In the same vein as yesterday's post, here are a few songs I like a lot, but so far I haven't decided to buy the album they're on (or in a couple of cases, the albums aren't available yet):
"Georgia Rain" - sung by Trisha Yearwood - This is a haunting song about a long ago love that just won't die. Many a reunion romance has been written about just the sort of relationship this song describes. And, as always, Yearwood's gorgeous vocals sell every heartbreaking note of the song.
"Pickin' Wildflowers - sung by Keith Anderson - A bluesy, sassy, euphemistic romp of a song about sex, performed tongue in cheek with a twangy beat that makes you want to get up and dance.
"Hillbillies" - sung by Hot Apple Pie - I'll admit, the hip-billy video for this one is what really sold me on the song, but like "Pickin' Wildflowers," "Hillbillies" takes a good old fashioned roll in the hay and makes it into a rollicking fun song.
"Probably Wouldn't Be This Way" - sung by LeAnn Rimes - This one hurts. Deep. Especially if you watch the video. It's a song about a woman dealing with the unexpected death of her lover, and it covers most of the bases. What I really like about it is the truth it tells about the grieving process from the inside—how people want to help you but end up saying all the wrong things, how you want to help yourself but just can't figure out what will fix things and finally realizing nothing will but time and patience.
"Goodbye Time" - sung by Blake Shelton - Shelton plays against type with this one, a heartfelt ballad about being on the losing end of a relationship gone sour and realizing you have no choice but to let go. For those times when you just need a good sniffle.
"Help Somebody" - sung by VanZant - This song, and the one below, are two signals of something interesting happening in country music—the influx of some good old fashioned rockabilly/southern rock influences. Since I like my country a little edgy, I count this as good news.
"4th of July" - sung by Shooter Jennings - Waylon and Jessi's boy combines the hard edges of rock and roll with the country boy grit of a young Hank Jr. This song is a good example of the mixed influences on Jennings, who insists he's a country artist even though he likes to push the genre to its limits.
"The Mists of Down Below" - sung by The Duhks - This group from Manitoba blends many different acoustic music styles, from bluegrass to celtic to french folk to rock, to create a memorable, edgy Americana sound. I definitely have their album on my Amazon Wish List.
Also, don't miss my update to yesterday's post. (scroll down)
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