I have a fluctuating interest in Valentine’s Day, and that may come from conflicting feelings about it from my youth. For those of you who do not normally celebrate it, Valentine’s Day starts out as a reason to sugar kids up and give out Disney Princesses or Transformer valentines to all of your classmates, but evolves into that one-on-one declaration of love that many adults struggle over. For me, Valentine’s Day always manifests itself musically, either as a celebration of the love I am currently experiencing, or as a balm for those times when being single and Cupid collide. Based on selections from this year’s Country-leaning playlist, I think you will be able to tell where my heart is at currently.
– Brad Paisley “Then” – Paisley normally has the critics in the palm of his hand, but when “Then” was released in advance of American Saturday Night, it was derided by many as a bit bland and not as clever as he normally is. However, for myself and a lot of other music fans, “Then” is a sweet and real tale about how the love between two people grows farther and further than you can ever imagine. Picture being in the early weeks and months of a relationship, and having someone play this song for you and telling you that these lyrics remind them of you:
I remember, trying not to stare the night that I first met you.
You had me mesmerized.
And three weeks later in the front porch light, taking forty five minutes to kiss goodnight.
I hadn’t told you yet, but I thought I loved you then
– Ty Herndon “Loved Too Much” – There were two types of country hits in the 90s…those “New Traditional” songs that harkened back to the Golden Age of Country Music, and those that could be played on Top 40 radio stations almost as easily as they could be on Country radio. Ty Herndon’s music definitely leaned toward the pop side of country, although he only barely hit the Top 40 on the Hot 100 chart one time (“It Must Be Love” at #38). A perfect example of Ty’s pop-country sound can be found on “Loved Too Much”, which tells the story of a man who isn’t able to casually be in a relationship.
I need to be loved too much I need to be held too tight
I need to hear someone say at the end of day
I’ll make everything right.
– Dixie Chicks “Never Say Die” – Way back on their major label debut, the Chicks already had some of the best writers in Nashville offering up their wares to be Dixiefied. George Ducas and Radney Foster capture the minutiae of a relationship that has seen some pretty big moments, because sometimes you don’t realize what you have until life slows to a crawl for a moment. Martie Maguire can milk some amazing emotion out of a few violin strings, and this song is a perfect example of that. “Die” is one of multiple highlights on Wide Open Spaces, and occasionally it will drift up to the surface for no apparent reason.
We’ve both had our share of doubts
Waited out those ole storm clouds
Boy it’s nights like this that I know why
Lovers like you and me will never say die
– Norah Jones “Come Away With Me” – So the mix closes with a request to run away to anywhere but here. Has a 3-minute song ever sounded as lush as this song does? Within those three minutes, you are transported to a cabin in the woods, a mountaintop, a field on the plains, and a bus heading for points unknown. The amazing thing to me is how much of a classic this song sounded like upon its release, and it was from Norah’s debut album. I have enjoyed music from each of her successive records, but I fear that lightning may not strike twice for Norah. Then again, wouldn’t most artists beg, borrow or steal to have one record like Come Away With Me?
And I want to walk with you
On a cloudy day
In fields where the yellow grass grows knee-high
So won’t you try to come?
So speaking of “Come Away With Me”, it appears on the new Now That’s What I Call Love collection that came out last week. The cool thing about this collection is that it has a variety of sounds, including rock, country, pop, and R&B. Coolest inclusion? Howie Day’s “Collide”, which remains one of my favorite songs from the late 90s. There’s even one for the potential adulterer in your life, courtesy of Hinder’s “Lips of an Angel”.
Is your interest piqued? Well, thanks to the folks at EMI, I have 2 copies of this 20-song collection to give away. If you leave a comment between now and Tuesday afternoon, you will be entered to win a copy of the CD. Comment away!
I’ve linked to them a couple of times, but one of the best pop sites out on the Web at the moment is Idolator, which did a pretty brilliant 
While Brad Paisley was the headliner, Dierks definitely has some pull with the country crowd, so they ended up with an opener for the opener by the name of Jimmy Wayne. I know Jimmy because of a song he recorded back in 2003 called “Stay Gone”, and around that time, I saw him in the parking lot of a Circuit City. Random, I know. Either way, I was glad to see that he’s getting a second chance at a career, because he had a long lull between hits, and that’s usually a kiss of death in the music business. Highlights of his set were “I Will” and his cover of “Sara Smile”, which he revealed he had finally gotten permission to record, and it will be the title of his next CD coming in November. It’s tough to do a lot with a half-hour set, but he definitely did his thing.
Up next was Dierks Bentley, who a lot of the ladies in the audience made a LOT of noise over. If you like your country artists tall, lanky and scruffy, he might fit the bill. His set was a good run-through of his big hits, and the crowd was with him from start to finish. The way he ran the stage reminded me of a Garth Brooks show from back in his heyday, but this set was about the music, and he definitely delivered. The one song I wanted to hear was “Settle for a Slowdown”, and I got it, but his acoustic take on “My Last Name” was pretty incredible. I think it’s only a matter of time until he’s headlining shows on his own based on the way he maximized 55 minutes of stage time.
Brad Paisley has had 24 singles off of 7 CDs, and only two have missed the Billboard Country Top 10 (reaching #12 and #18). Every one of those tracks has also charted on the Hot 100 as well, which is a pretty amazing feat, considering that Brad isn’t the most high-profile performer out there, and none of those songs got any pop airplay. So it’s a testament to him that he pulls in such a diverse fan base to his concerts. I credit a good chunk of it to songs that talk about real lives, not just the cliched topics of traditional country music. Online chatting, reality TV, fishing, love, heartbreak…okay, maybe the last three are more traditional, but you get the gist.
Speaking of cliched, if I had one complaint about the show, it was the video montage that accompanied “When I Get Where I’m Going”. It’s great to pay tribute to those people that have passed on, and maybe it is more about my weariness with all of these celebrity deaths, but I really feel that “Going” is such a powerful song on its own, and means so much to so many, that it almost seems disrespectful to impose your own priorities of people who are missed on top of that moment. But having said that, the show as a whole was extremely enjoyable, and I wouldn’t hesitate to go back for another Brad Paisley show. 
Stumble It!
Pop Music Notes 