Yeeeeee haaaaaawwwww! B Side Country day is back - with another recommendation from the infamous JenInTosa. Jen is our resident country music expert - since I'm fairly clueless. Trick Pony is yet another band that I'd never in my life heard of before it hit the old Suggestion Box. Turns out they've been a band since 1996 with this being their debut album that dropped in 2001. I guess it's not super crazy, since in 2001 I was finishing high school and certainly not listening to country. This album has a bit of a different style to it. It has a very rock element intertwined with the country vocal and lyric. Sure, most tracks are still a very formal country, with the slow beat, very rangy female vocal and even acoustic guitar. Strangely though, there are a couple that buck that trend. One track even seems to have a steel drum and a slight reggae feel to it. Couple tracks are super upbeat and could easily pass as a Melissa Etheridge poppy track. I hear the lead singer left the band to start a solo career in 2006 and they haven't worked together again since. They do have a 'best of' due out sometime this year. I'll say this, with the expansion of all the different styles, there is probably something for everyone. The biggest single off the track, has a honky tonk type style that could also span genres. I don't feel as though this album is super amazing or anything, but it certainly is not bad. I think every band should cover Johnny Cash, so that's going to put this up a quarter of a point for me. Check it out...country fans I think will really enjoy it - pop fans will enjoy it and the passive listener might find a couple tracks they enjoy.
TRACK LISTING:
1. Pour Me
2. Party of One
3. Big River
4. Every Other Memory
5. More Like Me
6. Just What I Do
7. Stay in the Moment
8. On a Night Like This
9. One in a Row
10. Now Would Be the Time
11. Can't Say That on the Radio
12. Spent
13. Not Hidden Track
Listen To Samples
Top 3 Tracks
1. Pour Me
2. Just What I do
3. Big River
FINAL RATING:
2.5 out of 5 stars
I think this is the first time ever that we agree on the top 3 of an album! Glad this one was tolerable for you!!!
ReplyDeleteEver? Woah! Same order too, or just the 3 in general?
ReplyDeleteWell in this case they are the in the same order... but in general I don't think we have chose the same top 3 songs ever... so way to go!
ReplyDeleteCrazy!
ReplyDeleteI'm still curious to this day what stuff I may have opened your eyes to. My hope is that I review at least some stuff that people had never heard of before - and that some of it is good. You've tuned me in to a few country items and you're responsible for Dirty Heads and Cage, so hopefully I have done the same for you once or twice!
There have definitely been some re-awakenings to some sounds that weren't my taste a few years ago, but now I enjoy them: like Gorillaz and Cake and I really enjoyed the Nirvana Unplugged album! I think you discredit the radio too much on your blog though. If I hear a good song on the radio sometimes I want to hear more... that's how I found The Dirty Heads album!
ReplyDeleteThere are a few stations out there that actually do a great job profiling artists and not just focusing on the popular songs of the moment. There is a Madison station 105.5 that does a tremendous job at putting on great stuff that peaks your interest that isn't focused on the Top 25 billboard charts. We have a 'rap' station that plays pretty much whatever is popular at the time and a station very similar to KISS in MKE that only plays pop. We have another station Charlie that literally plays everything, but that's just odd since you can go from Gorillaz to Conway Twitty song over song. It's hard to listen to that for a long time since you can't get into any music grooves.
ReplyDeleteIn short, some stations are fine - but there are much better options out there like Pandora or other recommendation sites that will help you find new stuff better than the typical radio station.