No Difference Now," Red Foley's "Tennessee Saturday Night," and Marty Robbins's "At the End of a Long, Lonely Day." In Hank Thompson's title track, the singer wonders why he's hearing rock & roll on his country radio station, bringing an old complaint up to date. This album was recorded in Nashville with such veteran studio hands as steel guitarist Buddy Emmons and fiddler Buddy Spicher, along with guest vocalists Crystal Gayle and Teddy Wilburn. While there's less here of the daredevil yodeling that has made Walser a legend among alt-country audiences, he's still the best damn cowboy singer in Texas, with a sky-high range that erases the distinction between opera and opry. --Rick Mitchell  (less)

become a No. 1 pop and country hit in 1960. Robbins was arguably the most surefooted and accomplished singer in all country music, and that was never more obvious than on these Western ballads performed to often breathtaking perfection with a very small group and a vocal trio. Other titles include "Big Iron" (also a Top 30 hit), "Running Gun," and Western classics like "Cool Water," "Billy the Kid," and "The Strawberry Roan." Three extra tracks flesh out the 1999 release, including "Saddle Tramp" (the B-side of "Big Iron") and "The Hanging Tree" (title song from the 1959 Gary Cooper Western). --Colin Escott  (less)

that parents, for an entire 26-track album, fully reclaim their listening rights. So what if "Rubber Ducky," "On Top of Spaghetti," "The Three Billy Goats Gruff," and "Señor El Gato" are among the song titles--this is music meant to celebrate Mom and Dad's last remaining shreds of coolness, from the retro-inspired jewel case to the alt-country acts' indie credibility. Alejandro Escovedo laments hitting the big One-O ("Candy just doesn't taste as good anymore") on "Sad & Dreamy"; Rosie Flores sends 'em flocking to the speakers with first track "Red, Red Robin"; Robbie Fulks feels the pain of "Godfrey," the sickly unemployed amateur children's magician; and the Cornell Hurd Band makes a compelling case for napkin use with "Don't Wipe Your...  (less)

and the weary road song that closes it ("Headed South"), Van Zant balance down-home party rockers such as "Goes Down Easy" and "It's Only Money" with the more serious balladry of "We Can't Do It Alone" (a spiritual sequel of sorts to "Get Right With the Man"), "That Scares Me," and "The Hardest Thing." Though the title song is little more than a banjo-laced string of country clichés and "These Colors Don't Run" is a patriotic bumper sticker, this solid sophomore effort should win the brotherly duo more country fans. --Don McLeese  (less)

Is a Highway," Sugarland's "Baby Girl," and Faith Hill's "Lucky One." Songs: Life Is A Highway Baby Girl Living In Fast Forward Who Says You Can't Go Home Jesus Take The Wheel Better Life Lucky One What Hurts The Most Something's Got To Give Why The World Leave The Pieces Mr. Mom Suds In The Bucket  (less)

McGraw Def Leppard, Great Britain's premiere arena rock band, is back with a bang--kicking off 2008 with the release of their 14th studio album and a U.S. arena concert tour scheduled for this spring. Entitled Songs From The Sparkle Lounge (Bludgeon Riffola/Island/UMe), the album contains 11 new songs including the highly-anticipated single "Nine Lives" featuring a groundbreaking collaboration with country music superstar Tim McGraw. Songs From The Sparkle Lounge is Def Leppard's first album of brand new material since 2002's X and begins yet another remarkable new chapter in the band's 30-year recording career. Recorded last year during month-long stints at lead singer Joe Elliott's Dublin studio, the album's title refers to a bac...  (less)

country music's grand tradition & has the skill to give powerful vocal performances and draw all the emotion from his selected material effortlessly. In 1976, Watson released his second LP on the Capitol label, Because You Believed In Me, the title track of which was a Top 20 hit single. Beautiful Country, released the following year, included the hit singles 'The Old Man & His Horn', 'I Don't Need A Thing At All', and 'Cowboys Don't Get Lucky All The Time', which was a hit in 1978. This latter song also appeared on the soundtrack of the Sam Peckinpah movie 'Convoy’. The two albums on this CD are drawn from the most commercially successful period of his career and capture Watson in his prime. Both released here on CD for the first time. Hux. 2005.  (less)

weight of it--by inviting George Jones and Hank Williams Jr. to appear in spoken-word bits which bookend the record. (The Possum also contributes a weak cameo on "4th of July.") But such shilling comes off as exactly what it is, and the listener knows to expect a song about how awful Nashville is and how modern country just ain't got no soul. Jennings does not disappoint--in fact, he's got a couple tunes like that (the Neil Young-based title track and "Solid Country Gold"), and he also obliges with an Outlaw penchant for self-mythologizing ("Busted in Baylor County," about being jailed for speeding and smoking). The younger Jennings doesn't have his father's commanding baritone, his mother's delicate balance of pathos and strength, or even th...  (less)

Ain't Been Able" from Hank Williams Jr's groundbreaking "Family Tradition" album and a stone ground Country version of George Jones's 1972 classic "A Day In The Life Of A Fool". The balance of repertoire includes three songs from 2004's "Saving The Hondy Tonk", including a new acoustic version of the haunting "A Hard Secret To Keep". "Heard It In A Love Song" offers something for everybody--a solid body of great songs from a most-bankable voice. Produced by Jimmy Ritchie and Mark Chesnutt.  (less)

ever written, the soundtrack is equally sentimental--16 tracks that evoke wistful days spent staring out of windows pining for lost love. Edwin McCain delivers Diane Warren's surprisingly modest "I Could Not Ask for More," a song written specifically for the movie. Sheryl Crow and Sarah McLachlan turn soft and spooky with their whispery "Carolina" and "I Love You," respectively. Sinéad Lohan and Beth Nielsen Chapman backlight their middle-of-the-road sensibilities with dance beats. Hootie & the Blowfish's "Only Lonely" is far closer to country music (Glen Campbell-style) than country artist Faith Hill's "Let Me Let Go." Gabriel Yared contributes the instrumental title track as well as two other pieces of overswelling movie music. Redefines the term mellow . --Rob O'Co...  (less)