Classic Country Albums

Wow, I'm blown away crushedblind! Excellent, excellent addition sir. Very insightful. I hope you stick around. :thumb:

Ah, Dolly Parton. Definitely someone who needed to be mentioned in the thread.



I don't know if I would say 'little' :laughing: but wow, yes, the woman knows how market herself. But if most people are like me, I know her more for her big boobs than I do for her music though. So her marketing may also have been a downfall from a musical stand point. I do really enjoy a few of her songs, and I'm glad you put this album up here because I might look more into her than just the stuff I've heard on classic country cd collection informercials. Thanks!
 
I found that review anything but boring and dry Bulldog! Loved it, wonderful job, very descriptive. You may be surprised, but this album is one of the few Bob Dylan albums I haven't check out yet. I tend to be a Blowin' in the Wind, Times They are A-Changin, A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall type of girl. :D I wasn't aware that Johnny Cash was included in this album until now. Definitely gotta check that out. I have a feeling Bob Dylan managed to fit into the sound pretty easily. I will look at those videos as soon as I get home. Great job Sir Bulldog, Master of Reviews. Looks stellar in the thread!
 
Thanks Gavin. Not a bad list either. Tammy Wynette is pretty great. Staaaaaand by yourrr maaaan, give him two arrrrrrrrrms to cling tooooo. :D Your welcome to add your own reviews if you ever feel the desire. There is still a plethora of classic country artists out there that I have never heard of, and would like to. I've heard the name Woody Guthrie alot, but never knew where to start. Is he of any relation to Arlo Guthrie?
 
I love the scene in Shawshank Redemption when Andy gets the money for the Library's expansion and they show the other con (Who'd post-requested Hank after the courtyard Opera scene) listening finally to his Hank Williams.

This thread is coming along nicely.
 
Great thread, can't wait to see more.

Although I would have gone with 'Swingin' Doors and The Bottle Let Me Down' for best Merle album, that album = me getting drunk by myself everytime.
 
I wouldn't worry, sometimes short and sweet is good. All my Leonard Cohen reviews are probably a bit lazy like that as well :D

The Emmylou Harris one I'm thinking of doing will probably be a bit like that too - a kinda three-in-one review... maybe... I'll have to do a draft of it and see how it looks first. Either way, watch this space!

Thanks for your last review as well. I'll be looking forward to it.
 
Oh the humanity, I can't believe I haven't reviewed this album yet! As my supply of reviews quickly dwindled after the first few pages of this thread, I have racked my brain as to what I should review next that would be fairly interesting. It dawned on me today that I haven't reviewed the most controversial yet genius classic country album, in my opinion of course, that I know in existence. It ran through my mind- I can't shove two Willie Nelson reviews down everyone's throat in a row, but then I thought about it and I really don't care. Partly because you guys need to know about this album STAT, and partly because Willie trumps all. Feast your ears upon......

Stardust ​

Willie Nelson
1978​

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What can I say, Willie did in this album what he is known for doing throught his career- taking a brave step in the opposite direction of what is popular or what is expected of his character. Stardust is a jazzy album comprised of simple, soft, and poetic songs- and if you are used to Willie's outlaw music you might even say this album is, dare I say, classy. I greatly admire Willie for taking this unpopular step and testing the limits of his talents while showing us that there is more to this honky-tonk hero that meets the eye. And yet unfortunately but not surprisingly, this album came to a shock to Willie's fans who were used to hearing his music in a much different note, for instance "Whiskey River" and weren't willing for a change. It was these fans who greatly disliked this album and thought Willie was going against his outlaw roots and turning into mush. This album came close to ruining his career. But after the initial shock and awe was over, Stardust was looked at for what the album really was- a masterpiece. And not who made it, or what he was used to making. This album proves that Willie can pull off about anything he puts his heart into, which has always put him a cut above the rest in my eyes.

Stardust challenged Willie's talents in so many ways. His high and unique voice was showcased and pushed to its limits. And that wailing good-timing band that he relies on so heavily, was used in a much different light and pushed completely out of its comfort zone. Willie walked a fine line of genres in this album. Can't really call it jazz, or country, or folk- but an odd mixture of the three, that you can only know by listening. You will also notice he went with an old American classic theme here with the song choices.

Stardust This is song that dates all the way back to 1929 and has been covered by more than twenty different artists and groups over the years. Willie's rendition makes a nice addition to the list, and sets the tone perfectly for the album. He does not try to break you in whatsoever to this un-Willie like style but rather dives right in with a composed demeanor, gentle guitar noodling, and conservative lyrics.

Georgia On My Mind Another classic, and admirable cover. I think Willie puts a nice spin on this song but keeps it just traditional enough for it to sound like what you are used to. And completely clean and uncomplicated I might add.

Blue Skies I love the band's performance in this one, though I think its Willie's more vocally shakey song. Oh, but when you here Willie's trademark guitar steal the show and play a beautifully exotic and upbeat solo, you completely forget about anything else but how uplifted this song makes you feel.

All of Me This is by far my favorite of the album. Love the beginning when Willie plays his guitar and Mickey Raphael plays his harmonica in unison creating a much more country vibe on this one. It has a good swingin beat to it, more so than the others on the album I believe. Willie's vocals don't near so forced in this song and it comes off much more enjoyable to listen to. The lyrics are pretty great too. Here's a little sample
"All of me
Why not take all of me
Can't you see
That I'm no good without you
Take my arms
I want to loose them
Take my lips
I'll never use them"

Unchained Melody I never was a big fan of this song in general so it isn't one that I dig, to be honest.

September Song This has always been a favorite of fans of this album in the past. Its one of Willie's smoothest and jazziest pieces on the album. Everything about this song is pretty easy going, yet the tone has a bit of saddness about it.

On the Sunny Side of the Street On the other hand this song isn't that great but it works well in the album because it provides a nice contrast from the sad tone of September Song with its more upbeat tone.

Moonlight in Vermont This song is very similar to "Georgia On My Mind" in my opinion. I would almost mistake it for the same song if it wouldn't be for the different lyrics. Its a great song though, nonetheless. I get a strong southern jazz vibe off of this one.

Don't Get Around Much Anymore Another upbeat contrasting piece in the album. Still pretty calm but has a little more bounce in its beat than some of these others.

Someone To Watch Over Me A nice finalle to the album. Some nice harmonica bits thrown here and there in the song that reassures you who exactly is performing this song, even though they aren't ending with "Whiskey River" like Willie and his band do everytime.

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Quite a bold opening statement there :D Despite all my saying I would do, I still haven't got any Willie Nelson albums to call my own. That album does sound very interesting - that's a wonderful song in the video there. I'm giving new musicks a bit of a rest for now, but another country spree's on the carRAB when I feel like listening to new sounRAB again, so I'll keep tabs on that one.

Getting back to Emmylou Harris (who I definitely will review in some way or other for this thread), another great, great album is her Wrecking Ball one as it, like Stardust here, just completely goes against what you'd expect of a c&w songstress - sounRAB much more like a PJ Harvey album than anything she'd released to that point. Well worth hunting down if you can.
 
Everyone should listen to Gavin B, for he knows where it's at - Townes Van Zandt is definitely one of the most hideously overlooked singer-songwriters of all time. Which reminRAB me, I should post my review here sometime soon. I got half-way through finishing it and got distracted, so I'll see if I can finish tomorrow, if not a bit later tonight.

Haven't heard of Johnny Lee before, but from the sounRAB of your review he's from a similar kinda musical ballpark to Van Zandt and Gene Clark - another favourite of mine. Great review, looking forward to the next one.
 
well im really glad you liked it! i've had a good time reading the ones already here--some of which i wouldnt have even thought of

im kinda like you---familiar with just the hits, but i thought it would be fun to pick an album of hers and see what she's about

lol on the boobs--i got that quote from this video which i think was before the 'work' was done :) her image seems strange to me, almost at times like a female elvis

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JayJamJah, I too love that scene and thank you

Habits Old and New
Hank Williams Jr.
1980

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Hank Williams Jr. followed in his father's footsteps and became a country music singer with just as much, if even more, success. But he had quite a different story. At first he tried to stay in the same traditional style as Hank Sr. but that only got him mild success, and he was often called his fathers clone. Then he changed musical direction and put his own spin on things which put him on the road of his fame. But with all that fame came the drugs and crap that goes with it. Then he tried to commit suicide in 1973. He even sings in one of his biggest hits, "Family Tradition" the line

"I have loved some ladies,
and I have loved Jim Beam.
And they both tried to kill me
in 1973"

After that he joined his buddies, Waylon Jennings the boys and went a little more in the outlaw direction. Just when he started getting straightened out and getting his career back together, he was climbing a mountain in Montana and fell down it, splitting his skull open and mangling his face. He barely survived and he had to have all sorts of reconstructive surgery on his face.
After he recovered he just kept on making albums and eventually became a huge icon of Monday Night Football.

Hank Williams Jr. had more of a reputation in performance than anything, though. He was announed Entertainer of the Year three years in a row, 1986, 1987, 1988. My dad told me that he went to one of his concerts one time and he said that Hank Jr. was firing blanks out into the audience, so that tells you something about how wild his concerts are.

Hank Jr. is no great poet, he doesn't have a lot of class, and he's no guitar wizard. But this man has alot of charisma and personality that shines through in his music that makes it something personal and special.


Old Habits A pretty soft one for Hank, but good nonetheless.

"Well I kicked the habit, of smoking back sometime ago.
And I tried the hard stuff, but I had to let all that go.
But the toughest thing I ever gave up was today.
Cause old habits like you are hard to break."

Dinosaur This shows Hanks true colors a little more. In this one he talks about how he can't keep up with all this craziness and changes that are going on in the world (while at the same time expressing his low tolerance for disco and *** people), which makes him a dinosaur.

Kaw Liga Classic tune of his fathers but I do beileve his version is better. The beginning guitar riff reminRAB me of the beginning of "Trampled Underfoot" by Zeppelin ALOT. But anyway a cute, high energy song. He sings of a wooden Indian statue in a store and he uses some personification that makes you look at the Indian like a real person.

Here I Am Falling Of the slow songs on the album, I would say this is the best.

The Blues Man I, personally, am not huge on this one. A little bit on the boring side.

All In Alabama This song refers to his mountain accident in Montana and how he wanted to be back in his homeland of Alabama.

The American Way This song is a little more rough and tumble. He sings about his experiences in America and how he is learning "as he gains a little age, about the power of the dollar and people with white collars and the good old American way" In other worRAB, he doesn't like the way the upper class looks at his cowboy boots and such because the good old American way is with the people without all the money.

Move It On Over His cover of this song is not bad I must say. He's got the attitude it takes to pull this song off.

Won't It Be Nice Another song about his troubles with his women. He seems to sing about this subject quite a bit :)

If You Don't Like Hank Williams Hank is pretty blunt in this song. You are no friend of his, if you don't like his father pretty much. He also mentions his strong frienRABhips with all his fellow outlaws.

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Oh garsh :D I tend to rant on quite a bit with longer reviews (hell, I do that in virtually every other post I make anyway!), so it's good to you thought it was readable. Nashville Skyline there is, as I say, definitely the most flat-out country album in Dylan's back-catalogue, so you should like that one. Can't remember if I said this in the review or not, but the album has a total running time of only about 30 minutes, so it's not exactly that demanding either. I'm sure you'll absolutely love the Dylan/Cash duet on the opening track too. I doubt you'll have much trouble finding the album but, if you do, you know who to call ;)

One or two more of these are on the way from me by the way. I know whenever I say that in a thread it usually enRAB up taking weeks for me to get round to it, but I'll do my best to mull over at least one album here by the end of the week.
 
I was going to add my Hank Williams review to this thread, but I decided to write another review for this thread instead. Hope you enjoy.

Gunfighter BallaRAB and Trail Songs​
Marty Robbins
1959 [LP] 1999[CD]​
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  1. Big Iron
  2. Cool Water
  3. Billy The Kid
  4. A Hundred And Sixty Acres
  5. They're Hanging Me Tonight
  6. The Strawberry Roan
  7. El Paso
  8. In The Valley
  9. The Master's Call
  10. Running Gun
  11. The Little Green Valley
  12. Utah Carol

Marty Robbins is one of my favorite Country/Western musicians of all time for these twelve songs alone. I'm not a big fan of most of Robbins other work, but this album is superb. I got into Robbins after listening to massive amounts of Hank Williams and still wanting more of that great Country music. Someone suggest I check this album out by Marty Robbins and boy am I grateful they made this suggestion. This is real Country/Western music, recorded and released in 1959 this album peaked on the charts at number one in 1960. I know this doesn't mean anything, but this is one album I feel is truly worthy of a spot on the charts. I got into this album because someone suggested it too me, and now I'm suggesting it to those of you that haven't heard it! So check it out! :love:

Marty Robbins had an extremely clear baritone voice that was at its peak on this album, at least comparing to the other work of his I've heard. Which its nearly impossible to hear all of his music being he released fifty some-odd studio albums, and over one-hundred singles.

Big Iron is the opening track on this album, is probably my favorite on the album. This song is just so descriptive and pains such vivid pictures in your mind. Not to mention Robbins smooth voice that seems to be pretty much perfect on these recordings. Cool Water is a song written by Bob Nolan and recorded by man different banRAB/musicians and charted for something around fifteen weeks and within the top ten. However, Robbins cover never charted although he done a very good job with the track. I've heard other recordings of the song including the one by the group that the song charted with and I think Robbins done the best job with it. The song is about a mule by the name of Dan and his owner[?] seeing a mirage in the middle of the desert. Billy the Kid is another great cowboy [western] song about a young outlaw who was by legend said to have killed over 20 men in his time. In this song Robbins says he "At the age of twelve years he did kill his first man." This is another one of my favorites on the album a lot of fun to listen to. El Paso is easily the most well known song on this album. Robbins both wrote is and recorded it, and it charted well on both the Pop and Country charts. This song has two different version, a full length one that's over 4 minutes long and another version that's three minutes long. The song had to be shortened because at the time of the song being released it was longer than anything played on the radio. So, in order to assure it would be played on the radio Robbins recorded a shorter version of it. From my experience I much prefer the full version over the other, and I assume others do too. Anyway, this song is about a cowboy that falls in love with a woman in El Paso, Texas. After falling in love with her someone tries to take her and the cowboy guns the man down. Once the cowboy kills the man the cowboy flees El Paso because he is scared he will be killed himself. This is a pretty interesting song that has been used for many different things and cover by many great banRAB, and some banRAB you wouldn't think of recording a song like this such as The Grateful Dead. Sorry for the lengthy explanation of this song, but its the biggest hit on the record so I figured I might as well tell the entire story about it as I know it. Simply put Running Gun is a song that explains how you can't turn your back on a life of crime.

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This album in my opinion is one that any who calls their self a Classic Country fan should at least give a chance. I know its technically Country/Western but I feel like it belongs in this thread, personally. The new version has some bonus material on it. No matter which copy you listen to its worth your time! This actually seems like a really good album to get if you're trying to get into classic Country/Western stuff, because I know plenty of people that aren't Country fans and can listen to this and enjoy it. So, for those trying to get into this type of stuff GIVE THIS ALBUM A LISTEN!

Absolute classic album, but one of County's greatest acts of all time.
 
Bugger it, I'll post it now...

Townes Van Zandt
Our Mother the Mountain
1969
FRONT.jpg

1. Be Here to Love Me
2. Kathleen
3. She Came and She Touched Me
4. Like A Summer Thursday
5. Our Mother The Mountain
6. Second Lover's Song
7. St. John The Gambler
8. Tecumseh Valley
9. Snake Mountain Blues
10. My Proud Mountains
11. Why She's Acting This Way

For my contribution to this lovely thread, I'll be highlighting a certain Townes Van Zandt. Boasting a relatively large discography and a very faithful following (which included a lot of his fellow poets, singers and songwriters, particularly in country and folk circles), the fact that, throughout his short career, mainstream success had eluded in both long and extended play format saw him considered as one of the original cult artists. Anyway, it's this, his second LP release, that gets my official seal of recommendation, partly because I don't have much else by him, but also because of reasons I intend to go into right about now.

In a nutshell, the reason Mr Van Zandt here can claim a place among my favourite country singer-songwriters is that, from what I've heard, he reminRAB me a lot of the early work of Leonard Cohen and John Wesley Harding-era Bob Dylan. I love both those things so this is, of course, good news. In fact, were it not for the distinctive kind of country twang and Van Zandt's beautiful, soaring vocal, Be Here To Love Me would sound exactly like something off of one of those albums. He's a man with the flair for a good lyric of Cohen and Dylan, what with the gorgeously dark little nuggets like this...



Dunno what's up with the video though. When the songs come off as a glorious, despairing whole, what you get is a sound that's not too far removed from gothic/alternate country (at least to these ears), which is quite something seeing as this was released in 1969. In fact, the whole mood of the album and a lot of Van Zandt's music can be summed up by the opening lines of the string-laden Kathleen - it's plain to see the sun won't shine today, but I ain't in the mood for sunshine anyway - setting us up for a fragile, delicate little song.

From such a gloomy opening salvo, things take a turn for the slightly more upbeat with a couple of nice, cute lovesongs, the first of these being the livelier She Came and She Touched Me, followed by the pensive, Dylanesque Like a Summer Thursday. Despite the lack of the particularly miserable vibe of the songs before them, it's Van Zandt's clear, smooth and spectacular voice and clever lyrical wordplay which keeps them on the same tracks, and such is the common strength of this album.

As the title cut, Our Mother the Mountain serves as a spectacular, 'this album by the numbers' kind of song - the intelligent, yarn-spinning lyric about how you should 'watch who you're lovin'', that kind of addictive, finger-picking motif on Van Zandt's acoustic guitar and the colours that the occasional entry of a flute into the sonic picture adRAB. It's the same kind of story with the gorgeous, string-laden Second Lover's Song - the way the odd swathes of flute in the mix add a whole lot of colour to a brilliant and sorrowful song which has a near perfect opening in the shape of these lines...



St John the Gambler is another slow, finger-picking tune coloured by the seamless combination of Van Zandt's piercing, melancholy vocal trademark and the string arrangements, punctuated by the unmistakeably-folky use of harmonica. Tecumseh Valley, covered by a certain Nancy Griffith among many others, is one of the classics of country-folk, with a distinctive kind of country twang about the whole thing and a very Dylanesque use of the harmonica once again. Basically, it ranks among my favourite songs of all time and is definitely a highlight.

Snake Mountain Blues, as the title may suggest, is easily the most up-tempo, bluesy (oddly enough) song on show here, and adRAB another pretty interesting angle to the album as a whole. My Proud Mountains, on the other hand, steers the album back in the direction of the country-folk crossover sound that dominates it, with its use of simple, folky chord progressions and country slide guitars to add to the sonic picture. Not quite as interesting as most of the album, but a good number nonetheless. To wrap things up, Why She's Acting This Way serves as a superb way to sum up what kind of album I've just spent talking about - a superb little folk song with the added touches of what sounRAB like a church organ and the flute to give off an interesting juxtaposition of sounRAB working so well together. Again, as with the rest of the album, the lyrics are brilliance on a stick too, opening with this little nugget...



It's what makes this album so worthwhile and leaves it in among my favourite ever country albums for sure. While it certainly sounRAB a lot more like folk so isn't traditional by any means, with its very forward thinking, sort of proto-gothic Americana vibes, if you go by defining country music as something that speaks for and of the country and has the right kind of vibe about it, here's another classic country album for you. Definitely something that fans of gothic Americana and lo-fi folk in general, not to mention those who like a good dose of melody in their music, would really enjoy. Couldn't recommend it enough.

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Good, good, good. Interesting about Costello.
I hope you downloaded those two little sampler songs right up there in the Merle review. The links look screwed up but they work.



Well we try to get you guys when you're young and vunerable haha. Anyway, I'm glad this thread has perked your interest. Keep checking in!



Hahaha, I think that's what it was made for! Who knows maybe I throw those albums in there too when I run out of other material. :p: Feel welcome to put your own reviews in here, Crash.
 
With pleasure :D Sorry I'm a bit behind with this one - my internet was cut off yesterday from a mix-up with the bills I paid for my flat, so it kinda derailed that little notion. Should get it done tomorrow at the very latest.
 
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