Country & Eastern

Country & Eastern

ASIN: B0001FBRII

Track Listings

1. Love Reunited - Steve Hill, Chris Hillman

2. If I Had a Boat - Lyle Lovett

3. Beacon Street - Nanci Griffith

4. Continental Trailways Blues - Steve Earle

5. Give Back My Heart - Lyle Lovett

6. He's Back and I'm Blue - Robert Anderson, Michael Woody

7. Six Days on the Road - Earl Green, Carl Montgomery

8. I Wish It Would Rain - Nanci Griffith

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
1. Love Reunited -- Desert Rose Band 2. If I Had A Boat -- Lyle Lovett 3. Beacon Street -- Nanci Griffith 4. Continental Trailways Blues -- Steve Earle 5. Give Back My Heart -- Lyle Lovett 6. He's Back And I'm Blue -- Desert Rose Band 7. Six Days On The Road -- Steve Earle 8. I Wish It Would Rain -- Nanci Griffith

Tracks:

Lost Highway
Summertime
Make a Memory
Whole Lot Of Leaving
We Got It Going On
Any Other Day
Seat Next To You
Everybody's Broken
Stranger (feat. Leann Rimes)
The Last Night
One Step Closer
I Love This Town

Amazon.com

Given the chart success of their Grammy-winning country single "Who Says You Can't Go Home," it's no surprise Bon Jovi upped the ante by recording an entire album paying homage to Nashville. In some ways, it's amazing they didn't do this sooner, given the way Keith Urban in particular is blurring country-pop lines, much as Garth Brooks and others did in the 1990s. To their credit, you won't find predictably shallow invocations of past country icons or any self-conscious, in-your-face down-home twang added strictly to remind the listener of the musical premise. In fact, Lost Highway isn't "Bon Jovi goes country" so much as a meaningful tribute to the Nashville ethos done on their own terms. They honor the spirit of the town through 12 simple, direct originals. The intimate, smoldering "(You Want To) Make a Memory," the ballad "Seat Next To You," "Lost Highway" and its roaring celebration of freedom, and "Stranger," an effective duet with LeAnn Rimes, all invoke country's spirit, and "I Love This Town," an eloquent nod to Nashville itself, ties it together admirably. --Rich Kienzle

Album Description

"Artistic freedom made this record possible," says Jon Bon Jovi. "Musical freedom to explore--and emotional freedom to express what was in our hearts."

The result of that freedom is Lost Highway, an album Jon describes as "a Bon Jovi record influenced by Nashville."

Bon Jovi explains. "Nashville is all about songs and songwriters. If you're someone like me who loves songs and hanging out with songwriters, Nashville is the place. I thrive on that feeling and I'm inspired by that creative ambience."

The result, a haunting set of 12 new and original sounding songs, is a stunning, multi-layered look into the nature of love and life in all its glory. Love, like life, is lost, found, forgotten and reclaimed in this collection.

The moods are many, but the core feeling is pure Bon Jovi.

"Writing this record with Jon was deeply cathartic," says Richie Sambora, who collaborated on ten of the songs. "I was going through emotional changes that were new for me. An ailing father. A painful divorce. The start of a new chapter in my life. I poured everything I had into this project, every last bit of soul at my command."

"For over twenty years now," Jon explains, "Richie and I have been close collaborators. Even when our songs create fictional stories, they reveal our states of mind. To a large degree, Lost Highway focuses on the light that love brings. When you shine the light on love, you see the chinks in the armor. You see every crevice, every crack. And that's all right".

Lost Highway is Bon Jovi's tenth studio album since the band formed in the early eighties. One hundred and twenty million albums and 2500 concerts in over 50 countries later, Bon Jovi is enjoying the greatest popularity in their history.

Customer Reviews:

Always a winner Bon Jovi.......2007-07-08

Love it as I do everything they have done, I just believe they are very talented..and they dont look so bad either..:)

The Evolution of Jon.......2007-07-08

Love every song. I want to not like the newer JON Bon Jovi, the guy with his pricey Kenneth Cole clothes, sycophant worship of Al Gore, a fancy Vipor and his new 26 million dollar penthouse in NYC, but, I put on my big girl panties and dealth with it....It's BON JOVI, the band, that I still love!
With age comes growth. I think as Bon Jovi ages, they are showing what true musicians and writers they are. They are not just rockers. Bon Jovi's direction may have been very calculated, however, it proved to be a great decision. The evolution of Bon Jovi proves that the band can progress and still be great. The musical training and background of each member proves that when their differences are combined, they are great musicians...no label needed.
Although the duet with Rimes has Jon "contorting" his lyrics a bit too much, as if to prove he can do country twang, overall, I love this cd. Like other Bon Jovi CD's, it's a great "sing along" in the car!

Bon Jovi is Lost on this CD.......2007-07-08

I've been a Bon Jovi fan since the beginning. My expectations were very low upon hearing they were recording a country crossover cd.

I listened to many cd's in my time by far this is one of the worst in my collection and the worst studio record ever in Bon Jovi's career.

It's very sad to see what this group is becoming.

One song on this cd is ok, that being "Memory", even this song falls short of the group's best ballads. I'd give this song a rating of a 6 out of a 10.

As for the other songs (garbage) on this cd they all rate a 1 out of a 10. I'd give them a 1 just for the effort other than that don't waste your time buying this cd.

This cd is not even GOOD for a country cd. I can't find anything else on this cd worth listening to only than Memory.

This band needs to realize that they are a rock band!

Look at slippery when wet, how many records did that sell? Over 10 million?

Fans want that type of music. They should go back to that style of music. We've seen glimpses of it with songs like "Have A Nice Day", Everyday" and "It's my Life".

This cd has no direction other than it belongs in the garbage can. They should have never released this. I can't believe how bad the lyrics are and the sound of this cd is awful.

This band seems a lot like Def Leppard these days, once a great melodic rock band now a bubble gum band.

Don't get me wrong I still love this band. This cd just should have been trashed and started over.

Go back to your roots and give us true rock fans the music we want. Give us another melodic record!!

Look at their first five records all great, since then they have taken different directions. At least giving us some good songs on the next records.

Again, this record title sums it up.

They are on a lost highway!

This isn't even close to a ok country record. They are completely lost somewhere down a highway looking how to make some great music again.

What a relief ! Not country at all !!.......2007-07-08

I have been a fan of Bon Jovi since before Slippery came out. Saw them on the Slippery tour. Have bought every album since, with diminishing enthusiasm. I love 70's classic rock. So what was I to make of this so-called "Country" album ?

I hate country music and I pretty much hate "Have a Nice Day", "Crush" and most of "Bounce", not because Bon Jovi lost their talent, but the direction was all wrong and seeminly manufactured. The decline started with "It's My Life" in my book - just a concocted slab of trying to be hip.

The box set on the other hand was fabulous, full of little gems of songwriting genius that still proved the band had it. I had to scratch my head and wonder why so many of the great recent songs on the box set had not made the recent studio albums.

Well, I plugged the CD into the car stereo, not really expecting much other than to be massively disapointed. But hey ! What a great opener, Lost Highway is classic Bon Jovi, by which I don't mean late-80's rock, it's just good time, good message, great vibe, rock'n'roll !

After that, each and every song on the album was for the most part, enjoyable and not a single country song in sight.

My god, what a relief. This album is NOT COUNTRY.

I love the album "Blaze of Glory" and don't recall anybody describing that as a country album. This is, in some ways, a similar style of music. It's americana if you like, but certainly not country, twangy and depressing.

It's definitely not Slippery When Wet, but when was the last time you listened to that album anyway ? It's a great album for today, and I believe truely reflects everything good about this band, without rehashing old ideas, or trying to be the latest trend. This is real music, and really good music.

Not quite a 5-star effort, but miles better than I had hoped for.

Recommended. Best since "These Days" !!

Cheesy.......2007-07-07

I had to listen to this out of curiosity. What a waste of time! Bon Jovi and their big hair sucked back in the eighties, and they suck almost as bad as a country band. Won't this guy ever go away? If you want to hear some real rock, try Zeppeln, Purple, Sabbath or Motorhead. If you want some real country, try Johnny Cash, Willie, Merle, Robert Earl Keen, Emmylou, Steve Earle, Billy Joe Shaver, The Flatlanders, etc. There are plenty of good artists in both categories. Bon Jovi is pathetic!! He needs to go back to Jersey and clean some recording studios. Did another reveiwer compare him to Springsteen? Gimme a break.

Average customer rating:

an original mind
Toothless Tiger
What a song writer.
To Be Older (Is to Be Sober, Is to Be Focused)
Heartbreaker's rebellious teenage lovechild

Easy Tiger
Ryan Adams
Manufacturer: Lost Highway
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Icky Thump
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West
New Moon

ASIN: B000P29B1W
Release Date: 2007-06-26

Tracks:

goodnight rose
two
everybody knows
halloween head
two hearts
tears of gold
the sun also sets
off broadway
rip off
oh my god, whatever, etc.
pearls on a string
these girls
i taught myself how to grow old

Amazon.com

Easy Tiger, Ryan Adams's ninth solo studio album, is a return to form in every way. He's already shown that he can bash out three albums in one year--not to mention the hilarious fake hip-hop records posted for free on his Web site--and that he can sound as much like the Grateful Dead as he wants to in his constant subsequent touring. Backed once again by the Cardinals, Adams synthesizes and refines his approach to smooth, gorgeous country-pop. "Tears of Gold" is one of the best songs he's written in ages, while "Two" is a slowly percolating, sweet little number that recalls Sean Hayes in its soulful folksiness (someone named Sheryl Crow accompanies Adams on vocals). One of the greatest treats of this languorous, twangy album is the subtle ways that genre gets played with. "I Taught Myself How to Grow Old" is the best Harvest outtake Neil Young never wrote, while the treated, synth-sounding guitar solo on the druggy, chooglin' "Halloweenhead" sounds like it comes straight out of Journey. And "The Sun Also Sets" sounds more than a little like Rufus Wainwright covering Fred McDowell's "Write Me a Few of Your Lines." It bursts with enough melodrama as to border on musical theater. But, as is clear on these songs of love and loss, Adams has always been at his best when giving into his most mellow, dramatic side. --Mike McGonigal

Ryan Adams Photos

More Ryan Adams

Heartbreaker
Gold
Love Is Hell

Album Description

I think there are really only two kinds of pop music CDs these days. There are the ones you listen to only once or twice, maybe downloading the single good song to your iPod or computer; then there are others that grow stronger, sweeter, and more necessary each time you play them. Gold was that way; Cold Roses was that way; so was Jacksonville City Nights. I won't say Adams is the best North American singer-songwriter since Neil Young...but I won't say he isn't, either. What I know is there has never been a Ryan Adams record quite as strong and together as Easy Tiger; it's got enough blue-eyed, blue-steel soul (with the faintest country tinge) to make me think of both Marvin Gaye and the Righteous Brothers. Probably ridiculous, but true. And the songs themselves are beautiful--the lyrics tightly focused and brief, the feeling one of melancholy calm that will probably be a revelation to fans that remember the old, sometimes angry Ryan Adams.

Now there's this, maybe the best Ryan Adams CD ever. And I know you want to listen to it right away. But slow down. Take your time. This album asks for that, and it will reward your full attention.

In other words--easy, Tiger.

--Stephen King

Customer Reviews:

an original mind.......2007-07-09

passionate, emotionally twisting tunes that seem to tell different stories that are all somehow interconnected by a magical mind and a unique voice. In a world overwhelmed by male singer/songwriters, this one is truly distinguished, with a style all his own. I discovered this guy through the recommendations (via a retail compilation) of Lucinda Williams and have been thankful ever since. A real original.

Look forward to his future.

Toothless Tiger.......2007-07-09

I bought this while on vacation, and I expected a lot from it since it was the only CD in my rental car. After numerous end to end playings, I can only bring two songs immediately to mind: "Two" is not breaking new ground, but is as achingly beautiful as any song he's done. "Halloween Head" is raucus and catchy, but sounds like a mailed in version of the obligatory "talented artist who just sobered up" song. Give me "Detox Mansion" every time. When you compare it to other Ryan Adams / Whiskeytown albums of the same ilk it sounds unconvincing. It's nice to listen to, but it lacks any passion.

What a song writer........2007-07-09

Very good album and I like this alot. I have all of his and this one really sinks it's teeth into me at this point in my life.

very insightful, and always such a good artist. A few of the lines in the songs really speak to me lately.

This one is no Ripoff.!!

To Be Older (Is to Be Sober, Is to Be Focused).......2007-07-08

Whatever Ryan Adams' stylistic whim over the past seven years--alt-country, AOR, country, dour Brit pop, folk, garage rock--nearly every album held two things in common: more than a few staggeringly brilliant songs that would make any songwriter envious (Rock'n'Roll and 29 being the exceptions) and enough certifiable duds that would leave you wondering how someone with Adams' remarkable talent could display such spotty quality control.

Easy Tiger, Adams' first release in over a year (an epic drought by his standards) isn't his best album, but it his most consistent, offering some moments of splendid songcraft without the weight of a lot of filler. Backed by the latest lineup of The Cardinals (they're not billed on the album cover), Adams concentrates on straightforward, acoustic-based songs and various flavors of country. "Halloweenhead," the album's lone musical departure, boasts a catchy melody and offers some self-deprecating humor, but the near Spinal Tap homage, replete with bells, storm noises, and the shout of "Guitar solo!," sounds decidedly out of place. The sunny bluegrass number "Pearls on a String" fares much better, providing a fun, top-tapping tune while retaining the instrumental textures common to the album.

The album opens with "Goodnight Rose," a staggered, twangy rocker reminiscent of Cold Roses but downshifts into a subdued, melancholy tone with the first single, "Two." Complimented by Sheryl Crow's harmonies, Adams' ache-tinged tenor buoys even the most pedestrian of lines: "'Cause it's cold in here/And I wish it was hot/The sink's broke, it's leaking from the faucet."

Not surprisingly, Adams' trademark elegiac tales of broken relationships, crushed ambition, and transient youth permeate the album. He fails, though, when he tries too emphatically to convey heartbreak. With a tinny acoustic guitar doubling the vocal melody, "Off Broadway," a reworked tune originally recorded during the Suicide Handbook sessions, suffers from an insipid and painfully repetitive chorus as Adams loses his way home after spotting an ex-lover: "I don't know where that is anymore/I don't know where that is anymore/I don't know where that is anymore/Used to be off Broadway." Someone help the man home already! And, on "The Sun Also Sets," he mars an otherwise solid song with a strained, overwrought vocal delivery, which culminates with him channeling what sounds like the voice of Grover right before the final chorus.

More often, however, Adams strikes the right balance of sadness and subtlety. On the breezy "Two Hearts" he foresees the inevitable collapse of a relationship ("Two hearts/One of them will break/Like bad ideas on a beautiful day/Two figures moving through the dark/ Three words is all it takes to break your heart in two") while on the beautiful "Oh My God, Whatever, Etc.," he wearily surrenders to listlessness: "But the light of the moon leads the way/Towards the morning, and the sun/The sun's well on it's way too soon/But oh, oh my God, whatever, etc."

That sort of self-reflection lies at the heart of quite a few tracks. To be sure, there are some "young gal did me bad" moments, but they're tempered by Adams' acknowledgment of his own failings, whether he's admitting the difficulty of commitment--"I make these promises/But all these promises hurt/It's like they never get a lift off" ("Rip Off")--or confessing his weakness for anxious "late night girls" on "These Girls"--"It's so sad but when they smile/God, I've been had"--arriving at the conclusion that "These girls are better off in my head."

Easy Tiger shows Ryan Adams can be focused and accessible, but it's fair to say that at times it sounds a bit too tame, too easy. With the album's heavy dose of balladry, there are few traces of his customary reckless energy or swagger. Maybe next time around he'll manage to infuse those elements into his maturing sound--chances are we won't have to wait long to find out. Still, Adams' talent as a songwriter is undeniable--"Oh My God, Whatever, Etc." "Goodnight Rose," and "These Girls" stand with the best in his extensive catalog--and not having to lunge for the skip button too often while listening to the album is a welcome change.

Heartbreaker's rebellious teenage lovechild.......2007-07-06

Heartbreaker had such an impact on many of us that it has been difficult to accept Adams's later works. Despite a love for Whiskeytown songs, Heartbreaker instantly blew us away. There are definite gems in Adams's post Heartbreaker catalog. Gold and Love is Hell Pt. 1 were solid efforts. However, many maintain a Heartbreaker bias when checking out Adams's new works. Adams has the ability to bang out a number of Heartbreakers, but chooses to let his own style develop wherever he feels like exploring. Lost Highway is an excellent label that backs Adams's endeavors. Easy Tiger is a manifestation of Adams's past, present, and future. He pushes the envelope with his voice and writing. The Cardinals (Ryan's band) do a great job of balancing the adventurous efforts to create some fantastic colorful mixtures.

When I first hit play my reaction was, "Who's singing on this?" I flipped through trying to ignore the initial Heartbreaker expectations, and was taken aback during the first go around. There were new sounds, characteristic elements that have found new territory, some vintage Adams, and a variety that had everything but the kitchen sink. This left my a bit confused as I tried to formulate my opinion of the work. After a few more rounds, I still couldn't make a definitive decision about the adventurous album. That is until I found myself craving a few tracks like "Two Hearts", "Halloweenhead", "The Sun Also Sets", and "Goodnight Rose". Adams's work always deserves respect because of the ingenuity and fearlessness that he applies when making his records. However, that doesn't always translate to fans enjoying certain albums. As I gradually found myself looking forward to a growing number of Easy Tiger songs, I realized that this record carried a certain weight to it that Gold, Rock n Roll, and Jacksonville City Nights didn't have. The exploratory styles, stabilizing instrumentation, and the standard brilliant lyrics that make up Easy Tiger have a sense of validity and unique panache that can't be found anywhere else. This album will not instantly knock you over the head or bump out one of your top ten favorites like Heartbreaker did, but it will win you over. Easy Tiger posses some very addictive songs and is a one of a kind album that will be fun to revisit for years.

Here are some disclaimers so you won't be so alarmed. The most notable aspect that differentiates this album is Adams's vocals. He is definitely making a statement of versatility, audacity, and enjoyment. There is a lot of Neil Young and at times even Jeff Buckley in Ryan's voice. A lot of the vocals resemble the voice Adams uses on certain Whiskeytown tracks (ie "Reasons to Lie") and he applies that sound to some varied and at times extreme situations. Do not be alarmed because despite the initial skepticism the vocals really fit well with the songs. The vocals create an endearing element to the lyrics and give the tracks so much raw character.

The album has some Heartbreaker in it with songs like "Oh my God, Whatever, etc.", "These Girls", and "Off Broadway". That helps counterbalance the raw adventure that some other songs take you on like "Halloweenhead". There are some finite stylistic tracks like "Pearls on a String" which is an unmistakable bluegrass jolt. The music of the whole album does a fantastic job of balancing and highlighting Easy Tiger's bold elements. The Cardinals really help make this album. The instrumentation adds an expanding effect to songs like "Goodnight Rose" and "Halloweenhead". The arrangements also add swagger, necessary characteristics, and a full bodied sound to songs like "Tears of Gold", "Two Hearts", and The Sun Also Sets". The music creates such a delicious musical statement when paired with Adams's overall creative vision.

This album may be Heartbreaker's rebellious teenage lovechild but is an absolute gem of a record. Cheers to Adams for pushing the envelope and putting his unique stamp on it. It takes balls to explore uncharted territory and try to maintain your exclusive touch. Adams has not only done that with this record, but has done it while having to maintain a reputation.

Average customer rating:

love it, love it, love it!!!!
Perhaps 2007's Best Country Album
This is a very entertaining CD from Brad
Good but not great
I guess I like country music

5th Gear
Brad Paisley
Manufacturer: Arista
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music

New Traditionalist | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Country | Styles | Music

Contemporary | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music
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Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace
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Pure BS

ASIN: B000PFUA9G
Release Date: 2007-06-19

Tracks:

All I Wanted Was A Car
Ticks
Online
Letter To Me
I'm Still A Guy
Some Mistakes
It Did
Mr. Policeman
If Love Was A Plane
Oh Love Featuring Carrie Underwood
Better Than This
With You, Without You
Previously Featuring Kung Pao Buckaroos (Little Jimmy Dickens,
Bigger Fish To Fry Featuring Kung Pao Buckaroos (Little Jimmy Dickens,
When We All Get To Heaven
Throttleneck

Amazon.com

Like his friend Vince Gill, Brad Paisley has achieved the often-difficult feat of reconciling being an entertainer and world-class guitarist. He's proven that on four admirable albums, and 5th Gear follows in that vein. Certainly "Ticks," an airy, radio-friendly ditty, is not the true substance here. That comes with such superior fare as the insightful "All I Wanted Was a Car" and "Online," a sly satire of people's Web facades. While his duet with Carrie Underwood ("Oh Love") is a bit cut and dried, Paisley ably handles "Letter to Me," "It Did," and "Mr. Policeman," a 21st-century outrun-the-law tune. The closing hymn, "When We All Get to Heaven," and ripping instrumental "Throttleneck" are Paisley at his best. It's admirable that he invites his venerable buddies, Little Jimmy Dickens, George Jones, Vince Gill, and Bill Anderson, along with Dolly Parton, to join in, but the obligatory "Kung Pao Buckaroos" skit is wearing a bit thin. Better to feature them musically, the way he includes Dickens, Gill, and Anderson on "Bigger Fish to Fry." In a time where lines between county and pop are blurring far too much, it's comforting to know Paisley still realizes and respects the differences. --Rich Kienzle

Customer Reviews:

love it, love it, love it!!!!.......2007-07-07

I recently purchased this cd because I heard and loved the clever tune "Ticks" Now that I have it I love every song on it the guitar work is incredible and the lyrics are great. I actually went through all of his CD's and realized I am a Brad Paisley fan and just purchased all the others.

Perhaps 2007's Best Country Album.......2007-07-03

I have to give kudos to Mr. Paisley for the fantastic 5th GEAR, which just may be 2007's very best country album. Prior to 5th GEAR, I'd never even heard any albums nor songs by Paisley. I'll admit, I'm not as avid a country fan as compared to other genres of music (though I'm a `multi-dimensional' music listener as I like to put it), but I've been trying lately to truly cover all the bases of music aside from my comfort zone. Honestly, Paisley's album truly excited me with his nearly pitch-perfect vocals, his adventurous songs, and his kick-butt guitar riffs. Let's face it, if I were a musician, I would call Brad Paisley just to come and play electric guitar on my album because the man is so sick at it. Sure, I've listened to a number of country albums including fine releases by Miranda Lambert (her CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND is also in the top echelon of releases in 2007) as well as the good, if somewhat bland underrated third release by Gretchen Wilson (ONE OF THE BOYS), but Paisley's 5th GEAR just feels more genuine in a number of respects.

I could run down every song on the track list, but with an album this consistent, I don't think that it is necessarily in the least. The album starts with the rousing "All I Wanted Was a Car" in which Paisley reminisces about how the other boys (in his teenage years) were looking for a slew of other things and he was simply searching for a car. "All I Wanted Was a Car" turns out to be ultimately a simple song with poignant, telling lyrics that really make it more complex. It is a personal favorite of mine with Paisley wailing on one of country music's most bluesy guitar solo of 2007 or for a couple of years for that matter. The refrain is perfect for singing with Paisley and with the catchy nature of "All I Wanted...,"you will definitely be singing along. First single "Ticks" is just as great and shows off Paisley's great sense of humor, something that Paisley and contemporary Joe Nichols seem to be exceptional at. Again, the guitars are sick and the groove is definitely "in the pocket", as jazz musicians would say. Mentioning in passing, the third straight consistent number, "Online" shows off Paisley's experimentalist tendency by featuring a tagged ending that includes a marching band. Now how many country albums in 2007 have featured a marching band? It's a rhetorical question, don't answer.

"Letter To Me" slows things down while, "I'm Still A Guy" features sound-effects that transcend country music. It is one you don't want to miss with bluesy fiddles, rollicking piano, and of course that signature guitar sound. Moving down the track-list, "Mr. Policeman" is a true standout track that brings a traditionalist country feel out with a very liberal tempo filled with complex guitar riffs from Paisley. For musicians, the track modulates several times as Paisley sheds through some sick guitar riffs. At the end, none can deny how funny the tag is when Paisley sings "I'm in the jailhouse now", after all the singing and instrumental breaks. "If Love Was A Plane" is certainly the most sweet song from 5th GEAR, while his duet with Carrie Underwood, "Oh Love," is fantastic as well. I don't usually mention interludes, but the interlude "Previously" leads into the phenomenal "Bigger Fish To Fry" in which Paisley reminisces how he used to cuss and do bad things as a child. The moral of the story is that he bad things, which would be consider miniscule in today's society, aren't a bad as other things and he resolves it to the fact that God has "bigger fish to fry". After his rant, he follows with the appropriate "When We All Get To Heaven", a very good interpretation on the church hymn and concludes the great album with an instrumental (very appropriate considering his musical skills), "Throttleneck".

Face it, 5th GEAR might actually earn Paisley a Grammy nomination because it is nearly the perfect country album. The tracks I didn't mentioned are as good or nearly as good as the ones I did mention. I highly recommend this fine album; it would make a great addition to any country fan's musical library or any fan of good, solid music. 4 stars Mr. Paisley.

This is a very entertaining CD from Brad .......2007-07-02

5th Gear is an excellent new CD from Brad Paisley. Brad has always been very perceptive about life and relationships. I like the way he turns his perceptions into songs. "Online" is my favorite track. This is a very funny song about how a person can have an online life and a very different real life. "I'm Still A Guy" is another good song about how a man's personality doesn't change when he is in a relationship There is a lot of truth in this song, and that is why I like it so much. "All I Wanted Was A Car" is a very true song about how a car is the most important thing to a young man in high school. "Some Mistakes" is a song about how some mistakes in life can be fun. I like Brad's fun vocals on this track. "Oh Love" is a very pretty duet with Carrie Underwood. I really how their voices blend together. "Letter To Me" is an excellent song for any person who feels depressed about being dumped. This is a very hopeful song, and I like it very much. "Mr. Policeman" and "Throttleneck" are two up tempo songs that show Brad's talent on the guitar. This is a very enjoyable new CD by Brad Paisley.

Good but not great.......2007-06-28

So far I really only like 3-4 songs on this CD. I am hoping it will grow on me.

I guess I like country music.......2007-06-28

I have gone through my CD collection and the country CD's out number anything else, guess I like something about it. I can say CD's like this one are the REASON I do like country music!! Great CD, and it is always a plus when you listen to a CD straight through.

We saw Brad in concert and he sang "I'm Still A Guy." I looked forward to this CD coming out for that song! Letter to Me is also a great song!

Average customer rating:

"This is important...but I know you're not listening..."
This must have been a really bad breakup
Beautiful!
I'm trying really hard to like this album......still trying....
AWESOME!

Sky Blue Sky
Wilco
Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Icky Thump
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New Moon
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We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

ASIN: B000NVIGC0
Release Date: 2007-05-15

Tracks:

Either Way
You Are My Face
Impossible Germany
Sky Blue Sky
Side With the Seeds
Shake It Off
Please Be Patient With Me
Hate It Here
Leave Me (Like You Found Me)
Walken
What Light
On And On And On

Amazon.com

After their wild experimental streak of the past decade, Wilco's sixth studio album might feel like a bit of a comedown. Sky Blue Sky is mellow, moody, and uncharacteristically monotone, opening with a pleasant jangle and Jeff Tweedy singing a simple song: "Maybe the sun will shine today, the clouds will blow away." He doesn't even follow it up with a barbed punchline. Could it be that the restless Chicago band has settled back into its gentle Americana roots--or does this sudden mid-career reappraisal represent Wilco's gutsiest move yet? Mostly written in the studio by the full band, it's certainly the group's most cohesive album in ages, presenting a dense song cycle padded with intricate guitar work, brushed rhythms, and '70s soft-rock accents. In places it sounds like Wings ("Hate It Here"), in others Harry Nilsson ("Walken"), and in the middle it goes a bit Grateful Dead ("Shake It Off"). At the same time, there's a distinct sense of hearing a band finally at ease in its own skin. Sky Blue Sky represents the sound of Wilco finally pulling through its petulant adolescence. --Aidin Vaziri

Album Description

"Sky Blue Sky" has hints of early-seventies Southern California folk-rock sweetness in the harmonies. The album is filled with brash guitar solos that take songs like "You Are My Face" and "Shake It Off" in unexpected directions.

Customer Reviews:

"This is important...but I know you're not listening...".......2007-07-09

It seems that with every record, Wilco has a divided audience. Here we go again. I'm a Summerteeth and Yankee guy if I could have only two. Luckily I can have them all! So I find myself in a position defending the album rather than just saying that I enjoyed it as always. First, I don't think this is a grower, I liked it just fine the first time through. That may be because I had already been alerted that it was not Yankee or Ghost part II. Allot of any initial response to a new album comes from your predispositions as to what you expect or want. If you really want Yankee or Ghost part II, I suggest you go listen to them again or get the live "Kicking Television". If you want a new Wilco experience, this should do just fine. It's been funny reading a few reviews suggesting the lyrics are weak compared to other albums. I don't think lyrically this album is much different from the others. The usual mix of the "what does that mean" (Side with the Seeds") with the straight ahead folky ("What Light"). As to the music, the essentials are still the Wilco staples: Time signature changes, quiet to loud shifts within one song, beautiful melodies, great rock vocals, all rooted in a folk idiom. To me the only significant difference is that there is more melodic guitar lead mixed in with the occasional guitar crunch. Some of these are absolutely haunting (see "On and On", "You are My Face", and "Leave Me" for starters). I happen to like that change-up on this outing. This album also doesn't have a real hard-rocker ala Spiders (from AGIB) but Spiders was a bit aberrant to me. Of course there are no noises here, but that only happened on YHF anyway and how many times can one go to that well for atmosphere? I have missed the quirkiness Jay Bennett brought to the music since he left, but Jeff still brings the good songs. And the continuing reinvention keeps me coming back. So where does that leave us? I have happily put this album next to Summerteeth, Yankee, and Ghost at the top of the Wilco oevre. Being There is very, very close behind (it has two of my favorite Wilco songs after all: "Misunderstood" and "Sunken Treasure"). So if you like Wilco because of their great music, get this! If you like 'em because you have a Conet fetish, skip it.

This must have been a really bad breakup.......2007-07-09

This is one of my absolute fave bands--This is disappointing for me even after 5 or 6 run throughs..Tweedy whines on and on about love lost on virtually every song...the most sophomoric he has ever sounded, with ocassional nice little lyrical parts (not as clever or as important as previous three records--I mean he sings about doing laundry for Christs sake, c'mon man) and some guitar parts which he relies too heavily on..it remainds me of Beck's Sea Change which he came back from thankfully and Neil Young's Tonights the Night (although Neil relied a lot on Lofgren's guitar, at least the angst was not a handcuffing factor for every track). Some good stuff on here, but get over the broken heart thing on every track man. Not nearly as pretty as previous "girl" tracks.. I look forward more inspired things from Tweedyco next time.

Beautiful!.......2007-07-08

I listen to this CD every day and will for a LONG time to come! I love all Wilco records, but I have a special place in my heart for this one, for reasons I cannot divulge, but I have a good reason.

I love the title track, Jeff's voice is better than it's ever been, and it's an emotional record, full of just downright beautiful music. Also, for the fan who wants "rock", you've got Walken, Impossible Germany, Shake it Off, what more could you want? If you've never seen Wilco live, you must, a completed rewarding experience!

You won't hear a lot of the noise that was on the last two Wilco CD's, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or A Ghost is Born (both equally excellent records), this new one is quieter, but the lyrics and musicship are first rate. Wilco is the BEST american band today!! Highly recommended!

I'm trying really hard to like this album......still trying...........2007-07-05

this ablum is difficult. why the change to dullness? Basically, I feel like I'm back in my parents house listening to America or the Eagles or Lightfoot on 8-track. I'm sad. This album is sad. I'm sorry. I so like to idea of siding with the seeds, though. Maybe next time. Wooahis me.

AWESOME!.......2007-07-04

Wilco onc again delivers an all around solid album! I definatly recommend it for any diehard Wilco fan or anyone looking for get into Wilco for the first time!

Average customer rating:

A Hundred Miles or More
A selection of songs on previous CD's
Wonderful! back to her bluegrass & gospel roots.
Awesome Voice!
A HUNDRED SMILES OR MORE

A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection
Alison Krauss
Manufacturer: Rounder / UMGD
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music

New Traditionalist | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Country | Styles | Music

General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

Contemporary | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

Traditional | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Rounder Records | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

The Calling
Waking Up Laughing
Not Too Late
West
Call Me Irresponsible

ASIN: B000ND91SG
Release Date: 2007-04-03

Tracks:

You're Just a Country Boy
Simple Love
Jacob's Dream
Away Down the River
Sawing on the Strings
Down to the River to Pray
Baby Mine
Molly Bán
How's the World Treating You (duet with James Taylor)
The Scarlet Tide
Whiskey Lullaby (duet with Brad Paisley)
You Will Be My Ain True Love
I Give You to His Heart
Get Me Through December
Missing You (duet with John Waite)
Lay Down Beside Me (previously unreleased duet with John Waite)

Amazon.com

A Hundred Miles or More carries the subtitle A Collection, and what a curious collection it is--cuts from soundtracks, side projects, and tribute albums, plus guest duets on other artists' albums and five previously unreleased tracks. In other words, this is a collection of Alison Krauss performances that have never appeared on an Alison Krauss album, though it holds together better than such a grab-bag approach might suggest. Highlights such as her duet with Brad Paisley on "Whiskey Lullaby" and her a cappella rendition of "Down to the River to Pray" from O Brother, Where Art Thou? will be familiar to most Krauss fans, though it's doubtful that many share her infatuation with retro rocker John Waite (with whom she revives his "Missing You" and duets on a cover of Don Williams's "Lay Down Beside Me."). Other projects represented range from Disney to the Chieftains to the Louvin Brothers (she duets with James Taylor on their "How's the World Treating You." There's minimal contribution from her Union Station band--making this a solo release by default--and little information to indicate whether the previously unreleased tracks were outtakes from earlier releases or recently recorded for this one. --Don McLeese

More Alison Krauss

Lonely Runs Both Ways

Live

Now That I've Found You: A Collection

Album Description

"A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection" is comprised of 16 tracks, highlighting Alison Krauss's career outside of her traditional releases with longtime band Union Station. The album features Krauss's collaboration with John Waite on the single "Missing You," as well as Krauss's contributions to film soundtracks, including the Oscar-nominated songs "The Scarlet Tide" and "You Will Be My Ain True Love," written for the motion picture "Cold Mountain," and "Down to the River to Pray" from the film "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Known for her collaborations, Krauss also includes several duets in the collection such as the 2003 hit with Brad Paisley, "Whiskey Lullaby," and her duet with James Taylor for the tribute album "Livin', Lovin', Losin': Songs of the Louvin Brothers," "How's the World Treating You." The collection debuts five new songs: "You're Just a Country Boy," "Jacob's Dream," "Simple Love," "Lay Down Beside Me," and "Away Down the River," all of which feature Krauss as a producer.

Customer Reviews:

A Hundred Miles or More.......2007-07-09

I purchased the CD for my husband, a long-time A. Krauss fan. I heard the CD once and fell in love with it and immediately played it again. The Don Henley duets are fabulous. Very relaxing and enjoyable CD.

A selection of songs on previous CD's.......2007-07-09

I was not disappointed in this CD however I had heard most of the songs previously on her other CD's. I still recomend this because I could listen to her sing anytime.

Wonderful! back to her bluegrass & gospel roots........2007-07-03

I first heard Alison Krauss doing a solo playing interview on Fordham's WFUV radio. Instantly loved her work and my wife loved the CD I bought and all we've found since. Her best ever was the double album Alison Krauss Live. Since then she's gone through a period of trying to slick up her image and go more mainstream with her music. Her strength is bluegrass and gospel where she is the sweetest and most compelling performer I've ever heard. She was the backbone to the O Brother Where Art Thou sound track and we saw her at Carnegie Hall in a terrific recreation of the O Brother soundtrack with all the original performers. This album is a wonderful return. Highly recommended.

Awesome Voice!.......2007-07-02

I love her voice and all of the songs. I do wish there were more Bluegrass songs on there, but overall I am very pleased with the cd!

A HUNDRED SMILES OR MORE.......2007-06-27

As is mentioned in the program notes in the CD booklet, this compilation includes 4 unreleased tunes as well as songs from outside her previous solo and Union Station recordings -- many of these from movie soundtracks. I was first introduced to Alison Krauss on the Soundtrack, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and was thrilled that the song, "Down to the River to Pray" from that soundtrack was included on this compilation.

The album as a whole has a folksy, country-western, bluegrass and Celtic feeling to it. There are some soft, subdued songs, such as "Scarlet Tide" (with just vocal, piano and cello); Celtic-flavored tunes such as "Molly Ban"; more mainstream country, such as the wonderful duet with Brad Paisley on "Whiskey Lullaby"; a little pop with accompaniment, similar to Berlin's "Every Breath You Take," on "Missing You" (one of two duets with John White); and even a little Disney("Baby Mine")!

Allison's voice is clear, soft and pleasant, but she can also play a mean fiddle, as heard on "Sawing on the Strings"! While some of her lyrics might be considered "depressing" to some, the eclectic mix - and especially the fiddling - still brings a smile to my face.

If you buy just one Alison Krauss compilation, this would be it.

Average customer rating:

Big Dog Daddy
quality maintained
This Album will Cure Your Insomnia
Another album with a dumb title
On the brink of unlistenable...

Big Dog Daddy
Toby Keith
Manufacturer: Show Dog Nashville
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music

New Traditionalist | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Country | Styles | Music

Contemporary | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

5th Gear
Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace
One of the Boys
Let It Go
Lost Highway

ASIN: B000NIBV0C
Release Date: 2007-06-12

Tracks:

High Maintenance Woman
Love Me If You Can
White Rose
Get My Drink On
Wouldn't Wanna Be Ya
Big Dog Daddy
Burnin' Moonlight
Walk it Off
I Know She Hung the Moon
Pump Jack
Hit It

Amazon.com

On his first totally controlled album for his own label, Toby Keith adds another title to his résumé: producer. Throughout, the former Oklahoma wildcatter, who's taken heat for his blustery patriotism and outspoken remarks, seems to be seeking new respect, shifting the focus off of politics and grandstanding and back to his talents as a musician. While his last album, White Trash with Money, found him flirting with R&B and adding horns for a bit more bump, his latest effort finds him nearly in a singer-songwriter mood, taking more time to craft the sound of the tracks and laying down his own harmonies. He's still relying on gimmicky wordplay and cartoon puffery for his full-tilt radio numbers ("High Maintenance Woman," "Big Dog Daddy"), but he also showcases the sensitive, ballad-heavy side of his personality that hasn't been as apparent since the '90s ("Does That Blue Moon Ever Shine on You," "We Were in Love"). He achieves this with some fine cowriting--the winsome "I Know She Hung the Moon" and "Walk It Off," and the lusty "Burnin' Moonlight." He also finds two excellent covers, Fred Eaglesmith's "White Rose" (which combines nostalgia for full-service gas stations with that of a teen's coming of age) and the thoughtful Craig Wiseman/Chris Wallin ballad "Love Me If You Can." The latter, a quiet social commentary, revisits Keith's familiar theme of holding one's ground, but with a far more compassionate approach than he's tried before. Consider it a meditation from a brash king of the hill who hasn't forgotten how to be humble. --Alanna Nash

Customer Reviews:

Big Dog Daddy.......2007-07-06

I was skeptical about purchasing yet another Toby Keith CD but am glad I made the purchase. Once again, Toby comes through with his distinct voice and ear catching tunes. Toby is by far one of the best song writers yet in country music. I went to see a concert at the Tweeter Center in NJ and let me tell you, I am still impressed with the show he performed. The song "High Maintenance Woman" is cute and funny. The cd was a very good buy.

quality maintained.......2007-07-05

I like toby because he has a fine distinctive voice and uses it well on differing song moods and his backing is well thought out. Especially liked the Jack Daniels track as we visited the distillery in april and our guide called Dusty was memorable ..............keep going toby and always try new things.

This Album will Cure Your Insomnia.......2007-07-03

This is the worst kind of trash I have ever heard. The chord progressions are not unique, and it is not even true to the spirit of punk rock. The guy can't even sing. In fact, I heard he lip syncs at his concerts. After I heard this album, I stomped on it and threw it in my garbage. Maybe you should buy it to do that yourself.

Another album with a dumb title.......2007-06-28

Another album with a dumb title after 'White Trash With Money': 'Big Dog Daddy'. Sounds 'very Country', doesn't it? It sounds more like a book for toddlers than a Country album. How can this guy be taken seriously?

I don't think he knows exactly what his fans want. His songs about bars, drinking, booze and women may appeal to people like him but they are not to the taste of everybody. If he thinks it is what all his fans want he is wrong. He doesn't know his audience. Some of his fans are not really interested in songs about Jack Daniels whiskey, a couple having sex in a pickup truck, a woman in a mini skirt ( what's next? A song about a woman in a bikini?) or his pro-war politics ( I don't get how this warmonger claims he 'prays for peace on earth every night' ). Same garbage. No originality. It seems that it is all he has to offer. Very disappointing. It is not hard to figure out why he has lost a lot of fans.

On the brink of unlistenable..........2007-06-27

I approached "Big Dog Daddy" with an open mind but I have to say that it rivals K-Fed's "Playing With Fire" as the most unlistenable album of all time (and appeals to the same dumbed-down audience). It is one of the most over-produced, insincere, steaming piles of garbage I have heard in a long time. The guy just has nothing to say. You can't let your "boots do the talking" through the speakers. I guess he should have stuck to football.

Average customer rating:

Definately Recommended
Carrie Underwood cd
Boring
good job Carrie
Overrated.

Some Hearts
Carrie Underwood
Manufacturer: Arista
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Country | Styles | Music

Contemporary | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Adult Contemporary | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Daughtry
Enjoy The Ride
Fireflies
Twice the Speed of Life
Me and My Gang

ASIN: B000BGR18W
Release Date: 2005-11-15

Tracks:

Wasted
Don't Forget To Remember Me
Some Hearts
Jesus, Take The Wheel
The Night Before (Life Goes On)
Lessons Learned
Before He Cheats
Starts With Goodbye
I Just Can't Live A Lie
We're Young And Beautiful
That's Where It Is
Whenever You Remember
I Ain't In Checotah Anymore
Inside Your Heaven

Amazon.com

Would American Idol winner Carrie Underwood have landed a major-label recording contract without winning the hugely popular television contest? Probably. The big-voiced Oklahoman has the pipes, the look, the pedigree, and, most important, the emotional resonance to sustain a professional career. As an investment in her future, her label eschewed the easy path in putting out an album to take advantage of her publicity, going for a name producer, Dann Huff (Keith Urban, Faith Hill, Lonestar), to handle half the tracks. It also solicited material from the same top songwriters (Diane Warren, Brett James, Troy Verges, Rivers Rutherford) who stock albums by Hill, Martina McBride, Trisha Yearwood, and Wynonna. "Jesus, Take the Wheel," the hit first single, shows off the best of Underwood's power vocals, while the sexy rocker "We're Young and Beautiful" pulls her out of her ballad-heavy comfort zone, and her autobiographical "I Ain't in Checotah Anymore" bolsters her authenticity. If the young performer oversings on occasion (the overwrought bonus track, "Inside Your Heaven"), and settles for too many generic themes, she still surprises in her ability to go head-to-head with country's reigning females. Will Underwood really survive to be a contender for the Martina throne? Let's just say that American Idol judges and voters picked the right contestant. If the posturing Bo Bice had won, rock stars would hardly be quaking in their boots. --Alanna Nash

More American Idol Winners

Breakaway, Kelly Clarkson

I Need an Angel, Ruben Studdard

Free Yourself, Fantasia Barrino

Customer Reviews:

Definately Recommended.......2007-07-09

I bought this album for my sister and pretty much only for the song Jesus Take The Wheel, which I love! I didnt think I would like the rest of it as I am not much of a country music fan, BUT I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoy this album, so I would definately recommend this to all country music fans and anyone else who just feels like something different! I even got my neice bopping away to it and that is saying something!

Carrie Underwood cd.......2007-07-05

young lady with a strong voice, great for listening if traveling. Not great if you wish a softer relaxing easy listening type of cd. It rocks if you like country, but do not like the whinning that most country singers seem to have. Carrie does not. Her voice is clear and right on key. Fast paced cd with good music. It crosses both boundaries of rock and country in a good way.

Boring.......2007-07-03

I was very disappointed with this and so was my wife! We expected much much more. We have buried this and probably won't ever play it again. A waste of money.

good job Carrie.......2007-07-03

this is truely one of my favorite Cd's. Every single song is better than the one before!

Overrated........2007-06-28

I expected this CD to be at the very least good if not great. I was shocked at the poor ennunciation, over the top production work and cookie cutter song selection. Shouts out to whoever managed to herd the sheep with their top shelf marketing.

Average customer rating:

Big Disappointment
Big and Rich
Big and Rich, Great Again!
Do we really need another Wedding Song?
Big and Rich

Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace
Big & Rich
Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Country | Styles | Music

Contemporary | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music
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Big Dog Daddy
5th Gear
One of the Boys
Relentless
Pure BS

ASIN: B000OCXM6I
Release Date: 2007-06-05

Tracks:

Intro
Lost In This Moment
Between Raising Hell And Amazing Grace
Faster Than Angels Fly
Eternity -- featuring John Legend
When The Devil Gets The Best Of Me
Radio Intro
Radio
You Never Stop Loving Somebody
High Five
Please Man -- featuring Wyclef Jean
You Shook Me All Night Long
Loud

Amazon.com

At the height of their 2004 "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" fame, Big & Rich's one lament was that radio didn't know what to do with them, even though they sold two million copies of their debut album, Horse of a Different Color. Their follow-up, 2005's Comin' to Your City, likewise failed to score a Top 10 single, but still went platinum. Now comes their third album, and their first single, "Lost in This Moment"--an overtly emotional ballad about getting hitched--is selling like Gatorade at a chili cook-off. Are Music City's most likeable lunatics playing it safe? Well, it sounds that way. And if that's a disappointment, given their initial rollicking (and much needed) assault on staid Nashville, there's more bad news. Big Kenny's loopy songs of peace, love, and hippified unity (especially the overblown "Eternity," featuring John Legend) now sound so familiar, replete with Pentecostal blathering ("Brothers and sisters..."), you can sing along the first time you hear them. The duo sequences the album like a vinyl disc of old, with a virtual A-side (ballads) and B-side (rockers). Not surprising, the B-side wins, even if "Radio" owes too much to the self-aggrandizing hullabaloo of Comin' to Your City and Wyclef Jean drops by to rap a few country clichés. It takes an awfully long time for this album to be fun, but it eventually does, with an AC/DC cover ("You Shook Me All Night Long") and a Brooks & Dunnish turbo-tonker ("Loud"). Fans of Big & Rich already understand that they take their spirituality as seriously as their sinning. But next time, here's hoping they spend more time in Saturday night, and less in Sunday morning. --Alanna Nash

Album Description

On their third album, Big & Rich bust down the doors of country music with new sounds, new energy and new audiences. The title Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace describes not only this collection but also Big & Rich themselves. Thank heaven for Big & Rich!

Customer Reviews:

Big Disappointment.......2007-07-07

I was excited for the release of the latest CD from John & Kenny, even with the toned down and boring lead off single "Lost In This Moment" played on the radio.

This is Big & Rich, they can't let me down.

Well they did.

They present this CD as if it was an old vinyl LP album, with "side one" loaded with strange and short intros into rather forgetable slow tunes.

It's only till you get to "Side B" that they duo tries to redeem itself with a more familiar style and a few rockin' uptempo tracks like 'Radio', 'Loud', and a remake of the AC/DC classic 'You Shook Me All Night Long'.

If I could buy just one "side" of this latest effort, I would pay half the price and go for side two.

It's this sellout to commercialism that also ruined another favorite band of mine, Lonestar, who bore me now with every song and CD they release.

Hmmm... John Rich used to be in Lonestar. Things that make you go hmmmm.

Big and Rich.......2007-07-06

Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace...perfect title for this CD. Lost in this Moment - if I was getting married again, would be my song...it is perfect for a wedding and if you are so much in love! Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace is yet another great song...very catchy tunes and glad I made the purchase. The best cd by far that Big and Rich has produced.

Big and Rich, Great Again!.......2007-07-06

Another Great CD. Changers have been made. This is progress,Am now looking forward to the next one.

Do we really need another Wedding Song?.......2007-07-05

I have all of their CD's, and I could not wait till this was released. What a let down, as others have said, it seems that not much effort was put into this as the others.
I think the release was planned for June, due to the fact that the first song on this CD "Lost in this Moment" will be many couples Wedding Song. I gave it 3 stars only because I like the other 3 CD's.

Big and Rich.......2007-07-05

Not the typical Big and Rich album. Has some slower songs and they mix up their style some. Still has some traditional Big and Rich songs like Radio and loud. Still a good album but not their best.

Average customer rating:

Very disappointed....
Good; not great
Alt-country emo??
Still the Angel of Ensanguined Love
West

West
Lucinda Williams
Manufacturer: Lost Highway
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

Contemporary | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Alternative Folk | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Not Too Late
Van Morrison At The Movies: Soundtrack Hits
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A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection

ASIN: B000LXHGFI
Release Date: 2007-02-13

Tracks:

Are You Alright?
Mama You Sweet
Learning How To Live
Fancy Funeral
Unsuffer Me
Everything Has Changed
Come On
Where Is My Love?
Rescue
What If
Wrap My Head Around That
Words
West

Amazon.com

Though the arrangements stray from Lucinda Williams's motherlode blend of blues, country, and folk, West may well be her best album. It is easily her most musically adventurous, and often her most lyrically inspired. Williams's singing has never sounded better, from the aching tenderness of "Where Is My Love?" to the ravaged catharsis of "Unsuffer Me." New York producer Hal Willner, who has worked with artists such as Marianne Faithful and Lou Reed, enlists the support of eclectic progressives like guitarist Bill Frisell, keyboardist Bob Burger, and violinist Jenny Scheinman, along with harmonies from the Jayhawks' Gary Louris, to weave a subtly rich sonic tapestry. Much of the material was inspired by the death of Williams's beloved mother ("Mama You Sweet," "Fancy Funeral") and the bitter breakup of a relationship (the jagged-edged emasculation of "Come On," the repetitive incantation of "Wrap My Head Around That"), though "Are You Alright?," "Learning How to Live," and "Everything Has Changed" could reflect the aftermath of both. Other highlights include "Rescue," with a languid subtlety and ambient pulse reminiscent of Beth Orton, and the dreamy, wistful title track. Where Williams's music has long cut close to the bone, the best of West slices right through it. --Don McLeese

Lucinda Wiliams Photos

More Lucinda Williams

Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
World Without Tears
Essence

Customer Reviews:

Very disappointed...........2007-07-08

that's that I was when I heard this record. Even in concert, Lucinda just seems like such a drag anymore. I know, her mom died recently, but this whole record is such a downer, and her voice just drones on and on and on.

Give me Lucinda's self titled CD any day over her last 2 records...

Good; not great.......2007-07-07

She has a couple of excellent tracks on this CD. I especially like "Are You Alright", but the overall work seems uninspired. I find it a bit of a downer, in the main (and, yes, I understand the inspiration.) I recognize her artistry as a songwriter, but her voice on this CD -- after a while, its nasal quality begins to grate; she doesn't do that as well as Tracy Chapman.

Alt-country emo??.......2007-06-18

No, really--I love Lucinda Williams. I've liked her earlier albums and I like her voice; it's a nice change in a music genre that often seems to idealize baby-voiced vocalists like Emmylou Harris, Nanci Griffith, and Iris DeMent (all of whom are fine singers, of course, but it's unusual to hear a female singer with Williams' deep, husky, voice).

I found this album musically monotonous. Really monotonous. Like, sleep-inducing. I could chalk that up to personal taste and forgive it if more of the songs had lyrics that were interesting or meaningful beyond fairly standard pop fare. Too many of these, as much as I hate to think it, were warmed-over rhymes and old themes with no new insight.

Get Car Wheels instead.

Still the Angel of Ensanguined Love.......2007-06-09

I bought this CD a week ago, and yes, Lucinda Williams is still the greatest living songwriter (though I might say she possibly currently shares that honor with Ryan Adams). The most visceral portrayal of heartbreak in verse and song ever, ever...Lucinda you are still the angel of ensanguined love.

West.......2007-06-07

Notwithstanding the hit-making assembly line of Nashville, country music will always bring me back to the idea of wandering, a sense of nomadic drift brought about by pain, heartbreak and loss. The tradition dates back nearly a century to the Carter Family, whose songs may sound dated but whose lyrics of leaving heartache to wander away from home and into the grave ring surprisingly true today. After all, our emotions and our natural reactions to them have stood the test of time, even as society has evolved tremendously since the Carter Family first laid down their music on wax.

To look at Lucinda Williams on the cover of West is to see a woman who has lived through enough pain for three people, as she turns her back on the world with a frustrated yet resigned sigh. The country singer/songwriter has spent the last year of her life wandering in the most literal sense, making a pilgrimage to Los Angeles in response to her mother's death and a turbulent relationship that likely ended with lots of tears and thrown kitchenware. Like it or not, Williams' first studio offering in four years is inspired by exactly those two things and little more. Suffice to say that West is a monumental downer--the starkest and bleakest album in a line of stark, bleak albums that began with Essence in 2001.

It's an approach that leaves West somewhat flat and one-dimensional when viewed from a distance, but for Williams, God is--and has always been--in the details. Far from being the instrumental knockout that was 1998's Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, West has the studio musicians wisely stepping back to plant the focus squarely on Williams, whose torchy, weathered voice can make even trite lyrics like "The days ahead will never be the same / for you I would have changed my name" quake with sorrow. "Unsuffer Me," in which Williams prays for someone to relieve her of years of abuse, is downright painful to hear, not necessarily because of what she sings, but because she sings it in repetitive vocal droops that evoke consecutive blows to the head in slow motion. Quiet is the new loud here; the final track, "West," is simultaneously simmering and shattering, making great use of empty space that mimics the void upon which she now gazes.

Williams remains the talented songwriter she's always been, but she's constrained a bit by the limitations of West's subject matter. There are only so many ways one can describe a breakup. "Everything has changed / Everything has changed," she sings on "Everything Has Changed." Well, yeah. Williams also has trouble pulling off anger in an album that has every right to be fraught with it. She only takes a few stabs, preferring instead to stay esconsed in her own gloomy universe, but all fall short. Consider "Come On," the album's only bona-fide rocker, whose rough electric guitars, crashing drums and high-pitched violin fizzle when they should explode, and whose weak double entendres ("You didn't even make me...come on!") would elicit snickers from anyone who's ever heard Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville.

While "Come On" has proven to be a consistent turkey in the eyes of the critics, the best song here, "Words," has the misfortune of landing in the penultimate slot where it's guaranteed to be passed over. For a precious brief moment, "Words" switches things up; the song is about mustering strength, not accepting renunciation ("My words enjoy the feel of the paper/ better than mingling with your consonants/ once they get going, they never waver/ and they slip in between your ifs, ands, and buts"), and the guitars and drums percolate plaintively, even hopefully. But this isn't an uplifting album by any stretch of the imagination; it's a breakup record if ever there were one, a record for those down-in-the-mouth moments before you can even begin to think about taking the next step. Clearly, Williams isn't ready for that yet.

All of this prompts the question: Can we really fault her for churning out such an oppressively dreary record? Far be it from me to invalidate anyone's feelings, and Williams convinces us of her depressive state through the honesty of her lyrics and her sobering, somber arrangements. Yet, perhaps the album's release was a bit premature. Williams' best friend and worst enemy has always been her own staunch perfectionism; there might be a several-year gap between her albums, but until now, the wait has been entirely worth it. She took three full years just to record Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, but her adherence to the integrity of the final product made it one of country music's contemporary watersheds. Her Live at the Fillmore album in 2005 bought her enough time so that she could have waited one or two more years to release something, possibly during her reemergence from the doldrums. But now we have West, and a bummer is a bummer, especially for those who don't have the time, energy or desire to meet Williams halfway.

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Taking The Long Way
Dixie Chicks
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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All the Roadrunning
Not Too Late
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ASIN: B000F7MG4G
Release Date: 2006-05-23

Tracks:

The Long Way Around
Easy Silence
Not Ready To Make Nice
Everybody Knows
Bitter End
Lullaby
Lubbock Or Leave It
Silent House
Favorite Year
Voice Inside My Head
I Like It
Baby Hold On
So Hard
I Hope

Amazon.com

Nothing changes folks like babies and war, and since the release of their last album, 2002's Home, the Dixie Chicks have been forever altered by both. If that album showcased the trio as precocious young adults, Taking the Long Way finds them sobered and matured, and in a grown-up state of mind. Produced by the celebrated Rick Rubin (Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chili Peppers), who saw the Chicks as "a great rock act making a country album, not a country act making a rock album," their new record impresses both as beautiful sonic tapestry (peppered with myriad Beatlesque hallmarks) and forthright yet vulnerable portrait of three women shaken by the personal and political events of the past few years. As they make clear in the defiant "Not Ready to Make Nice," they still smart over the backlash from their 2003 Bushwhacking. But as they assert on the equally autobiographical "The Long Way Around," they could never "kiss all the asses that they told me to" and just follow others aimlessly--and silently--through life. This means that the Chicks are simultaneously prideful and scornful of celebrity ("Everybody Knows"), and that as new mothers they increasingly treasure the refuge they find in life with their families, out of the spotlight ("Easy Silence," "Lullaby," "Baby Hold On"). The push and pull of both passions drive this record, which also touches on the personal issues of infertility (with which sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison both dealt) and Alzheimer's (from which Natalie Maines's grandmother suffers). The trio crafted all 14 cuts with the help of such writers as Sheryl Crow, Gary Louris, Mike Campbell, and Keb' Mo', laying out their lives as honestly and intimately as they might in their diaries. For that reason, on first listen, Taking the Long Way seems too somber--in need of a bit of levity and more than a couple of uptempo songs (like the sexy, '60s-flavored "I Like It") to resonate for the long haul. It also seems to lack the writing quality that Darrell Scott, Patty Griffin, and Bruce Robison brought to Home. But on repeated plays, those concerns dissipate. By the last cut, the R&B/gospel offering "I Hope," the Chicks have chronicled their journey with as much spirituality as spunk, their pain deeply ingrained in their protests. --Alanna Nash

Description

With Taking The Long Way, one of the most anticipated albums in recent years, the Dixie Chicks are putting themselves out there like never before. For the first time, every one of the disc's fourteen songs are co-written by the Chicks themselves, exploring themes both deeply private and resoundingly political. Collaborating with legendary producer Rick Rubin (who has worked with everyone from Johnny Cash to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, from Run DMC to Neil Diamond), the biggest-selling female band in history has truly pushed themselves to new heights both as writers and as performers.

"Everything felt more personal this time," says Maines. "I go back to songs we've done in the past and there's just more maturity, depth, intelligence on these. They just feel more grown-up." Inspired by such classic rock artists as the Eagles, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and the Mamas and the Papas, Taking The Long Way adds a sweeping, Southern California vibe to the Chicks' down-home intimacy. That ambition is matched with lyrics addressing everything from small-town narrow-mindedness ("Lubbock or Leave It") to the psychology of celebrity ("Everybody Knows"). "This album was about finding a balance in the different aspects of our lives," says Emily Robison, "but there's something thematic there, too--it's really about being bold."

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Home

Wide Open Spaces

Fly

Top of the World Tour (Live CD)

Top of the World Tour (DVD)

An Evening with the Dixie Chicks (DVD)

Customer Reviews:

I'd Give it 6 Stars if I could.......2007-07-08

That's how much I LOVE this record! Myself like others I've read, have never purchased a Dixie Chicks record before. I have to admit I only bought it because I'm a huge Jayhawks (Gary Louris) fan, and wanted to hear his contributions. Well, even if Gary had never ever written with these women, I would give this CD my highest rating.

Best tracks are "I'm Not Ready to Make Nice". This song give me chills every time I hear it, never fails to produce that effect. "Everybody Knows" is my next favorite. I'm not going into detail on each and every one, but if you've not heard the DC before or are a long-time fan, this record is for you, trust me.

It's a record that I find fresh and exciting every time I play it, still. The Chicks are wonderful musicians, and Natalie has one of the best voices around! This was my favorite record from last year and truly deserved it's title of Best Record from the grammys.

Still Amazing.......2007-06-26

I bought this when it was first released, and I love it just as much as the day it arrived--maybe more. I often get sick of albums that seemed great in the beginning, but I don't think that could happen with this one. It is too perfect.

Dixie Chicks at their best.......2007-06-24

I find it unbelievable that the Dixie Chicks are still not played on country radio stations (on the Internet anyway). Country musics' heart and soul is telling stories; sad, happy, and everything in between. This album tells the 'story' of the Dixie Chicks in an awesome way. It brings chills to hear how real their story is. The way they have brought the emotion and challenges they faced out through their songs shows unbelievably talent and courage.

As far as still not being played goes, here in NZ we only know what we see on the news and as far as I can tell their are plenty of you Americans who have said and done a lot worse than what the Chicks ever said. I think not playing them is very one-eyed and narrow minded. You just have to look at some of country music's icons to see they have rebelled against the 'government.' Willie, Waylon, Merle, Hank Williams Snr, just to name a few.

Go the Chicks, I will always buy and play their music.

Kia ora

Love it.......2007-06-22

I loved the Chicks' first 3 albums, and though this one is very different from those, I love this one too. It has such a different context, and is not all carefree and fun like some of their other stuff, but for obvious reasons with everthing they've gone through. They really are very respectable artists and people.

Another winner.......2007-06-11

Bought this for my wife. She loves it. I support the Chicks in all they do. We loved their documentary. Great, catchy music. I like how their style evolves.

Album Review:

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Home	Wide Open Spaces	Fly
Top of the World Tour (Live CD)	Top of the World Tour (DVD)	An Evening with the Dixie Chicks (DVD)