Best of 2014: Mid-year country and Southern rock

Wow. Here’s a first: Over the few years that I’ve been doing a Southern rock and country list, I’ve once or twice had to struggle to get 10 albums at the end of the year.

Hard rock and metal is my first love, so I don’t always dig into the country and Southern rock genres with the same vigor.

This year is a bit different, though. I’ve heard a little more and explored a little more, and I’ve got a Top 10 at midstream, all of which I’ve really enjoyed. I’m interested to see what this list looks like at the end of the year …


No. 10 — WILLIE NELSON – BAND OF BROTHERS: This record is not quite as much fun as his 2012 outing Heroes, but it’s still Willie Nelson. He penned most of the songs on this record, which has been a change from recent years, and no one can match the phrasing of Nelson’s performance.

Saturday Shuffle: III, Dash Rip Rock, SRV, Waylon and Willie, Ramones

This might be the first shuffle with no metal in it. We've got some country, some blues, some punk, but no metal ...


Hank Williams III, "Cocaine Blues." From the album Risin' Outlaw (1999). There's probably not a more appropriate Johnny Cash tune for III to cover. It's a song that already had much of the bad attitude that III brings to it. I'll choose Cash's version every time (as III himself probably would, too), but this one's very faithful and pretty solid.

Saturday Shuffle: Maiden cover, Annihilator, Willie Nelson, Whiskey Myers, The Misfits

This week, a group of really good musicians do a really bad job on Iron Maiden, and we throw in a little classic country, Southern rock, Canadian thrash and punk...

Chuck Billy/Craig Goldy/Rickie Phillips/Mikkey Dee, “Fear of the Dark.” From the album Numbers from the Beast (2005). Yeah, this is one of Iron Maiden’s coolest songs, and this version just really doesn’t work for me. An overly effects-laden vocal performance from Chuck Billy might be cool in another use, but I miss the dark Bruce Dickinson delivery. Musically it’s pretty faithful, but as much as I love Testament, this isn’t the venue for Billy.

Best of 2012: Country and Southern rock Top 10

Editor's Note: This is the fourth in a four-part series covering my favorite releases of 2012.

This is the first time that I’ve ever enjoyed enough records from the country and Southern rock genres to put together a list. Maybe I’m getting old and turning into that country music-loving guy that my relatives always told me I would when I “grew out of all that crazy stuff and realized what good music was.” Then again, have you seen my other list?

No. 10

CHELLE ROSE – GHOST OF BROWDER HOLLER: At times mean and ugly, at others downright beautiful. At times strongly reflecting her Appalachian roots, at others blowing the speakers out like a rocker girl. Chelle Rose’s debut was easily one of the more interesting releases of the year in country music.

Review: Hank III, "Long Gone Daddy"

After years of battling with Curb Records to have his albums released, Hank III finally broke free from his contract a little over a year ago. Now, it seems Curb has no problem releasing his records.

This is the second they’ve put out since he left, following up last year’s Hillbilly Joker, a rock album they refused to release when it was recorded in 2003.

Long Gone Daddy wasn’t quite as contentious as that release. It collects some songs from III’s earliest recording sessions, along with tunes that he did for various compilations while he was at Curb. There are a few originals, a few alternate takes, a few covers of his grandfather’s songs and a few covers from other artists. All in all, it’s a collection that should please fans who have been turned off by his flirtations with rock and metal. And, if I’m being honest, even I have to admit that it’s better than some of the records he’s turned out in recent years.

Interview: Gary Allan

Soccer moms can stay at home when country artist Gary Allan comes to town.

You see, Allan has a problem with the direction of country music today. He said he thinks there's too much fluff and not enough honesty, too much production and not enough real-life.

"I keep hearing this demographic that everybody goes after called soccer moms, and I know none of my heroes ever cared whether the soccer moms bought their album," he said. "I don't think country music was meant to be politically correct. There was always a cool factor and an honesty to it, and I try to do that with my records."

There's certainly not a lot of political correctness on Allan's most recent offering, "Alright Guy." It features the title track, an ironic ditty about a clueless jerk, and "What Would Willie Do?" a decidedly un-PC ode to country crooner Willie Nelson. Allan had the opportunity to play that one in front of the country legend shortly after he recorded it, when he played a string of dates with Nelson.

"He got a kick out of it," said Allan. "I'm a big fan of his."

Like Nelson, Allan's not your typical country singer. He grew up in California, surfing and listening to punk rock. But he always had one foot in country.

"My dad played country music, and so did my brothers, so I've played bars and been in country bands since I was 12," he said. "A lot of my heroes were those California guys, you know, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Lefty (Frizzell), Dwight Yoakam. Although, I was on the West Coast, I definitely grew up in the thick of country music."

Though many people associate country with the South or middle America, Allan said there's actually a thriving scene in California. But there's a difference between the music that comes from Nashville and the music that comes from out West.

"We always wrote music to play live in front of people in a bar, to take them through a night of drinking," Allan said. "When I first got to Nashville - which wasn't until I was like 26 - that was the first time I'd ever heard the word radio-friendly when I was writing a song. I think it's just a little more raw and a little less polished, the stuff that comes off the West Coast."

Allan hopes to advance the cause of West Coast country more with an upcoming album. He just finished recording his fifth album and is waiting for it to be mixed and mastered. He thinks it's some of his best work.

"I'm way fired up about it," he said. "We've got some good stuff. It's definitely got some edge to it, but it's definitely different. I think with each record, you just get a different piece of me."

Fans can expect to hear some of the new tunes in his live show. Allan said he's currently throwing four or five of them into the set each night.

While Allan still may not be a darling of Nashville, his albums continue to perform well. It's music that appeals to people who are tired of the pop influences that have invaded country music. While Allan doesn't know whether country music will return to what it once was, he has a clear idea of what he'd like it to be.

"The music, to me, should be rootsy and reflect the heritage of country music, but still be modern at the same time," he said. "To me, country music was always about what happened Monday through Friday, and pop was about what happened on the weekends."