No joke.


I'm trying to expand my musical horizons.

I'm familiar with Mary Chapen Carpenter, Garth Brooks, Brooks N Dunne--but that's about it.



Go!

Imago said:

Rodney Crowell - The Houston Kid (honest, contemporary country music...the kind Nashville steers clear of)


Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose (My favorite album from the past few years, from a true country pioneer. I grew up on her music)

Johnny Cash - Unchained


well, hell, any Johnny Cash, really.

"the Heart of the Matter"
& "Morning Desire" are beautiful country songs.


I highly recommend this album.

I know you mentioned Garth Brooks.
But have you heard?..

.

Test-drive these two songs from Keith Urban:

You'll Think of Me (esp. the live per4mance from Youtube)

Stupid Boy (nice theme, killer guitar solo 2wards the end)

RipHer2Shreds said:

I enjoy that album a lot as well.

Otherwise my country knowledge is limited to Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash (big fan of both) and a handful of old singles of my mother's. Stuff like Tammy Wynette and Hank Williams and Jim Reeves.

RipHer2Shreds, made some good suggestions:

allow me to add some other:


probably the best country album of the past 50 years, back to basics, strong songwriting, great production...the album that gave the 'nashville sound' the preverbial neckshot.


interesting,light, breezy and playfull crossbreed between country and jazz...produced by booker t, shows of nelsons amazing guitar-skills as well as his vocal talents. Good point to start exploring the genre.


or any other decent hank williams compilation...you simply can't ignore hank...listen to him then listen to any-one else on the music scene and here how he or she was influenced by the man that started it all.


the birth of country rock...good place to startd if you're more rock oriented. emmylou harris conrtibutes as well as elvis' back-up band...can't go wrong with this one


the bridge between country and cross-over...one of the last traditionalists in the field today. If you like your country a bit more main-stream oriented can't go wrong with hall of famer (still get a kick out of saying that) mr. strait


essential! the first country-album to sell over a million copies and the most influential country album in it's history. Great mix of talent and songs and a good point to enter the genre. Classic instumentation, great songwriting, excellent vocals and enough variety to keep you hooked.

enjoy
kev1n

I think Rodney Crowell deserves to be ranked among the greatest songwriters of the last 30 years or so, regardless of genre. He’s had a good deal of commercial success at times and he’s also had several songs turned into sizable hits by other performers, including Shame on the Moon, Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight and ‘Til I Gain Control Again.

I'd say his two finest albums are:




Gene Clark is regarded, if he’s ever mentioned at all, as a rock footnote, mostly for his membership in the Byrds where he was one of their strongest vocalists and writer of some of their early hits. After leaving that band he went on to create some of the best and earliest country-rock albums. Personally I think it really stinks that Gram Parsons gets all the credit as the country rock pioneer because:
a) Clark was making music in the same style at the same time as Parsons, if not earlier, and
b) Clark’s a far superior vocalist to Parsons, he was the finer songwriter, and his finest album (No Other) is much better than Parson’s best (Grievous Angel).



Jimmie Dale Gilmore is probably the most interesting descendent of Gram Parson’s cosmic American music sound – he possesses a slightly awkward but really likeable quivering tenor, and his records are informed by his interests in eastern philosophy and mysticism without being wooly-headed or irritating about it.


[Edited 2/11/07 7:06am]

In no order:

George Jones - The Essential George Jones (3 CD)
George Jones - I Am What I Am
Johnny Cash - Live At Folsom Prison
Johnny Cash - Live At San Quentin
Hank Williams - The Essential Hank Williams (3 CD)
Kris Kristofferson - The Essential Kris Kris Kristofferson
Jim Reeves - The Ultimate Jim Reeves
Merle Haggard - Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard
Bob Dylan - Nashville Skyline

RipHer2Shreds said:

My cousins sure do get mentioned a lot on the Org... This really isn't the type of site I'd think would gravitate in that direction.

Shapeshifter said:

I was going to mention that very album in my post, but I left it off because every time I start to talk about Merle Haggard, I usually go off on how unjust it is that Johnny Cash has become the default country artist it's ok to like when Merle has one of the greatest catalogues of songs of any writer of the past fifty years and is a completely compelling performer.

I'm glad you brought him up.

S i l e n c e by I CAN"T HEAR

Shapeshifter said:

great selection right there...can't go wrong with any of these

great taste have u

CarrieMpls said:

Craziness, I hadn't thought of this album in months, post about it this morning and I went to a friend's house for him to do my hair and this is the first album he puts on when I get there.

jtfolden said:

I'm not sure what you mean, but I grew up listening to country. I don't talk about it much here, because it's not brought up much.

kev1n said:

Thank you! I was almost going to include The The's Hanky Panky album - covers of Hank Williams songs, but it's not really country at all. And then there's Elvis Costello's Almost Blue, which is almost a country album, but not a very good one, give or take the odd masterstroke.

RipHer2Shreds said:

Loretta Lynn and Crystal Gayle are my cousins. My surprise is that they get mentioned so often here. I see Loretta's album brought up semi-frequently since it's release, someone was talking about Crystal last week... It's just funny to me, is all.

jtfolden said:

I gotcha. And I was the one talking about Crystal Gayle last week. Another one I grew up on. We had her greatest hits on 8-track and it would switch tracks right in the middle of I'll Get Over You.

kev1n said:

I am HUGE fan of both of these albums. It great to have them on a single CD.


This is a great album, as well...

Stax said:

I like Parsons' records, but I actually prefer this Parsons-related album to his solo records:



And, as I mentioned above, when it comes to country-rock pioneers, I prefer Gene Clark's records to the ones Parsons made.