CD-Charts Position 171
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Stronger

CD-Charts > Music > Contemporary Country
by: Carlene Carter

Release Date March 31, 2008
I can see why another reviewer thought Carlene's voice is past its best but in my opinion it's the production, engineering and mixing of this CD which lets her down badly. All these tasks were entrusted to one man, John McFee, who also plays virtually every instrument on the album and while it's obvious from the liner notes that they share a great mutual admiration it sounds like he was too immersed in this project to bring any critical faculties to bear. Any spontaneity and soul which may have been present in the music to start with has been lost in all the overdubbing and her voice is so far back in the mix that I can only hear about half the words, a situation made worse by the fact that there's no lyric sheet provided with the disc. The ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 172
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Forget About It

CD-Charts > Music > Contemporary Country
by: Alison Krauss

Release Date September 01, 1999
Renowned for her Bluegrass music and the support of her band Union Station Alison Krauss followed up her amazing album So Long So Wrong with something a little different.

This album contains a collection of mostly Pop standards a good number of which have been done before, but none so beautifully. Most members of Union Station are present on this album but merely as musicians and they show of their full musical diverstiy with the use of more modern instruments and a drum kit.

Alison's voice is as amazing as ever and she makes each and every track her own.

For me the stand out track is the Todd Rundgren Classic, "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference," a song also covered by Manhatten Transfer, but the version ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 173
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Duets

CD-Charts > Music > Contemporary Country
by: Emmylou Harris

Release Date July 30, 1990
This interesting album of collaborations includes tracks that are available elsewhere. By no means amongst Emmylou's best albums, Duets nevertheless contains some real gems and provides a pleasant listening experience.

The uptempo track The Price I Pay sees Harris accompanied by the Desert Rose band, and is followed by the old classic with Gram Parsons, the timeless Love Hurts. Roy Orbison provides the male vocal on That Lovin' You Feelin' Again, a mellow middle of the road number, more pop than country, that works surprisingly well.

We Believe In Happy Endings (with Earl Thomas Conley) is a traditional, slow country ballad, whilst Thing About You (with Southern Pacific) is quite catchy with a lilting beat. Star Of Bethlehem, with ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 174
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The Platinum Collection

CD-Charts > Music > Contemporary Country
by: Rodney Crowell

Release Date July 24, 2006
This is an absolute steal: At 19 tracks it contains the best of Crowell's Warner years at the beginning of his solo career. The compilers also understood how much of a superior debut "I Ain't Living Long Like This" really was, something Crowell couldn't follow up without a noticeable dip in quality. This classic debut album is here in its entirety, albeit in different sequencing, followed by hand-selected five tracks each of the two more patchy follow ups which makes them seem better than they were. Most of these songs were made famous by others like Emmylou Harris, Bob Seger and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, but Crowell's rendition of his own classics should be in any serious collection of country rock.

CD-Charts Position 175
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Simple Dreams

CD-Charts > Music > Contemporary Country
by: Linda Ronstadt

Release Date December 23, 1999
Linda has recorded many different styles of music including folk, country and old standards from the Great American Songbook. She has proved her brilliance at all of them but, ultimately, her place in music history is assured by her pop-rock albums of the seventies. Of those albums, this is my favorite although Prisoner in disguise is a close second.

By the time Linda recorded this album, she had decided who her favorite songwriters were and what type of songs she was happy with. So here you get a Buddy Holly cover (It's so easy), two Warren Zevon songs (Carmelita, Poor poor pitiful me), a J D Souther song (Simple man simple dream) and an Eric Kaz song (Sorrow lives here) – all brilliant songs from sources that Linda had used before. Maybe ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 176
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It Just Comes Natural

CD-Charts > Music > Contemporary Country
by: George Strait

Release Date October 30, 2006
It Just Comes Natural won Album of the Year at the CMA's and it's easy to see why.This album is without a doubt George's strongest work to date!
Included are the big hits Give It Away(written by Hall of Famer Bill Anderson)It Just Comes Natural,How 'Bout Them Cowgirls(love the lyrics to this,it really celebrates women) and the no.1 hit Wrapped which also won Song of the Year.
Most of the songs on this cd are ballads with just a few uptempos,which isn't a bad thing.Lovely ballads included are She Told Me So(this has a real traditional sound to it,lots of steel guitar)He Must Have Really Hurt You Bad,A Heart Like Hers, and I Ain't Her Cowboy Anymore.
But the few uptempos he does have on it are also pure gems, like That's My Kind Of Woman and the ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 177
Average Rating:

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Lonesome Valley: Classic American Bluegrass Appalachian and Old Time Country

CD-Charts > Music > Contemporary Country
by: Various Artists

Release Date December 08, 2003
It Just Comes Natural won Album of the Year at the CMA's and it's easy to see why.This album is without a doubt George's strongest work to date!
Included are the big hits Give It Away(written by Hall of Famer Bill Anderson)It Just Comes Natural,How 'Bout Them Cowgirls(love the lyrics to this,it really celebrates women) and the no.1 hit Wrapped which also won Song of the Year.
Most of the songs on this cd are ballads with just a few uptempos,which isn't a bad thing.Lovely ballads included are She Told Me So(this has a real traditional sound to it,lots of steel guitar)He Must Have Really Hurt You Bad,A Heart Like Hers, and I Ain't Her Cowboy Anymore.
But the few uptempos he does have on it are also pure gems, like That's My Kind Of Woman and the ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 178
Average Rating:

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Around the Bend

CD-Charts > Music > Contemporary Country
by: Randy Travis

Release Date August 25, 2008
This is Randy Travis's first non christian album for quite a while. He has one of the most instantly recognisable voices in country music. Pure country. It has a sound much like the sound of his first few albums and this album like those has the same producer. There are no songs that instantly stand out such as 'On the other hand', 'Always & Forever' etc from his earlier albums but the songs are all of a consistently high standard, the highlights being 'Faith in You' and 'Everything I own has got a dent'. I am not sure I hear a hit single on this album but that does not detract from its quality. This is a good solid and enjoyable true country album. The sort of album that gets better which each listen. If you like Randy Travis or Merle Haggard, you will enjoy this. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 179
Average Rating:

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Nickel Creek

CD-Charts > Music > Contemporary Country
by: Nickel Creek

Release Date May 06, 2002
Nickel Creek have their roots in bluegrass but their music draws on a variety of other influences including folk (especially Celtic), country and soft rock. With Alison Krauss as producer, this album mixes ballads that highlight their vocal skills with instrumentals. The regular members of the group are Sara Watkins, Sean Watkins and Chris Thile, though Scott Thile (father of Chris) plays on most of the tracks. Three songs feature Sara on lead (Out of the woods, Reasons why, The hand song) while four songs feature Chris (The lighthouse's tale, When you come back down, Sweet Afton, The fox). The other tracks are instrumentals.

The songs and instrumentals come from a variety of sources including traditional folk songs (The fox, Cuckoo's nest) and a Robert Burns ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 180
Average Rating:

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Broken Bridges

CD-Charts > Music > Contemporary Country
by: Various

Release Date August 29, 2006
Nickel Creek have their roots in bluegrass but their music draws on a variety of other influences including folk (especially Celtic), country and soft rock. With Alison Krauss as producer, this album mixes ballads that highlight their vocal skills with instrumentals. The regular members of the group are Sara Watkins, Sean Watkins and Chris Thile, though Scott Thile (father of Chris) plays on most of the tracks. Three songs feature Sara on lead (Out of the woods, Reasons why, The hand song) while four songs feature Chris (The lighthouse's tale, When you come back down, Sweet Afton, The fox). The other tracks are instrumentals.

The songs and instrumentals come from a variety of sources including traditional folk songs (The fox, Cuckoo's nest) and a Robert Burns ... Read More: