Single Review: Emma Jacob – “Julianna”

October 9, 2009 at 3:27 am (Single Review, Uncategorized)
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Emma Jacob has a really great voice but hasn’t found a song to launch her career yet, hopefully this is the one. It’s nothing that we haven’t heard before, but she sounds great singing it, and it sounds like something a girl her age should be singing. The music is forgettable but her voice carries the weight, now she just needs to get played on the radio. B+

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Single Review: Sara Evans “Feels Just Like A Love Song”

August 16, 2009 at 4:14 am (Uncategorized)

                            

Sara hasn’t had a hit song since “You’ll Always Be My Baby” and even that wasn’t a big hit, and that was back in 2007.  It’s been almost two years of nothing from her so she needs a big comeback song. “Feels Just Like A Love Song” doesn’t feel just like a hit song. It sounds okay but this isn’t a song to relaunch a career, it actually sounds like something that got cut off of Taylor Swifts last album, and that may be what RCA is aiming for with this one. I’m hoping it’s a hit just so we can get another Sara album out there and hopefully the next single will be better. C

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Iw

November 16, 2008 at 2:39 am (Uncategorized)

I was going through my iTunes library this morning and noticed how many of my favorite artists only ever released one album or one nationally released album anyway. Most of the time the second album never comes because they failed to chart decently during their first album. Therefore many of them never got much exposure and are slowly being forgotten. I plan to feature some of them along with a little history behind their carreers. Here’s the first one….

Anthony Smith


“Biography by Jason MacNeil
Born in eastern Tennessee, this musician was in love with music from an early age. As a youngster, he would often gaze upon his father’s baby blue Fender guitar. By the time Smith was six or seven, he was playing guitar and learning various songs. Smith was exposed to a variety of music, ranging from country artists such as Johnny Paycheck and Johnny Cash to ’70s rock groups such as Aerosmith, ZZ Top, and Led Zeppelin. By his early twenties, Smith moved to Kentucky to hone his musical skills. While in Kentucky, he became a member of Sneaky Pete, a house band that would perform at the Soundstage Club. Telling everyone that this was a stepping stone to Nashville, he moved to Nashville a few years later. After networking through his contacts at labels and also numerous songwriters, he got a spot at a regular singer/songwriter’s showcase at Nashville’s The Broken Spoke. Mercury Nashville boss Luke Lewis received a demo of Smith’s music and immediately liked what he heard. After offering Smith a home, Smith began writing for artists such as Lorrie Morgan,Sammy Kershaw, Lonestar, and Montgomery Gentry. His song “Didn’t I” was also featured on the We Were Soldiers soundtrack. In 2001, Smith started work on his debut solo album. In June 2002, If That Ain’t Country was released on Mercury Nashville.” – By Jason MacNell, for Allmusic.com

 

Here’s a list of songs he helped write:

Confederate Railroad – “That’s What Brothers Do”

George Strait – “Cowboys Like Us”

Lonestar – “Without You”

Montgomery Gentry – “Carrying On” / “Didn’t I” / “The Fine Line” / “What Do Ya Think About That”

Rascal Flatts – “My Worst Fear”

Reba McEntire – “It Just Has To Be This Way”

Sammy Kershaw – “Metropolis”

Tim McGraw – “Shotgun Rider” / “Kristofferson” / “Kill Myself”

Tommy Shane Steiner – “The Mind Of John J. Blanchard”

Trace Adkins – “Metropolis”

Trisha Yearwood – “Who Invented The Wheel”

 

Personal Chart History

“If That Ain’t Country” – #26

“John J. Blanchard” – 40

“Half A Man” – 40

 

My Thoughts

Anthony Smith is one of the male artist Mercury Records tried to launch in the first half of the decade (Eric Heatherly, Gary Nichols, Tracy Lawrence, Marcel, David Nail, Steve Azar, etc.) but they were unsucessful with all but Billy Currington. Anthony was probably my favorite one they tried to launch and also the best song writer of the bunch (Marcel comes close). It’s unfortunate that he never got the attention he should have as his debut album is one of the better to come out in this decade. Hopefully his upcoming EP will change that, but without a major label I have my doubts. 

 

Links

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDfLF3Nc8WE  - Video for “If That Ain’t Country”


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Top 20 In Review

September 9, 2008 at 4:01 am (Uncategorized)
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Just figured I’d post my thoughts on the current top 20.

01. Jimmy Wayne “Do You Believe Me Now”
I like this song, I like the singer, I just wish he’d do something a little more traditional. Otherwise it’s great to hear him again. B+

02. Brad Paisley “Waitin’ On A Woman”
When I first heard this song back in 2005 I thought for sure it would be a #1 hit. This is his best single since “When I Get Where I’m Going” A

03. Keith Urban “You Look Good In My Shirt”
This like Brad’s song was a song I thought would be a big hit. It may be because this is from his second album but it’s great to hear him going back to his earlier sound. A

04. Keith Anderson “I Still Miss You”
I don’t like it, I want to because I like Keith but I find it too similar to “Every Time i Hear Your Name”, only not as good. D+

05. Darius Rucker “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It”
This is my favorite debut single by a male artist since Chris Young’s “Drinkin’ Me Lonely”. Darius has a great voice that sounds just country enough to work. B+

06. Kenny Chesney “Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven”
I’m not a fan of Kenny, but he does put out some good songs here and there. This isn’t one of them. I’m tired of the beach theme and just wish he’d do something else. (Ps. I do surprisingly like it better than George Strait’s version). C-

07. Kid Rock “All Summer Long”
No Comment

08. George Strait “Troubadour”
I love George and I don’t think he can do any wrong, but this is my least favorite single from him since “If You Can Do Anything Else” (2001). B-

09. Toby Keith “She Never Cried In Front Of Me”
I’ve liked a grand total of two Toby songs before this, but this song has become my third. I’m not sure why either but there’s something about it that I really like. B+

10. The Lost Trailers “Holler Back”
I like The Lost Trailers, so it’s a shame to see them wasting their talent on drivel like this. The only reason it’s not an “f” is because I like the word sassafrass. D-

11. Taylor Swift “Should’ve Said No”
This is a great song for a great pop artist. There’s nothing country about this song, but I like it for what it is. This might be her last good single based on what I’ve heard from her new album. B

12. Carrie Underwood “Just A Dream”
I think that this could be Carrie’s career record. It’s her best single so far, it’s most likely going to be the biggest hit off of Carnival Ride and it’s by far her best vocal performance. A+

13. Sugarland “All I Wanna Do”
It grew on me as it climbed the charts but I can’t honestly say it’s a great song. It’s insanely catchy and seeing my little cousins dance to it provided entertainment. C+

14. Heidi Newfield “Johnny And June”
I love this, Heidi’s performance on this has so much emotion. I didn’t know she had it in her to do songs like this but I’m very keen to hear the rest of her album. (which by the way I can’t find anywhere.) A-

15. Rascal Flatts “Bob That Head”
I’m usually very hard on these guys, but it’s usually because I know if they really tried they could put out good songs. This however is the worst song I have ever heard get released to country radio. F

16. Luke Bryan “Country Man”
I still think his album is the best of the new males’ but this was the worst song on the album. It’s too generic and prdictable. D+

17. Brooks & Dunn “Put A Girl In It”
Their newest album has been a dissapointment, and this follows along with that trend. It’s the best single off the album so far, but it was utterly boring. C

18. Chuck Wicks “All I Ever Wanted”
I absolutley hated “Stealing Cinderella” but seeing him live on New Years convinced me to buy his album. This song was a stand out for me. There’s nothing overly special about it but I still enoy it. B-

19. Jason Aldean “Relentless”
My friend said it best when she said “it doesn’t even sound like he’s trying”. And I agree with her completley. I like Jason’s voice most of the time, but here it sounds lifeless. C-

20. Tim McGraw “Let It Go”
After the last two singles I was hoping for something a little more strong, but this is decent background noise. C+

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