End of the Journey

This has been an interesting journey. I can see why people enjoy country music and I can see why people do not. After listening to a couple of county albums I think I fall somewhere in the middle of those two opinions. There was a lot of music I listened to over the past several weeks that didn't resinate with me, but there was a couple tracks that really did. From Charlie Rich's "Nothing In the World" to Waylon Jennings "Luckenbach, Texas" those are just two examples of music that I now enjoy because of this little journey. If your reading this and thinking about listening to a new genre of music I'd encourage you to. You may find tracks or albums that you really really enjoy!

"Taylor Swift"

This week i'm reviewing somebody i'm familiar with Taylor Swift! Now i'm familiar with the newer "2016-2018" Swift who is more pop than any other genre. I'm not a super fan, but I definitely can name and sing along to a couple of her recent tracks. I knew Swift started as a country singer, but going into this album I expected to hear some pop influence. Boy was I wrong. This might easily be the most "country" country album i've reviewed yet. From the instruments to the lyrics and even her vocal tone, they're all pure country. A great example of this is the track "Picture to Burn" this track is so country that you can even hear a banjo, which is easily one of the most country related items on earth. I can see why this album lead Swift to stardom she really captures the essence of what I believe country music is trying to portray and she does it really well.

"Garth Brooks"

This week i'm reviewing Garth Brook's self titled album. I can see why this album is so high on the list of country albums to check out. The production on this album is wonderful. A great example of that is the track "The Thunder Rolls" the guitars sound beautiful. Brooks also has actual thunder noises inserted at the end of the track, they also sound very high in quality. This album had a great and pretty long track list. Even though nothing jumped out at me I did appreciate the album and all the songs on it.

"Always & Forever"

This week i'm reviewing Randy Travis' album "Always & Forever". This album is a straight and clear country album through and through, At least from what I've heard so far. Basically all of the country albums I've reviewed have some type of different genre influence rather it be pop or blues. This album does not. Theres nothing wrong with that, but I think I like the country music that has an outside genre influence better. With that being said I didn't think the album was terrible the track "Tonight We're Gonna Tear Down the Walls" was pretty fun it reminded me of Toy Story for some reason, but besides that I did think the album was a little boring.

"Behind Closed Doors"

This week i'm reviewing the album "Behind Closed Doors" by Charlie Rich. This album may be the least sounding country album i've listened to yet. Through out the whole album I felt like I was listening to the Blues and Traditional Pop. With that being said Rich did have a lot of Country sounds going on in this album, for example the acoustics on the track "I'm Not Going Hungry". The Blues sounding tracks absolutely out shine his Country sounds in my opinion, but I don't think thats surprising for anyone reading this. I love the Blues and the tracks on this album that are apart of that genre are really great. The tracks "We Love Each Other" and "Nothing In the World" have been on repeat especially the second of the two. This album was great and I will definitely keep listening to Rich after this project.

                                                         https://youtu.be/PJxFhQf-RzE

"Some Hearts"

Carrie Underwood is country music's Mariah Carey, that was my first initial thought listening to this album and I still think that after finishing the album. Underwood had very strong vocals and held long notes while singing, similar to Carey. I thought this album was pretty good. I understand why it was listed as one of the best country albums to listen to. There was a great mix of the iconic country sound and a more modern pop sound. I see this album appealing to younger and older fans of the genre, which is probably why it's so heavily praised. I enjoyed the track "Don't Forget to Remember Me" which provided that classic country sound that I'd say I've enjoyed more than the modern more pop sound. Overall I'd recommend this album to somebody like me whose just getting into country music. It had a great mix of tracks that an entry listener would enjoy.

"Waylon Jennings' Greatest Hits!"

This week i'm reviewing Waylon Jennings' "Greatest Hits" album. This is my favorite country album so far, I have a feeling I favor older country music. My reasoning is the acoustics, the guitar strums and vocals are fast and upbeat even when they're not supposed to be. For example "Luckenbach, Texas(Back to the Basics of Love)" Is a slower song about love and wanting to rekindle a healthy relationship with his significant other, but even with a slow song topic and sound the song moves at a fast pace. This goes for pretty much the whole album, I actually think there was only one song over four minutes, and the extra eleven or so seconds it went over the four minute mark was just faded out instruments and silence. I appreciate Jennings' short tracks. It makes for a quick clean delivery of the sound he's trying to get across, which he does greatly. His lyrics and vocals were clear and full of story which makes his music very entertaining. A good example of this is "I'm a Ramblin' Man" which is probably my favorite track on the album. It's a very fun song. I'm not sure if Jennings' made the list i'm referring to for albums again, but I hope so I really enjoyed his sound. If he didn't i'm definitely looking up more of his music after this project!

"The Woman in Me"

This week I listened to Shania Twain's "The Women In Me". This album wasn't really what I expected it to be. I expected more upbeat sounds, powerful vocals, and empowering female lyrics because of the album name. Now I did get that with the song "Any Man of Mine" and more or less on a few other tracks, but "Any Man of Mine" was definitely the stand out of the album. Twain has a beautiful voice however she relies on a lot of male background vocals in this album which also slightly bothered me, its a slight distraction from her voice. Even with those gripes I can see why this album is popular. It delivered that generic country sound, but from a strong female vocalist perspective.
                                                       

                                                       
                                                         https://youtu.be/4TEhliSh_f4

"Killin' Time"

This week I'm reviewing Clint Black's "Killin' Time" album. This album definitely provided me with the typical country medleys I expected to hear. However even though I wasn't surprised with the medleys and acoustics overall, I was caught off guard with Blacks vocal range the song "Winding Down" is a great example of this. I also enjoyed the track "Nobody's Home" which also showcased how well Black could sing. Overall I wasn't blown away with this album ,but it has got me eager to hear whats next on my list of albums.

Where I'm Starting...

"I listen to all types of music except county, I hate country." Now I don't know about you, but I hear that quote all the time when the topic of music comes up in conversation. When I hear that line I always reply with I don't hate country, I just never sit down and listen to it, however that's about to change! I've researched and compiled a list of the top country albums of all time and now i'm going to start a new musical journey into one of the most hated and loved musical genres of all time!