Country Singles Jubilee 12.08.08: Welcome To Twitty City
Posted by Jasper Jones on 12.08.2008
If you step inside this week's Jubilee, you'll find a forgotten legend, a ride anywhere you'd like, some un-funny puns, a lover's plea, and emo-country!
Welcome back to another Country Singles Jubilee. Glad you could join me! In the last three days, I have seen both ends of the professional wrestling spectrum. Friday night I saw an Ohio Valley Wrestling show in my hometown that was absolutely abysmal. If I hadn't of come to the show with friends, I would've walked out at intermission. However, Saturday night I attended the Ring of Honor show in Nashville and it was great! Since I hadn't seen a great live wrestling show in so long, I had forgotten how it can make you feel. If ROH returns to Nashville, I'll be there in a heartbeat.
MUSIC TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Top 40 Country Singles Reviews
Alan Jackson - "Country Boy"
Even if you're not a country fan, Alan Jackson is a name you know. In a career spanning twenty years, the man has sold fifty million records and has twenty-four number one country songs. Part of Jackson's success is his ability to blend the sound of traditional and mainstream country music, appealing to fans on both sides of the fence.
My personal experience with Alan Jackson's music seems to have a pattern. Jackson will release a song that I really enjoy like "Midnight In Montgomery" and my opinion of him will be very high. Then he'll release a slew of songs that I really don't care for in row and I'll stop caring about him. Then maybe a year or two later he releases a song like "Livin' on Love" and the process starts over again. It's a pattern of good songs with a few "filler" songs in-between.
"Country Boy" is the third single off of Alan Jackson's 2008 album Good Time. The first line of the chorus is "I'm a country boy, I got a four-wheel drive" and that about sums up the rest of the song. Jackson asks a lady to hop in his truck and he'll give her a ride. Sounds to me like Jackson is on cruise control again. I don't want to be mean here, but this song is VERY bland and lazy. Alan Jackson is "a singer of simple songs" not "a singer of dull songs". I expect more effort from someone like Jackson.
Favorite Lyric: "Excuse me ma'am, I saw you walkin' / I turned around / I'm not a stalker"
Rating: 2/5 - Here's to hoping Alan Jackson puts his work boots on for the next one.
The Lost Trailers - "How 'Bout You Don't
The Lost Trailers are responsible for that God-awful song "Holler Back". I know it sends the country boys and country girls into a tizzy, but it only makes me change the station. However, everyone deserves a second chance. Besides, a band discovered by Willie Nelson can't totally suck, right?
"How 'Bout You Don't" is the second single off The Lost Trailers 2008 album Holler Back. It's a plea to a leaving lover not to go. She's already packed her bags and made up her mind to go, and he's begging her not to leave. Lead singer Ryder Lee's vocals are profiled much better on this tune, which is a ton better than "Holler Back", but still not a bulls-eye. The chorus is great, but the title and lyric "how 'bout you don't" is cheap. It's the equivalent of trying to convince someone to do/not to do something by saying "ah, come on", a la Peter Griffin on Family Guy.
Favorite Lyric: "(How 'bout you don't) slam that door / call it quits / throw your suitcase in that old Ford"
Rating: 3/2 - "How 'Bout You Don't" is a definite improvement on "Holler Back". Given a few more years, The Lost Trailers could produce some great stuff.
Justin Moore - "Back That Thing Up"
Justin Moore is a new country artist being introduced to country fans in a unique way. He's a part of a special promotion called "So You Want To Be A Record Label Executive". Country fans on Myspace can make a top ten playlist and which ever songs are the most popular will make it on to Justin Moore's debut album.
Moore's first single from said untitled album is "Back That Thing Up". If this is any indication of what will fill up the rest of the album, someone mercifully shoot this project in the head and end it now! The song is stomach-churningly bad. I have no idea how it has cracked the Country Top 40. There must be some correlation between the number of country fans still listening to the radio and the number of people who still huff paint.
The song is full of farm related sexual innuendos that are not funny. It sounds like a poor attempt to copy a John Rich song. It's like "Save a Horse, Ride A Cowboy" without the charm. Moore's voice is nothing to write home about, but at least he can't be blamed for writing the song. That scarlet letter goes to the dynamic team of Jeremy Stover and Randy Houser.
MOST HATED Lyric: "I know you scared of that cock-a-doodle-doo. Don't worry. He ain't gonna hurt you"
Rating: 1/5 - This song makes my brain hurt. PS: I apologize to the Josh Turner fans that I upset a couple of weeks ago. This song is light years worse than "Everything is Fine".
Retro Country Single Review
Conway Twitty - "Hello Darlin'"
Harold Lloyd Jenkins, better known to the world as Conway Twitty, was finally surpassed by George Straitt as the country act with the most number one singles. Conway is credited with fifty-one number one songs across the boards. That is astonishing! Especially for someone who gets very little respect. It's almost like music completely forgot about him after his untimely death in 1993. Did you know that he never once won a solo Country Music Association (CMA) award?
"Hello Darlin'", written by Conway himself, was recorded on an album of the same name released in 1970 and is considered by many to be one of the greatest country songs of all time. It's about a man who runs into an old lover, they reminisce and make small talk, and then he admits that he was wrong and that the break up has been very hard on him. They embrace for old-times sake and he tells her that if she ever wants to forgive him and come back, he'll be wanting for her.
The spoken word intro, "Hello darlin', nice to see you", is iconic in country music. Conway's voice is absolutely perfect for the song. His baritone growl conveys the heartbroken-ness and sincerity of the man in the song so well. George Jones covered it as a tribute to Conway on his 1993 album High-tech Redneck, but ol' George certainly isn't Conway Twitty.
I went to a George Jones concert last year. During the song "Whose Gonna Fill Their Shoes" George sings about various country legends. On this particular night when he mentioned them in the song, a photo of them would appear on the big screen behind him. When he mentioned "the red-headed stranger", the screen showed a picture of Willie Nelson and the fans cheered. When George mentioned "the man in black", the screen showed Johnny Cash and the fans cheered. Same thing happened for "the outlaw that walks through Jesse's dreams" (Waylon Jennings) and "the Okie From Muskogee" (Merle Haggard). However, when George sang about "Hello Darlin'" and showed a photo of Conway Twitty, I could almost hear a pin drop. I was shocked and saddened.
Favorite Lyric: "What's that darlin'? How am I doing? / I'm doing alright / Except I can't sleep, I cry all night till dawn"
Rating: 5/5 - "Hello Darlin'" is a country standard. PS: Yes, it's the Family Guy song.
I Bet You've Never Heard This Song, Review
The Eli Young Band - "When It Rains"
The Eli Young Band comes from Denton, Texas and you can hear it in their music. They give off the same vibes as other "under-the-radar" Texas artists like Cross Canadian Ragweed, Reckless Kelly, and Robert Earl Keen. The band started off as an acoustic duo of James Young and Mike Eli, but soon added others and had a whole band.
There are two versions of "When It Rains". One can be found on the bands major label debut (Universal South Records) cd entitled Jet Black and Jealous released this year. The other can be found on the band's 2005 album Level on Carnival Records. The version on Level is the one I am going to be writing about because, in my opinion, it's the superior one. The Jet Black and Jealous version got a "major label makeover" and changed some things.
"When It Rains" was written by lead guitarist James Young. It's sung from the perspective of a very cynical individual who has been disappointed and worn down by the world (hypocrites, cheaters, politics). When it rains and gets everyone else feeling down, he fights right in. In fact, he'd rather it rain everyday. The song is very different from most country radio songs about love, "being country boys, or patriotism. It's the darker side of country. It makes for a good drinking song.
Favorite Lyric: "The sun may brighten your day / but if I had my way / I'd take the rain"
Rating: 4/5 - THIS version of "When It Rains" is a breath of fresh air and adds a bit of much needed variety to the country world. The fact the song was tweaked and re-recorded once the band was signed to a major label has me worried though.
That's it for this week. Enjoy the Christmas time festivities and tune in next week!
