Off The Tracks

Off The Tracks
  • Blog
    • Interviews
    • Miscellany
    • Special Guests
    • Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • The Vinyl Countdown
  • Back Catalogue
  • About
    • About
    • About the banner image
    • On Song

Posts Tagged Country Music

Archive

April 6, 2022 by Simon Sweetman

A Few Stray Thoughts On Johnny Cash

The Man in Black seemed so dark, boasting of the line where he shoots a man just to watch him die. Johnny Cash had a darkness to his soul but there was kindness there as well. And good friends. When he was sad, he’d call Willie Nelson and ask for a joke. Willie knew a […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged "Singer", A Few Stray Thoughts, A Few Stray Thoughts About Johnny Cash, A Few Stray Thoughts On Johnny Cash, Blog, Country, Country Music, Johnny Cash, Music, Songwriter, To follow me in all the right places check out the Linktree right here. And to subscribe to my Substack newsletter “Sounds Good” click here, Willie Nelson ·

Archive

December 2, 2020 by Simon Sweetman

Sweetman Podcast # 241: John Newton

Welcome to episode 241 of Sweetman Podcast with support from our sponsors – T Leaf T and Yeastie Boys Now – as you probably know, as well as the usual platforms (this site, soundcloud, iTunes/Apple) you can now get to Sweetman Podcast on Spotify – follow it there and have it saved in your Spotify […]
Posted in Blog, Podcasts · Tagged Academic, Acast, Anchor, Anchor FM, Apple, Australia, Burns Fellowship, Chat, Christchurch, Conversation, Country Music, Dunedin, Escape Path Lighting, Family Songbook, Hard Frost, Hard Frost: Structures of Feeling in New Zealand Literature 1908–1945, Interview, James K. Baxter, John Newton, Music, Novel, Podcast, Podcaster, Podcasts, Poem, Poems, Poet, Poetry, Richmond Fontaine, Songs, Songwriter, Spotify, Stitcher, Sweetman Podcast, Sweetman Podcast # 241, Sweetman Podcast # 241: John Newton, Sweetman Podcast: John Newton, Tales from the Angler’s Eldorado, The Delines, The Double Rainbow, The Lives of The Poets, The Overdogs, The Tenderizers, University, Verse, VUP, Wellington, Willy Vlautin, Writer, Writing, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

Archive

October 5, 2019 by Simon Sweetman

The Vinyl Countdown # 240

Jerry Lee Lewis, Country Songs For City Folk (1965) I always thought “The Killer” was incredible – Jerry Lee Lewis, just a ferocious talent. And the narrative I knew, for the longest time, was that he was done at the end of the 1950s. A blast. A fall from grace. And then in fact total […]
Posted in Blog, The Vinyl Countdown · Tagged 1965, Country Music, Country Songs For City Folk, Covers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Killer, King of the Road, LP, Piano, Record, Rock'n'Roll, The Killer, The Vinyl Countdown, The Vinyl Countdown # 240, Vinyl ·

Archive

December 30, 2018 by Simon Sweetman

The 1001 Albums Challenge # 115: Dwight Yoakam – “Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room”

I remember in the very early 1990s or possibly right at the end of the late 80s – might even have been New Year’s Eve programming – seeing a video clip from Dwight Yoakam and I thought it was cool. The rest of the family did not. They are not country music fans. At all. […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged “Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room”, 1001, 1001 Albums, 1001 Albums Challenge, 1001 Albums To, 1001 Albums To Hear Before You Die, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, 1980s, 1988, 80s, Buenas Noches, Country, Country 'n' Western, Country Music, Covers, Dwight Yoakam, Dwight Yoakam – “Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room”, Eighties, Songwriter, Songwriting, The 1001 Albums Challenge, The 1001 Albums Challenge # 115: Dwight Yoakam – “Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room” ·

Archive

May 22, 2017 by Simon Sweetman

Buckle Up: Ten Important Country Albums In My Life of Listening

I started this thing a while ago where I decided I was going to name ten albums important to me (and important for me) in a particular musical genre. I started with hip-hop (see here). And then I decided to do my list of seminal and sentimental metal albums (see here). And most recently it […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged 89/93: An Anthology, American Recordings, Buckle Up, Buckle Up: Ten Important Country Albums In My Life of Listening, Car Wheels On a Gravel Road, Country, Country Music, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Essence, Gold, Hank Williams, Heartbreaker, Johnny Cash, Little Sparrow, Lucinda Williams, Modern Sounds In Country And Western, Patsy Cline, Patsy Cline’s Greatest Hits, Ray Charles, Ryan Adams, Teatro, Ten Important Country Albums In My Life of Listening, The Ultimate Collection, Uncle Tupelo, Wilco, Willie Nelson, Wrecking Ball ·

Archive

March 24, 2017 by Simon Sweetman

This Be The Perverse: Just For Larks

I often talk about the (musical) influence from my parents – mum and dad’s music collection was a lot of fun to work through as a kid. I learned a lot from it – obviously it was the starting point and I’d head off in search of information and more music (pre-internet days). The Beatles […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Country, Country Music, Jazz, Jazz Writings, Just For Larks', Laura Cantrell’s Humming By The Flowered Vine, Philip Larkin, Poem, Poetry, This Be The Perverse, This Be The Perverse: Just For Larks' ·

Archive

May 3, 2016 by Simon Sweetman

The Sound of Her Guitar: Film

The Sound of Her Guitar Director: Bill Morris Wild Islands Media I’ve enjoyed some of Donna Dean’s music but I really enjoyed this version of her life story, a documentary about her travel through America, her early life in New Zealand, the redemptive power of the country music she sought out as both means to […]
Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged Akld, America, Auckland, Bill Morris, Country, Country Music, Doc Edge, Doco, Documentary, Documentary Edge Festival, Donna Dean, Film, Film Review, Movie, Movie Review, Music Documentary, New Zealand Music, NZ, Q, Roxy, The Sound of Her Guitar: Film, Travel, Wellington, Wgtn ·

Archive

April 20, 2016 by Simon Sweetman

Sweetman Podcast: Episode 19 – Tami Neilson

Here’s Episode 19 of Sweetman Podcast – my chat with Tami Neilson. I caught up with Tami the morning after she played a terrific gig, accompanied by her phenomenal band. And so we talked about that – and about her time in New Zealand, the progression across the albums. We also talked about how I […]
Posted in Blog, Podcasts · Tagged Barry Saunders, Brokenwood Mysteries, Canada, Canadian, Church Tour, Conversation, Country, Country Music, Delaney Davidson, Don't Be Afraid, Dynamite!, Ep # 19, Episode 19, Episode Nineteen, Interview, Marlon Williams, Music Family, Nashville, NZ, Podcast, Red Dirt Angel, Score, Simon Sweetman, Sweetman, Sweetman Podcast, Sweetman Podcast: Episode 19 – Tami Neilson, Tami Neilson, The Kitchen Table Sessions, TV ·

Archive

April 17, 2016 by Simon Sweetman

Sturgill Simpson: A Sailor’s Guide to Earth

Sturgill Simpson A Sailor’s Guide to Earth Atlantic If you’re just catching up, and this will be the album to catch you up (his third in three years) Sturgill Simpson is one of the finest new songwriters working today. And he works hard. So hard in fact that this album, nine songs (eight originals, one […]
Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged A Sailor's Guide to Earth, Album Review, Country Music, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, Sturgill Simpson, Vinyl ·

Archive

April 6, 2016 by Simon Sweetman

R.I.P. Merle Haggard

One of the greatest voices in country music has been silenced. Merle Haggard looked and sounded like he was carved from stone, even the name ‘Merle Haggard’, those words, looked on paper like something chiselled away at,all that was left from the starting granite. Merle was one of those names and faces and voices and […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Country Music, Eulogy, Haggard, Legend, Mere Haggard, Merle, R.I.P., R.I.P. Merle Haggard ·

Archive

August 4, 2015 by Simon Sweetman

R.I.P. Billy Sherrill

Sad to hear, just now, of the passing of one of the all-time great behind-the-scenes players, perhaps the greatest arranger and producer to ever work in country music, Billy Sherrill. Best known for his work with Tammy Wynette and George Jones Sherrill had a hand in so many hit records – working also with the […]
Posted in Blog, Mixtapes · Tagged Arranger, Bill Sherrill, Charlie Rich, Country Music, Countrypolitan, Eulogy, George Jones, Hall of Fame, Johnny Cash, Producer, R.I.P., R.I.P. Billy Sherrill, Songwriter, Tammy Wynette ·

Archive

April 27, 2014 by Simon Sweetman

Poem: Mountain Soul

There’s a type of CountryMusicTM they call it Mountain Soul. People like (until recently) Doc Watson and (until even more recently) Ralph Stanley the “living legends” of the genre. To have a Mountain is to be born to a tribe. (To have a soul – is to be born). Every person has a Mountain; it […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Country Music, Doc Watson, Mountain Soul, Poem, Ralph Stanley ·
← Older posts

Popular

  • The Sad Story of Bob Welch: Fleetwood Mac’s Most Undervalued Member
  • Janna Lapidus Leblanc: Four Years In Pictures
  • The Best Guitarist in The World: # 8 – Mark Knopfler
  • Neil Peart Was The World’s Most Overrated Drummer
  • Try Three: # 1 – Roots, Reggae, Soul
  • Revisiting Live at Knebworth (1990)
  • Short Story: The Year of The Rat
  • What A Good Score! – #17: Dead Man Walking by Various Artists
  • Going Back To Lou Reed: Time To Revisit His Strange, Wonderful, Weird Catalogue
  • Try Three – New Series

Archives

Tags

Album Review Auckland Blog Book Book Review Chat Compilation DJ Drums DVD DVD Review EP Film Film Review Gig Gig Review Guest Blog Guitar Interview Jazz Live Live Gig LP Movie Music NZ Podcast Poem Poetry Record Records Simon Sweetman Soundtrack Spotify Stub Stubs Sweetman Podcast The Vinyl Countdown Vinyl Want more? Check out my Substack You can also support Off The Tracks via PressPatron Wellington Wgtn Writing You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron [OST]

Categories

  • Back Catalogue
  • Blog
  • Interviews
  • Miscellany
  • Mixtapes
  • Playlists
  • Podcasts
  • Reviews
  • Scene Of The Day
  • Special Guests
  • The Vinyl Countdown

Off The Tracks is the home of Sweetman Podcast, a weekly interview/chat-based pod. It's also home to my reviews across film, TV, music and books and some creative writing as well.

Off The Tracks aims to provide quality reviews and essays, regular blog updates about the shows, albums, books and movies you should be experiencing.

It's a passion project. Your support will help to keep Off The Tracks online.

All content © 2022 by Off The Tracks. WordPress Themes by Graph Paper Press