When you think of Billy Bob Thornton and the holiday season, the actor/singer's sinfully funny "Bad Santa" movie comes immediately to mind. And while "Christmas "Cheer" - recorded with his roots-y The Boxmasters trio - is not nearly as naughty as that film, one imagines Thornton's "Bad Santa" character,...

Taylor Swift took the county world by storm with her huge selling debut and its five hit singles. With a huge marketing push and myspace, Swift was on her way. Kind of like an Avril Lavigne for the teen female country set. Sophomore slump? There's no indication of that. Swift once again writes her material - all 13 songs here with help...

"Days of Thunder is in the same vein as 1980-Something with the character thinking back about a time in their life, complete with the cultural references that made 1980 so unique. This time, the singer tells us about one enjoyable teenage summer. The Georgia native represents one of the south's most popular regional...

It's daring these days for a major-label country star to include an instrumental on an album of carefully picked radio-friendly songs. But kick off an album with an instrumental? How anti-Nashville. Then follow it with another - a Dick Dale surf guitar-inspired wave-rider to boot - how cool is that?...

Randy Owen was the lead singer of the popular band Alabama - popular with fans if not critics who got tired of them doing the same song over and over under different titles, i.e. is there really a nickel's worth of difference between Born Country; Down Home; Tennessee River; High Cotton; Song of the South - all the way back to their...

Close on the heels of her excellent studio release "Little Honey," Lucinda Williams is out with a four-song live EP of political protest songs. Kicking off a trio of covers recorded in September 2007 in Greensboro, N.C. is the quintessential protest song of the 60's For What It's Worth , the Buffalo Springfield classic written by Stephen Stills....

Since his passing in 2003, many books and films have taken a look at Johnny Cash's life and his place in history. The latest of these efforts is "Johnny Cash's America," a feature-length documentary from filmmakers Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon. We see the evolution of Johnny Cash as both a man and an artist. Although the...

Reba McEntire has enjoyed a long career as one of country's superstars. This consists of 3 chronologically arranged CDs, starting with her number 1, How Blue, from 1984 through her most recent top 5, Because of You , a duet with Kelly Clarkson from 2007. There are no new songs, alterative takes or anything else that a collector...

Today it would be unthinkable that one of country music's current superstars would make live recordings to be aired on one commercial radio station on an almost daily basis. But the world of Hank Williams in 1951 was quite different than anything in the genre today. Fortunately through some legal battles Hank's daughter Jett came into...

After raising more than a few eyebrows on CMT's Can You Duet with a sound and style that echoes and resonates of the best of '60s-vintage country from the likes of Dolly Parton, Connie Smith and Jeannie Shephard, Joey Martin and her husband Rory Feek debut with a dozen tracks (most of which they had a hand in writing) that will...

Toby Keith focuses on 2 major topics: 1) how much he enjoys drinking and carousing all night, and 2) how he can't seem to keep the love of a good woman. One wonders in most of these co-written tunes with Bobby Pinson whether he's considered how being successful in the one will impact the other. It's all great fun, though, whether...

Rascal Flatts chose the holiday season to release their first greatest hits CD. Therefore, this singles set also has three Christmas songs tacked on for good measure. And much like with Rascal Flatts' overall repertoire, this collection plays it extremely safe. The act that originally turned the emotional heat up high with I Melt (also...

A lot of us have been waiting years for Bruce Springsteen to release a full Christmas album. And from the first vocal notes of this CD's opener, Christmas Around the World, it feels like our prayers have finally been answered. A slight letdown quickly sets in, however, when one realizes it is James House, and not The Boss singing these...

Waylon Jennings will always be considered among the elite of country music. He was equally appealing as both a traditional country artist and that of a renegade, and this posthumously released CD done in conjunction with his son Shooter and his backing band The .357's can only attest to that point. It is a wonderful outing indicative of...

Honky tonk stink-stirrer Hank Williams III is back with the follow-up to the two-disk "Straight to Hell" with a less ambitious album, but one that is just as defiant and potentially offensive. Once again, however, Williams shows he's a damn good songwriter who aims his pen at more demons and enemies than seems possible for one man....

Craig Morgan flies under the radar, both personally and musically. He spent a decade in military service, is married with kids and loves dirt biking. He's an everyday American guy who just sings and writes better than most. Musically, his lyrics about patriotism, family, southern pride, faith, and love are topics so elemental to country music, that he's something of a musical conduit for the common southern man....

The title track of Lee Ann Womack's first CD since 2005's traditional masterpiece "There's More Where That Came From" should have been the name of that CD because "There's More" was a real risk taker. Womack did wonders with the material there. While not quite the same left field beauty, Womack puts out another excellent batch of music three years later....

Call it a mystery of cartography: somehow Bakersfield has ended up in Brooklyn. There's also some strangeness afoot with the calendar. It sure feels like you're in a time when Don Rich still walks the earth (or, conversely, Big & Rich do not). At least so it seems when you encounter the vintage five-piece country music of The Dixons....

In typical bluegrass gospel, the first thing that springs to mind are the soulful harmonies, which accentuate the skilled string instrumentals, each lifting one's spirits up to the clouds. It is quite apparent Darin Aldridge and Brooke Justice had this same vision in mind here. With a mixture of classics, such as Wayfaring Stranger ...

Vermont veterans The Starline Rhythm Boys are a working band, so it's entirely fitting that their latest, live record was recorded in a bar they regularly gig; they've even written a song extolling the virtues and pedigree of the venerable Montpelier joint, which shows up a couple of songs in....