
15. Eric Church–“Like a Wrecking Ball” (up 1)
16. Chris Janson–“Buy me a Boat” (up 1)
17. Brett Eldredge–“lose my Mind” (up 1)
18. Keith Urban–“John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” (up 1)
19. Maddie & Tae–“Fly” (up 1)
20. Jake Owen–“Real Life” (up 1)
21. Chase Rice–“Gonna Wanna Tonight” (up 1)
22. Cole Swindell–“Let me See ya Girl” (up 2)
23. Kip Moore–“I’m to Blame”
24. Dan + Shay–“Nothin’ Like You” (up 2)
25. Lady Antebellum–“Long Stretch of Love”
26. Old Dominion–“Break up With Him” (up 1)
27. Kenny Chesney–“Save it for a Rainy Day” (entering top 30)
28. Florida Georgia Line–“Anything Goes” (entering top 30)
29. Cam–“Burning House” (entering top 30)
30. Big & Rich–“Run Away With You” (down 1)

  • new No. 1: “Love You Like That” (after a completely corrupt and artificial push from Canaan’s label
  • next week’s No. 1 prediction: “Tonight Looks Good on You”
  • Florida Georgia Line and Cam enter top 30 together…how can they be played on the same station?
  • Tim McGraw and Catherine Dunn’s “Diamond Rings and Old Barstools” fell out of the top 30 from No. 8
  • Reba’s “Going out Like That” fell out of the top 30 from no. 28
  • Brothers Osborne’s “Stay a Little Longer” fell out of the top 30 after entering last week at No. 30

Billboard Top Country Albums

1. Easton Corbin–About to Get Real
2. Kacey Musgraves–Pageant Material
3. Sam Hunt–Montevallo
4. Zac Brown Band–Jekyll + Hyde
5. Various Artists–Now That’s What I Call Country, Volume 8
6. Little Big Town–Painkiller

7. Eric Church–The Outsiders
8. Brantley Gilbert–Just As I Am
9. Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard–Django and Jimmie
10. Jason Aldean–Old Boots, New Dirt
11. Florida Georgia Line–Anything Goes
12. Blake Shelton–Bringing Back the Sunshine
13. Canaan Smith–Bronco
14. Luke Bryan–Spring Break, Checkin’ Out
15. Luke Bryan–Crash my Party
16. Carrie Underwood–Greatest Hits, Decade #1
17. Cole Swindell–Cole Swindell
18. A Thousand Horses–Southernality
19. Chase Rice–Ignite the Night
20. Kelsea Ballerini–The First Time
21. Chris Stapleton–Traveler
22. Tim McGraw–35 Biggest Hits
23. Darius Rucker–Southern Style
24. The Lax–Outlaw in Me
25. Billy Currington–Summer Forever

  • Chase Rice’s Ignite the Night moved up 5 spots from No. 24 to No. 19
  • the first 16 spots were the same as last week’s
  • music will now be released on Friday, and so there are no new releases on this week’s chart

Source: Billboard

Billboard Country Airplay and Country Albums Chart (July 18th)

Billboard Country Airplay

1. Blake Shelton–“Sangria” (2nd week at No. 1)
2. Jason Aldean–“Tonight Looks Good on You” (up 2)
3. Easton Corbin–“Baby, be my Love Song” (up 2)
4. Canaan Smith–“Love You Like That” (up 3)
5. Little Big Town–“Girl Crush” (up 3)
6. Brantley Gilbert–“One Hell of an Amen” (up 3)
7. Michael Ray–“Kiss You in the Morning” (up 3)
8. Tim McGraw and Catherine Dunn–“Diamond Rings and Old Barstools” (down 5)
9. Luke Bryan–“Kick the Dust Up” (up 2) [OH God this shit has hit the top ten]
10. Zac Brown Band–“Loving You Easy” (up 3)
11. Brad Paisley–“Crushin’ It” (up 1)
12. Frankie Ballard–“Young and Crazy” (up 2)
13. Dustin Lynch–“Hell of a Night” (up 2)
14. Sam Hunt–“house Party” (up 2)
15. Thomas Rhett–“Crash and Burn” (up 3)
16. Eric Church–“Like a Wrecking Ball” (up 1)
17. Chris Janson–“Buy me a Boat” (up 2)
18. Brett Eldredge–“Lose my Mind” (up 2)
19. Keith Urban–“John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” (up 3)
20. Maddie & Tae–“Fly” (up 1)
21. Jake Owen–“Real Life” (up 4) [biggest gainer…sadly]
22. Chase Rice–“Gonna Wanna Tonight” (up 1)
23. Kip Moore–“I’m to Blame” (up 1)
24. Cole Swindell–“Let me See ya Girl” (up 2)
25. Lady Antebellum–“Long Stretch of Love” (up 2)
26. Dan + Shay–“Nothin’ Like You” (up 3)
27. Old Dominion–“Break up With Him” (up 1)
28. Reba–“Going out Like That” (up 2)
29. Big & Rich–“Run Away With You” (entering top 30)
30. Brothers Osborne–“Stay a Little Longer” (entering top 30)

  • new No. 1: “Sangria” stays at No. 1 for a 2nd week
  • next week’s No. 1 prediction: “Tonight Looks Good on You”
  • Carrie Underwood’s “little Toy Guns” fell from No. 2 to out of the top 30
  • Kelsea Ballerini’s “Love me Like You Mean It” fell from No. 6 to out of the top 30
  • Maddie & Tae and Reba are the only women left in this entire countdown outside of a group or collaboration

Billboard Top Country Albums

1. Easton Corbin–About to Get Real [debut]
2. Kacey Musgraves–Pageant Material
3. Sam Hunt–Montevallo
4. Zac Brown Band–Jekyll + Hyde
5. Various Artists–Now That’s What I Call Country, Volume 8
6. Little Big Town–Painkiller
7. Eric Church–The Outsiders
8. Brantley Gilbert–Just as I Am
9. Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard–Django and Jimmie
10. Jason Aldean–Old Boots, New Dirt
11. Florida Georgia Line–Anything Goes
12. Blake Shelton–Bringing Back the Sunshine
13. Canaan Smith–Bronco
14. Luke Bryan–Spring Break, Checkin’ Out
15. Luke Bryan–Crash my Party
16. Carrie Underwood–Greatest Hits: Decade #1
17. A Thousand Horses–Southernality
18. Chris Stapleton–Traveler
19. Cole Swindell–Cole Swindell
20. The Lax–Outlaw in me
21. Kelsea Ballerini–The First Time
22. Darius Rucker–Southern Style
23. Tim McGraw–35 Biggest Hits
24. Chase Rice–Ignite the Night
25. Billy Currington–Summer Forever

  • Easton Corbin’s forgettable About to Get Real debuts at No. 1
  • Blake Shelton’s Bringing Back the Sunshine moved up 9 spots to No. 12
  • Cole Swindell’s self-titled debut moved up 6 spots to No. 19

Source: Billboard

Billboard Country Airplay and Country albums Chart (July 11th)

Billboard Country Airplay

  • 1. Blake Shelton–“Sangria” (up 1)
  • 2. Carrie Underwood–Little Toy Guns” (up 1)
  • 3. Tim McGraw and Catherine Dunn–“Diamond Rings and Old Barstools” (up 2)
  • 4. Jason Aldean–“Tonight Looks Good on You” (up 2)
  • 5. Easton Corbin–“Baby, Be my Love Song” (down 1)
  • 6. Kelsea Ballerini–“Love Me Like You Mean It” (down 5) [biggest loser]
  • 7. Canaan Smith–“Love You Like That”
  • 8. Little Big Town–“Girl Crush” (up 1)
  • 9. Brantly Gilbert–“One Hell of an Amen” (up 1)
  • 10. Michael Ray–“Kiss You in the Morning” (up 2)
  • 11. Luke Bryan–“Kick the Dust Up” (up 2)
  • 12. Brad Paisley–“Crushin’ It” (down 1)
  • 13. Zac Brown Band–“Loving You Easy” (up 2)
  • 14. Frankie Ballard–“Young and Crazy”
  • 15. Dustin Lynch–“Hell of a Night” (up 1)
  • 16. Sam Hunt–“House Party” (up 2)
  • 17. Eric Church–“Like a Wrecking Ball”
  • 18. Thomas Rhett–“Crash and Burn” (up 1)
  • 19. Chris Janson–“Buy me a Boat” (up 1)
  • 20. Brett Eldredge–“Lose my Mind” (up 1)
  • 21. Maddie & Tae–“Fly” (up 1)
  • 22. Keith Urban–“John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16 (up 7) [biggest gainer]
  • 23. Chase Rice–“Gonna Wanna Tonight”
  • 24. Kip Moore–“I’m to Blame”
  • 25. Jake Owen–“Real Life
  • 26. Cole Swindell–“Let me See ya Girl” (up 1)
  • 27. Lady Antebellum–“Long Stretch of Love” (entering top 30)
  • 28. Old Dominion–“Break up With Him” (up 2)
  • 29. Dan + Shay–“Nothin’ Like You” (down 3)
  • 30. Reba–“Going out Like That” (down 2)
    • New NO. 1: “Sangria”
    • Next week’s No. 1: “Sangria” or “Tonight Looks Good on You” (Carrie has no chance)
    • biggest gainer: “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16”
    • Biggest Loser: “Love me Like You Mean It”
    • Kenny Chesney and Grace Potter’s “Wild Child” fell out of the top 30

    Billboard Top Country Albums

  • 1. Kacey Musgraves–Pageant Material(debut)
  • 2. Sam Hunt–Montevallo
  • 3. Zac Brown Band–Jekyll + Hyde
  • 4. Canaan Smith–Bronco (debut)
  • 5. Various Artists–Now That’s What I Call Country, Voulume 8
  • 6. Little Big Town–Painkiller
  • 7. Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard–Django and Jimmie
  • 8. Eric Church–The Outsiders
  • 9. Brantley Gilbert–Just as I Am
  • 10. Jason Aldean–Old Boots, New Dirt
  • 11. Florida Georgia Line–Anything Goes
  • 12. Luke Bryan–Crash my Party
  • 13. Luke Bryan–Spring Break, Checkin’ Out
  • 14. Tim McGraw–35 Biggest Hits
  • 15. A Thousand Horses–Southernality
  • 16. Carrie Underwood–Greatest Hits, Decade #1
  • 17. Darius Rucker–Southern Style
  • 18. The Lax–Outlaw in Me
  • 19. Kelsea Ballerini–The First Time
  • 20. Billy Currington–Summer Forever
  • 21. Blake Shelton–Bringing Back the Sunshine
  • 22. Chase Rice–Ignite the Night
  • 23. Corey Smith–While the Gettin’ is Good
  • 24. Kenny Chesney–The Big Revival
  • 25. Cole Swindell–Cole Swindell
    • Kacey Musgraves’s excellent Pageant Material debuts at No. 1, replacing Jekyll + Hyde
    • Canaan Smith’s Bronco debuts at no. 4
    • Kelsea Ballerini’s The First Time moved up 6 spots from no. 25 to No. 19
    • after debuting at No. 12 last week, Big Smo’s EP Bringin’ it Home fell out of the top 25
    • Hank Williams Jr.’s 35 Biggest Hits album fell out of the top 25 after last week’s debut at No. 16

    Have a great Independence Day weekend!

    Source: Billboard