Looks like a heatwave is headin’ country radio’s way in the form of new singles

There are some truly interesting new singles poppin’ up at country radio these days.  Chief among them is a true new single from the Eagles.  It’s being promoted by Mercury Nashville/Lost Highway while the upcoming Garth Brooks single is being promoted by Trisha’s label Big Machine Records (who’s supposedly starting a new label imprint of their own).  Add in new singles from stars George Strait and Keith Urban and you’ve got some heat comin’ to the country airwaves just as the summer ends. 

Rollin’ with the Flow – The Ups and Downs of Being Country

Mark Chesnutt has been a personal favorite of mine for many years now.  While I always leant towards the rock/pop side of country music, Mark Chesnutt kept me grounded in Country. Since becoming a fan I’ve wandered my way around seen him live a few times and met him face to face twice.  While Major labels deemed him no longer a ’star,’ Mark has been “Rollin With The Flow” in his career as of late.  After leaving Sony in 2003, Mark signed with the short-lived label Vivaton! Records.  But while with the Sony distributed label Mark released “Savin’ The Honky Tonk“ and had a couple of singles hit the top 30.  On the record Mark was unabashedly country.    A critically acclaimed record, the label just couldn’t give the album the push it deserved.  After that label trouble Mark re-appeared in 2006 with a self-produced collection of classic country covers.  “Heard It In A Love Song” was an admirable effort with some wonderfully chosen songs from Waylon and the two Hanks among others. It was distributed through CBuJ Recordings. 

 What this streak of one-off’s for small labels has shown is that Mark has a desire to continue to make compelling country music.  Why one of the best, if not the best, country singers of the neotraditionalist movement can barely get a sniff at country radio is beyond me.  His new single, “Rollin’ With The Flow” is a refreshing choice cover of the Charlie Rich hit from the 1970s.  It’s a song with a distinct melody that should get radio’s attention.  Traditional enough in that the fiddle and steel guitar are very noticable, the song is produced the way Mark’s old MCA/Decca hits were.  The lyrics also seem to chronicle Mark’s (and other 1990’s country stars) journey through the sea independent labels.  If this song cannot return Mark Chesnutt to the Top of the current country charts (especially with a slight George Strait vibe to it), then no other song Mark will subsequently releases will get the change and that’s the true shame about modern country music playlists. 

Life Through An Unglamorous Lense

 

After country divas Sara Evans and Faith Hill recorded a couple of her tunes for their last records, Boston-native Lori McKenna started to recieve interest from Nashville’s major labels.  Warner Brothers (home of Faith Hill) eventually won out and re-issued Lori’s 2004 “Bittertown.”  Three years later Lori returns with her first major label funded release, “Unglamorous.”  Ably produced by Byron Gallimore and Tim McGraw,”Unglamorous” positions McKenna on the same side of the country fence as rising star Miranda Lambert on some tracks while more or less placing Lori in the fertile fields of smart singer/songwriter music that was a pathway to gold and platinum for Mary Chapin Carpenter.   It’s the amalgum of the two distinct styles that makes Lori McKenna rise above the MOR terretory that many female artists are forced to follow in Nashville. 

As Country as Modern Cornbread Can Be: Luke Bryan

 

I have to admit that upon hearing Luke Bryan’s first single “All My Friends Say” in January I was underwhelmed.  I knew of him as the co-writer of Billy Currington’s “Good Directions” and read how he was another guy trying his hand at the neo-traditionalist movement.  So, when his Capital Records debut came across my desk I wasn’t instantly enthralled.  Still, I gave the record a shot and after playing the record front-to-back, I Like it.  He leads off the record with his still-rising debut single and it has gotten better with time and does what any debut single should do, set an artist up for more hits, which this record is chock-full-of.  

Sporting a twangy tenor voice thats somewhat similar to Chad Brock, Luke shows his softer side on the stunning ballad “The Car In Front Of Me.”  It follows the traditional country story arc of three verses wrapped around choruses. 

Bon Jovi Finds Their Way?

 

While I’ve been a devout country music fan for about 14 years or so (half of my life), I grew up with an older sister who loved everything about 1980’s hair bands.  One of her favorite bands was (and still is) Bon Jovi.  Through the years I liked what I heard and eventually picked up a couple of their records.  in 2005 Bon Jovi releaed their previous CD “Have A Nice Day” and the presence of Nashville based co-writers was evident throughout the record.  When the duet “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” (with Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland) was released and reached the top of the country charts, the future path for Bon Jovi was laid out. The transition to country was simple