Category > Country

Alecia Nugent

24 February 2010 By Lyov 0 In Country, folk

Hillbilly Goddess

Hillbilly Goddess pairs the Louisiana-bred bluegrass singer Alecia Nugent with an all-star cast of modern bluegrass, including members of Ricky Skaggs’ Kentucky Thunder, Blue Highway, the Dan Tyminski Band and the Infamous Stringdusters. Nugent more than holds her own in such illustrious company, with her powerful vocals and personal lyrics staying front and center even on bluegrass raveups like “The Nugent Family Band.”Dirty Linen – “She has her own distinct style and voice, of course, but if you like Rhonda Vincent and Claire Lynch, then you’ll find much to enjoy on Nugent’s latest album.”...

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Elvis Presley

19 January 2010 By Lyov 0 In Blues, Country, Lounge

Love Elvis

Does the world really need another Elvis Presley compilation? Well, it does, actually. Unlike some of the more haphazard reissues, LOVE, ELVIS is a collection with a focus, bringing together 24 of the King’s best ballads and love songs. It has been done before, but never in such a nice, big, well-chosen chunk. Elvis himself always idolized the cool lounge style of Dean Martin, and while Presley’s menacing, sexually charged early rock & roll hits revolutionized popular music, he could also be a seductive crooner with the best of them. LOVE, ELVIS is a stylish, cohesive package that showcases this softer side of the King to full advantage. While some of the later material from the 1970s is no match for timeless classics like “It’s Now or Never” and “Love Me Tender,” all of the songs fit seamlessly together in an inspired, non-chronological sequence. For a satisfying, romantic Valentine’s Day collection, you can’t beat LOVE, ELVIS....

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My Blueberry Nights

08 October 2009 By Lyov 0 In Country, Jazz

My Blueberry Nights

OST – My Blueberry Nights

My Blueberry Nights is notable not only as the first Englishlanguage film by director Wong Kar Wai but also for the acting debut of Norah Jones. It’s surprising, then, that the soundtrack only includes one song from Jones, “The Story,” the only new song on the set and one that Jones has stated reflects her doubts about becoming an actress. It’s not appreciably different than anything else Jones has recorded to this point, a slow, jazzy ballad featuring her moody vocals and piano in a trio setting. As for the rest, it’s an appealing mix of RB (Mavis Staples, Ruth Brown, Otis Redding), jazz (Cassandra Wilson), a couple of Cat Power tunes and the ubiquitous Ry Cooder, who always makes any soundtrack worth a listen....

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Johnny Cash & June Carter

26 September 2009 By Lyov 0 In Country

Johnny and June

Johnny and June cd2

Back in their commercial heyday as a duet team, June Carter Cash always managed to bring out a lighter, more playful side of her often somber and serious husband, the famed “Man in Black.” Among these 13 tracks (11 of them originally released on the 1967 album plus 2 bonus tracks) are familiar titles like the naughty, cat-scratch-fever hit “Jackson” and their soulfully twangy version of Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me, Babe.” But Cash and Carter also breathe understated fire and shared sensuality into more unlikely material, like their loping, folky reading of Richard Fariña’s “Pack Up Your Sorrows,” a pair of Ray Charles R&B standards–”I Got a Woman” and “What’d I Say”–and memorable original compositions like the class-conscious “Shantytown” and a nostalgic love lament called “Oh, What a Good Thing We Had.”...

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Johnny Cash & June Carter

25 September 2009 By Lyov 0 In Country, Jazz

Johnny and June

Johnny and June cd1

Back in their commercial heyday as a duet team, June Carter Cash always managed to bring out a lighter, more playful side of her often somber and serious husband, the famed “Man in Black.” Among these 13 tracks (11 of them originally released on the 1967 album plus 2 bonus tracks) are familiar titles like the naughty, cat-scratch-fever hit “Jackson” and their soulfully twangy version of Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me, Babe.” But Cash and Carter also breathe understated fire and shared sensuality into more unlikely material, like their loping, folky reading of Richard Fariña’s “Pack Up Your Sorrows,” a pair of Ray Charles R&B standards–”I Got a Woman” and “What’d I Say”–and memorable original compositions like the class-conscious “Shantytown” and a nostalgic love lament called “Oh, What a Good Thing We Had.”...

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