Posts Tagged Country
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January 9, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Dolly Parton – Here I Am: Film
Dolly Parton: Here I Am Director: Francis Whately Man Alive Productions / BBC / Netflix Dolly Parton is hosting a victory lap for herself. She’s always been a great and tireless self-promoter that understood the power of your personality as your brand long before ‘storytelling’ became a buzzword – but right now she’s leading a […]Archive
January 1, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 192
Lionel Richie, Stuck On You [Single] (1983) You all know I’m a big Lionel Richie fan – big, big fan. Have been my whole life. Great musician. Superb pop songwriter. And so many great country songs too – starting, really, with this one. Always loved this song. And got to love it all over again […]Archive
December 5, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 205
Rosanne Cash, Somewhere In The Stars (1982) I love Rosanne Cash. Always have really. But, funny thing, given how I discovered here, I’ve kinda worked backwards, still finding out about some of the great early records – like this. She is a great singer, a great songwriter, and when she picks a song to cover, […]Archive
November 6, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi: There Is No Other
Rhiannon Giddens w/ Francesco Turrisi There Is No Other Nonesuch From her time with Carolina Chocolate Drops and now through her solo albums and shows Rhiannon Giddens spans decades and bridges musical genres bringing both a warmth and show-stopping dazzle to the old-time music of Americana past. She’s been a TV star (Nashville), an opera-trained […]Archive
October 20, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Gig Review: Tami & Jay Neilson (October 18, Wellington)
Tami Neilson: This is Tami Neilson! With Special Guest Jay Neilson Meow, Wellington Friday, October 18 One of the trickiest things for Kiwi musicians, I think, is keeping touring fresh. There’s the old album/tour/album cycle – which is more about releasing a single, then touring, then releasing a single sometimes in this long, extended death-of-the-album […]Archive
July 27, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 276
Bobby Bare, Encore (1981) Even when Bobby Bare was just the performer and not the writer he had a way with words, with delivery. I’m a fan of his rendition of Numbers (one of Shel Silverstein’s many gems) – and did you know that Bare had a crack at The Gambler before ol’ Kenny did? Actually I really dig Bare’s version, but it was not to be. The world wanted another version […]Archive
June 25, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 287
Dolly Parton, Great Balls of Fire (1979) Dolly, Dolly, Dolly…I’ve probably bashed everyone over the head with Dolly Parton lately – listening to almost everything she’s ever done (some 63 studio albums) for a recent chat on the radio about how Dolly is great. But here’s the funny thing, I own precisely two Dolly LPs. A cheap TimeLife compilation with the obvious hits […]Archive
May 12, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Gig Review: Delaney Davidson & Barry Saunders (May 11, Wgtn)
Delaney Davidson & Barry Saunders Meow; Wellington Saturday, May 11 The new album by Delaney and Barry is one of those so-obvious-it-had-to-happen ideas that happened due to the two troubadours meeting half a decade ago when on the bill together for one of the Church Tours of the country.Archive
April 12, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 318
Hank Snow, Snow in Hawaii (1967) I could tell you I am some sort of Hank Snow fan – and though that’s true I couldn’t tell you that I planned to own this album. It was a classic impulse buy, everything lined up – the title grabbed me, Hawaii is of interest lately (a planned holiday on the […]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. […]Archive
December 4, 2018 by Simon Sweetman