Alright...it's a little lesson for me in music diversity today. I think by now, anyone who has read this blog knows I dislike pop music, well I dislike country even more. For completely different reasons though. I love Johnny Cash, always have - but I've never really found another country artist that I enjoyed listening to. Well, to keep the diversity going, I'll review a country album every couple of weeks or so too, and maybe that will help me find someone who semi compares to Cash. Well, I tried Carrie Underwood today, and.....it's not for me. It's like the worst kind of combination for me, pop and country mixed together to form a big hybrid turd. It's going to be very hard for me to pick a Top 3, because nothing after two go rounds is sticking in my head. Alas, some credit is due since most country I've listened to in the past has been down, 'my dog died' type country that is really hard to jive to. Some tracks on here are more upbeat, that maybe could at least be catchy. Carrie has a hell of a voice, and I recall hearing her 'Before He Cheats' a couple years ago and thinking hey, that's not too stinking bad. This however, was terrible. And if this is the best American Idol can do...yikes.
TRACK LISTING:
1. Cowboy Casanova
2. Quitter
3. Mama's Song
4. Change
5. Undo It
6. Someday When I Stop Loving You
7. Songs Like This
8. Temporary Home
9. This Time
10. Look At Me
11. Unapologize
12. What Can I Say
13. Play On
Listen To Samples
Top 3 Tracks:
1. Change
2. Cowboy Casanova
3. Someday When I Stop Loving You
FINAL RATING:
1 out of 5 stars
YAY! Country! I only have a couple things to say because I...
ReplyDeleteA. Own Carrie Underwood's first CD and...
B. I turn off the radio when I hear "Temporary Home"
I like country because it's easy listening and fun to dance/sing too. I hated 'Tick's' by Brad Paisley when it first came out (a song about little bugs?!?!? how cheesy is that?) then I learned to love it! It IS cheesy. It is fun... songs like that are meant to taken lightly and the people who like them have a quirky sense of humor. It makes me smile. Plain and simple.
I used to like Carrie Underwood... now I just think she's too whiny. (Can I say that?) I hate those songs that use the same phrase for different kinds of stories (i.e. "I'll Walk" by Bucky Covington and "Temporary Home") but play me some Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Montgomery Gentry, Garth Brooks or Sugarland and I'd be a lot happier!
Country is one of the genres that you either love or hate. And the people who hate it... rarely learn to love it... "It's Just That Way" :)
Hey Jen!
ReplyDeleteIf you could, drop me a couple suggestions for albums to listen to and I'll do some reviews. I've only heard a little Garth Brooks and I don't think any of the other names you mentioned. I'd love to give them a whirl though.
Like I said, I do like Cash, but maybe that's not indicative of any other country singer out there today. Maybe his style was truly unique.
I want to give different music effort, as I know some people read this blog to learn about new stuff. I'm in the same boat, I need a place to learn about new stuff/old stuff that I've never encountered before. Even if some country just gets my toes tapping, I'll turn it on from time to time.
PS...your middle paragraph is a great review! Maybe you should write some stuff for The B Side! =)
Thanks! I do not consider myself a music enthusiast, I just like what I like... and I get bored at work sometimes - so music and your blog help!
ReplyDeleteSome Country Suggestions:
NEW Country: Zac Brown Band - New Foundation
POP(?) Country: Lady Antebellum - Need You Now
CHEESY Country: Kenny Chesney - The Road and the Radio
OLD Country: George Strait - any album Really (Troubadour or any Alan Jackson works too)
or if you are really brave:
POP Country Taylor Swift - Fearless (I don't think you would like this favorite of mine so I prefer not reading a bashing of it!! :P )
I couldn't think of a ROCK Country album right now... Usually artists like Toby Keith or Tim McGraw have at least one good rock/country song on them, but not a whole album's worth. I guess the Eagles can be considered Rock/Country when you think of Desperado and Hotel California. Expect to find at least a couple REALLY corny songs on every album!
Did you know there are also these sub-genres of country:
ReplyDeletealt-country (Old 97's)
honky-tonk (Hank Williams)
truck-diving country (? this one's new to me)
neocountry (The Charlie Daniels Band - Devil Went Down to Georgia)
and outlaw country (Willie Nelson)
country soul (Ray Charles)
Thanks Wikipedia!
As the original post suggested, I'll probably do a country review once every couple of weeks. So those albums will now go to the top of that list!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that there were 'divisions' of country music. I guess it's not that different from 'rock' as we know it. Similar to what you were talking about with my Classic Rock list, some of that is more contemporary rock, some electronic etc. Truck Driving Country is pretty funny though. I'll have to specifically give that a whirl.
Thanks again for the feedback and suggestions! I really appreciate them!