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You can't beat Kristofferson, back in the day. Those early records were pure gold, man. Still are. Silver Tongued Devil, Sunday Morning Comin' Down, etc. Somewhat more modern than that I'd recommend the Yayhoos (The Bottle and the Bible has kind of become a lo-fi standard, if there is such a thing) and the Electric Waco Brothers have put out some good albums. Electric Waco Chair is kind of a masterpiece. Going a much poppier direction, there's some good stuff in George Strait's catalog, though he's about three times as glossy as anybody else mentioned in this thread. And Josh Turner's a new pop-country guy that I like a lot. His first album, Long Black Train, is a straight up solid pop-country album. Occasionally, as on I Had One One Time, it's quite a bit more. He can hit that perfect country weeper sweet spot when he wants to. Then there's Evan Dando. I really never liked The Lemonheads, but Dando put out this one really great solo album called Baby I'm Bored. It's pretty folky and he's got a great way with aching melodies. Here's Why Do You Do This To Yourself?, which sounds like something Hank Williams could have recorded. Just so we're all clear, all this exploration should be after you've listened to Hank Williams extensively, okay? I mean, get Hank's 40 Greatest Hits, this old compilation album from the late seventies before you pass go, if you're interested in country. I mean, that's still the gold standard.
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# ¿ Aug 30, 2012 21:18 |
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# ¿ May 4, 2024 10:18 |
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BigFactory posted:Dwight Yoakam's great stuff, actually. There's no denying that he's doing contemporary country music, but his music just feels authentic, where a lot of pop country doesn't at all. His album "Gone" is really worth checking out. Guitars, cadillacs and hillbilly music/is the only thing that keeps me hangin' on. That's kind of Yoakam's manifesto. Like you say, he plays around a little with the smoother, more modern sound, but he still captures genuine emotion and those slicker moments just make him feel like an extension of the Bakersfield sound. He melds the old school vibe with the modern pop vibe in just the right way. People always tell me that I just don't like pop country. But it's not whether your not you've got pop in there with the country; it's do you actually have some real country in there with your pop. I find a lot of them just don't. But Yoakam does for sure.
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# ¿ Sep 1, 2012 17:12 |