This Englishman’s top five country music albums of 2011

I’ve turned into a country music nut. What a started as downloading Dolly albums for a road trip has turned into real enthusiasm. Although I look terrible in a cowboy hat and don’t know the difference between a ’coon dog and a corn dog, lately I’ve listened to little else. We could disagree about what classes as real country — Cough. Taylor Swift — but all I really care about is music I like.


This year’s seen its fair crop of new country albums, several from artists I really like. Here’s my top five country music albums of 2011, in reverse order.

5: Miranda Lambert — Four the Record (Spotify)

I’m a huge Miranda Lambert fan and this summer, after speaking at An Event Apart in Atlanta, I drove to Chattanooga, Tennessee, to hear her sing six songs in a thunderstorm at the Riverbend Festival. None of Miranda’s previous albums have disappointed and 2009’s ‘Revolution’ would likely make my top ten albums of any genre, so I was looking forward to ‘Four the Record’ probably more than any album this year (with the likely exception of the Pistol Annies’ ‘Hell On Heels’.)

‘Four the Record’ is a mixed bag of deep disappointment and stand-out brilliance. Some tracks — ‘Fine Tune’ being an example — are almost unrecognisable as Miranda Lambert or country tunes. Others, ‘Fastest Girl in Town’, ‘Safe’ and Gillian Welch’s ‘Look At Miss Ohio’ feel like Miranda maturing. Overall ‘Four the Record’ scrapes into my top five, saved by the first single ‘Baggage Claim’ and ‘Look At Miss Ohio’.

If you’re new to Miranda Lambert, start somewhere else, the polished ‘Revolution’ or even better the gutsy ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.’

4: Justin Moore — Outlaws Like Me (Spotify)

One of the best parts of this summer’s week in Chattanooga and Nashville was listening to country radio on the road. It’s where I first heard Justin Moore’s ‘If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away.’ It’s cheesily sentimental and makes no sense most of the time (if you take your dead dog hunting in heaven, what’s there to kill?), but I liked his twang.

‘Outlaws Like Me’ doesn’t take itself too seriously, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t seriously good lyrics. ‘Run Out Of Honky Tonks’ is moving, ‘Bait A Hook’ is hilarious and what can you say about wanting to get “hot and heavy” in the ‘Bed of My Chevy?’ Parts of the album do drift into “every squirrel and rabbit in Dallas County knew my name” and “you won’t take my guns” but I guess that’s just country. If you like ‘Outlaws Like Me,’ give his earlier ‘Justin Moore’ a listen too. It’s equally as good.

3: Brad Paisley — This Is Country Music (Spotify)

Brad Paisley uses, and sings about, a Mac, and I hear from people who work for him that he loves to lend a hand designing too. His style of country isn’t challenging, just good listening. He’s good live (so I hear) although as (bad) luck would have it, I missed his few dates in the UK earlier in the year.

‘This Is Country Music’ starts where his ‘American Saturday Night’ left off. There’s little new, but there are some nice touches, in particular the way he repeats the title track’s melody in-between songs. Stand out tracks include ‘Camoflage’ which is country picking fun and overall the album maintains the standard set by his previous albums.

If you’re looking for a Brad Paisley primer or just a damn good listen, his ‘Hits Alive’ compilation is a perfect place to start.

2: Sunny Sweeney — Concrete (Spotify)

I love Sunny Sweeney’s first album ‘Heartbreaker’s Hall of Fame’ but it’s Texas honky tonk was too much for Nashville (apparently.) This year, Sunny Sweeney’s back with ‘Concrete’ and although it feels more mainstream than Heartbreaker’s, she’s lost none of the things that attracted me to that album.

Concrete’s my favourite comic book character and ‘Concrete’ could easily have been my number one album this year. It’s full of real gems — ‘Drink Myself Single’ picks up just where ‘Heartbreaker’s Hall of Fame’ left off. ‘From A Table Away’ is terrific storytelling. In fact the whole album’s full of (sometimes heartbreaking) stories like ‘Staying’s Worse Than Leaving’ and ‘Amy.’ Songs like these are the reason I like country music so much.

‘Concrete’ would, without doubt, have been my number one country album of 2011, had it not been for:

1: Pistol Annies — Hell On Heels (Spotify)

I doubt Miranda Lambert would feel bad about ‘Four the Record’ being on the bottom spot of my top five, because her Pistol Annies more than makes up for my disappointment in that album and then some. ‘Hell On Heels’ isn’t just my favourite country album this year, it’s just my favourite — period.

Pistol Annies are Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley. Each puts their mark on the album, and although Miranda Lambert’s powerful voice stands out, it doesn’t dominate. ‘Hell On Heels’ slides effortlessly from the title track through slow country ballads like ‘Beige’ to songs that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Johnny Cash album. ‘Bad Example’ and ‘Takin’ Pills’ are my standout tracks.

If I was going to criticise ‘Hell On Heels’ it would be to say that eleven songs — not one of them over three and a half minutes — is just too short. It feels a little stingy, but then given that there isn’t a filler track on the album, I shouldn’t complain too much.

‘Hell On Heels’ is so good, I’ve listened to it so much, that if it were possible to wear out a digital album, this one would be only ones left, no zeroes.

Runners up:

Three albums that almost made it to number five:

  • Trace Adkins — Proud to Be Here (Spotify)
  • Alison Krauss & Union Station — Paper Airplane (Spotify)
  • Eric Church — Chief (Spotify)

 
Experience EXPERIENCE

Working with clients for over 25 years

Articles ARTICLES
Contact us OK, LET’S TALK

Press to call 01745 851848

chocolate.chimp@stuffandnonsense.co.uk