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10/23/2007 It’s Super Tuesday for country music fans! And while today’s most high-profile CD release, Carrie Underwood’s Carnival Ride, has certainly garnered the most attention (and will no doubt notch the week’s top sales numbers when all is said and done), there are a few other releases that you’ll want to be sure to check out. Whether you like your country music loud and raucous, quiet and contemplative, or somewhere in the middle, there’s more than just one ride at the carnival this week. Carrie Underwood Carnival Ride Carrie’s at her best when she’s keeping it country – like with the propulsive, growling opener “Flat on the Floor,” the blame-it-on-the-Cuervo party anthem “Last Name,” or the nicely executed cover of Randy Travis’ 1988 chart-topper, “I Told You So.” But the real treasure here is the slow-building “I Know You Won’t,” which comes off as a sort of pitiful prequel to “Before He Cheats.” Gary Allan Living Hard Gary Allan has made some of the most self-assured music of the past decade, nimbly walking the country-rock tightrope set out ahead of him by acts such as Rodney Crowell and Steve Earle. Even when he’s hammering that point home (like on “Like It’s a Bad Thing”), it’s hard to fault him, since he’s got the autobiography, the balls, and, most importantly, the songs to back it all up. Alison Krauss and Robert Plant Raising Sand I’ve said it before, and I will say it again: Album of the Year. Forget everything you know, or think you know about these two artists. Together they create something so unique and unforgettable that there’s little point in referring to them individually. What they bring out in themselves and each other is not some Led Zeppelin-Union Station hybrid. I’m not even really all that sure what it is, except to say it is simply magical. Dwight Yoakam Dwight Sings Buck It’s hard to imagine an artist more appropriate to offer a tribute to another than Dwight Yoakam saluting the legendary Buck Owens. Dwight doesn’t just sing Buck, however, he emulates and celebrates him with all the love a straight-A student can offer. Rissi Palmer Rissi Palmer Self-titled debut that’s a spring-fresh collection of sweet, bouncy and soulful country-pop. Lisa O’Kane It Don’t Hurt Fans of Emmylou, Lacy J. Dalton, and the like will love this eclectic mix of folk, blues, bluegrass, and rockin’ country. DOWNLOAD NOW! Wanda Jackson Various titles on Capitol Records One of the great things about the current digital music revolution is the release of collections that would, sadly, otherwise not be bothered with on CD. It’s a real treat to finally have 19 – yes, 19! – classic albums by country/rockabilly pioneer Wanda Jackson, released from the mid-‘50s to the early ‘70s, available digitally. As a rockabilly performer, if a more ferocious singer ever stepped up to a microphone, I think I’d probably be too scared to listen. And as a country singer, she could hold her own with the best of them. Dig in!
