Elevate Difference

Reviews tagged country music

In Good Time

When I first popped it in, my iTunes player categorized Annie Fitzgerald’s album In Good Time as country. As I began listening, I found this to be wholly misleading. As a matter of fact, I was unable to categorize her music as any one genre. A little bit folk, a little bit pop, this thoughtfully produced album is a gem. Fitzgerald has managed to create new music with a message that is thoroughly original by today’s musical standards.

Welder

Elizabeth Cook blends tenacity with tradition for Welder, embracing traditional backwoods country twang, some bluegrass, and a touch of rockabilly while adding her own progressive spin and pop edginess. The daughter of country musicians and welders, for whom the album was named, Cook effectively utilizes these aforementioned influences to raise her fist to integral feminist themes like independence, sexual expression and assertion.

Never a Long Way Home

Confession: I don’t know much about country music, and I don’t listen to much country music. But I know what I like, and Steff Mahan’s Never a Long Way Home is damn good music. The opening track, “If I Let You Go,” starts things off rockin’. Mahan bangs away on a distorted guitar while belting out the lyrics. The song is upbeat, but the story isn’t; the narrator can’t let go of a past relationship even though her former lover is with someone new.

All I Want For Christmas is a Real Good Tan (Yule Log Edition)

The annual Yule Log special on PBS is tied to some of my fondest memories of Christmas as a child. I remember the glow of my parents' tree and the excitement on Christmas Eve, and I got my cookies ready for Santa. Through all of this, Yule Log would be playing in the background, with its cozy scene of a log burning away and a medley of magical Christmas tunes. Whenever I see Yule Log today, all those warm feelings and nostalgia come right back to me. It's one of those little things that makes it really feel like Christmas to me.

From The Heart

"Just 'cause I'm laid-back don't mean I'm easy," begins the album. "I am more than just a plaything." I am reminded of the first time I ever waited on a boy to call me. I was sixteen-years-old. Like a dork, I waited all day anticipating his call. My family rolled their eyes at my eager naiveté, and I found myself walking around my parents' backyard with a big cordless phone bulging in my back pocket. Finally, I gave up and called him late that night. He had completely forgotten about me. He realized and quickly made up some lame excuse about a fire.

The Drifter

The wanderlust, the whisky, the love-done-me-wrong– Mexican-Canadian musician Lindi Ortega sings it all out on The Drifter EP, and even if you're not a fan of indie country folksiness, her voice calls to you. The singer's voice lulls and disarms with a sweetness that could be borderline saccharine. Nonetheless, she is saved by her expansive ability to belt out a tune.

From the Heart

Imagine all of your favorite Dolly Parton songs, packaged together on one CD for instant listening pleasure. Wouldn’t it be nice to just pop that CD in and hear all of her best songs, spanning her entire career? Well, imagine no longer; Legacy Recordings has created precisely this album! Just another Best Of?
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