Category Archives: Album Review

Kellie Pickler 100 Proof Album Review

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Why You Need To Listen To Kellie Pickler’s New Album Now! Kellie Pickler‘s new album, 100 Proof released today! This is the first album we have seen from Pickler since her self-titled album in 2008, and it was well worth the wait. Since her American Idol debut, Kellie admits she has grown quite a bit, and this album proves that she is an artist in her own right. “When I auditioned for American Idol I was not an artist. So from Idol to the first record to this record, I really tried to find myself because there’s a difference between a singer and an artist.” -Kellie Pickler That evolution is definitely audible on 100 Proof, and I would like to give you the Top 3 Reasons why you should listen to (and possibly purchase!) Pickler’s new album right now. Reason #1 Classic Country Vibe One thing I hear a lot of country music fans say is that country music like they know it, doesn’t really exist anymore. It seems more and more that what hits mainstream country music stations is a fusion of pop, country and well, other things. These country fans who are aching for that classic country sound will be pleased with 100 Proof. While it isn’t truly traditional country, it is very much playing homage to that sound that a lot of country fans grew up on. With heroes like Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette, it’s hardly shocking that this vibe would be so prevalent on Pickler’s album. From the whining guitar on the title track to the twang in Kellie’s voice and the instrumentals on “Where’s Tammy Wynette” and “Little House On The Highway“, fans will no doubt be pleased with the overall effect. There is also a healthy dose of fiddle and banjo thrown in here and there throughout the whole album which is never a bad thing. Another clue that this album is rooted in old-school country is Kellie’s ode to the honky tonk with her “Unlock That Honky Tonk” track. One lyric literally pleads “Don’t tell me country’s gone…”. That one is definitely going to be a summer concert favorite. Reason #2 Strong Voice One thing I love about Pickler is her sassiness. She always seems to say just what she means, and doesn’t hold back. This same quality is evident in her music, and it is incredibly compelling. Her first single release off the album, “Tough” is a great example of this. She delivers the well-written lyrics with power and vocal talent that kind of makes you wanna throw fist in the air or give this girl a high-five! There’s also “Stop Cheatin’ On Me” which doesn’t quite have the same fast-paced power of “Tough“, but it definitely maintains a similar take-no-bull attitude. Reason #3 Balance Another reason to love this album is that it has a really good balance between fast-paced boot-scootin’ songs and slower-paced tunes. The previously mentioned “Unlock That Honky Tonk“, “Tough“, “Where’s Tammy Wynette” and “Little Continue reading Kellie Pickler 100 Proof Album Review→

Joe Nichols’ It’s All Good Album Review

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Joe Nichols’ Latest Album Is Classic Country With A Modern Twist! Joe Nichols has his brand new album coming out tomorrow (November 8)! It’s All Good is a fabulous collection of country tunes that I’m certain you are going to enjoy! For those of you who have been concerned with the route country music is taking, complaining that it has become too “pop”, well here is what you have been waiting for! Each track has an element of good-timing classic country with the slightest, yet refreshing touch of modern day flow! My absolute favorite song from this album is “The More I Look“, but I didn’t find one track that I wasn’t fond of! From “She’s Just Like That” to “No truck, No Boat, No Girl” or “How I Wanna Go” to his current single “Take It Off” there is not one part of life that this album doesn’t touch on. Each song in this grouping is perfectly written, with awesome music and a voice that will melt your heart! Joe was kind enough to let fans listen to the entire album this past week for free! There was a portion of the site reserved for comments and not a one had a negative theme! This is definitely a home run and something to be proud of! It’s no surprise, Joe has still got it! Track Listing 1. Take It Off 2. The More I Look 3. Somebody’s Mama 4. It’s All Good 5. This Ole Boy 6. I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You 7. No Truck, No Boat, No Girl 8. Never Gonna Get Enough 9. She’s Just Like That 10. How I Wanna Go

Miranda Lambert Four The Record Album Review

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Miranda Lambert Isn’t Holding Back On New Album. Miranda Lambert isn’t exactly known for being delicate, but after the release of her new album Four The Record, there really is no going back. One of the best things about Miranda is the unabashed strength, in her voice, music and the lyrics she sings. With this new album, she takes this quality to a whole new level. The short story is this album is amazing, and you absolutely need to listen to it immediately. If you want the long story, just keep reading. If I had to use one word to describe this album…(well, okay, how about two words?), I would choose raw and honest. From the instrumentals to the lyrics the content of Four The Record is thick with relevance, meaning and emotion, and Miranda delivers it with a punch. One thing I especially like is the variation in the instrumentals. It ranges from a kind of rock-esque sound with “Fine Tune“, a more old country feel with “Same Old You“, a slow, semi-folkish quality in “Oklahoma Sky” and “Look At Miss Ohio“, a more contemporary mainstream country vibe on “Better In The Long Run“, all the way to that very classic feisty Miranda quality in “Baggage Claim” (the first single off the album!). No matter how you slice it, there really is a little something on this album for a variety of tastes while still holding true to that country twang that we all know and love. There is an especially awesome Dolly-esque moment in “Same Old You” that shows where Miranda must be getting her influences (see if you can hear what I’m talking about, and get back to me!). Coupled with the amazing instrumentals and variation of sounds, Miranda offers up lyrics that are well-written and subtle which is something we’re not getting a whole lot of out of mainstream country these days. The first thing I love about the lyrics, is that they are not all love stories. Listening to the radio can get frustrating when everything sounds like a different version of the same old love story. We are definitely getting much more than that on this album. The first track, “All Kinds of Kinds” is slow and methodical with an almost sweet sound, and it paints a picture of those individuals society generally considers to be outcasts (from circus folk to cross-dressing politicians). The argument suggested is the world needs these outcasts, all kinds, to keep on spinnin’. “Mama’s Broken Heart” is a story of a broken-hearted girl, but she approaches the topic by delightfully describing a girl who isn’t willing to shut-up and save face. This really seems to capture that strong, not-gonna-take-it-lying-down country woman spirit that I love! “Look At Miss Ohio” gives us a story of girl who isn’t ready to settle down and conform, but wants to live a little for awhile. All three of these are not only not love songs, but give us stories of individuals who are Continue reading Miranda Lambert Four The Record Album Review→

Casey Donahew Band Double-Wide Dream Review

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Casey Donahew Band’s Latest Album, Double-Wide Dream, Will NOT Stop Running Through My Head! First of all we would love to give huge congratulations to the Casey Donahew Band on their success with sales so far, especially their exciting over-all ranking on the iTunes charts! Double-Wide Dream was released this past Monday, October 24, to a very positive response from fans! The album has definitely done Texas music proud! From start to finish the lyrics have you fully engaged, almost like a good book that you can’t put down! The title track, “Double-Wide Dream“, was co-written by Casey Donahew and JB Patterson and is light-hearted tune about a couple deeply in love! “Give You A Ring” has a little play on words. It wasn’t what I was expecting by the title, but it was a good surprise! “White Trash Story -II (The Deuce)” is another fun song that is the sequel to one of their biggest hits, “White Trash Story!” “I’d Give Anything”, “Let’s Not Say Goodbye Again”, and “Let You Go” are currently my top three picks from this album, but that could change at any time depending on my mood! “You know regrets they are the hardest lessons learned” -Regrets As all of CDB’s songs are, this album is full of life! You want to hear a song that you can relate to?! Go have a listen to ANY of their songs, off of ANY album. I promise it won’t take you long to find one and fall in love with this band and their sound all at the same time! Track Listing 1. Let You Go 2. Double-Wide Dream 3. Give You A Ring 4. Running Through My Head 5. Regrets 6. One Star Flag 7. I’d Give Anything 8. Let’s Not Say Goodbye Again 9. Could Be My Time 10. White Trash Story – II (The Deuce)

Vince Gill Guitar Slinger Album Review

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Can Vince Gill Do Any Wrong? Not On Guitar Slinger! Vince Gill’s first studio album in 5 years, Guitar Slinger, was released Monday, October 25. I would say this album is classic Vince Gill. It has upbeat, happy, comical, songs and heartfelt, soulful, real issue songs. It definitely has some great music set along to all of the beautifully written lyrics. Gill has this was of taking something and almost making it untouchable. I have said it before, and I’ll say it again…the man has a voice like no other! I could see this album not being as popular with the younger crowd, but by no means do I think that is a reflection of this bundle of work! I was very pleased and found “Tell Me Fool“, “Guitar Slinger“, “One More Thing I Wish I’d Said“, and “When the Lady Sings the Blues” to be quite catchy! His current single, “Threaten Me With Heaven“, is climbing the charts as we speak. Be listening for it on your local radio stations! Track Listing 1. Guitar Slinger 2. Tell Me Fool 3. Threaten Me with Heaven 4. When the Lady Sings the Blues 5. Who Wouldn’t Fall In Love with You 6. When Lonely Comes Around 7. True Love (feat. Amy Grant) 8. Bread and Water 9. Billy Paul 10. The Old Lucky Diamond Motel 11. If I Die 12. Buttermilk John (feat. The Time Jumpers) The deluxe version includes 3 extra songs: “All Nighter Comin’”, “Lipstick Everywhere”, and “One More Thing I’d Wished I’d Say.”

Lady Antebellum Own The Night Album Review

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Lady Antebellum Undisputedly Owned This Album! With the first few notes of the title track onLady Antebellum‘s third studio album, Own The Night, I am filled with happiness. Throughout the entire album I never lose this emotion. Let me describe it another way. I am a runner, and when I find music I really love, music that fills my heart up, it makes me want to throw on my running shoes and hit the pavement. This album does this for me. Lady Antebellum has delivered a wonderful new album with 12 tracks that range from quick and fun (“Friday Night“; “Singing Me Home“) to mellow and sentimental (“Wanted You More“; “As You Turn Away“). One thing that can easily be said of Lady A is that they have a very definite and recognizable sound that sets them apart. I have been trying to think of how to describe this, and the best way I can think of is simply that their sound is a little more than mainstream country, it has a kind of folksy, earthy quality to it as well. You can hear this in the rhythms and lyrics of their songs, and it is explicitly exemplified with a lovely solo of flutes at the end of “Cold As Stone“. What I’m really saying is that Lady A’s music has depth! Another signature quality of this trio’s music is how well-written it is (On this album, they wrote or co-wrote ten of the twelve songs). They manage to take themes and stories that could easily be cliche, and find poetic and engaging new ways to treat the content. “Cold As Stone” addresses coping with heartbreak and loss, and the chorus “wish I was cold as stone/then I wouldn’t feel a thing” conjures a strong and immediately relatable image. “Dancin’ Away With My Heart” at one point describes a teenage dance which could easily sound trite, but with the line “beneath the moon that was really a disco ball” becomes heartwarming. When you only have two to four minutes to share a story, being able to pack meaning into the few words you have, like Lady Antebellum does, goes a long way to creating a quality music. I truly enjoy every track on this album. However, if I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be “Friday Night“. The gist of the song is that love should be exciting and fun not just every day, same old thing. With lyrics like “I don’t want to be another chore to check off on your list”, “I want to be your jackpot, hot spot” “I want to set you free/I want to take you high/I want to be your Friday night” and an upbeat tempo, it is sure to get your boot tapping. I see myself riding down the road with the windows down and this song blaring! All in all, Own The Night, is exactly what it should be. It showcases the writing, vocal and instrumental talents of Lady Continue reading Lady Antebellum Own The Night Album Review→

Montgomery Gentry Rebels On The Run Review

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Montgomery Gentry Did Good Things On Their New Album! Montgomery Gentry are Average Joe’s entertainment recording artists and have been one of country music’s top duos since 1999. Although they have a new label, Troy and Eddie are the same non-apologetic, down to earth performers they always have been! Their new album, Rebels On The Run, is out today and we at the CMNB office were lucky enough to have an advanced copy! This new piece of work from these boys is definitely worth the drive to Wal-Mart! It includes 11 tracks of honest country music. A number of the songs (“Damn Right I Am“, “Where I Come From“, “I Like Those People“), give tribute to the duos hometowns, which is a routine we are use to with them. Others are fun tunes (“Ain’t No Law Against That“, “Work Hard, Play Harder“) about exactly that, having fun! “Damn Baby” is a love song about that feeling when you’re so happy that you can’t even get the words out of how you feel, all you can come up with is damn baby. Again, staying true to country music honesty, “Empty” is about the loneliness a man feels after a relationship ends. I really enjoyed this one with its steel guitar and great melody! Possibly one of my favorites off of the entire album was “So Called Life!” It has a fast pace and an awesome chorus! Like I said, the album is available today, so do what you gotta do to hear Montgomery Gentry for the first time with their new label! Track Listing 1. Damn Right I Am 2. Ain’t No Law Against That 3. Damn Baby 4. Empty 5. Where I Come From 6. I Like Those People (feat. Charlie Daniels & Randy Owen) 7. Rebels On The Run 8. Simple Things 9. Missing You 10. So Called Life 11. Work Hard, Play Hard

Scotty McCreery Clear As Day Album Review

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Scotty McCreery’s Debut Album Is A Good Start. As I am sure most of you have noticed by now, I have not been the biggest supporter of Scotty McCreery. I was unimpressed by his debut single “I Love You This Big“, and I was prepared to dislike his debut album, Clear As Day. I am happy to report however, that Scotty has surprised me. It really is rare for an artist these days to release a complete concept album. Most of the releases we see now are just albums full of “singles”. While Clear As Day certainly qualifies as the latter, I still think that these singles collectively really do have a represent a common theme. This theme can be easily summed up in one word: “youth”. I was worried about this album in many ways because of Scotty’s age. When he entered American Idol he was 16, and by the time he won he was still only 17. I was concerned that this would have a limiting effect on his options as far as content was concerned. However, the songs chosen for this album all deal with stories and concepts that really seem to be representative of Scotty and his life experiences. Instead of trying to make Scotty seem older than his years, he and his team carefully chose songs which embrace his youth. This really helps to provide depth to the individual tracks and the album as a whole. Essentially, I believe that Scotty believes what he’s singing about, and this will carry the album further than it would have gone otherwise. Also, there is a really nice variety in pace on this album. There are upbeat songs appropriate for a young guy like “Out of Summertime“, “Water Tower Town“, “Better Than That“, “Write My Number On Your Hand“, and “You Make That Look Good“. At the same time there are more sentimental, heart-string strumming songs like “Clear As Day” and “Back On The Ground” and “That Old King James“. The slower sentimental songs are just as believable as the faster songs even though the content is more serious. They still contain references to family and memories that really seem to be a part of Scotty’s life. The best of these slower songs is probably “Back On The Ground” because it tells the story of a young man coming home again to see his Momma, and it really seems to be a parallel of Scotty’s experiences with success on American Idol and coming home after all that. The most poignant moment on the album probably comes at the end of the title track “Clear As Day” when it resolves into a surprising conclusion which changes the entire meaning of the song you just spent 3 minutes and 58 seconds listening to (Don’t worry, I won’t give it away!). My favorite song on the album has to be “You Make That Look Good“. It is an adorable song, and it definitely has potential to be a crowd favorite at Continue reading Scotty McCreery Clear As Day Album Review→

Leann Rimes Lady & Gentlemen Album Review

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Leann Rimes Makes Magic With Her 12th Studio Album! Leann Rimes has done a brilliant thing with the help of Vince Gill and Darrell Brown! Lady & Gentlemen was released late September and is a collection of some of Rimes’ favorite country classics! As the album title says, this is a playlist full of gentlemen hits sung by a lady with a powerful voice! “Wasted Days And Wasted Nights”, “Rose Colored Glasses“, “Help Me Make It Through The Night“, and “When I Call Your Name” are just a few songs from the ablum that literally brought a smile to my face and chills to my body when I heard them for the first time! It is more than obvious that Leann Rimes has one of the most gifted and talented voices in music that there has ever been (anyone who says otherwise is lying to themselves!). She has definitely done Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, John Conlee, George Jones, John Anderson and the rest of her heroes proud! Taking their legendary songs and tweaking them ever-so-slightly to make sense from a woman’s perspective is easily one of the best pieces of work created in a long while! Me telling you how great this album is will not come close to the beauty that comes from hearing it first hand! I HIGHLY suggest that you get your paws on a copy pronto! The last track on the album, “Give“, is her current single on radio now! Below is the video for that touching tune! =) Lady & Gentlemen Track Listing 1. Swingin’ 2. Wasted Days And Wasted Nights 3. The Only Mama That’ll Walk The Line 4. I Can’t Be Myself 5. 16 Tons 6. Help Me Make It Through The Night 7. Rose Colored Glasses 8. A Good Hearted Woman 9. When I Call Your Name 10. He Stopped Loving Her Today 11. Blue 12. The Bottle Let Me Down 13. Crazy Women 14. Give [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vALhBgHC_FE]

George Strait Here For A Good Time Review

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George Strait Does It Again With His Newest Album Here For A Good Time! George Strait released his album Here For A Good Time last week and it is exactly what I expected it to be, fabulous! George and his son Bubba Strait worked on 7 songs together showing us that songwriting is one of many things that they do great together! Other writers were Al Anderson, Chris Stapleton, Dean Dillon, Chuck Cannon, Allen Shamblin, Gary Nicholson, Delbert McClinton, Jesse Winchester, and Bobby Boyd. In the past Strait has done iconic love songs (“I Cross My Heart“, “The Chair“, “Carrying Your Love With Me“), songs about a broken heart (“Ocean Front Property“, “You Look So Good In Love“, “Baby Blue“), songs about life (“I Saw God Today“, “Amarillo By Morning“, “I Hate Everything“), fun songs (“Fireman“, “All My Ex’s Live In Texas“, “Twang“) and everything in between (“El Rey“, “The Seashores of Old Mexico“, “How Bout Them Cowgirls“). This album is no different, we have broken hearts, love, fun, spiritual, emotional, everything! It is a great album that solidifies that he is and always will be “King George“! The first song, “Love’s Gonna Make It Alright“, is such a classic George, good-timing, love song that makes you want to grab somebody and hit the dance floor! Sometimes all you need to hear is everything thing will be alright from that special person in your life and this song does just that! The second song, “Drinkin’ Man“, is a sad song about a man who has had problems with the bottle since he was a young boy, 14 to be exact. Country music doesn’t sugar coat or hide real issues that people deal with on a day to day basis. Alcohol has kept the man in this song away from being close to his family, friends, and love. Even though it has a not so happy meaning behind it, the song is really well written! The third song, “Shame On Me“, is another (what I call) classic George song! George Strait’s voice sounds amazing, the song is fun and was written by George and Bubba. There isn’t much to say other than go listen now! The next song, “Poison“, is another one of them deeper meaning songs. It tells us there are a lot of poisons in life and they can be disguised as anything. This is one of my favorite songs on the entire album and probably one of my new favorite songs period, can’t stop singing it! The title track, “Here For A Good Time“, is such a happy, fun, sing-along type song! It’s something to live by “I’m not here for a long time, I’m here for a good time”, it was the best pick for his first single! The next song, “House Across The Bay“, is another love/sad one. It is about a man losing the one he loved too soon, it is such a bittersweet song. The seventh song, “Lone Star Blues“, is exactly what it Continue reading George Strait Here For A Good Time Review→