ROBERT EARL KEEN - THE ROSE HOTEL
Undoubtedly one of the most respected songwriters Robert Earl Keen has made his name telling unforgettable stories in the songs that he writes and continues to do so on “The Rose Hotel”, his first studio album in 4 years. The 11 songs on the album include stories of love, “On And On” a barroom tale “10,000 Chinese Walk Into A Bar” on which Billy Bob Thornton sings backup, a musician down on his luck “Goodbye Cleveland”, a story about Levon Helm “The Man Behind The Drums” and a cover of Townes Van Zant’s “Flying Shoes”. A mixture of irony, wit and satire can also be found on several of the tracks including “Wireless In Heaven” on this superb album from one of Americana’s true pioneers.

Here are six albums which have been available for six months or more as imports but have now received a UK release.
LITTLE BIG TOWN - A PLACE TO LAND
This album, the 3 rd from, the ACM’s New Duo/Vocal Group in 2006, Little Big Town, was released in 2007 and re-issued with extra tracks in 2008, these are included on U.K. release. The songs, 12 written by members of the group, tell stories of various aspects of love including abuse (“Evangeline”), hope and faith, four of which have charted including the title which made the No 10 slot. The music is a mix of country, rock and bluegrass with the members of the group sharing the lead vocals and the others singing harmony both of which blend seamlessly and perfectly. The final track “Life In A Northern Town” features guest appearances by Sugarland and Jake Owen.

TRACE ADKINS - X
Trace Adkins has been a consistent chart visitor since his 1 st album “Dreamin’ Out Loud” in 1996 through to his latest “X” which hit the No 7 position in 2008 and has given him 4 chart singles Although not a writer himself he is a great interpreter of songs and seems to have the gift of choosing those that are ideal for his rich baritone vocals which are undoubtedly one of the most recognisable in the world of country. This latest album is a mixture of some fun upbeat songs and emotive ballads with themes about family, drinking, tough times and near death experiences and shows why after over a decade he is still having chart success..

LADY ANTEBELLUM - LADY ANTEBELLUM
This debut album in the first week of release went to No 1 on the Country Album Charts making them the first group to achieve this with a debut album. The trio comprises of vocalists Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott (Linda Davis’ daughter) and instrumentalist, Dave Harwood and were “CMA New Artist of the Year” in 2008 and ACM/s “Best New Vocal Group” in 2007. The 11 tracks include gentle ballads, mid-tempo and also upbeat songs and the trio were involved with the writing of 10 of them ably assisted by other writers including Victoria Shaw, who also co-produced the album. The group’s style is a combination of country-pop and contemporary country with good harmonies, great songs and production.

DIERKS BENTLEY - FEEL THAT FIRE
This album, released in early 2009, is Dierks Bentley’s fourth to reach No 1 on the Country Album Charts and undoubtedly confirms his popularity as one of the successful artists who have emerged this decade. The 12 tracks not only show his vocal talents but also his ability as a writer, having collaborated on most of the tracks with many respected songwriters. The songs are predominately hard rockers like “Little Heartwrecker” and “Feel That Fire” and the slower ballads such as “I Wanna |Make You Close Your Eyes” and “Pray with two tracks, “Sideways” and “Feel That Fire” topping the Singles charts. Patty Griffin features on “Beautiful World” and the final track “Last Call”, a collaboration with Ronnie McCoury, has a Bluegrass feel and should get your feet tapping.

DARIUS RUCKER - LEARN TO LIVE
There seems to be a trend whereby non country artists are spreading their wings and recording country albums. One such performer is Darius Rucker (Hootie & The Blowfish) who has found approval from fans with success in the country charts with two No 1 singles “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It” and “It Won’t Be Like This For Long” from this debut No 1 country album. He has co-written 11 of the 12 tracks and there are guest appearances by Brad Paisley playing electric guitar on “All I Want” and on “If I Had Wings” background vocals are supplied by Vince Gill and Alison Krauss. Darius’ voice seems well suited to the songs whether they be the ballads or the more upbeat numbers on this modern country album.

ERIC CHURCH - CAROLINA
Carolina is singer/songwriter Eric Church’s follow-up album to his successful 2006 Top 10 debut album “Sinners Like Me”. The original US release of “Carolina” had 12 tracks but this U.K. one includes an extra 3. The album starts off with an upbeat track “Ain’t Killed Me Off Yet” about pressures of life which emanate from losing his love. This theme of loneliness, loss, pain and acrimony is prevalent throughout most of the album in some form but has some lighter and sensiitve subjects as well. His style is possibly described best as a fusion of old-school type country with outlaw honky-tonk and although a lot of the tracks are upbeat there are more mellow.

There’s a very fine line between country and folk music and if you are someone whose musical tastes include such artists as Gillian Welch, Iris Dement, Shawn Colvin, Eilen Jewell and maybe Emmylou Harris then this 3 rd album from Canadian Catherine MacLellan will undoubtedly appeal to you.

Catherine, the daughter of Gene MacLellan who wrote the classic “Snowbird” in the 1970’s, has most definitely inherited song writing skills from her father as she more than ably demonstrates on her latest self penned album, “Water In The Ground”. The main theme of the album is relationships in various forms, some good, some bad, coming to terms with life and a very sad moving final track “Flowers On Your Grave”. The songs are a mixture of catchy, up tempo ones such as the opening track “Take A Break” which I’m sure will get your feet tapping and the more sedate ballads like “All Those Years” and “Again From The Start” both looking back at the life left behind. “Water In The Ground” tells the tale of a young girl who has ‘itchy feet’ and hopes her love will still be waiting for her upon her return whereas “Isabel’s Song” is about a girl giving her most precious thing she has to her love – her heart.

Catherine has a beautiful pure voice which is strong, flexible and reflective and with the beautiful lyrics and excellent musicianship from her on guitar and the other instrumentalists, makes this an album well worth adding to your collection. In addition there is a bonus of a copy of her first album “Dark Dream Midnight”. More information about Catherine and her music from her website.

Over an illustrious solo career which started in the late 1970’s, Reba McEntire has sold in excess of 55 million albums, appeared in films and her own TV show, garnered innumerable awards from the CMA, ACM, AMA, People Choice and 2 Grammys. Now this latest album, “Keep On Loving You”, adds to her achievements as her first to hit the No 1 spot on Billboard’s Top 200 and her 11 th No 1 on Billboard’s Country Album Charts and she now holds the record as the female country artist with the most No 1 albums, 11, on Billboard's Country Album Charts since the chart was launched in 1964.

This 31 st album, tells stories of women at various stages in their lives from an aspiring young singer “Pink Guitar”, Jamie O’Neal is one of the co-writers, through to “She’s Turning 50”, that Reba co-wrote, about a broken hearted, jilted wife with insecurities at the age of 50. “Eight Crazy Hours”, previously recorded by Shelly Fairchild, is about a woman whose great emotion and heartache is turned into a greater love of her family. A fast paced bluegrass feeling track “Nothing To Lose” tells of a woman running away from her troubles and this heartache theme is the subject of the upbeat first track “Strange” which has already been in the country charts. Other songs include “I Want To Be A Cowboy” which appears on Katrina Elam’s debut album, “Over You” where the woman isn’t able to move on after a break-up as her ex is, and “But Why” a romantic ballad. The standout track though is, the possibly controversial and poignant, “Maggie Creek Road” telling the story of a mother’s revenge on a man who assaults her daughter.

There are a good balance of styles ranging from up tempo, traditional, contemporary, bouncy western swing to mellow ballads all sung by one of the most recognizable voices. A thoroughly enjoyable and recommended album.

Formed in 2002, the trio Sugarland released their first album “Twice The Speed Of Life” two years later and in 2006, following the departure of Kristen Hall became the current duo of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush. Both Jennifer and Kristian had been in groups prior to Sugarland, Jennifer was the lead singer of Soul Miner’s Daughter and Kristian half of the duo Billy Pilgrim. During their relative short time as Sugarland they have enjoyed success not only on the charts, but had multi platinum selling albums, sold in excess of 8 million album and received both CMA and ACM awards.

This 4 th album “Live On The Inside” is combination of CD/DVD and consists of live tracks and performance footage from concerts in Lexington, Alberta, Austin and Minneapolis. The CD consists of 10 tracks including their well-known songs “Stay”, “All I Want To Do” and “Joey” along with 7 tracks which are cover versions of songs by non country artists Beyonce’s “Irrepalceable”, B-52’s, “Love Shack”, Pearl Jam’s “Better Man”, Edie Brickel’s “Circle”, Kings Of Leon’s “Sex On Fire” and R.E.M’s “Nightswimming” but these are interpreted in a country vein by Jennifer and Kristian.
The live DVD was recorded in HD using 20 cameras at the 2008 concert in Lexington, Kentucky and really gives you the feel of what it must be like to attend a Sugarland gig. The 15 songs on the DVD consists mainly of tracks from their previous album “Love On The Inside” mainly performed by that unmistakable voice and powerhouse of energy, Jennifer, ably assisted by Kristian on guitar and harmony and on “Genevieve”, the entire band join by singing harmonies.

It is a superb CD/DVD set especially the live DVD which gives the feeling of being at the concert.

Selma Chalk is the 4 th album from this duo, Jeff & Vida, who met in New York City where they began performing together before moving to New Orleans and gained a following after playing the clubs and bars in 1998. As their audience grew they recorded their debut album “One Horse Town” and started to tour taking their music to a more people. They stayed in New Orleans until 2005 but moved to Nashville after their home was devastated by hurricane Katrina. During the 11 years of playing together, Jeff Burke and Vida Wakeman have performed around the world including the U.K.

This latest album, consists of 13 tracks, which are a mixture of foot tapping upbeat songs interspersed with slower paced numbers, is essentially traditional bluegrass but with a fusion of country and Americana, telling stories including love and going home. Whilst Vida’s voice has been compared to many other artists from Loretta Lynn to Gillian Welch, she definitely has an unmistakable and distinctive voice of her own and is the primary vocalist with Jeff mainly singing harmonies except on “Little Sara” where he shows his own vocal abilities. Vida not only sings and plays rhythm guitar but has also written 8 tracks herself, an additional 4 with Jeff and the remaining one with Pat Flory. Well written songs, excellent vocals combined with good musicianship produce this fine album.

To learn more about the duo then visit their website. Details of their current UK tour can be found on the Tours page.

David Nail is a country singer/writer, originally from Kennet, Missouri, who despite being offered a baseball scholarship decided to pursue his dream to be in the music business. Despite his first attempt in Nashville not being successful he returned two years later and signed a record deal with Mercury Nashville and recorded his debut album from which s single “Memphis” was released. However, he was then dropped from the label and returned to coaching baseball but eventually in 2007 he signed with MCA Nashville and as a result this debut album “I’m About To Come Alive” has been released.

The 11 tracks on the album, of which David has written/co-written several, are about reflecting on life and the experiences encountered, many of which most people will be able to identify with. There’s quite a few songs about relationships ending, “Red Light” and “Clouds” (on which Miranda Lambert sings harmonies), a beautiful song “Strangers On A Rain” telling the story of two people making consistent eye contact on a train even though they both know nothing will happen. Looking back to the experiences, including the first love, in his town “Turning Home” and “Summer Job Days” is about living and loving during working on the beach during the summer months. David’s rich voice has a soulful tone and he performs all the songs, which are a blend of country, rock and blues, with great passion and conviction.

A superb debut album

Often overlooked there have been and are many excellent music performers from Canada and the duo Madison Violet can definitely be added to the list. The duo comprises of Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIsaac, both from Scottish small towns in Canada. They met in 1999 in Toronto, since which time they have recorded two previous albums, both in London, but this latest album “No Fool For Trying” was recorded in Canada.

Three years ago they started writing for "No Fool For Trying" but this was halted when, tragically, Brenley’s brother was murdered. Quite understandably she was devastated and unable to concentrate and therefore work on the album was postponed but eventually after over a year she felt she could start writing again. Obviously, the experience has had an effect on the writing which has resulted in some intimate and melancholic songs, such as “Woodshop”, covering life on the road, lost love, lonely nights, heartache and grief. Despite the subjects covered however, the album is in no way depressing. All the songs are written/co-written by Brenley and Lisa are well-crafted with simple lyrics and beautiful melodies. They are performed with great vocals and smooth harmonies blending perfectly with the instrumentation which includes acoustic and electric guitar, pedal steel, banjo and fiddle. I’m pleased that the instruments do not overwhelm the vocals as happens quite frequently these days and full credit to the production.

In conclusion there is nothing derogatory to say, everything about this album, which is a mix of alt country/Americana and folk is, first class and impressive and I have no qualms about highly recommending. It’s certainly one of my Top 5 of this year.

You can catch Madison Violet on tour in the UK – see Tours page for details. To learn more about them check out their website and MySpace

Since his first album “Strait Country”, George Strait has gone from strength to strength, selling over 67 million albums, his last one “Troubadour” spent 3 weeks at No 1 on the Country Album Charts and sold in excess of 1 million.

This latest album “Twang” comprises of 13 tracks, a mixture of slow, medium paced ballads but also some upbeat songs, the opening and title track “Twang” being the most rockiest about relaxing in a joint on a Friday night after working all week and listening to the old country tunes on the jukebox. The themes of the songs include the different aspects of love “Living For The Night”, “Out Of Sight Out Of Mind” “I Gotta Get To You”, reflecting on life passing by ”Where Have I Been All My Life”, and a thoughtful theme about life not being about the breath you take but what takes your breath away “The Breath That You Take”. Killing and stealing is also covered with “Arkansas Dave”, written by George’s son, Bubba with whom George has co-written 3 of the songs along with the esteemed songwriter, Dean Dillon on two of them.

On this album George has done something he rarely does and that’s co-write. Three of the 13 tracks are co-written “Living For The Night”, “Out Of Sight Out Of Mind” and “He’s Got That Something Special” with his son Bubba and esteemed songwriter Dean Dillon on two. The album also includes a Cajun number “Hot Grease And Zydeco” and George sing sin Spanish on the final track “El Rey”.
The only song that I didn’t really like was Delbert McClinton’s “Same Kind Of Crazy and although not as good as his previous album it's a good follow-up.

In 2002, Brandon Rickman joined Bluegrass band Lonesome River as their lead singer and guitarist and “Young Man, Old Soul” is his first solo album.

Brandon, although young, has a mature voice and this works particularly well with some of themes of the songs on the 12 track album. The tracks include a subject that I’m sure everyone has or, will experience that is looking back over one’s past with “What I Know Now” and “So Long”. Gospel music and Bluegrass have a close infinity and three such songs are on this album “Wearin’ Her Knees Out Over Me”, “Let Me Walk Lord By Your Side” and on “Rest For His Workers” Brandon is joined by Larry Cordle and Val Storey. Inevitably the subject of love is covered on several tracks including problems “Rain & Snow”, love lost “Always Have” and the beautiful story of a couple through life “Dime Stores Rings”. There’s also an amusing track “I Bought Her A Dog”. Not only has Brandon has combined his singing and guitar playing expertise on the album but shows his skills as a writer and this talent naturally gives him the added ability to express the lyrics of the songs more meaningfully.

Whether you are a big Bluegrass fan or, just like well written and performed songs with good instrumentation then this debut album from Brandon is a must for your collection. You can listen to some of Brandon's music on his MySpace site

Anyone who loved the country sound of the 1990’s should be familiar with the music of Joe Diffie who had numerous chart entries including 5 No 1’s. and this 21 track album is a retrospective look at those unforgettable tracks.

Born, into a musical family, in 1958 in Tulsa Oklahoma Joe has been performing music for most of his life. He started at the age of 4 with a family’s country band, a rock band in high school, a gospel quartet, a bluegrass band and singing and writing whilst working in a foundry. It was through his writing that he got his break into the business when Hank Thompson recorded his song “Love On The Rocks”. He decided to move to Nashville, working at Gibson guitars but continued to write and started singing demos. Holly Dunn recorded the song “There Goes My Heart Again” which Joe co-wrote and led him to a recording contract with Epic and his first single “Home” which is the first track of this latest album, gave him his first No 1 in 1990.

Succeeding years gave him another 4 No 1’s with “If The Devil Danced In Empty Pockets”, “Third Rock From The Sun”, “Pickup Man” and “Bigger Than The Beatles” and 32 other chart entries including “If You Want Me To”, “Prop Me Up Beside The Jukebox (Before I Die)”, “John Deere Green” and “Ships That Don’t Come In”.

This album should not only appeal to fans of Joe, but also those who love 90’s Country and those who perhaps are not so aware of the decade and would like to broaden their knowledge of the music.

“The Promise” is the third album from, regular visitor to the UK, Corinne West who has written 8 of the 9 tracks. Music and particularly writing has played a large part in Corinne’s life even from being a child even singing and writing at the tender age of 5. Some years later her grandfather took her to honkytonks where she learned to two-step and these accumulative passions continued and led her to dropout of school at 15, touring the country in a converted school bus. Following a period of busking she joined a group at the age of 19 but this, like others afterwards, broke up which led her to the decision to pursue a solo career and concentrate on writing and performing her own material.

The first album was in 2004 “Bound For The Living” with her sophomore “Second Sight” released in 2007 which brings us to the latest album ”The Promise” which was recorded in a cabin converted into a studio in the remote town of Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia, Canada. As said previously Corinne has written 8 of the 9 songs and they cover aspects of life and are beautifully well crafted, delivered with her clear, powerful, distinctive, expressive and emotional voice. This combination along with the musicianship is one that makes the album a pleasure to listen to. My favourite tracks are “The Promise”, about leaving problems behind, “Lily Ann”, “Turn The Wheel” and Corinne’s interpretation of the Harry Nillson hit “Everybody’s Talkin”.
To try and define the genre is quite difficult as she combines several on the album – it’s definitely not ‘pure country’ but a mixture of several including Acoustic. Soul, Americana and Folk.

Unless you caught one of her UK gigs in March 2009, the name Stephanie Lambring will probably be new to you. Stephanie is a 22 year old singer/songwriter who was born in Indiana and started writing songs after being involved in a car accident, in which she broke her ankle, whilst in her Senior year at High School. The injury meant she had to postpone going to Nashville’s Belmont University from where she has recently graduated, gaining a Bachelors of Business Administration in Music Business Degree. She has won several songwriter awards from ASCAP and has been in Belmont University’s “Best of the Best Showcase” for three consecutive years.

“Lonely To Alone” is the debut album from this young talented singer/songwriter and contains 11 songs of which Stephanie has shown her writing prowess on ten of them. The songs look at the several aspects of love and life’s challenges including the effects of drink, cheating, being used and ignored, feelings of remorse, moral dilemmas and what’s beneath the ‘exterior’. The songs are essentially wistful, which Stephanie admits she likes to write and perform, but this should not put the listener off the album as most will find at least one track with which they can identify with the situation portrayed. The only track on the album which she did not write is her interpretation of the Britney Spears’ song “Baby One More Time”.

The songs are beautifully crafted and poignant, performed with great emotion from this young gifted singer/songwriter(who also plays guitar and keyboards), making this an excellent debut album and certainly an artist to watch out for in the future. You can listen to some of the Stephanie’s songs on her myspace site Recommended

Over the years several established country performers have recorded a gospel/religious themed album such as George Jones, Johnny Cash, Marty Stuart, Randy Travis, Alan Jackson and the Statler Bros and the latest is Tracy Lawrence with his new album “The Rock”.

Tracy Lawrence has had numerous chart entries, with seven No 1’s since his debut No 1 “Stick And Stones” in 1991 which was a million seller. Just prior to the release of his first album he was attacked by three young muggers, shot four times and was lucky to survive then later in his career he was in trouble with the law over domestic violence charges. However, since these incidents Tracy has re-married, has two children, became a member of the Methodist Church and settled down, finding peace in his life. This has resulted in recording his first Christian/religious themed album which he has wanted to do for several years.

“The Rock” is a collection of carefully crafted Christian themed songs dealing with the issues of not only God but also of human relationships and how faith interweaves with everyday life. There are songs about the strong love that people have for not only others but their country and God and are willing to die for their beliefs, “Somebody Who’d Die For You”. The willingness to change and move on from past transgressions to become a better person “I’m Done” and a call for Jesus to address the problems of the world with “Jesus Come Talk To Your Children”.

Some people may be put off the album because of the religious connections but it’s not sanctimonious and while the content will undoubtedly appeal to people with a strong faith, non religious people should also find the messages in the tracks familiar in today’s modern life.

Randy Travis was undoubtedly one of the main exponents of country music from the mid 80’s through the 90’s gaining several Grammy Awards, ACM Awards and CMA Awards and his love of the music was encouraged by his father while he was still a young boy.

Randy was born in North Carolina, learned to play guitar at the age of eight, formed a duo with his brother, Ricky, just two years later and they played local clubs and contests. Leaving home when he was 16, he won a talent competition which resulted in being offered a regular gig at a bar owned by Lib Hatcher who became his manager and later his wife. He certainly paid his dues with his first record contract in 1978 and after moving to Nashville he released his first debut album under the name Randy Ray. He signed with Warner in 1985 when he changed his name to Randy Travis and the following year had a No 1 hit with “On The Other Hand” with his album “Storms Of Life” reaching No 1 on the album charts and which eventually sold over 3 million.

This 2cd set “I Told You So : The Ultimate Hits of Randy Travis” includes 14 No 1’s, such as “ON The Other Hand”, “Forever And Ever Amen”, “Three Wooden Crosses”, “Whisper My Name”, chart entries and other tracks, 2 of which are previously unreleased.
If you’re a fan of country music, this 2 cd set needs to be in your collection as part of the history of the music from one of the biggest stars.

I was first introduced to the music of Gretchen Peters through a video shown on the new defunct CMT Europe in the mid 90’s and have been a fan ever since.

She was born in New York and from the age of 8 grew up in Boulder, Colorado and as a teenager started to write and perform songs in the local music venues and made the decision to move to Nashville in 1988. Eventually Gretchen signed with Sony Tree Publishing in 1992 and wrote the CMA’s 1995 Song of the Year, “Independence Day” recorded by Martina McBride for which she also received a Grammy nomination and in 1996 another Grammy nomination for “You Don’t Even Know Who I Am” recorded by Patty Loveless. It was also in 1996 that Gretchen recorded her debut album “The Secret Of Life” from which the single “When You Are Old” was released and the title track from the album was recorded by Faith Hill and reached No 4 in 1999. Gretchen has written some fabulous songs which have been recorded by artists like Trisha Yearwood – “On A Bus To St Cloud, Martina McBride – “My Baby Loves Me”, Pam Tillis – “Let That Pony Run” and she co-wrote, with Bryan Adams “Rock Steady” which was recorded by Bonnie Raitt.

This latest album has 13 tracks taken from her previous 4 including some of the songs already mentioned and 2 bonus tracks all performed beautifully by one of the most talented singer/songwriters around. This album is definitely one that should be in anyone’s music collection whether or not a fan of country music.

Waylon Albright Jennings, better known as Shooter Jennings, was brought up on music spending much of his early years touring with his parents, Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter, so it was probably inevitable music would play a large part in his life. He played drums and guitar and had piano lessons, enjoying Southern Rock which eventually led him to put together a rock band – Stargunn. Some years later he disbanded the group after rediscovering his outlaw country roots and formed the .357’s. Their first album “Put The O Back In Country” was released in 2005 followed by subsequent albums “Electric Rodeo”, “Live At Irving Plaza” and “The Wolf”.

This latest album, which includes guest appearances by George Jones, Doug Kershaw and the Oak Ridge Boys, is a retrospective view of Shooter’s four albums with a total of 15 tracks, of which he has written or co-written 10, and includes 2 tracks, “Lonesome Blues (Live)” and “Living Proof”, which haven‘t appeared on previous albums. Although he has not had great chart success that in no way is a reflection of either his ability to write or, perform good music and a listen to this album will confirm this. Shooter combines a blend of country, blues and rock ‘n’ roll which give him his unique style. If you’re not familiar him then this is an excellent to album to broaden your taste but if you’re already a fan of Shooter’s then it’s a must.