Nanci Griffith - Clock Without Hands
Nanci Griffith doesn't quite cut it as an adult-contemporary star, and that's no insult. Certainly, she possesses some of the necessary qualities: adept backing musicians, tasteful production and arrangements, and an immediately pleasant and memorable voice.
Like the majority of her recent output, any song from
Tony Joe White - The Beginning
In the late 1960s, Tony Joe White came up to Music City from the Louisiana Delta and, for a brief time, became a star. His swamp-rockin' "Polk Salad Annie" spent the summer of 1969 in the pop Top 10, his "Rainy Night In Georgia" did
Nick Lowe - Labour Of Love: The Music Of Nick Lowe
During his 30 years and counting as a professional musician, Nick Lowe has never shied away from blurring boundaries or bouncing around the musical landscape. With Brinsley Schwarz -- the guitarist and the eponymous band -- he blended rock, country, R&B, New Orleans music, and soul to create
Area Code 615 - Self-Titled / A Trip In The Country
Nashville musical eras are defined as much by dominant session players as they are by producers or labels. These musical mercenaries are as much part of the continuing country tradition as is the Opry. Players love to play, and they love to listen to whatever is out there, be it
Various Artists - Poet: A Tribute To Townes Van Zandt
Back in February 1992, in a telephone interview for a daily-paper concert preview, I asked Townes Van Zandt if he tended to benefit from the covers of his songs that occasionally popped up amid the big leagues of country music. I meant it in a financial sense, related to publishing
Ryan Adams - Gold
In the midst of a solo show in Seattle in mid-February, Ryan Adams tossed his set list and instead played half a dozen songs he'd written that day. Some were full-formed; others were half-baked. Between numbers, Adams teetered between emotional breakdown and displaying the self-confidence of a heart