Country Singles Jubilee 6.15.09: The Looking For A Job Edition

Posted by Jasper Jones on 06.15.2009

This week's edition of the Jubilee includes the latest from King George and the Queen of Country Music. Plus a classic from Sawyer Brown, and a little known gem from Todd Snider!

Welcome back to your weekly dose of country, Jubileers! Todd Snider's The Excitement Plan was released last Tuesday and you better believe that I purchased it at midnight on Itunes! It's a stellar album full of the classic Snider dry wit. I highly recommend it for longtime fans and first-timers as well. Songs like "Doll Face", "Money, Compliments, and Publicity (Song Number 10)", and "Good Fortune" are sure to become staples of his live show.


Country Music Tidbits



The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) has decided to reshape some of it's Grammy categories. The good news is that the Americana music genre will be recognized for the first time ever. Next year the NARAS will be giving away a Grammy for Best Americana Album. This is great news for fans of folks like The Drive By Truckers, Buddy Miller, Reckless Kelly, Tom Russell, and folks like them who don't really fit into the rock or the country categories.




Country newcomers Love and Theft will be releasing their debut album World Wide Open on August 25th on Carolwood Records. The band's first single "Runaway" is currently on the rise, cracking the Top 20 this week. I'm all for their success. "Runaway" adds a fresh sounds to what is rapidly becoming "cookie cutter" radio. Plus the trio writes/co-writes their own stuff. Suck it, Rascal Flatts!



On a sad note, Nashville record producer and keyboardist Barry Beckett passed away last Wednesday at age 65. He played keyboards for the legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, also known as The Swampers. They are credited with crafting the "Muscle Shoals Sound". This all Caucasian crew of soul, R&B, and country studio musicians played with great acts like Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, Arthur Alexander, and Wilson Pickett. They can be heard on classics like Paul Simon's "Kodachrome", Percy Sledge's "When A Man Loves A Woman", and Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock N Roll". Lynyrd Skynyrd immortalized them in "Sweet Home Alabama" with the lyrics "Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers/ And they've been known to pick a song or two./ Lord they get me off so much./ They pick me up when I'm feeling blue/ Now how about you?" Beckett left Muscle Shoals in 1985 and took a position with the Nashville division of Warner. There he worked with act like Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, Jr., John Prine, Phish, Dire Straits, Lorrie Morgan, and many others up until his death.

MUSIC TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Top 40 Country Singles Reviews

George Strait - "Living For the Night"



With 57 number one hit songs under his belt, George Strait is certainly doing something right. The the only two acts in the history of music who have had more hit records than George Strait are Elvis Presley and The Beatles. That's pretty amazing. The man shows no signs of stopping either. Over the last five years, Strait has landed six number one singles. He's just as strong now as he was back in the "All My Ex's Live In Texas" days. His no frills, straight forward style has connected with country fans going on three decades now. Yes, that pun was intended.

"Living For the Night" is the first single from Strait's soon to be released album Twang. It marks his 88th single, and it's also the first song that Strait has co-written. It's a slow-tempo, sad song about the loss of a loved one. The narrator deals with the loss by drinking whiskey every night to temporary alleviate the pain and erase the memory. "Living for the Night" is a country song down to the bone, except for it's over production in the studio. Strait's voice with an acoustic, a slide-guitar, and a simple drum beat would have been enough. Instead the over-production takes away from some of the importance of the song by trying to over-emphasize the heavy-ness of the song. In some parts it even drowns out Strait's vocals, which is a "no no". You know who would have been perfect for a song like "Living for the Night"? Conway Twitty. Think about it.

Favorite Lyric: "I've drawn all the curtains in this old house/ To keep the sun out, off of my face/ Friends stop by to check-in ‘cause I've checked out/ I tell them I'm fine, I'm just living for the night"



Rating: 3/5

Justin Moore - "Small Town USA"



Justin Moore is an Arkansas native who was signed to Valory Music Group in 2008. His first single, "Back That Thing Up", was a minor chart hit and has the dubious distinction of being named The 2008 Worst Song of the Year by yours truly. Unfortunately he has been aloud to release another single, and boy I just can't wait to hear it. What's really disturbing is that his debut album will be pieced together by country music fans. They get to vote on what they like best and what should make it onto the album. If this is what country fans really like, I fear for the future.

"Small Town USA" is the second single from Moore's forthcoming debut album. It's the over-used and cliched "I'm proud to be from a small town" theme ONCE AGAIN! Did the creativity in Nashville hitch a ride on a train out of town or something? Seriously, does every song on the radio have to be about small town pride? I can see it now. A large box marked fragile gets dropped off on radio's doorstep. Inside they find Justin Moore, the latest model from the Nashville music plant down the road who produces corporate cookie cutter country. If you get fooled into liking this garbage, you must have just two brain cells. Unfortunately it takes three to sneeze. It's uninspiring junk like this that pushes me further and further away from country music. The fact that the average country fan eats this up is completely disenfranchising.

Favorite Lyric: NONE



Rating: 0/5

Reba McEntire - "Strange"



"The Queen of Country Music" has had a long and illustrious career. She happens to be one of only five females to ever be named the CMA Entertainer of the Year. She's the 2nd best-selling female country singer and the 7th best selling female singer of all genres. Her charm and talent has captivated audiences for over three decades now. She's got a number of country classics under her belt. Songs like "Fancy", "Is There Life Out There", "You Lie", and "Whoever's In New England" will be country standards forever.

"Strange" is the first single from Reba McEntire's upcoming 26th studio album Keep On Lovin' You, set to be released in August. She debuted the song a week before it's official release on the 2009 Academy of Country Music awards. It's about a woman who should be heartbroken and in bed crying because she just ended a relationship, but for some reason she's not. It never really specifies why she isn't upset, but I assume it's because the end of the relationship was not her fault. It's nice to see Reba do another tongue-in-cheek song after so many with a more serious vibe. It shows she can still be young when she wants. As for the song itself, it not as strong as other Reba stuff, but its better than much of the rest.

Favorite Lyric: "Got half a mind to spend my whole paycheck on one of those dresses/ Those strapless black ones that are so famous for teaching lessons"



Rating: 3/5

Retro Country Single

Sawyer Brown - "All These Years"



For all those confused: Sawyer Brown is a band not an individual! You have no idea how many people come into my store and ask why I don't have any Sawyer Brown albums. I do have Sawyer Brown albums. They are in the S's not the B's. Mark Miller may be full of spunk and charisma, but he's got band-mates. The name Sawyer Brown comes from a road where the band used to practice. The original line-up consisted of Mark Miller, Buddy Randall, Jim Scholten, Joe Smyth, and Greg Hubbard. Over the 25 years the band has been together they've racked up three Number Ones, three Gold albums, and a couple of country music awards. Sawyer Brown had a very fun-loving and whimsical sound in the beginning with songs like "Step That Step" and "Betty's Bein' Bad". By the 90s, the band started showing a more serious side. Ballads like "The Walk" and "All These Years" crept in and became hits. However, Sawyer Brown never totally abandoned their "good-time" feel.

"All These Years" is quite possibly my favorite Sawyer Brown tune, which is funny because most people would say something upbeat and catchy like "Thank God For You" was their favorite. "All These Years" strikes a cord with me because of the stark difference in the tone and feel of it compared to most Sawyer Brown songs. It's very somber, sad, brooding. It can be found on their 1992 album Cafe Down on The Corner. It was written and originally recorded by Mac McAnally before it became a Number Three hit for Sawyer Brown. It's about a married couple who have grown so far apart form one another that their marriage is lost. He's poured all his time into his job to take of a family that he's neglected spending time with. She's allowed herself to succumb to her lonesomeness and cheat. He comes home early one night and catches her in bed with another man, and their marriage unravels right there.

Favorite Lyric: "She said your not the man you used to be/ he said neither is this guy"



I Bet You've Never Heard This Song

Todd Snider - "Looking For A Job"



Todd Snider is an Americana and folk singer/songwriter from Portland, Oregon whose dry wit and incredibly storytelling has garnered him a cult following of his fifteen year career. Snider's first album Songs From The Daily Planet featured a small novelty hit "Talking Seattle Grunge Rock Blues" featuring a band that refused to play. The title track to Gary Allan's 2001 album Alright Guy is a cover from that album as well. Two of Snider's songs have been covered and released as singles by Cross Canadian Ragweed. "Late Last Night" and "I Believe You" were both minor hits for the band. His 2006 album The Devil You Know was a critical success, appearing on many critic's Best of 2006 lists.

Snider's latest album The Excitement Plan was just released this past week. It's a great album, but I don't believe a single has been released from it yet. Therefore, I chose to cover a single from The Devil You Know. "Looking For A Job" a bouncy eletric guitar driven song that empowers the little man. It empowers the house painter, the garbage man, the construction worker, the check-out clerk, and countless others. It reminds every worker they have the power to quit their job and leave the boss hanging if driven that far. Take that, jerk! In essence, Snider is saying "Hey, dude. Stop yelling at me. If you have forgotten, I was looking for a job two weeks ago when you gave me this one. I can easily look for another. So if you want this job done, get the fuck off my back!".

Favorite Lyric: "Watch what you say to someone with nothing/ it's almost like having it all"



That's if for this week's Jubilee! Tune in next week for the country action! Same country time, same country place!