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)

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)

rounds, Black adds some cowboy philosophizing ("Code of the West"), a plea for a return to purer country or better farmland ("Too Much Rock"), and a glimmer of spirituality ("Back Home in Heaven"). With Black producing and writing (or at least collaborating on) all of the material, the results aren't quite as consistent as they were in his hitmaking heyday. He suffers a novelty low with "Undercover Cowboy," about a seductive schemer who "only wants to know how to get under the cover with you," yet channels the dance-floor inspiration of Bob Wills with the twin fiddles of "Heartaches" and the breezy swing of "I Don't Wanna Tell You." Wherever the music takes him, there's a whole lot of Texas in these tracks. --Don McLeese More ...  (less)

intelligent, witty and touching, and need no more instrumental embellishment than simple, lovely acoustic settings. Grey's voice has a bluesy edge somewhat reminiscent of Maria Muldaur, with a gentle, angelic quality that harkens to early Dolly Parton. She also keeps some pretty hip company... Wynonna Judd sings harmony with Grey on two songs, and Ranger Doug of Riders in the Sky joins her on another. John Hartford lends his distinctive banjo to the effort, and multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire Albert Lee plays mandolin and guitar. All turn in fine performances , and their names surely strengthen her resume, but Grey's talent stands squarely on it's own." Gordon Ely, Richmond - Times-Dispatc  (less)

the Sun Turns Black finds the introspective singer/songwriter complementing his folk-country ways with traces of strings and horns and spooky soulful background voices. Songs like "You Can Bring Me Flowers" and "Three More Days" are the most R&B-influenced, the latter shuffling about ala The Band or Tony Joe White. Despite its brooding lyrics, "Empty" has a rollicking, almost breezy delivery, a perfect balance to either the hushed title track, the unnerving "Be Here Now" or the horn-fortified waltz, "Gone Away From Me." Throughout the 11-song sequence, and especially on the final song "Within You," LaMontagne’s voice remains the record’s most crucial element, as vibrant as it is tattered and as harsh as it is flawless. --Scott Holter  (less)

(double bass), some of the most highly regarded recording artists and musicians in traditional American country music, Bluegrass and beyond. The album includes ten previously unrecorded songs. "Sulphur to Sugarcane" and "The Crooked Line", were co-written with T Bone Burnett while, "I Felt The Chill" marks Costello's second recorded songwriting collaboration with Loretta Lynn. Costello revisits two songs from his catalogue in string band style. Both songs were originally written for Johnny Cash. "Hidden Shame" was indeed included on Cash's album, "Boom Chicka Boom". The album title makes reference to "The Secret Songs", Costello's unfinished commission for the Royal Danish Opera about the life of Hans Chr...  (less)

time on this 17-cut compilation disc, which, despite its title, actually includes four new songs, one rerecording, and a remix. Amid soppy country-pop chart fodder ("Me and You," "When I Close My Eyes") and second-rate ditties ("How Forever Feels," "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy"), Chesney hits his stride on robust country ballads like "You Had Me from Hello" and the lead single "I Lost It." On other gems--like "That's Why I'm Here," a heartfelt tribute to the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program that topped the charts a while back; "Baptism," a great duet with Randy Travis; and his fine rerecording of "Tin Man," the song that launched his career in the mid '90s--Chesney even manages to attain an ephemeral but utterly moving tran...  (less)

the successful 2001 American Songbook anthology, Let Yourself Go . But on this eclectic collection of traditional and contemporary gospel anthems and related songs, songstress Kristen Chenoweth claims a bold return to her spiritual roots. Her chameleonic, crystalline soprano lights up the beloved title track standard and the Gaither's modern inspirationals "Because He Lives" and "Upon This Rock" with a deft, Broadway-bred sense of drama. Yet her voice remains supple enough to impart country charms to "It Will Be Me," "Poor Wayfaring Stranger" and Amy Lee Grant's "There Will Never Be Another." One-woman pop songwriting empire Diane Warren offer Chenoweth a typically melodramatic showcase on the spiritually generic "Borrowed Angels," while the unfo...  (less)

of listening to Loretta Lynn and the late Tammy Wynette in her younger days. With Born to Fly , her third album, Evans continues her descent from the neo-traditional high ground and her move uptown. She makes it clear she's also listened quite a bit to the likes of Trisha Yearwood and Bruce Hornsby, whose "Every Little Kiss" she ably covers here. On the exuberant title tune and on fine country-pop ballads like "I Could Not Ask for More" and the lovely "Saints and Angels," Evans proves she can just as sweetly and deftly patrol the uptown territory as she can the down-home highlands, which she revisits on the steel guitar-adorned weeper "I Learned That from You." Though not every song on Born to Fly insinuates its way into listeners' imaginati...  (less)

Wilson's third album fires on all radio-ready-honky-tonk-and-hillbilly-rock cylinders. It's also a portrait of a tough, talented woman making her own way in what's still largely a man's, man's country world. She gets plenty of help from hot Nashville writers John Rich, Rivers Rutherford, and Vicky McGehee, but her working-class and feminist spin on country archetypes--temptation, whiskey, work, and Mom--is authentic and her own. Even when, as on the title track, she revisits "Redneck Woman," she retools the conceits with one of her best melodies. When she goes for the throat on "You Don't Have to Go Home," with a ripping fiddle line and an AC/DC guitar break, she's not just wailing last call: she's showing the whole honky-tonk who's boss. She st...  (less)

Overall, it's a set of amiable country pop, but the title track and "What About Georgia?," which open the disc, are rock songs at heart--driven by a hard-smacked snare drum and layers of guitar. But what's really at the core of these excellent performances is Lambert's romantic lyrics and versatile singing. When she's playing the angry lover in "Kerosene," she's loaded with punky attitude. When she's brokenhearted and moving on in "New Strings," her soft, delicate tones and gentle phrasing perfectly capture a rich blend of sadness and hope. There's even a bit of Dolly Parton's sweet vibrato and rustic charm in "Me and Charlie Talking," a nostalgic contemplation on love and life's simple virtues. Lambert authored or co-penned 11 o...  (less)