Category: Country (Page 16 of 33)

Richard Frankz: The Traveler

August 26, 2008 / Captain Capm

Richard Frankz explodes out of your stereo with his good-time honky tonk/blues-country cookin’! It’s true, people. Frankz is a solid songwriter and The Traveler is a fine CD packed with journeyman type songs. “Just Being Me” swings with steady assurance with tight production and rock solid playing by Frankz’ band. “More Each Day” has a smooth kind of ’70s professionalism to it, while the same rings true for “Just Spending Time (With You).” Then there’s the pop side of Frankz, which is best experienced on a track like “I Could Never Fall” that sounds like something Chicago might have done when Terry Kath was still alive. Good stuff, indeed. “Southern Summer Nights” recalls Little River Band as well as Glen Campbell. And on “One Step Forward” Richard Frankz shows off his abilities at melding country and bluegrass with much panache. The Traveler is certainly a rock-solid album that fans of older country stars and just plain good songwriting and performing will like. It’s certainly nice to hear this style of music at this quality being made today. (Richard Frankz Music)

Richard Frankz’ MySpace page.

Artists, Blues, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Country, Pop

Computer Vs. Banjo: Computer vs. Banjo

August 15, 2008 / James B. Eldred

King Kong vs. Godzilla, Alien vs. Predator, Freddy vs. Jason. These are the eternal battles that have captured the imagination of the American public. Now you can add Computer vs. Banjo to that list of epic duels. The computer half of this musical duel is Johnny Mann of the little-heard Nashville funk band Gran Torino. The banjo is represented by Beau Stapleton, formerly of the slightly successful southern jam band Blue Merle. To be honest though, there isn’t much in the way of “vs” on the duo’s self-titled debut. Much of the album is simply a low-fi electronic album, songs like “Low” and “Outer Space” have nary a country influence in them. On the flip side, country ballads “San Joaquin” and “2Heavy2Hold” don’t have much a computer presence to them. When the two do team up, the result is more like a Grandaddy album than something that you would expect from a name like Computer Vs. Banjo. Where’s the 21st century version of “Dueling Banjos”? What about a hardcore rave anthem with some line dancing influence thrown in for good measure? This is a good album, but there’s a lot of untapped potential here. Hopefully Mann and Stapleton will really embrace their novel concept on their next album and truly give us a battle between the technological majesty of electronic music and the down-home charm of classic country. (Diagram 2008)

Computer vs. Banjo MySpace Page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Country, Electronica

One Flew South: Last of the Good Guys

July 25, 2008 / Jeff Giles

Much as critics tend to bellyache about it, there’s something to be said for music with a bit of cold, hard calculation behind it. Artistic purity is all well and good, but it’s also unruly – and it often doesn’t pack the same kind of punch as an album that’s been immaculately groomed and aimed at a target demographic. Case in point: One Flew South’s debut, Last of the Good Guys, a dozen tracks of hooky, harmony-drenched, kinda-country music that tosses all the most radio-friendly bits of the Eagles and CSNY into a blender, scoops in a dollop of Taxiride and the Thorns, and serves it up sweet and smooth. The band didn’t take any chances here, hooking up with producer/platinum songwriter Marcus Hummon and Nashville ringers like Kevin Welch, Billy Mann, and – nice touch – J.D. Souther. But as gritless as the results are, they’re also awfully hard to argue with; only the most hard-hearted of listeners will be able to deny the sunny vibes and tight-as-a-drum harmonies of tracks like “My Kind of Beautiful,” “It Is Good,” and “Blue Highways.” The absence of a lead vocalist might be disorienting for younger ears that have been weaned on the harmony-deficient stuff of recent years – even newer vocal groups like (shudder) Rascal Flatts don’t utilize the power of multiple voices this way – but for folks who still turn out to see Henley and Frey play the hits every summer, Last of the Good Guys will go down nice and easy. Nothing but good, clean fun. (Decca 2008)

One Flew South MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Country

Toby Keith: 35 Biggest Hits

May 30, 2008 / Tyler Clark

It’s hard to trash an album while also granting it four stars. There was a time when nobody could touch Toby Keith without getting burned- he was that hot. The big Okie rode an unmatched streak of eight studio releases in 11 years, from 1993’s self-titled debut through the mega-successful Shock’n Y’all in 2003. The past five years, by contract, have produced just two painfully mediocre albums of new material, and now his third greatest hits venture, 35 Biggest Hits. Everything a casual fan needs is included, yet there’s little of anything the harder fan hasn’t already heard. The obligatory new hit “She’s a Hottie” is hardly worth the price tag, but if there are timeline holes in your T.K. collection, this will more than fill those voids. Unfortunately, it’s quite clear now that Keith has chosen to trade in his artist hat for that of record label exec and talent scout. (Show Dog Nashville)

Toby Keith MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Country

American Idol: America Wises Up

April 3, 2008 / Mike Farley

Just when I was fearing the worst, America stepped up its game last night much the way the “American Idol” finalists stepped up theirs on Tuesday night. They got it right for a change.

It kicked off with another awful group number, Dolly Parton’s “9 To 5.” Can someone please stick a fork in these group numbers? They are just, um, not very entertaining. That’s too nice…they are bordering on pure agony, okay?

Anyway, straight to business. Michael Johns, safe. David Archuleta, safe. Carly…a moment of Ryan Seacrest making her dangle, then safe. Commercial break….and oddly enough, Syesha Mercado was in this commercial for some technical institute, and I did a double take…like maybe it was one of those “Saturday Night Live” commercials, but it was real! She is, after all, an actress when she isn’t a finalist on the biggest show in America.

Then they took some callers, and the best question was when some woman asked Simon why he apologizes after criticizing someone. Simon smiled and replied “I like you!”

Then the Clark Brothers performed…these kids have some mad skills on their instruments, but that singer is scary….like he was shouting the entire song.

Okay, back to what we came here for….David Cook, safe, after he assured America that his hospital visit the night before was purely precautionary and that it was blown out of proportion. Dude has high blood pressure is all. Ramiel, Bottom 3. Hooray, America knows what it’s doing! Kristy Lee Cook, who held a piece of paper that said “Bottom 3,” practically willed herself there, and she was right. Wow, America, nice work.

Then they did some profiles of Idol alum from Nashville, since Dolly Parton was the theme of this week. Bucky Covington, Phil Stacey and Bo Bice were each featured, and are all having nice little careers after the show. I know Carrie Underwood is a mega-star right now, but I still think Bo was ROBBED.

Syesha, safe, which meant Brooke or Jason. Jason, safe, Brooke to the Bottom 3. So it was down to Ramiel, Kristy and Brooke. But first Dolly Parton performed her new single, “Jesus and Gravity.” If you don’t like Dolly Parton, there is seriously something wrong with you….she is one of the most infectiously happy performers I’ve ever seen, and she spreads that to the audience.

Okay, finally the grueling hour was coming to a close. Brooke, back to safety…..holy crap, America is smart! Mrs. Mike had predicted Ramiel earlier in the hour, and she has not been wrong yet. And she’s still not wrong…Kristy, safe, Ramiel, you’re outta here. You know, she has a nice voice but this competition is heating up and she just doesn’t have the mad skills of some of the others remaining.

Here are my power rankings:

1. David Cook
2. David Archuleta
3. Michael Johns
4. Brooke White
5. Carly Smithson
6. Syesha Mercado
7. Jason Castro
8. Kristy Lee Cook

I still like Brooke more than Carly, though America may not agree….but hey, that’s why they play the games. See you all next week…

Alternative, American Idol, Country, Pop, Rock