New country, old country or NO country music? poll of sorts

[Jim Clark]

None.

In college I got hooked on some Hank Jr. Can't say I listen to anything he's put out since '86. I'll still spin me some Johnny Cash and on very rare occasions Hank Williams but that's going to pretty much do it for me. I don't even listen to the stuff on JD's list although I've tried a lot of it.

jc

[shokhead]

I'd rather look then listen.

[Slosh]

You all are forgetting the most important thing which is just how incredibly amazing the new Stephen Malkmus album is

[nobody]

I grew up hearing Johnny Cash and Hank Williams and a few others, Waylon, Willie, etc... I also like stuff like Chet Atkins, kinda countrypolitan jazz sounds and stuff like Buck Owens and the like. So, I have a pretty strong appreciation for country music I guess. I also heard a lot of country in little hole in the wall bars, so often I know more songs than albums and artists. Newer country, I tend not to be so wild about for the most part. Then again, I think its just like any other genre. There's plenty of good and bad. Most of the newer stuff just doesn't sound much like country to me is the problem. It's like pop that falls way behind the curve, sung with a bit of a twang.

Alan Jackson is a good example of one modern artist I like that actually gets a ton of mainstream country acceptance. Clint Black's got some good stuff too; so does George Straight, and I really, really like Dwight Yoakam and Lyle Lovett, but they're both pretty well off the mainstream country map these days, even though they both were fairly big in the genre not toooooo long ago. I did actually first hear Old Crow Medicine Show, a sorta hybred country/bluegrass band, on CMT for the first time and it was one of my favorite albums last year. And, CMT, by the way, has some good shows featuring past country greats and their video segments to contain the occasional gemm that you're not going to hear anyplace else.

So, yeah, I guess you could call me a country fan, hell I had Shotgun Willie on the turntable last night. But, I do struggle to find quality new country stuff, although I could probably go on listening to older country records forever before I extinguished the supply.

[jasn]

I like the Bakersfield sound of Buck Owens, Dwight Yoakum, et al. I kinda liked the first Mavericks C.D. too, but they squandered my admiration since.

I think good old Country Rock is making a comeback also, thanks to Bo...

[Davey]

I listen to the majority of my music in this "in-between" genre. Sort of alt-country, Americana, Folk, Twangy type music. I'm not sure where it fits, but it ain't old-school country, and it ain't exactly Rock & Roll.

Yeah, what he said. Anxiously awaiting the new one from Silver Jews. If it's a little bent and sounds kind of fractured and about to fall apart, that's the way I like it. Got no use for the slick popular stuff.

[Stone]

I also like stuff like Chet Atkins, kinda countrypolitan jazz sounds and stuff like Buck Owens and the like.

I have a couple Chet Atkins records, but I only recently heard Buck Owens - I found his Live at Carnegie Hall CD in the used bin and picked it up. I could do without the Homer and Jethro type antics (although I'm sure seeing them live was a lot of fun), but the music is top notch. What studio album should I get (or is a greatest hits thing the best way to go next) with Buck Owens?

[nobody]

This kind of stuff, I mostly grab old vinyl copies. It's the kind of stuff I've picked up mostly for a buck or less, so I tend to have a pretty scattershot collection, but I can make a few recommendatyions since I have listened to quite a bit from both folks. For Chet Atkins, I do think the must have record from him is A Session with Chet Atkins, his first full length LP. I have several other Chet Atkins records, but honestly, this is the one I grab so much more than any other, I sometimes wonder why I have others.

For Buck Owens, a hits package may be the way to go if you want to sample with something shiny and new. But, a couple individual ones that I really like would be I've Got a Tiger by the Tail, which has one of his bigger hits in the title track and a great series of tunes to go with it, and Buck Owens and his Buckaroos Live in Japan, worth it for the cover alone, featuring Buck and the boys in full cowboy gear with a couple of geisha girls. Fortunately, the set inside is fantastic as well.

Another thing, that isn't really exactly in the same mold, but close that I'd recommend would be Les Paul and Mary Ford records. They have one called Warm and Wonderful that I've seen get some mediocre reviews that I personally love for a laid back twangy jazz backing tracks with smotth female vocals over the top. Their earlier stuff gets more credit, and is good, but this one always does it for me for some reason.

Maybe the next comp I make needs to be a collection of this sort of stuff...I'd like having one myself. It'll take some time, but I'll post if and when I get something together.

[ForeverAutumn]

There's three types of music that you'll never catch me listening too..

1. Rap
2. Opera
3. Country

There you have it.

[KEXPMF]

There's three types of music that you'll never catch me listening too..

1. Rap
2. Opera
3. Country

There you have it.

1. Country
2. Opera
3. Smooth Jazz