CD-Charts Position 151
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Complete Greatest Hits

CD-Charts > Music > Country
by: Gordon Lightfoot

Release Date May 27, 2002
Though not all Gordon's finest songs are on here, it does just what it says on the can & concentrates on his singles, at least for the most part.

Unfortunately, you'd need a 4-CD box set to really do justice to Mr Lightfoot, but this will do for the moment. Some tracks like Bitter Green(1968) & Race Amongst the Ruins(1976) rarely get an outing on most compilations, so they are welcome additions to the usual greats like If You Could Read My Mind,Sundown,Rainy Day People,The Circle is Small & Early Morning Rain.

Plus, of course, The Wreck of The Edmund Fiztgerald. Anyone who can stick a 6 minute 35 second folk lament at number 2 in the Billboard chart has to be thunderingly talented! This track isn't simply ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 152
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Prairie Wind

CD-Charts > Music > Country
by: Neil Young

Release Date September 26, 2005
Prairie Wind is the most emotionally resonant record I think I've ever heard. I think it's Neil's voice. On this record it's just superb; dripping with integrity and emotion. Sure, some of the tunes are similar to previous releases, but the lyrical content and intent in the writing lift these country-tinged songs way above their predecessors. The album never fails to bring a tear to my eye at least 4 times whenever I listen to it. I must be going soft.

Neil covers recent political issues, the passage of time and family matters in such a personal and universal way that you would have to be a plank of wood in order not to be moved. I should know - I'm emotionally retarded generally, but this really brings it out.

The definite ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 153
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5th Gear

CD-Charts > Music > Country
by: Brad Paisley

Release Date June 25, 2007
I love Brad Paisley so naturally I adore all his albums and for good reason too.Because the man is simply brilliant!!He always makes an amazing album.
5th Gear includes 4 no.1 hits with the extremely witty uptempos Ticks,Online and I'm Still A Guy(a very funny reference between men & women-so true)and the reflective ballad Letter To Me,You can so relate to this song.
Other gems is the superb electric guitar filled ballad It Did and the cracking bluegrass themed song Mr.Policeman.Brad and his band really let loose on this one.Plus the Grammy winning instrumental Throttleneck and the gorgeous gospel song When We All Get To Heaven ends this excellent collection of songs just nicely.
There's a reason why this album was no.1 in the country ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 154
Average Rating:

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The Punch Brothers

CD-Charts > Music > Country
by: The Punch Brothers

Release Date February 25, 2008
This is one of those albums that stays in your CD player for weeks after you buy it. The structure of the four part "Blind Leaving the Blind" is astounding. The whole album feels like it will never stop moving - the songs melt into each other. I can't describe it! If you liked his Nickel Creek stuff and his other albums like "Deceiver" and "Not All Who Wander Are Lost" you'll love this :) If you've never heard him before start perhaps with Nickel Creek's "Why should the Fire Die?"

Cracking stuff :)Buy it and support one of the greatest living artists of our time!

CD-Charts Position 155
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I'm Not There

CD-Charts > Music > Country
by: Original Soundtrack

Release Date October 29, 2007
First I must congratulate myself on a thoughtful and rather clever title. Not mine I hasten to add! Like a lot of Bob Dylan lines you'll find one to fit practically any given situation. Try it out. It's quite bizarre. That's the greatness of 'His Bobness' though. Already I digress. Back to the rekkerd - as our American friends say. This is truly awful. Why anyone thinks this is good stuff is beyond me. And I'm 6ft 2ins!! They all sound like bad impersonations of bad impersonations of Bob. And believe me, they are!! Listen people - I'm a Bob afficianado, and when I hear these dire warblings (Going to Acapulco an exception for some reason I can't explain) I feel very very depressed. Like a lot of people I laughed the first time I heard the record. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 156
Average Rating:

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Faultlines

CD-Charts > Music > Country
by: Karine Polwart

Release Date January 19, 2004
This debut album is a real surprise as it is not only a folk album but has a lot of other influences such as Jazz in "Only One Way" and "Harder to Walk these days than run"

Other tracks are more poppy and have American influences such Alanis Morissette
In particular "Four Strong Walls"

Other tracks are more folky in the original sense of the word but none descend to the point of becoming archetypal Scottish or Celtic folk (not one mention of slaughtering English on the album). In none of the tracks does she over do the use of traditional instruments such as the fiddle.

A very strong debut by an artist whose further releases I shall look forward to.

CD-Charts Position 157
Average Rating:

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Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers

CD-Charts > Music > Country
by: National

Release Date November 03, 2003
Based on the strength of reviews on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com I decided to give this album a try. Whilst there is no denying that there are some excellent tracks on it, my favourite probably being the subtle 'Lucky You', the album as a whole lacks cohesion and seems like it's trying to appeal to too many people. And though the album has this 'Sad Songs...' theme trying to tie all the tracks together, to be honest it's not even that bleak to listen to!

'Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers' does highlight the versatility of Matt Berninger's voice, and it also does have to be said that the album has a refreshing originality to it. Still, for me, it's too much of a mixed bag to wholeheartedly recommend.

CD-Charts Position 158
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29

CD-Charts > Music > Country
by: Ryan Adams

Release Date December 19, 2005
2005 was a whacky year even by Ryan Adams standards, as he released three albums, one of which was a double, in the space of around eight months. Luckily for all concerned, they got better as they went on, and he certainly saved the best for last.

29 is a kind of sequel to Love Is Hell, but rather than having the sprawling depression of that album's production it's more reminiscent of Heartbreaker's stripped sound, only amped up even more. Most of the songs were recorded by Adams alone with a guitar or piano and then overdubbed to a very minor extent. Instrumentation is spare and production is all but absent, all wise decisions for an album like this.

Whether you believe that Adams is as tortured as this or not - as far as I'm concerned, the majority ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 159
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Greatest Hits

CD-Charts > Music > Country
by: Dolly Parton

Release Date December 14, 2002
The majority of the 16 tracks featured on this CD were recorded in the years 1968-77, and 10 were written by Dolly herself, including “9 to 5” which dates from 1980.

Inevitably, many of the songs are available on other compilations. For instance, eight also appear on the excellent 3CD box set, “Legends” and the same number likewise do so on the very good 2CD album “The Essential Dolly Parton.”

However, the version of “Two Doors Down” on “Greatest Hits” is not the one featured on “Legends.” Moreover, the recording of “I Will Always Love You” on “Greatest Hits” differs from the one found on the other compilations just mentioned.

The version of “Two ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 160
Average Rating:

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Strangers Almanac [Deluxe Edition]

CD-Charts > Music > Country
by: Whiskeytown

Release Date March 31, 2008
This, truly, is an amazing record. In my opinion this is the high point of Ryan Adams' career thus far- there was one very,very good Whiskeytown album after this (Pneumonia) and one absolute classic solo LP (Heartbreaker) and many,many quality tunes (Political Scientist,Magnolia Mountain,Nuclear,etc,etc,etc). But a good marker of quality in these reissues is the bonus material-and amazingly,most of it is just as good as the original album. Which proves just how much of a roll Adams was on circa 1997.