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COUNTRY,
BLUEGRASS & OLD-TIMEY
Charlie
McCoy -> Bruce Molsky
| CHARLIE MCCOY |
CBS Special Products 44353 |
The Greatest Hits Of Charlie McCoy |
● CD $9.98 |
Country's best known harmonica whiz sucks and blows his way
through this 10 song compilation. Mostly 70's material from the Monument
label, includes Today I Started Loving You Again/ I Really Don't Want
To Know/ Orange Blossom Special/ Boogie Woogie. Low point: A hideous
R&B flavored Wabash Cannonball. Still, lots of good
instrumental country here.
(PG)
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| NEAL MCCOY |
Atlantic 82171 |
At This Moment |
● CD $13.98 |
Good new country singer produced by former Mel Street
producer Nelson Larkins. Includes If I Built You A Fire/ Down On The
River/ This Time I Hurt Her (More Than She Loves Me)/ The Big Heat/ At
This Moment and others.
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| SKEETS MCDONALD |
Bear Family BCD 15937 |
Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes |
● CD $129.98 |
5 CD box set with book featuring 143 songs by this fine,
underrated, honky tonk singer. Includes all his recordings for Fortune,
Capitol. Columbia and UNI. Includes some rockabilly cuts with Eddie
Cochran on guitar and his acclaimed 1958 album "Goin' Steady With The
Blues" featuring accompaniments from Joe Maphis & Buck Owens.
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| REBA MCENTIRE |
MCA MCAD 5807 |
What Am I Gonna Do About You |
● CD $10.98 |
Splendid album co-produced by Reba herself with Jimmy Bowen
is one of her best ever. Beautiful singing, wonderful instrumental
accompaniments and stunning backing harmonies which includes her brother
Pake. Some fine songs including Lookin' For A New Love Story and
other great tracks like the gently rocking Take Me Back and other
fine songs like the title song/ Why Not Tonight/ Let The Music Lift You
Up/ No Such Thing/ Till It Snows In Mexico, etc.
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| REBA MCENTIRE |
MCA 5979 |
Greatest Hits |
● CD $16.98 |
A collection of 10 of the most popular songs from Reba's
previous MCA albums - Just A Little Love/ How Blue/ Have I Got a deal
For You/ Whoever's In New England/ What Am I Gonna Do About You , etc
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| REBA MCENTIRE |
MCA MCAD 31304 |
Whoever's In New England |
● CD $10.98 |
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| REBA MCENTIRE |
MCA MCAD 42030 |
The Last One To Know |
● CD $10.98 |
Appealing concept album by Reba, chronicling the end of an
affair from a woman's perspective, from the first sickening discovery of
cheating through the stages of bitterness, frustration and anger. Though
most of the songs come from other writers, her own I Don't Want To Be
Alone is the high point, its beautifully crafted lyrics capturing the
"cold feet" that accompanies a new relationship. Ignore the
dating service lyrics of Love Will Find Its Way To You and savor
the ending, I've Still Got The Love We Made , a genuinely poignant
song of renewal. Easily one of her best....
RK
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| REBA MCENTIRE |
MCA MCAD 42134 |
Reba |
● CD $10.98 |
AAACCK! Have Miss Reba's incessant Bob Hope TV show
appearances and many awards fooled her into thinking she can turn pop like
Dolly? Maybe. The watery, sound-alike country-pop tunes that dominate this
album are unsettling, clearly designed for crossover to the pop market.
Compared to the rest, her fine remake of Sunday Kind Of Love, the
classic 1947 ballad Fran Warren sang with Claude Thornhill's Orchestra
sounds country. Even her appalling try at Aretha's Respect sounds
good in such bland company, After her last masterpiece, I don't like what
I'm hearing. Neither will her longtime fans. (RK)
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| REBA MCENTIRE |
Mercury 520 385-2 |
Reba Nell McEntire |
● CD $7.98 |
A collection of 10 songs Reba recorded for Mercury. Some
good songs and great singing by Reba though there is somewhat of an
overabundance of strings on some cuts. Tracks include I've Never
Stopped Dreaming Of You/ I Know I'll Have A Better day Tomorrow/ Muddy
Mississippi/ Empty Arms , etc
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| REBA MCENTIRE |
Mercury 824 342-2 |
The Best Of Reba McEntire |
● CD $9.98 |
This excellent album features a selection of some of her
finest Mercury sides recorded between 1980 and 1983. Some of the fine
songs include (You Lift Me) Up To Heaven/ I Don't Think Love Ought To
Be That Way/ I'm Not That Lonely Yet/ Today All Over Again/ My Turn,
etc. It also includes a beautiful version of the old Platters hit Only
You.
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| JOHN MCEUEN |
Vanguard VCD 79468 |
String Wizards II |
● CD $15.98 |
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| SAM MCGEE |
Arhoolie 9009 |
Country Guitar |
● CD $9.98 |
CD issue of 1971 LP featuring 17 tracks by this legendary
country guitarist.
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| JIM & JESSE
MCREYNOLDS |
Rounder 0279 |
Music Among Friends |
● CD $15.98 |
On their twenty-fifth anniversary as members of the Grand
Old Opry, Jim and Jesse have put this album together, featuring many
friends and ex-members of their band The Virginia Boys, and it is a beaut.
Many all-star recordings have a thrown together feel, but the production
here is outstanding, due in part to the efforts of Carl Jackson, who also
shares banjo chores with another former Virginia Boy, Vic Jordan. The
songs avoid familiar J&J fare in favor of material by the many guest
stars, and strong cuts abound. Ricky Skaggs guests on an outstanding
rendition of The White Dove, and Porter Wagoner does an effective
guest turn on I Thought I Heard You Calling My Name. Allen Shelton
plays some dazzling banjo on Long Journey Home, Buck White and Mac
Wiseman join in on Little White Church, and Bill Monroe sings and
plays harmony mandolin on Wicked Path Of Sin. Other guests include
Emmylou Harris, Glen Duncan, and Jimmy Buchanan. Jim and Jesse are their
usual remarkable selves, singing the tight, pure harmonies that have made
them one of the most celebrated bluegrass duos, and Jesse's mandolin
playing is amazing as always. (RP)
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| THE MEAT PURVEYERS |
Bloodshot BS 026 |
Sweet In The Pants |
● CD $15.98 |
13 tracks, 40 mins, recommended Excellent collection of
acoustic country from group who claims to put the "ass" back in
bluegrass and they do, indeed, put a good deal of energy into their
performances. The foursome features the very fine lead vocals of Jo Watson
with bass, guitar, mandolin & fiddle accompaniment, but no banjo! The
songs are varied and interesting including the intriguing opener Dempsey
Nash, the hard driving Biggest Mistake, a great slow burning
cover of the Elvis hit
, the Merle Haggard classic the Bottle Let Me Down and more. The
instrumental work is not that great but the group is well worth a listen
for the fine vocals and the energy they bring to their performances. (FS)
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| BUDDY MILLER |
Hightone HCD 8063 |
Your Love And Other Lies |
● CD $15.98 |
13 tracks, 41 mins, essential Hightone does it again. This
is the best debut country album I've heard in a long time. Like Hightone's
other great discovery, Heather Myles, Buddy first appeared on the
"Points West" collection some years ago. His solo album was a long time a comin' but it's
worth the wait. He's an outstanding singer with a hard edged honky tonk
style, he had a hand in writing most of the songs here (some with his wife
Julie), plays lead guitar and produced the album! The songs are
straightforward tales of love lost and found with none of the cuteness
that affects so much contemporary country writing. Buddy is accompanied by
a solid band of musicians with vocal harmonies being provided by Julie
Miller, Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, Dan Penn and others. The covers
are outstanding versions of Tom T. Hall's That's How I Got To Memphis
and The Louvin Brothers You're Running Wild. At times you'll hear
echoes of Dwight Yoakam, George Jones and Buddy Holly but it all ends up
being pure Buddy Miller. A remarkable talent to keep your eye on. (FS)
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| BUDDY MILLER |
Hightone 8084 |
Poison Love |
● CD $15.98 |
13 tracks, 43 mins, essentia.l My favorite country album of
1997. Buddy's second Hightone album is as good as his first. Ten new songs
written by Buddy and/or his wife Julie and 3 outstanding covers including
the title done as a duet with Steve Earle and a spine chilling version of
the great soul ballad That's How Strong My Love Is. The originals
are varied and outstanding including the topical 100 Million Little
Bombs about land mines, the lovely honky-tonk ballad Don't Tell
Me, the uptempo Love Snuck Up and others. Crisp production by
Buddy who also plays guitar and a tight band. Emmylou Harris's band Spyboy
is featured on several cuts and Emmylou adds her distinctive harmonies on
a few cuts. (FS)
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| BUDDY MILLER |
Hightone 8111 |
Cruel Moon |
● CD $15.98 |
11 track, 41 mins, highly recommended. Third album from this
incredibly talented singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer is another
winner. Perhaps not quite as strong as his first two it is still among the
very best country albums of 1999. Seven of the 11 songs are by Buddy
and/or his wife Julie with Jim Lauderdale collaborating on a couple of
them. Best of them is the ferocious Does My Ring Burn Your Finger,
the soulful title song and the hard driving Somewhere Trouble Don't Go.
Among the other songs here are an unexpected but beautiful reading of the
old Gene Pitney hit I'm Gonna Be Strong and Steve Earle's I'm
Not Getting Better At Goodbye - both with harmony vocals by Joy Lynn
White. Glorious stuff! (FS)
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| FRANKIE MILLER |
Bear Family BCD 15909 |
Sugar Coated Baby |
● CD $21.98 |
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FRANKIE MILLER: Baby We're Really In Love/ Bare Foot Blues/ Day By Day/
Hey! Where Ya Goin'?/ I Can't Run Away/ I Don't Know/ I Don't Know What To
Tell My Heart/ I Don't Know Why I Love You/ I Dreamed You Were Here Last
Night/ I Won't Forget/ I'd Still Want You/ I'm Gettin' Rid Of You/ I'm
Only Wishin'/ I'm So Blue I Don't Know What To Do/ I'm Still In Love With
You/ It's No Big Thing To Me/ Living Doll/ Love Me Now/ My Wedding Song To
You/ Paid In Full/ Paint, Powder And Perfume/ Sugar Coated Baby/ This
Lonely Heart/ What Have I Ever Done/ What You Do From Now On/ You Don't
Show Me Much/ You Just Had/ You'll Never Be True/ You're Going To Cry On
My Shoulder Again
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| NED MILLER |
Bear Family BCD 15496 |
From A Jack To A King |
● CD $21.98 |
In the late fifties to the mid-sixties, Ned Miller had
exactly 11 songs on the Billboard charts, the best known of which are his
1962 # 2 recording "From A Jack to A King" (revived a year or so
ago by Ricky Van Shelton), "Invisible Tears" and the # 7 record
"Do What You Do Do Well." Despite the fact he was always a
better songwriter than a vocalist, Miller had a minor following. His
biggest hits were for the Fabor label, but he actually managed to get a
Capitol recording contract in the mid- sixties when Robison sold Miller's
contract to the larger label. This 31 track CD is a lot of Ned Miller (and
I mean a lot...), but you get most of the chart hits including
"Jack," "Do What You Do," "One Among The
Many" and "Another Fool Like Me" from Fabor. Surprisingly,
his Capitol hits (none of which charted any higher than the thirties),
"Teardrop Lane," "Whistle Walkin'" and "Summer
Roses" aren't hgere. The rest of the compilation is largely made up
of a 1963 LP Miller did for Fabor to follow up on "From A Jack to A
King." It includes a number of selections, including his mildly
interesting version of Jim Reeves' "Mexican Joe" and versions of
"Cry of the Wild Goose" and "Mona Lisa." Nice if you
like this sort of stuff, I guess. (RK)
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| ROGER MILLER |
Bear Family BCD 15477 |
King Of The Road |
● CD $21.98 |
Fine mix of Roger's 1960-63 RCA sessions with his biggest
hits for Smash from the mid-to-late sixties. Miller's skills as a
songwriter, part of the same generation that produced Willie Nelson, Hank
Cochran and Bill Anderson, were clear early on. Nonetheless, the RCA sides
were uneven, mixing masterpieces (and hits) like the original version of
"You Don't Want My Love," "When Two Worlds Collide,"
(co-written by Miller and Bill Anderson) and "Lock, Stock and
Teardrops" with lesser-known masterpieces like "I Catch Myself
Crying." The crazy hillbilly persona he prospered with on Smash can
be heard on songs like "Every Which-A-Way," where his
scat-singing was answered by Hank Garland's guitar. "Fair Swiss
Maiden" and "Burma Shave" were throwaways. The nine Smash
sides are the big ones, "King of the Road," "Dang Me,"
"Engine, Engine # 9," "Kansas City Star,"
"England Swings" and "Do Wacka Do." These were the
songs that made Miller a country (and pop) star and some still hold up
well today. RCA discographical data is complete, nonexistent on the Smash
material (though annotator Otto Kitsinger's notes state session details
recalled by Miller are included). Kitsinger's notes, based on interviews
with Miller, adequately describe the origins of the songs, but lack in
sufficient details about the records themselves. Still, this package gives
a better and more rounded portrait of Miller than any other.
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| THE MILLER BROTHERS |
Collector 2853 |
Boppin' Hillbilly Series |
● CD $16.98 |
27 tracks recorded between 1953 and '62 for Four Star by
Texas band.
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| WADDIE MITCHELL |
Warner Western 26934 |
Lone Driftin' Rider |
● CD $12.98 |
A lifelong working cowboy, Waddie Mitchell helped organize
the first Elko, Nevada Cowboy Poetry Gathering, and has been in the
forefront of the burgeoning cowboy poetry movement. This album contains 14
examples of his work, a mixture of humor, homilies, and observations on
both the life of the cowboy and life on the frontier.
RP
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| HUGH MOFFATT |
Philo 1111 |
Loving You |
● CD $15.98 |
Hugh Moffatt is best known as a songwriter having written
songs for Dolly Parton, Bobby Bare, Lacy J. Dalton and others. This is
only the second or third album under his own name and is a pleasant,if not
exceptional set. The feel is folky country with mostly acoustic
instruments. He is joined on duet vocals by Kathy Mattea, Gail Davis and
Katy Moffatt. Songs include When You held me In Your Arms/ Words At
Twenty Paces/ No Stranger To The Blues/ Loving You and others
including one of his best known songs Old Flames Can't Hold A Candle.
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| HUGH MOFFATT |
Philo 1127 |
Troubadour |
● CD $15.98 |
1989 album - The Way Love Is/ Somewhere In Kansas/ Praise
The Lord And Send Me The Money/ The Devil Took The Rest , etc.
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| KATY MOFFATT |
Philo 1133 |
Child Bride |
● CD $15.98 |
Excellent album of hard driving rocking country featuring
the supercharged vocals of Texas singer Katy Moffatt. The songs are a
diverse mixture featuring ones written by her band members, old R&B
songs (You Better Move On/ Lonely Avenue) and recent songs from
writers like John Hiatt and Billy Burnette. Katy is at her best on the
uptempo numbers but it all sound good. (FS)
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| KATY MOFFATT |
Watermelon 1054 |
Midnight Radio |
● CD $15.98 |
12 tracks, 41 min., recommended. There is an appealing
fragile quality to Katy Moffat's voice, which lends a poignant credibility
to numbers that focus on moments of personal insight. And, as you might
well have guessed, such first person, self-penned sagas are plentiful here
on her latest disc. Highlights include the title track about taking secret
pleasure from listening to rock 'n' roll on the radio after mom and dad
have gone to bed, Wings of a Blackbird, Rosa's Favorite Son,
St. Anthony with Broken Hands, If You Can't Stand the Heat,
the lonely and liberated (?) Never Be Alone Again, Hank and
Audrey, and Nazareth to Bethlehem. Worthwhile music in the
Americana vein. Complete lyrics are included as are two photos of the
artist in a pensive mood. (DH)
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| BRUCE MOLSKY |
Rounder 0470 |
Poor Man's Troubles |
● CD $15.98 |
20 tracks, 67 mins, very good. Enjoyable collection of
traditional music and songs from this talented musician. Molsky is an
outstanding instrumentalist - primarily on fiddle though he also turns in
some excellent playing on guitar and banjo. It's a shame that he's such a
drab singer - his voice lacks all the fire and passion that is present in
his instrumental work. It's a shame because he has some great songs here
like Peg And Awl and The Poor Cowboy with great instrumental
arrangements. Still the emphasis is fortunately on his instrumental work.
He is joined from time to time by excellent musicians like Darol Anger
(who provides some lovely baritone fidle work on Peg And Awal),
Martin Hayes, Audrey Molsky and others. Worth a listen. (FS)
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