Miranda Lambert seems to be the youngest “veteran” in any genre of music.   Lambert cut her teeth with one of the first reality TV talent contests – “Nashville Star.”    She came in third behind a forgettable singer named Buddy Jewell, but there were a lot of fans and others that couldn’t forget Miranda.  That was 2003.  Flash forward to now and in the last year she has become one of the most celebrated women in country music.

Billboard Magazing recently called her “the coolest girl in country music,” and her press is better than ever.

Her new Album “Four The Record” is a blend of mainstram country meets Miranda alt-pop.  In fact a few tunes in the disc could work on pop radio despite her proud twang.  Her record label will have to get things pulled together (she’s bounced from Sony-owned to now defunct Epic and then Columbia Records).  She has just landed on the legendary RCA Nashville.

There’s a lot for country radio and fans to like here too.    Lambert has found her groove and her confidence is heard in songs like the lead single “Baggage Claim.”   (Did you realize those Hammond organ rund are performed by Steve Windwood?!- I didn’t either.)   New sounds for country music – but she pulls it off swiftly.  Er…  maybe Lambert-ly.

Fans who have been following Miranda will get into her new level of sass and some very modern production values.  The ensuing media blitz and round of awards will surely bring in some new followers too.

Despite 2009′s stellar performance of “Revolution” Taylor Swift may have had the most face time of the last few years but there’s a new 20-something blonde that’s ready to take the spotlight among the other hot country acts like Zac Brown and Lady A.  Four The Record is a Hit.

Overall Grade:  A

Don’t miss: The retro-yet-modern “Easy Living” and the edgy “Fine Tune” (time to try a pop crossover?)

 

When was the last time country music had a teenage boy that had a shot at making hits?   Billy Gilman din’t have a shot like Scotty McCreery, and McCreery has delivered a super easy to listen to debut album that will please Idol fan base and SHOULD be mainstream enough to deserve substantial radio play.

McCreery has already proven himself as a draw.  So much so that he’s already inked a deal to open Brad Paisley’s tour in 2012.      On Idol it was clear to show producers from early on that Scotty had a massive following and it translated to higher Idol ratings.  On the Idol arena tour there was a good degree of Scotty mania with sold out arenas after the previous year’s lackluster attendance.     As the reigning Idol winner McCreery had an extra long set list on the tour and he sold the most merch at the tables.  He’s proving himself as more than normal teen back at school too.

With his debut album, Clear As Day, McCreery combines his surprisingly rich country pipes to some quality Nashville songwriting and producing with JUST ENOUGH High School perspective.   His voice is unique too.  Perhaps more versatile than Josh Turner or Trace Adkins.   Taylor Swift has been successful providing the voice for that age group – but there has never been a charismatic boy (a jock too!) that has had this kind of shot.

Clear As Day is a sweet slice of southern life.  Obviously handpicked by Scotty, the songs revolve around girls, mama, trucks and High School.    A breath of fresh air for Nashville.

McCreery shines on flirty fun pop country nuggets like “Write Your Number On My Hand” and “You Make That Look Good” but also soars with super vocals on the current single “The Trouble With Girls.”    The songs stand up solidly next to anything on country radio.  Do radio programmers hear it or will they need to play catch up after he drops jaws with what could be blockbuster first week sales?

Clear As Day – Track List

 

1. Out of Summertime
2. I Love You This Big
3. Clear as Day
4. The Trouble With Girls
5. Water Tower Town
6. Walk in the Country
7. Better Than That
8. Write My Number on Your Hand
9. Dirty Dishes
10. You Make That Look Good
11. Back on the Ground
12. That Old King James

Overall Grade:  A

Don’t Miss:  ”You Make That Look Good” – fun for all and sure to make his teenybopper fans swoon.  Also “Walk In The Country” an old Keith Urban and  the Ranch song gets new life.

 

 

Rodney Atkins is building a house.  Brick by brick, big hit by by hit he’s becoming a country mainstay.  It’s tricky work in the fickle world of country music where they want something different yet shun anything too different.  Atkins (nod ADkins) has generated a powerful set list.   It started back in 2003 with the top five charting Honesty (write me a list).  A few more years and a few more BIG songs like If You’re Going Through Hell, Watching You, These Are My People, It’s America, Farmer’s Daughter and now a modern sounding feel good title track “Take A Back Road.”

1. Take a Back Road
2. He’s Mine
3. Family
4. The Corner
5. She’s a Girl Ain’t She
6. She’s Rather Fight
7. Feet
8. Cabin In The Woods
9. Just Wanna Rock N’ Roll
10. Growing Up Like That
11. Tips
12. Lifelines
13. (Bonus) Farmer’s Daughter

Jake Owen is out really working hard to promote his new country songs.    We just spotted him branding himself nicely on Good Morning America wearing Bluejeans… in bare feet.    His new single -Barefoot Blue Jean Night –  is the title track from Jake Owen’s third full album with legendary RCA Records.

Things seem to be going in the right direction.  Owen pulled in a new producer the follow up to 2009′s “Easy Does It” and there is a fresh breeze of new sounds to go along with Owen’s rich voice.
The first track, Anywhere With You, starts country cliche (double wides!) but rolls into a fun romp.
The song “Keepin it Country” is a bit vanilla and again a bit cliche but the rest of the tracks really begin to get a great vibe.

Barefoot Blue Jean Night jumps out of the speakers at the very first listen.
Apple Pie Moon Shine is a dead on fun medium tempo singalong.  If released as a single it could be Owen’s “Big Green Tractor” (multi-week number one for Jason Aldean).  Perfect for radio.
Journey of Your Life is due to end up as someone’s favorite just for the somber sentimentality and deliberate solid songwriting.
Setting the World on Fire has a nice Bob Seger vibe… and another party starter is sure to be Nobody Feelin’ No Pain as Jake relays a hotel romp that many fans can relate to.

In all, Barefoot Blue Jean Night is a sturdy representation of the new sounds in country music.    Steeped with a bit of Jake’s twangy baritone it FEELS country and the production values on the mix is really fresh sounding.

Oveall Grade:  B+   Core fans will have plenty to sing – and party – along with.

Download: The singalong title track plus Apple Pie Moonshine

Delete: Referencing country double wides in the opening track Anywhere with You.

 

The new remake of Footloose will have some country swagger when it hits theaters this Fall. The Footloose Soundtrack – that will be released September 27th – has a good representation of twang. Including Nashville’s star of the moment Blake Shelton singing the iconic theme song. The film is set for an October 15th release and features a sexy Julianne Hough as Ariel – the minister’s daughter.

The Soundtrack features eight new songs as well as the remakes.  Julianne, still growing her music career on Mercury records, is not featured singing in the film or soundtrack

.

Victoria Justice and Hunter Hayes join the album with the movie’s love theme, “Almost Paradise.” The cast for the soundtrack has new music from Big & Rich, Cee Lo Green, David Banner, Whitney Duncan, Lissie and Zac Brown of Zac Brown Band. Other classic songs featured on the album are “Holding Out For A Hero” by Ella Mae Bowen and “Let’s Hear It For The Boy” by Jana Kramer.

Here’s a look at the tracks:
1. Footloose – Blake Shelton
2. Where The River Goes – Zac Brown of Zac Brown Band
3. Little Lovin’ – Lissie
4. Holding Out For A Hero – Ella Mae Bowen
5. Let’s Hear It For The Boy – Jana Kramer
6. So Sorry Mama – Whitney Duncan
7. Fake I.D. – Big & Rich feat. Gretchen Wilson
8. Almost Paradise – Victoria Justice & Hunter Hayes
9. Walkin’ Blues – Cee Lo Green feat. Kenny Wayne Shepherd
10. Window Paine – The Smashing Pumpkins
11. Suicide Eyes – A Thousand Horses
12. Dance The Night Away – David Banner

Photos: Paramount Pictures

About “FOOTLOOSE”
Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment present a Dylan Sellers Zadan / Meron Weston Pictures Production of a Craig Brewer Film. Footloose stars Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough, Andie MacDowell and Dennis Quaid.  The film is directed by Craig Brewer from a screenplay by Dean Pitchford and Brewer and Story by Dean Pitchford.  It is produced by Craig Zadan, Neil Meron, Dylan Sellers and  Brad Weston.  The executive producers are Timothy M. Bourne, Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum and Jonathan Glickman.

 

 

 

Blake has it going on.   Reigning CMA Male Vocalist of the Year and country music’s most interesting man (Have you seen the funny vids at http://bit.ly/mostinterestingman), Blake Shelton, continues his wave of success with his new Warner Bros. Records release, Red River Blue as the largest selling album in the U.S.

This amazing debut comes hot on the heels of a string of No. 1’s which include: Soundscan Top Current Albums chart, Soundscan Top Country Albums chart, iTunes Overall Albums Chart, iTunes Country Albums Chart and his multi-week insatiable hit “Honey Bee.” The single is the fastest-selling digital Platinum single for a male country solo artist. Red River Blue is the highest digital percentage for Shelton with almost 30% of his album sales and marks his highest selling album debut to date.  This success also comes at a time when Blake is enjoying a new marriage to Miranda Lambert and TV success on The Voice.

Chris Young also hit with his third release last week with 70 some thousand copies.  Good for second in Country.

Mercury Nashville will release singer/songwriter Randy Montana’s self-titled debut album on July 26 to all digital retailers. Montana’s album is produced by famed producer Jay Joyce and includes “Ain’t Much Left Of Lovin’ You,” and his current single “1,000 Faces” which is currently a free download on the iTunes Country Page. Fans can download the video for free here http://bit.ly/1000FacesiTunesVideo. Also on the album is the loved track “Last Horse,” which features Emmylou Harris on harmonies.

Randy has spent most of 2010 and 2011 on the road touring. He’s opened for hit artists such as Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Sugarland and this summer he will open for superstar Taylor Swift with stops in Detroit, Pittsburgh and Foxboro, to name a few.

Montana has already been receiving praise from the media. The January 2011 issue of Southern Living magazine boasts newcomer Randy Montana as one of five “Best New Artists” in their Best of the South feature. People named him as a “Must-hear artist” while USA Today’s Brian Mansfield tweeted “2010′s not quite done & already I’ve found my 1st favorite song of 2011: @RandyMontana’s ‘1,000 Faces’.”

To some modern country artists, the words critics are using to describe Eric Church’s forthcoming third studio album may seem off-putting, but to the trailblazing mutineer and his equally passionate fans, the terms: “strange,” “aggressive,” “wild,” and “rare,” couldn’t be more complimentary. What has been buzzing as the most experiential, head-turning country album of the year will take place on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 with the release of Church’s third studio album, Chief, to stores nationwide, courtesy of EMI Records.

“I have a theory that all of us [artists] only get a small window of time to make records when people will really listen and care,” said Church. “It’s up to us to move the needle. People like Waylon and Cash or Garth and Strait,– they all took the format and said, ‘We’re going over here,’ and they each changed the direction of the music a little bit– helping to make it what it is today.”

That desire to move the needle is the very reason Church has chosen to use the successes of six Top 20 country singles (“How ‘Bout You,” “Two Pink Lines,” and “Guys Like Me” from his 2006 critically-acclaimed debut, Sinners Like Me; “Love Your Love The Most,” “Hell On The Heart,” and “Smoke A Little Smoke” from his sophomore release Carolina) and an ACM Award for New Solo Vocalist of the Year to push the creative envelope even further with Chief. Church took a month off and went to a secluded cabin in North Carolina to reflect and write the entire album which he later recorded in Nashville with producer, Jay Joyce (Patty Griffin, Cage the Elephant), who also produced his previous two releases.

The songs that resulted from the diversion illustrate Church’s impressive range and infinite creative canvas. Songs like “Drink in My Hand” and “Hungover & Hard Up,” illustrate his ability to connect with a rowdy audience. Other songs like “Springsteen” and “Like Jesus Does,” reveal a deeper emotions complemented by sophisticated song structures; and then there’s “Homeboy” –the provocative lead single—and Church’s fastest-rising career single to date– that’s already turning heads and causing critics from USA Today and Billboard to champion the release.

The “alive and breathing” feel of the new music inspired Church to name the album, Chief, after a nickname given to his grandfather, and one he has consequently adopted over the years out on the road. “When it’s show time, I put on the sunglasses and the hat, and that’s how people know it’s game time. This album was made from a live place; we recorded it with the live show in mind, so it just seemed right to make that the title,” he adds.

With the release of his third studio album, Church hasn’t forgotten the true captains of his career –his loyal fans. “More than anyone else, we have built are career on the backs of the fans,” he says. “We have not had a lot of TV exposure or number one songs, but we have had music that stirs passion, we put on shows that stoke the flames of that passion, and our fans have carried the torch. Our music belongs to them.”

Chief Track-by-Track
1. Creepin’ (Eric Church / Marv Green)
2. Drink In My Hand (Eric Church, Michael P. Heeney, Luke Laird)
3. Keep On (Eric Church / Ryan Tyndell)
4. Like Jesus Does (Casey Beathard / Monty Criswell)
5. Hungover & Hard Up (Eric Church / Luke Laird)
6. Homeboy (Eric Church / Casey Beathard)
7. Country Music Jesus (Eric Church / Jeremy Spillman)
8. Jack Daniels (Eric Church / Jeff Hyde / Lynn Hutton)
9. Springsteen (Eric Church / Jeff Hyde / Ryan Tyndell)
10. I’m Gettin’ Stoned (Eric Church / Jeff Hyde / Casey Beathard / Jeremy Cradey)
11. Over When It’s Over (Eric Church / Luke Laird)

It’s no secret that Average Joe’s Entertainment’s Colt Ford is the epitome of the fan-driven revolution of the traditional music industry. In just three years, he is nearing double-platinum digital single sales, has reached over 500,000 in album sales, performed over 500 dates, and garnered his first Academy of Country Music Awards nomination for Vocal Event of The Year for single “Cold Beer” (feat. Jamey Johnson). Showing no signs of slowing down in 2011, the grassroots country phenomenon will release his third studio album, Every Chance I Get, to digital realms and stores nationwide on May 3, 2011.

The album’s debut radio single and opening track, “Country Thang,” features co-writer and Billboard #1 Songwriter of 2010 Dallas Davidson on vocals as well as a special album-only version with Eric Churchas guest vocalist. Written by Ford and the so-called “Peach Pickers” of Music Row– Davidson, Rhett Akins, and Ben Hayslip, the release is Ford’s fastest rising radio single on the Country Billboard andMediabase charts. On April 22, the music video for the song will debut worldwide on CMT andCMT.com during their Big New Music Weekend.

Every Chance I Get was produced by Shannon Houchins, Jayson Chance and Phivestarr Productions – Houchins and Chance also partnered with Ford for his 2010 Top 10 release, Chicken And Biscuits—and will feature guest vocals from Tim McGraw, Eric Church, Luke Bryan, Charlie Daniels, Josh Thompson, and more (full track listing below).

As a songwriter, Ford is most proud of the album’s song “She Likes To Ride In Trucks” which he wrote and included for his 16 year-old daughter, Annesly.

“I wrote this song for my daughter. She’s 16, coming of age, and I’m not the man in her life anymore, her boyfriend is. She wants to do her own thing, chase her own dreams, and she doesn’t need me as much as she used to. Whenever I do this song live, it’ll choke me up. It’s about real life, and real life is hard sometimes,” said Ford.

Ford also co-wrote “Work It Out,” “Waste Some Time,” “This Is Our Song,” “What I Call Home,” “Overworked and Underpaid,” and album stand-out, “Twisted” (feat. Tim McGraw).

Performing over 200 shows in both 2009 and 2010 on tour with Jason Aldean, Hank Williams Jr., as well as headlining his own theater and club dates, Ford will likely top that number in 2011 in support of his new album.

Every Chance I Get track listing:

1. Country Thang f/ Eric Church

2. Work It Out f/ Luke Bryan

3. Waste Some Time f/ Nappy Roots and Nic Cowan

4. Do It With My Eyes Closed f/ Josh Thompson

5. This Is Our Song f/ Danny Boone of Rehab

6. Titty’s Beer f/ Trent Tomlinson

7. She Likes To Ride In Trucks f/ Craig Morgan

8. Pipe The Sunshine In f/ Tyler Farr

9. Every Chance I Get

10. What I Call Home f/ JB & The Moonshine Band

11. Overworked & Underpaid f/ Charlie Daniels

12. Skirts & Boots f/ Frankie Ballard

13. Twisted f/ Tim McGraw

Colt Ford’s Upcoming Tour Stops:

April 14, 2011 Birmingham, AL

April 15, 2011 Monroe, LA

April 16, 2011 Colfax, LA

April 21, 2011 Tupelo, MS

April 22, 2011 Pensacola, FL

April 23, 2011 Biloxi, MS

April 28, 2011 Battle Creek, MI

April 29, 2011 Grand Rapids, MI

April 30, 2011 Flint, MI

May 1, 2011    Richmond, KY

May 5, 2011    Laurel, DE

May 6, 2011    Watchung, NJ

May 7, 2011    Bradford, VT

May 12, 2011  Baltimore, MD

May 14, 2011  Eutawville, SC

May 20, 2011  Charlotte, NC

May 21, 2011  Greenville, SC

May 28, 2011  Brookfield, OH

June 3, 2011    Cleveland, GA

June 4, 2011    Danville, VA

June 5, 2011    Rossville, GA

June 10, 2011  Poplar Bluff, MO

June 11, 2011  Kearney, MO

June 16, 2011  New Berline, IL

June 17, 2011  Ebensburg, PA

June 18, 2011  Roanoke Rapids, NC

June 19, 2011  Decatur, AL

June 23, 2011  Fort Smith, AR

June 24, 2011  Little Rock, AR

June 25, 2011  Tulsa, OK

June 26, 2011  Des Moines, IA