Tom's Country View

"Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose " Many may be familiar with this line, without potentially knowing where it comes from. Other may know it from Janis Joplin and her hit ' Me & Bobby McGee '. But only few may know, that the song was written by Kris Kristofferson. Born and raised in Texas, Rhodes scholarship in Oxford (England), Helicopter pilot in the US Army eventually brought Kris Kristofferson to Nashville in 1965 to try his luck at music. Being very shy on stage, he was more interested in combining his love of Hank Williams and his interest in literature as a songwriter than being a singer on stage. Soon he got a reputation in Nashville for writing songs in a new poetic style that talked about sexuality very open and yet spoke directly to people in the stories he told. While he was trying to meet ends in Nashville, he managed to meet Johnny Cash. The way he made him listen to one of his songs by landing with a helicopter in Johnn...

" Growin' up in little pink houses, Makin' out on living room couches, Blowin' that smoke on Saturday night, A little messed up, but we're all alright ... "

It's been over 20 years since Tim McGraw has released his first album ("Tim McGraw", 1993 ). And this makes him one of the few, who is still being played on the radio in 2014. And Tim McGraw, the singer and by-now actor (a.o. " The Blind Side " with Sandra Bullock , 2009) can still be found on the charts! With some 40 million units sold in the US, Tim McGraw is the something like number 8 on a list of best selling solo artists across all genres. Only very few have managed to stay successful over such a long time span, and re-invent themselves. But maybe that is the secret to his success! Not only can he display a body at 47, which should could be the envy of Superman, as well as a successful marriage with singer Faith Hill , but he also managed to keep his music full of surprises. To draft his 20-years career in the entertainment business would not fit in this one blog entry, so I am going to focus on his most recent outputs, to see what makes him so suc...

I have been following Country Music now for over 30 years (as unbelievable as it sounds). I discovered it, when Alabama was starting to rise to fame. Their No.1 country single ' Take Me Down ' become one of their biggest pop hits going all the way to No. 18 on the Hot 100. It was the 80s, when the movie " Urban Cowboy " propelled country music to the forefront of pop music with artists like Eddie Rabbit , Kenny Rogers , Ronnie Milsap or Crystal Gayle who were successfully recording pop-influenced songs. And from the very first contact I had with country music, I was confronted with heated debates about what is country music and what is not. Purists and traditionalists, as they are called, were complaining about the music leaving its roots behind and catering to pop audiences and therefore not belonging on country radio. Ever since the 80s (or even before I started listening to country music) these people have complained that the old stars are not being played o...

There is no doubt, that songwriting done right, is an artform! With its typically limited time in song length it has to use words in the most efficient way to put emotions and pictures in the listeners hearts and minds. Thoughtful videos typically build upon the lyrics and evolve the stories to create actual pictures to the words. And as we know, sometimes they say more than a thousand words. Country music is about life and it os telling the stories that happen when life happens, like no other genre. But once in a while a song comes along, that is exceptional in the way it creates a story. One such song is ' Pony Express ' and I need to call it a 3-dimensional song! 'Pony Express' can be found on the 1986-album by Alabama called ' The Touch ' and it closes the album as a true story song with a length of almost 8 minutes (7:53). It was written by Buddy Cannon, Ken Lambert, Dean Dillon and Alabama bass guitarist and singer Teddy Gentry . On all ea...

If you have never heard of Sam Hunt , don't worry! However chances are, this will definitely change this year, as his name is traded as one of the next big things coming from Nashville. Sam Hunt was born in 1984 in a small Georgia town, where he started to pursue College Football. However when it seemed that his successes there would be limited, he moved to Nashville as a songwriter. In September of 2013 he independently released a first single ('Raised On It') and a month later a 15-track digital album via his website, called ' Between The Pines - Accoustic Mixtape '. Early in 2014 he was eventually signed by MCA Nashville with the first official single ' Leave The Night On ' currently receiving good radio airplay. So while we still have to wait for the official major label debute album to be released, the self-produced 'Between The Pines' gives hugely exciting insights into what hopefully to expect! Sam Hunt seems to come at the ri...

When I had the pleasure of attending the Phoenix show in 2010 on their final " Last Rodeo Tour ", I knew they would be missed! According to some sources, the second most successful musical duo in music history behind Simon & Garfunkel: Brooks & Dunn had quit their highly successful career after 20 years and some 28 million albums sold. Naturally music would be part of their life after Brooks & Dunn. When Kix Brooks tried one album, that wasn't really that successful, he more successfully switched to 'American Country Countdown' show host and other ventures (acting, running a winery). Ronnie Dunn , the significant voice in B&D and heard on the majority of their songs as lead vocal, started also with a solo project, in which he obviously put a lot of heart and blood, as documented by the excellent ' Making Of ' video he did for the self-titled album. In addition there were a couple of highly professionel videos produced for so...

It has been over 2 years now (April 24th, 2012), that one of the most exciting new albums in recent years was released. ' Up All Night ' was the debut album by a new artist named Kip Moore . While the album cover was so ugly, it would have been overlooked in vinyl record bins, if they were still around, the musical content goes to prove, 'Never judge a book by its cover'! Kip brings a very unique voice that is both raspy and earthy along with a talent in writing deep songs about life which create big emotional pictures in the listeners mind. He had a hand in writing all 11 songs on the album and I would say, each one of them goes to prove, that country music lyrics have not (all) turned dumb in the wake of bro-country. The musical style walks the line between country and some heartland rock touches with a great feel for hooks and melodies without getting hung up in repeat-loops of the chorus. Already the first single from the album ' Somethin'...

This week the Big Machine Record Label announced that the planned release date for the Country tribute to Motley Crue is being delayed from July 8th to August 16th. It will feature some of the best known names in Country Music, performing countrified cover versions of Motley Crue hits. So let me try to understand this: todays' hottest country stars are paying their dues to Motley Crue by doing a covers tribute album? What the hell is the connection between these two? According to general knowledge (Wikipedia), Motely Crue is a US glam-metal band , formed in 1981 in L.A. and correctly spelled Mötley Crüe, in reference to their favorite (German) beer "Löwenbräu". Their members have spent time in prison, suffered from alcoholism, drug addiction and had countless escapades with women. All this did not keep them from becoming one of the most successful bands of all time by selling some 75 million records world wide (and 25 million in the US). Currently th...

Founded in 1967 in San Francisco and named after the Muddy Waters song " Rollin' Stone " (others quote " Like A Rolling Stone " by Bob Dylan), Rolling Stone Magazine writes about 'politics and popular culture'. It is issued bi-weekly and available in numerous international editions. As of the 70s, it has become some kind of success measure, to be on the cover of the 'Rolling Stone'. So much, that it even became the topic of the ironic Shel Silverstein / Dr. Hook song by the same name (" Cover of the Rolling Stone "). Although Rolling Stone Magazine paid some due to Country Music (in particular critic and later senior editor, Chet Flippo who provided liner notes to the milestone country albums " Wanted: The Outlaws " and Willie Nelson's " Red Headed Stranger "), its focus clearly was more on pop / rock culture. So it is a little surprising, but proof to the current mainstream success of country music,...

Today I received the new Brantley Gilbert CD in the mail. Yes, I am still buying physical CDs! Although the days may be numbered as I now mostly listen to music electronically while on the go - plus files do not take up as much space as physical media. In any case, I was excited and curious what the first full major-label release for Brantley Gilbert would sound like. Commercially it already is one of the most successful albums of 2014 by selling 211,000 copies in its first week and debuting at No.1 on the country albums chart and at No.2 on the pop charts behind the new album by Coldplay. Brantley Gilbert walked into the spotlight kind-of unplanned in 2010, when Jason Aldean recorded two of his songs for his 2010-album, the title track ' My Kinda Party ' and ' Dirt Road Anthem ', respectively going to No.2 and No.1 on the country singles charts. Those hits kick-started Brantley's career into the mainstream and resulted in a reissue of his album ...

The band Alabama has probably been the most influental musical act in my life and responsible for converting me to country music for good. Their slight rock and pop influences created a whole new vibe for country music and as we know, they were the first (at least successful) self contained country band; meaning they played all their instruments themselves, even during recordings most of the time. At live shows, they were not merely singing like successful groups such as the Oak Ridge Boys or the Statler Brothers had done before them, but as a band they were also playing their own instruments.

Just recently, US Radio Network 'Cumulus Media' and 'Big Machine Label Group', which was launched in 2005 by former Dreamworks Records executive Scott Borchetta, announced a co-venture to promote Country Music stars who were big in the time span of the 80's to 2000, but mostly no longer have recording contracts. The undertaking intends to create the new label NASH ICONS, which will promote and support those artists via special radio outlets and events. It will be empowered by the media muscle of Cumulus Media, which operates some 460 country music radio stations (as of February 2014) in the US market. 'Big Machine' is the home of superstars Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw and Rascal Flatts, as well as current hot seller Brantley Gilbert (via Valory. As Scott Borchetta noted, "There are so many iconic Country artists who are still passionate about recording new music and hearing their biggest hits on the radio. NASH ICONS will allow so many of ...

One of the exciting parts about music is, that it is alive and you never know, when you discover something new, that completely fits your taste. It may be because lyrics are important to you and those lyrics simply hit a nerve for you, it may be that you like the beat and rhythm it throws at you, it may be the atmosphere and feeling it conveys or simply the singer and his/her voice or a combination of parts or all of these aspects. There is a certain excitement that comes with such a discovery and that's what I felt when I first heard the sound of ' Funkabilly ' and Joanna Cotten! I had neither heard of this singer nor of her music before, but I was discovering Funk music at that time and was curious how this could possibly mix with 'hillbilly' music. What the word combination of the album name and title track already hints at, is a mix of various musical styles. Her home page fittingly states: "A sultry slide guitar, the lonely moan of a blu...

On the weekend the 59th Eurovision Song Contest took place in Denmark. Over the years it has become more and more a high tech media spectacle, which is by now reaching a world wide audience of an estimated 125 Mio. viewers. Although over the years every now and then a song from the contest crossed over to international radio charts (with "Waterloo" by Abba probably being the most famous), it has mostly been snickered at by the rest of the music world. With the increasing integration of social and other media, such as twitter, and high tech stage and lightning designs (take a look at the performances available on the internet), it has stepped up in public recognition over the past few years. And with potentially 125 Mio. music buying consumers, it is certainly also of interest to the music industry. While the winner is chosen by a jury team and the public audience in each country, for the first time audience voting numbers have been published separately thi...

From the rich musical universe of Texas comes a driving sound that walks the line between Rock and Country . With its rock band outfit, which omits steel guitar and fiddle, but adds some sprinkling of Mandolin and Banjo, John David Kent delivers some kind of heartland sound, that successfully fuses rock and country into something commercial and yet raw. In 2011 John David Kent released his self-titled debut album as a Texas (Country) Music act. While the album cover which depicted JDK as some longhaired-bearded Cowboy in a long dust coat, the music was not western-style, but contemporary rocking Texas Country style, stressing the Country-part of it. I put it on my wish-list but it never really ended up in my buying cart. When I stumbled across the release of his sophomore album on one of my 'music-discovery-internet-surfs' and listened to the track excerpts, I was immediately grabbed and this time, the cart was succesfully filled. " Before the Sun Come...

On April 11th, 2014, Eric Church announced ' The Outsiders World Tour ', kicking off in September 2014, with presales starting in May. The tour will supposedly feature a high tech design and a 360 degree view of the entertainer and his band. Supporting acts will be Dwight Yoakam, Brothers Osborne, Brandy Clark and rock band Halestorme for select dates. Eric Church is one of the hottest country acts currently, even though he incorporates a lot of musical elements, which make him also attractive to non-country audiences; right-on with the 'Outsiders'-theme of his current, excellent album. So it is no wonder, that everybody wants to see him live (in particular when his live show has been hailed by Billboard Magazine and he has even been invited to alternative rock-, rap- and punk-festival Lollapalooza in 2013). And a World Tour clearly displays his immensely grown status in the world of music. Especially since country artists rarely ever leave the U...

" I have seen the morning burning golden on the mountains in the skies,  Achin' with the feelin' of the freedom of an eagle when she flies ... " When I first heard these lines on a (now lost and almost forgotten) cassette tape some 30 years ago, I was grabbed by the picture these words were painting in my mind. The coarse voice singing them was so different from anything that I heard heard before and they seemed such a perfect fit to the rough-looking, bearded guy with those steel-blue eyes on the cover of the tape. As this was long before the internet and the cassette tape did not hold much more information other than the track listing, it took a while to find out that the painter of this sonic picture ("Loving Her Was Easier [Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again]") was Kris Kristofferson . Little did I know at that time, that this would be the beginning of a long love-affair and fascination with unique voices and music with great lyri...