Album Review: COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER: A Tribute To Loretta Lynn

2011 saw the release of at least two country music tribute albums.  One of these collections is a long-overdue salute to country queen, Loretta Lynn.  Appropriately titled "Coal Miner's Daughter: A Tribute To Loretta Lynn", this colletion features twelve songs from a variety of artists that span various genres of music. 
There are several highlights on this album, all of which are the songs by actual country music artists.  The other acts fall short in their efforts to put their own spin on these classic songs.  As we hear from some of country's best, you just don't mess too much with the real thing.  Take Faith Hill's rendition of "Love Is The Foundation" as an example.  This is the best tribute you can ask for.  Faith simply lent her voice to a beautiful song and kept the arrangement the same as the original.  I wouldn't be surprised if Loretta felt this song was the best on the album.  Faith Hill needs to record her own album of tribute songs.

Other memorable recordings on "Coal Miner's Daughter..." included Carrie Underwood's very nice version of "You're Lookin' At Country".  Gretchen Wilson leads the album off with "Don't Come Home A Drinkin" (with lovin' on your mind)".  Alan Jackson and Martina McBride have one of two of the albums Lorretta Lynn/Conway Twitty duets.  Their version of "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man" is one of the album's best songs.  The last song on the album is Lorett's signature song, "Coal Miner's Daughter", performed by Loretta herself, with Sheryl Crow and Miranda Lambert.  Loretta and Miranda were fine, but I could have done without Sheryl.  Dolly Parton would have been much better on this song.

That leads me to the other (mostly non-country) acts who contributed to this album.  What's the point here?  Kid Rock? The White Stripes? Paramore???  Ok, scratch Paramore.  The female rock band actually did a pretty nice job on "You Ain't Woman Enough (to take my man)".  But the others were terrible.  Lucinda Williams sounded like a drunken Lacy J. Dalton on "Somebody Somewhere".  On the Loretta/Conway song "After The Fire Is Gone", Steve Earle and Allison Moorer showed us how NOT to do a duet.  Don't ask Steve Earle to sing with you. 

Reba teams up with The Time Jumpers to sing the little known western swing song, "If You're Not Gone Too Long".  This is one that I'm not very familiar with.  I had to listen to it three times before I could write something.  At the end of the day, it's not bad.  Equally not bad is Lee AnnWomack's version of "I'm A Honky Tonk Girl".  It's just ok, compared to the other country songs on the cd.  Finally we return to The White Stripes and Kid Rock who had their own contributions to this cd.  The Stripes did "Rated X".  It was fairly miserable to listen to.  But compared to Kid Rock's version of "I Know How", it guess it was decent.  Why somebody would ask Kid Rock to sing on a Loretta Lynn tribute is beyond me?

This is a pretty good album that could have been great.  All they had to do was keep it country, with country singers and country arrangements.  Just listening to the contrast between The White Stripes and Carrie Underwood (who's songs are next to each other) you can tell the differenc between a country album and the other.  But if you love Loretta Lynn, this cd is woth the purchase price, if only for songs 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 12.  I give this album 3 out of 5 cowboy hats.

CMA Disappoints...AGAIN!

I wasted another 45-minutes of my time, fast-forwarding through a 3-hour CMA Awards Show. This pop-fueled, "country" show was nothing more than a preview of the American Music Awards. In fact, ABC should pull the plug on one of these shows since they are pretty-much the same. Actually, I think I'd prefer the AMA's because at least they represent a genre (or genres) of music. The CMA's represent anything, and everything BUT country music.

But I must post a review, if for no other reason than to add some content to my blog. So here it goes.

The Good: Brad and Carrie did a pretty good job hosting the show again. The writers obviously put some time into penning their script. Bringing Hank Williams Jr. out after the ESPN/FOX situation was great fun. And anybody who believes that ESPN dumped Hank's song from Sunday Night Football because of a political comment should visit Montana's newest ocean-side resort for their next vacation.

Performance-wise, I was only pleased with a couple: The tribute to Glen Campbell with Brad Paisley, Vince Gill and the Aussie that I can't stand was pretty good. Chris Young got to sing a song (Voices) as a nominee for best new artist. It was great to see Chris, but he should have been nominated for that award 4 years ago, and it would have been nice if they let him sing a song from his current album (I'm just sayin'). The Band Perry deserved each award they won. They are this year's good act. Like Easton Corbin was last year. No sign of him at the CMA's. Kenny Chesney and Grace Potter did a great performance of their hit "You and Tequilla".

The Bad: Let's get real. What else was good? Brad and Carrie's performance sucked. And what's with all the special guests. Greg Allman, I can take, but who the hell was the guy who sang with Sugarland? And then all the other non-country artists. It wasn't as bad as the ACM's from earlier this year, but it was pretty close.

The Ugly: What's up with the hoochie-mama dancers for performances by Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan. As if the lyrics aren't degrading enough to women, do we really have to see America's best redneck dance crews on the stage, prancing around like a bunch of drunks showing off their badonkadonks? As if listening to this crap wasn't enough, now we have to see crap too? And I watched it in HD!

Not to give away my age, but when I was a teenager, there was this hit movie about dancing and pop music. It was a decent film that put Kevin Bacon on the map. That film was "Footloose". Besides being set in a bible-thumping redneck town, the film had nothing to do with country music. But today, country music has "evolved" so much. The remake of this film has a remake of the title song being performed by a country star. For those of you who like the computer abbreviations, all I can say is WTF?

The Joke: As with all of these shows, the biggest joke was and still is Taylor Swift. The teeny-bop queen of pop-country won country music's highest honor without winning another award. REALLY? AGAIN? This was the second time in three years this brat has taken away Entertainer of the Year. And quite frankly, I'm getting sick and tired of complaining about her. I don't know what else to say. I am embarrassed to be a fan of country music, and embarrassed to have to write these reviews, as long as I have to type that name.

Sorry to be such a downer here. But country needs to die, and die soon. So it can get its act together and come back as a real genre of music once again. Until then, I'm not sure if I can sit through another awards show, or write another review about it. But to be fair, I will watch next months American Country Awards on Fox to see if they can do any better. But I won't hold my breath.

Review: CMA Music Festival Broadcast

The CMA Music Festival aired this past Sunday night on ABC. Billed as "Country's Night To Rock", I'm sure it sent many true Country Music fans running to other networks, dvd's, movie theaters or just to bed early. Not me! I was in the mountains of Northern California, enjoying the peace and quiet of a rustic cabin and the sounds of crickets and a creek outside. There was no television or radio. In fact, I didn't even have cell phone service for three days. So I would have to wait until I returned home to watch this show on my DVR.

I had to go out and purchase new batteries for my remote control after I was done with this show. That's because I spent the better part of the 3-hour program holding the fast-forward button. The majority of the performances from country's top "superstars" were tired, overplayed songs that would normally be forgotten, but for some reason, ABC and the CMA had to remind many of us why we dont' listen to their type of Country Music anymore.

Take country legend, Reba McEntire for example. Oh, I'm sorry. I keep forgetting it's just "Reba" now. She mailed-in a performance of her year-old, dreadful song "Turn On Your Radio". I guess I should be thankful she wasn't ripping off Beyonce or Kelly Clarkson. But this song really sucks. I guess it would be fine if a twenty-something was singing it. But we get this song from the same person who gave us "Is There Life Out There", "Rumor Has It" and "Little Rock"? To say Reba has sold her soul to the corporate devils that now own Nashville would be putting things mildly.

Forget the expression "tried and true". When describing some of the performers and songs from Sunday night, I can only describe this show as "tired and through". Big & Rich? They reminded me of why I couldn't stand them when they first hit the scene. And their song "Fake I.D." from the upcoming remake of "Footloose" should be a pretty clear indication of the kind of flop that film will be.

Then there's Brad Paisley. What can I say? I have a love/hate relationship with this guy. He opened the show with a horrible summer song called "Working On A Tan". I don't know what was worse, the song itself, or the redneck flash mob sequence that occurred when thousands of people tried to dance along with video screen images from 1960's beach movies. Pathetic! At least Paisley redeemed himself when he sang "Old Alabama" (with Alabama) later in the show.

While Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Tim McGraw and Carrie Underwood were missing from this show, there were a few highlights. Like Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson singing their power duet "Don't You Want To Stay". Little Big Town and Lady A. gave pretty good performances, and The Band Perry was very impressive.

The show devoted an entire segment to American Idol winner Scotty Mcreery and runner-up Lauren Alaina. This showed them arriving at Fan Fair, meeting fans and playing in a celebrity softball game. Then the got to sing with two of their own idols, as Scotty sang "Be Your Man" with Josh Turner and an emotional Lauren sang "Anyway" with Martina McBride. But for me, the highlight of the night was the show's final performance. Zac Brown Band sang "As She's Walking Away" and the crowd erupted into the biggest roar of the night when Alan Jackson took to the stage to join them in this great song.

All-in-all, I rate this program as a "typical" program for today's country. Overexposure is the running theme that the format has adopted. With early ratings indicating an increase of one million viewers over last year's show, today's pop-country is still riding a wave where television ratings are concerned. If I was watching the show as it aired, I would have turned the channel early on. Thankfully I had my remote control in hand and watched the program on DVR. And this is the only reason why I was able to avoid trashing Taylor Swift in this review...

...At least until November's CMA Awards.

Album Review: "Neon" by Chris Young

After a two-year wait, Chris Young has released this third studio album, "Neon". This is the follow-up to Young's moderately successful 2009 release, "The Man I Want To Be." And like a fine wine, the 26-year old former"Nashville Star" winner is getting better with time. "Neon" seems to represent a shift in direction for Young, and is his most "country" album to date.

This album is heavy on love songs and light on the rowdy ones. This is a good sign, as Chris Young seems to have finally found his "lane". Make no mistake, with his range, Young can sing just about anything. But his vocal style seems to fit the love songs best.

Take the album's first single "Tomorrow" for example. From those smooth low notes to the high ones, Young's voice seems to soar. The album's best song is the title track, "Neon". Not since 1991's "Neon Moon" made Brooks and Dunn country superstars, have I heard such a great song about neon. Twenty years ago, this song would have been a huge hit. Unfortunately, today's country is different from the B&D days, which means this song probably won't get any radio play.

Getting back to the love songs, Chris sings to (and about) women in a way that takes us back to old school country. And what a breathe of fresh air this is. Songs like "You", "When She's On" and "She's Got This Thing About Her" are perfect songs about love. And the upbeat "Lost" seems tailor-made for country radio, and could be the albums biggest hit, while NOT being it's best song. But none of these songs portray women as sexual objects like so many of today's country hits do.

"Save Water, Drink Beer" is the lone rowdy-ish song on the album. It's a pretty good song about getting through a drought by drinking beer (That old well is plumb dry/The city put a limit on the water you can buy/We don't mind/'Cause round here/We save water and drink beer).

This CD closes with "She's Got This Thing About Her". Some critics will call this song cheesy, because of its string arrangement. But those would be the critics who blasted George Strait's "I Cross My Heart" for the same reason. Critics who don't get country music should never review it. This song has a nice subtle touch to it and wraps the experience of "Neon" up perfectly.

"Neon" is Chris Young's best album to date. Young co-wrote seven of the ten tracks on the CD. The only problem with the album is that it leaves you wanting more. This is also a throwback to the REAL country days, when albums had only ten songs on them and you wanted more. There is not a bad song on "Neon". Hopefully country radio will embrace this album so that it will yield several hit singles. Those who prefer to download their music must heed my warning and be sure to by the entire album, and not just one or two singles. If not, you will be missing some great music.

Concert Review:Alison Krauss & Union Station, June 25, Berkeley, CA

It's hard to believe more than eleven years have gone by since I last saw Alison Krauss and Union Station in concert. But that's how long it was between concerts for me. This past Saturday night at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California, that long wait came to an end. As a first-time visitor to the Greek, I heeded the prior warnings to "bundle up" as the temperature drops once the sun goes down and the fog begins to roll in at this open-air amphitheater.

Alison and the band treated the crowd to a two-hour show featuring many songs from their latest album, "Paper Airplane", along with a bunch of selections from the past ten years. The show opened with the title track of that CD, sang beautifully by Alison and performed flawlessly by the band. Next in line was the 2nd song from the same album, "Dust Bowl Children", which Dan Tyminski sang the lead vocals. Among the other songs from the new album were "Dimming Of The Day", "Bonita and Bill Butler" and my personal favorite, "Miles To Go".

Other highlights from the show included songs from Krauss' last compilation, "A Hundred Miles Or More" as well as albums with Union Station such as "Lonely Runs Both Ways", "New Favorite", and "Forget About It". The band blended traditional bluegrass songs with the more contemporary sound that Alison has become known for during the past decade. Some of these highlights included "Ghost In This House", "Let Me Touch You For Awhile", "Baby, Now That I've Found You", "Oh Atlanta", and Tyminski favorite "Man Of Constant Sorrow", which was made famous when George Clooney "lip-synced" it in the movie "Oh Brother Where Art Thou".

To listen to Alison Krauss and Union Station (AKUS) perform live is to be transported to a musical world that few get to truly experience. In a world where flashy effects, auto-tune and even pre-recorded tracks are commonly found in concerts, this band had kept it simple and real, while pushing the envelope and boundaries of musicianship. Live or recorded, you will simply find no better a band than this one in music today.

Krauss' amazing vocals shine on every song she sings. But she also plays a mean fiddle on many of their songs. Dan Tyminski sings lead on the more traditional bluegrass songs and plays mandolin and guitar. Ron Block plays guitar and banjo and sings some harmony vocals. Barry Bales plays upright bass as well as electric bass. He also sings background vocals as well. Both Bales and Block have written some of the band's songs. Jerry Douglas joined Union Station as a special guest more than ten years ago. He is a quite simply a master of the dobro and lap steel guitar. Douglas' contributions to the band have been nothing short of amazing and he fits right in with the rest of the group who have been performing together for more than twenty years.

If I had to pick something negative from this show it would be the lack of songs from the earlier years of AKUS, as well as the omission of some of Alison's more well-known mainstream hits. It would have been nice to hear songs like "When You Say Nothing At All" and "Whiskey Lullaby" (even without Brad Paisley). And a show without songs from earlier albums like "I've Got That Old Feeling", "Too Late To Cry" and "Two Highways" would have been welcome at this show, and they would have shown more of the band's versatility.

Opening the show, from Portland, Oregon was a musician who went by the name of M. Ward. His brief set seemed to warm-up the audience as they continued to file into the amphitheater. The Greek Theatre holds about 8,500 people. I would estimate a crowd of near 6,000 at this show. It's hard to tell if the absence of a country music station in the Bay Area had any affect on the crowd size, because Krauss' songs were never played on country radio anyway. Overall, the Berkeley seemed a bit subdued. There was very little crowd participation during the bluegrass numbers, and many people seemed to not appreciate or be familiar with most of the songs. I even noticed several people making early exits before the show ended. Their loss.

But for those like myself who have followed Alison Krauss and Union Station for more than twenty years, this was a wonderful show by an amazing group of musicians. The band is currently touring the U.S. and Canada to support their new album. If you have the chance to catch their show live, I highly recommend that you do. You will not be disappointed.

Review: CMT Music Awards

Last night, Country Music Television (CMT) presented its annual awards show from Nashville, TN. This program has evolved over the years into a large-scale production for the cable network. Long before this program became what it is today, the show got its start as the Music City News Country Awards. That show was very much along the lines of the CMA and ACM awards shows of the day.

The CMT Music Awards are still following in the steps of the CMA and ACM shows. It's become a miserable representation of country music. In fact, last night's program was about as country as a concert headlined by Justin Bieber, with special guest, Ludacris. The show had all of the drama (none) as its CMA and ACM counterparts, with the same amount of predictability. To call this a celebration of country music is an insult to country music fans everywhere.

The show had a nice start, opening with its traditional pre-taped c

omedy sketch. This one featured Taylor Swift and Shania Twain in a spoof of the film "Thelma and Louise". Filled with several cameos by the likes of Chord "Glee" Overstreet, Donald Trump and the show's host, Kid Rock. Ater the five-minute skit was done, we were stuck with two and a half hours of off-key performances and the aforementio

ned predictable awards.

Kid Rock started his hosting duties in very awkward fashion, with a scripted segment with Wynonna Judd that culminated in a strange duet. What followed were performances by several of today's so-called "hip" country acts. The only veteran in the house was Toby Keith who did the first performance (not bad).

As the show progressed, Kid Rock got a little bit better. He had several outfit changes and even more drinks to mellow him out. Awards went to all the usual suspects. Lady Antebellum, Sugarland, Justin Bieber. That's right! The teenage pop star took home an award for his video with Rascal Flatts, who appeared on stage for Bieber's acceptance speech, to worship the teen idol. The scene was quite pathetic.

The biggest winners of the night were not even on hand. Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert won Male and Female Video, respectively. Blake pre-taped a speech, while Miranda was a no-show. The most predictable award for Video Of The Year went to Taylor Swift who accepted the award via video from a concert. Normally I would be overly angry at Taylor Swift winning the top award of the night, but this is only CMT, so it doesn't really matter.

Performers included a who's-who of today's country superstars such as Zac Brown Band, Luke Bryan and of course Ludacris. After-all, what's a country music show without a hard-core rapper? I guess Cowboy Troy wasn't available. One of the lone musical highlights from the show was the return of Big & Rich. They performed a song from a backstage set that was made to resemble "Tootsies" bar, and then magically stormed on stage to the rousing applause from a crowd that broke into a flash-mob sequence, dancing along with some hoochi-mama dancers that appeared on stage with Big Kenny and Jon.

Most notably absent this year were stars

like Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley. Maybe they decided to steer clear of this train wreck. Or perhaps the country music establishment decided those three were no longer relevant in "today's new country". The only other let-down for me was that Lady Gaga did not make a special appearance. That's OK, though. The CMA's are only five months away. I'm sure they will be able to book Gaga or Eminem for that show.

I guess it's pretty obvious how I feel about this year's CMT Music Awards. The words "pathetic" and "joke" come to mind, but I don't want to go off on a rant here. As far as awards shows for music videos go, this show made the MTV Video Music Awards show look like the Oscars. Wait a minute. Does CMT even show music videos anymore. Guess they

are more like MTV than I thought.

Sometimes The Good Guys Win

It's true! It's true! Patience actually pays-off and good guys really do win. At least that's how I feel about my recent victory in a small, but important Facebook war. As I have documented on this blog, another person who once was a good friend of mine, stole my ideal for "Country Music Front Porch" and used it to name his own page on Facebook. I tried using a different name for my blog and other country music entities over the past year, but was not happy with the fact that somebody else was using a name I created.

So I took my concerns to Facebook, and filed a complaint, citing infringement of my intellectual property and violations of Facebook user policies, and an investigation ensued. As of this writing it appears that the fraudulent page has been removed from Facebook, leaving my page as the only front porch on the site. Now I will begin the hard work of building a larger fan base on this and other pages.

A special thanks to Facebook for resolving this issue and doing the right thing.

What's The Deal With The Name?

Please don't be confused.  YES, I have changed the name of my blog.  I decided to claim what is rightfully mine, and take back the name that I originally created to use on my blog and on my future endeavors.  "Classic Country Front Porch" was a nice name, but I was settling for something and was not completely satisfied.  You may remember from my original post on this blog, the story about the former friend of mine who hijacked my original "Front Porch" concept and created a page on Facebook with the name "CountryMusic Front Porch.

This is my porch and I am not going to let a fraud keep playing like he created it.  If you are a "fan" of the other page on Facebook, please think about how little interaction that person has had with his page.  My pages are pretty busy when I have the time to devote to them. Having a full time job outside of this hobby keeps me from adding content more frequently.  But I hope to spend more time on my pages in the very near future. Until then, please rest-assured that "Country Music Front Porch" and "Classic Country Front Porch" are one and the same. I am just renaming everything "Country Music Front Porch".  After all.  It was my idea in the first place.

No more crying over "The Wolf"!

Last December I posted a review of the San Francisco radio station at 95.7 FM, KBWF, also known as "The Wolf".  I pointed-out many reasons why I thought the station was performing so poorly in the ratings and also predicted an eventual format change for the station, taking country music away from San Francisco listeners.

On April 15, "The Wolf's" parent company Entercom Communications did exactly what I had hoped for, and what many Bay Area country music fans dreaded.  They changed the format of KBWF from "today's country" to sports talk.  While many people don't understand how something like this could possibly happen, I completely do.

Endless bad decisions by station management, as well as their own deep-rooted arrogance led to Entercom making this decision.  In the end, it was about money.  But as it relates to the state of country music, I believe there is more to this story.  But first the business part.  KBWF was losing money, BIG TIME!! Advertising revenue at the station was down by more than fifty percent.  Ratings were also dropping steadily and consistently for months.  Some have blamed the addition of the "Fitz In The Morning" show for this.  I think importing the Seattle-based Fitz show to San Francisco was more of an effort to save money, rather than spend it.

After the station's locally-based Ken and Kory morning show was dropped last fall, management chose NOT to replace it with a local program.  Expanding the already-established Fitz show to San Francisco was a win win for the station because it saved the money of producing a local show with new talent.  This was an indicator that Entercom was most-likely planning a format switch for a long time.

Another thing The Wolf did was drop the syndicated (and dreadful) Second Shift with Alan Kabel earlier this year.  They replaced Kabel with their own part-time dj, Ali Wilder, which filled void for the rest of The Wolf's time on the air.  Despite all the changes at the station (or perhaps because of them), KBWF's monthly ratings and position among Bay Area radio stations continued a steady plummet.  And worst of all, the very important CUME (cumulative audience) ratings have seen a huge drop since last Fall.

Earlier this month, "The Wolf" began carrying the live broadcasts of Oakland A's baseball games, along with the A's radio network's pre and post game shows, giving roughly five hours of daily programming to the Oakland A's throughout the baseball season.  For me, this was the final clue that something big was about to happen.  No music stations give up four years of programming for sports.  This just doesn't work.  But some would say that having sports on FM radio is also a big mistake.  Not Entercom...

Entercom has dabbled with FM sports programming in other markets and they have found success.  So the flip of the KBWF from country music to sports talk is not that big of a stretch.  And considering Entercom's  recent activity in the Bay Area market, this move was a right on track.  In February, the company sold-off its very popular classical music station KDFC, to a non-profit organization.  The station moved down the dial, but Entercom kept the 102.7 frequency and moved it's south-bay based classic rock station to that spot.  This may have put the company in a better financial position to go after the A's.

This format change leaves the nation's 4th largest radio market without a country music station.  Of course I have pointed-out in the past the fact that KBWF's "The Wolf" was hardly a "country" station.  The format featured what has been referred to as "country-pop" or "top-40 country".  It's a far cry from traditional country.  While this move is tough for Bay Area country music fans, it could signal the end of so-called "today's country".  Which means this could be the start of a major downhill slide for country music that will hopefully lead to a revival of the genre on the scale of the 1980's rebirth after the disaster that was known as the "Urban Cowboy Craze".

If you saw the telecast of the Academy of Country Awards from earlier this month, you should know exactly what I am talking about.  Country music is dead.  It has been replaced with a replica that doesn't resemble this great American musical genre one bit.  The ACM awards the Grammy's version 2.0.  I mean really? Rihanna, Steven Tyler and James Taylor all performing on the same show as Taylor Swift, Sugarland and Carrie Underwood.  It was a line-up that Ryan Seacrest would be proud of.  In fact, he WAS proud of it.  As Seacrest took the stage to present the final award of the night, he said "this night has not been about country music, it's been about American music."  Boy was he right.

If Bay Area country music fans are unhappy with the demise and end of their country station, they should take heart in the fact that they have plenty of other places to get their country from.  My hope is that after "today's country" fades into oblivion, some of today's real country performers like Chris Young, Sunny Sweeney, Easton Corbin and Zaz Brown Band will be left standing.  I also hope that the next incarnation of country music will bring back some of country's missing talents like Trisha Yearwood, Marty Stuart, Patty Loveless, Alison Krauss, Alan Jackson and others.  And of course I will work to make sure that when country comes back, it won't forget the legends who paved the way for everyone else to enjoy a career in this business.

I've Made It!!

I've done it!  I've reached a level of success that some people only dream of.  I have received my very first piece of hate mail, in the form of a comment left at the end of one of my posts.  Somebody took exception to something I said in a review a wrote about a local radio station.  Exactly what that was, I have no idea because the person wasn't specific.  Oh but they were very specific in their attack on me.  Here's what this loser posted on my blog:

Wow. Just read all of this. Who do you like? What are you good at? I can tell by reading this that you are embarrassed for yourself. You jab people you don't know pretty much because I guess no one loves you. You probably never have been loved by anyone and so you're angry at anyoneand everyone who seems happy, enjoying life. You're the guy in the bar leaning up against the wall mad and pissed because no women will give you the time of day.
You're a speck of dust. How sad you are, how totally sad it must be to be you my lonely angry friend. 

My gut reaction was to delete this comment and move on.  But writing is what I do.  I should be able to handle criticism and feedback about my posts.  Right?  Only problem is that this comment was neither.  It was a personal attack on me.

Anybody who is a fan of the station I wrote about would have defended something that I was critical of.  They would have said I was wrong about something or they would have said why they like the station.  On the other hand, someone who knows me would never spew the hateful garbage that this person did.  I don't associate with these scumbags.  So why am I giving them the time of day?

The person who wrote this comment (two months after I posted the review), is an unhappy soul, probably looking for something to bitch about.  They are trying to crawl out of a hole that they have dug for themselves by lashing out at somebody they don't even know.  Something I wrote about in that review (or some other entry) sent this person over the edge.  To have this kind of power is a gift.

Unlike the person who anonymously posted the comment, I am not a coward. Anybody can read by blog, and they are welcome submit comments.  But I won't allow somebody to hijack my blog by posting ignorant nonsense.  Especially when they are too chicken-shit to reveal their identities.  Therefore, I have decided to take a necessary step to protect this blog and my readers from vicious intent.  All future comments made about my posts will be reviewed by me before they are posted.  I will not edit any comments.  But if they are irrelevant to the subject matter being discussed, or if they contain any personal attacks, they will not be posted to my blog.

The fact that this person chose to be anonymous, proves one thing without a doubt.  He or she is either a fan or a stalker.  Either way, I have enough experience with people to know that this person is going to read this post.  The nature of their character makes it impossible for them to stay away.  Therefore, I'd like to speak to this person directly:

Hi,
Who you are doesn't matter to me.  WHAT you are is a loser.  You probably think you made yourself look good by attacking me.  Take a look in a mirror, and then take a deep look inside yourself.  In both cases you are going to see the same ugly person.  Now look around you.  Look at your life.  Pretty empty, huh?  You are pathetic.  And the only reason I am even giving you the time of day is because there is a great song that I want to share with you.  It's a song about you.  I dedicate this song to you on behalf of myself, my fans and everyone else you have attacked...online.

Now & Then: January, 2011 vs. 1991

This week I'm taking you back twenty years to look at the top five Country Songs from the week of January 19, 1991.  Then of course, I will compare and contrast that chart with today's current Country top-five.  Let's get things started with this week.

The chart hasn't changed much as Tim McGraw remains at #1 for the third consecutive week with his hit, "Felt Good On My Lips".  My opinion hasn't changed on this song.  I still think it's too pop-sounding, but then again, that's "today's country".  So basically, the song still sucks.  Jason Aldean dropped out of the top-five after peaking last week in the #2 slot.  Carrie moves up one spot to #2, while Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban both move up one spot.  This left the #5 spot open for Chris Young who appears with his song "Voices".  I really like Chris Young, and last week I discovered a video on YouTube of a performance by Chris from 2003, when he was only 17 years old. That is the featured video (below) for this week.

The top five from 1991 features four legendary acts and one from a legendary family.  When you have Garth, Alabama, George and Reba in the top five, you know it's a great week in Country Music.  There's not a lot that I can say about this week from twenty years ago.  Two of the songs are all-time classics, while two others are simply fantastic.  Number 5 is pretty good as well.  As much as I like Kenny, Carrie and Chris this week.  Their songs on this countdown can't hold a candle to any of the top-5 from 1991.  And I have to imagine that even they would freely admit the same thing.  It is just an example of how far Country Music has fallen.  But at least we have them recording music today, or we'd be in a world of hurt.

Week Of January 22, 2011
#1 "Felt Good On My Lips" - Tim McGraw
#2 "Mama's Song" - Carrie Underwood
#3 "Somewhere With You" - Kenny Chesney
#4 "Put You In A Song" - Keith Urban
#5 "Voices" - Chris Young
Here is a 17-year old Chris Young from 2003


Week Of January 19, 1991
#1 "Unanswered Prayers" - Garth Brooks
#2 "Forever's As Far As I'll Go" - Alabama
#3 "I've Come To Expect It From You" - George Strait
#4 "Rumor Has It" - Reba McEntire
#5 "Come On Back" - Carlene Carter
This Reba song comes from my favorite Country album of all time


Be sure to read my next blog entry.  "Front Porch Favorites".

Country Radio Review: 102.5 KNIX - Phoenix, Arizona

When I decided to resume my three year boycott of San Francisco's faux Country Music station, "The Wolf", I decided to look elsewhere for a radio station that I could enjoy.  Once I looked away from my actual radio and focused on my computer or smartphone, I was reunited with one of my all-time favorite stations.  This search took me back to Phoenix, Arizona. Home of KNIX at 102.5 on the FM dial.  

I have lived in Phoenix at three different times in my adult life.  Twice in the 1990's and then again from 2002 to '04.  Each time I was able to enjoy my favorite Country Music from several different stations.  KNIX is the oldest Country station in that market.  It is also ranked #6 among all radio stations in metro Phoenix.  The station has enjoyed higher ratings in the past, but increased competition within the Country radio format, the growth of other stations, and of course the changes in Country Music itself have all contributed to the slight fall.  All this being said, KNIX is still a Country station, through thick and thin.

The on-air personalities at KNIX are a welcome breath of fresh air after listening to the juvenile stylings of the dj's at The Wolf.  From their morning show with Ben and Matt throughout the entire day, KNIX's programming features great personalities that love country music.  And the music?  Real, pure, true COUNTRY MUSIC.  Sure, they play plenty of the pop-ish "faux Country" songs that I have grown to hate, listening to "The Wolf".  The difference here is that it's not forced, and the same songs are not played every hour.  KNIX has a huge library of music and they play songs that go back some thirty years, all throughout the day.  The Wolf plays a few classic songs during the 5am hour only. 

The last time I was in Phoenix, KNIX was known as the "10 In A Row" station.  Today the motto is "Your 20 In A Row Station".  It's nice to hear such long sets of Country Music.  New for 2011, the station is playing three straight hours of commercial free Country Music starting at 10:30am (9:30 Pacific Time).  Another thing the station is doing (at press time) is giving away $1,000 every hour as part of a nationwide telephone contest with Clear Channel Communications.  

So here's the deal.  If you are not fortunate enough to live in the Phoenix area with a radio, there are a couple ways you can enjoy KNIX, anytime.  On your computer you can listen to the station live via streaming audio at their website, http://www.knixcountry.com/main.html  And if you have a smartphone, you can enjoy the station via the iheartradio application.  This will give you the chance to listen to the station at home, work or anywhere you like.  

KNIX has been on the scene for over 40 years.  Most of that time has been as a Country Music station.  The station was purchased by Country legend Buck Owens in 1968, and changed to the Country format shortly after.  For several decades, the station's logo was a red, white and blue guitar, depicting the guitar that Buck Owens was famous for playing throughout his career.  The guitar logo is no longer used, perhaps because Owens sold the stations to Clear Channel in the late 1990's.  

KNIX has been widely recognized as one of the best Country Music stations in the United States.  The station and it's on-air staff have received numerous awards from the Country Music Association, Academy of Country Music and other industry organizations since 1988.  Thankfully, in an age where corporate interests force the constant changing of radio formats around the country, Clear Channel has kept KNIX a true Country Music station.  It is my hope that the company will one day bring the KNIX format to the San Francisco market to bring REAL Country Music back to this area and force The Wolf to say goodbye to its ever-shrinking audience.

So if you want your Country Music without all of the gimmicks, hip-hop bumpers, and uninteresting, unappealing dj's who don't know about or care about Country Music, look no further than KNIX in Phoenix.  Thanks to the internet and iheartradio, KNIX is once again my favorite radio station.  I hope you will soon discover this station and enjoy it as much as I do.

Today's current KNIX logo

   

Original "Guitar Logo" for KNIX and it's former AM counterpart.

Now & Then: January 15, 2011 and 1996

Last week's "Now & Then" featured a comparison to the same week from 1995.  This week we take a look at the current top 5 Country Music singles, and compare them to the top-5 from fifteen years ago, 1996.  While Tim is at #1 for the second week in a row with his sell-out pop-sounding "Felt Good On My Lips", it interesting to see that his wife, Faith Hill had the #1 Country song in 1996, with "It Matters To Me".  Oh how the mighty have fallen.  Faith's song (in my humble opinion) is by far, the best song she has ever recorded.  It reminds me so much of Tammy Wynette, it's a bit scary.

Songs 1 through 4 this week are unchanged from a week ago, and include Jason Aldean's "My Kinda Party", which I must admit is starting to grow on me.  Adean is a decent singer.  His songs can be a bit on the rowdy side, and that's ok if it's believable and his songs seem to be that way.  I often complain about the pop-sounding Country songs that are out there today. Where I fully believe that Tim McGraw sold his soul to stay relevant, I can't say the same about Carrie Underwood or Kenny Chesney.  Carrie is in a class all by herself.  She could have easily have gone the pop route after winning "American Idol" a few years back, but chose to stick with country and we all have benefited from that.  Sure she is guilty of a few cheesy songs like "Last Name" and "Undo It", but the seem to work.

Kenny Chesney has a style all his own that also works for me, and even though "Somewhere With You" tends to remind me of an 80's rock song, it seems to still have a level of sophistication that McGraw's lame lines like "Oh-Oh-Oh-I wanna go crazy" sorely lack.  Of course I haven't reached the deepest lows of this week's countdown.  That would be Keith Urban.  Sorry folks.  I can't stand this guy.  Sure he's a good guitar player, and I think he would be great in somebody's band, but on his own, I just hear a whiny boy singing.  And it makes me change the radio station every time he comes on.

Now getting back to 1996.  Tim McGraw is also on that countdown (just like in last week's "Now & Then, which featured 1995).  His song "Can't Be Really Gone" is one of his more appropriate "Country" songs, unlike this week's #1 song.  Brian White had a promising career until it all fell apart, and we really don't know why that happened.  I honestly don't remember Jeff Carson.  And then there's Shania.  She could be blamed for turning Country Music into "pop".  But I don't blame here at all.  It's kind of like the Kenny Chesney thing.  Some people can pull it off, other can't, and more should never try.

This week's video comparison allows you to take a look at today's pop-country vs. a country cross-over song from 1996.  See if you can tell the difference in the music.

Here are the top five Country songs from both eras.

Week of January 15, 2011
#1 "Felt Good On My Lips" - Tim McGraw

#2 "My Kinda Party" - Jason Aldean

#3 "Mama's Song" - Carrie Underwood

#4 "Somewhere With You" - Kenny Chesney

#5 "Put You In A Song" - Keith Urban

Week of January 13, 1996

#1 "It Matters To Me" - Faith Hill

#2 "Rebecca Lynn" - Bryan White

#3 "Can't Be Really Gone" - Tim McGraw

#4 "(If You're Not In It For Love) I'm Out Of Here"
        - Shania Twain

#5 "The Car" - Jeff Carson

Top 10 REAL Country Songs from 2010

I started doing year-end Country Music countdowns back in 1980.  Each time, I would produce a radio-style countdown program featuring my list of songs, along with many special surprises.  Due to changes in country music over the last several years, I have temporarily stopped recording my shows.  2010 is the first time since 2005 that I have even bothered to put a list of songs together.

Finding ten songs from 2010 that I felt were worthy of being called "Real Country" was NOT an easy task.  For the first twenty years that I did my countdown program, I would feature a top-thirty format.  Forget about finding that many songs from last year.  Somehow I managed to fill a list of ten songs that made an impact on Country Music AND that could be considered enduring.  Can all of these songs be placed right up there with legendary recordings by Willie Nelson, The Judds, Reba McEntire, Merle Haggard, Alabama and others?  Only time will tell.  But as a life long fan and a thirty-plus year critic of Country Music, I think that these ten songs have the best chance of standing the test of time.  Some of them may not have been the most popular of the year.  Some of the acts may not go on to major stardom.  But all of these songs were the best and most real of the Country songs I heard in 2010.

#10. "If I Die Young" 
        - The Band Perry
This is one of two debut songs by new acts on the countdown.  I'm not sure how good or relevant this band is going to be.  But the song and video are pretty good.
 #9. "Anything Like Me 
       - Brad Paisley
The CMA's new "Entertainer of the Year" had several hits during the year.  I almost picked "American Saturday Night" instead.  But this song reminds me of Brad's big hit from a few years ago called "Letter To Me".  
 #8. "Temporary Home" 
       - Carrie Underwood
Carrie had three big songs in 2010.  "Undo It" was a little too pop sounding.  And "Mama's Song" came out too late for me to judge.  
 #7. "The Boys of Fall" 
       - Kenny Chesney
This is a great nostalgia song as only Kenny can do.  And a perfect lead single from his new album, "Hemingway's Whiskey", which is one of Kenny's best albums to date.
 #6. "The Man I Want To Be" 
       - Chris Young
The only successful winner from the reality show "Nashville Star" had a decent hit with this great song.  His voice is Classic Country all the way.
 #5. "Keep On Loving You" 
       - Reba McEntire
This is Reba's first REAL Country song in several years.  It's a far cry from songs like "Rumor Has It" and "Fancy", but a million times better than "Turn On The Radio".
 #4. "She Won't Be Lonely Long" 
       - Clay Walker
Clay has struggled to gain respect from country radio for years.  He's part of a forgotten generation of stars that includes Tracy's Lawrence and Byrd, Trisha Yearwood and others. This great song was a bit of a comeback for him in 2010, from a terrific album.
 #3. "The House That Built Me" 
       - Miranda Lambert
I think some people consider Miranda to be a little bit "too country", and she very well may wind up in the next forgotten generation.  But right now she is collecting awards for great songs like this one.  And best of all, she's a REAL Country artist without a pop bone in her body.
 #2. "As She's Walking Away" 
       - Zac Brown Band featuring Alan Jackson
This is the song that made me like Zac Brown Band.  Probably because of Alan Jackson being in it.  This should go on to be a award winner for Vocal Event at the next CMA.  Some will say it saved Alan's career.  Those people are idiots.  This song made Zac Brown Band relevant to those of us who appreciate REAL Country Music.
 #1. "A Little More Country Than That" 
       - Easton Corbin
Easton Corbin entered Country Music at a time when we desperately needed a fresh, new, REAL Country Music voice.  The fact that he reminds us of a young George Strait only makes him that much more appealing.   And if he can last nearly as long as George, we will all be very fortunate and lucky.  Easton Corbin could be the artist to save Country Music from itself, the same way George did back in the 80's.  Judging by this awesome song (clearly the best of the year) and the amazing album it came from.  There is hope for Country Music.



Please share your thoughts on my list by posting a comment to this blog entry.

My Resolution for 2011: SAVE COUNTRY MUSIC!

It's more than a New Years resolution.  It's my goal.  My mission!  This year I intend to do everything within my power to save country music from itself.  I will do this by sharing the best of the real country music that is out there. It IS out there.  We just need to find it and bring it to the mainstream.  Of course I will always honor Classic Country Music and continue to share it and push country radio to include it in their programming.

The other part of my job here is to call-out the Country Music establishment as they continue to work to destroy our music and try to turn in into the new pop.  This includes being a vocal critic of country radio stations and organizations like the CMA and ACM when they turn their backs on real Country Music in favor of the over-hyped pop acts that have invaded the format and can be heard on any top-40 radio station.

So buckle-up and hold-on for a year of highs and lows, as I celebrate the good, bash the bad, and rip-apart the ugly that has become "Today's Fresh Country".

Now & Then: January 8, 2011 and 1995

On this edition of "Now & Then", I'm comparing this week's Top 5 Country Singles with the Top 5 from the same week in 1995.  Two of this week's artists were also on the chart sixteen years ago.  With the way the music industry has turned its back on the legends (or those who have been around since before 2000), it is surprising to see that Tim, Kenny and Reba are on the charts at all, let alone in this week's top five.  

To show the difference between today's pop-country and the more believable country from 1995, one only need listen to how some artists have been forced to change their style in order to stay relevant.  In this case, I would suggest that some artists have sold-out in order to stay on the charts, or (more importantly) to get radio airplay.  My advice to Tim McGraw is look at what happened to your wife's career after she went pop.   And to Reba I say, I know there's a country singer in there.  Please un-re-invent yourself and go back to your roots.

What do you think" Pleas watch the now and then YouTube clips and judge for yourself.

January 8, 2011

#1 "Felt Good On My Lips" - Tim McGraw

#2 "My Kinda Party" - Jason Aldean

#3 "Mama's Song" - Carrie Underwood

#4 "Somewhere With You" - Kenny Chesney

#5 "Turn On The Radio" - Reba McEntire

January 7, 1995

#1 "Pickup Man" - Joe Diffie

#2 "Not A Moment Too Soon" - Tim McGraw

#3 "Goin' Through The Big D" - Mark Chesnutt

#4 "Gone Country" - Alan Jackson

#5 "Till You Love Me" - Reba McEntire