Shout! Factory in association with NARAS recently released a 7-CD series entitled “Ultimate Grammy Collection.” This is in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Grammy Awards. They were kind enough to pass along 2 CDs to twangville. First we have the Classic Country featuring such hits as Johnny Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue” and […]
Rich McCulley/cerro gordo
The first thing I thought when I popped cerro gordo into my CD player was, “Is this Guster?â€Â Well, actually no, it wasn’t, it was Rich McCulley. But it sure as hell sounded like Guster. McCulley’s vocals were eerily similar to that of Ryan Miller and the poppy upbeat opener “Forget It All Again†could […]
Todd’s Tops of 2007
Favorite Albums:  Neil Young/Live at Massey Hall – So, some folks call it a reissue, but it’s the first time I’ve heard it and I believe, the first time its been released. Yeah, it was a concert that took place over 30 years ago but still new to my ears and it was one […]
Josh Roberts and the Hinges/My War Cry is Amor
The most highly anticipated local release of this year (in my book anyway…and by local I’m referring to Columbia, South Carolina) was the sophomore effort of Josh Roberts and the Hinges which hit the streets last month. The band’s first release, 2006’s The Sugarbird Test, was a rollicking effort of 11 originals clocking in at […]
Gary Allan/Living Hard
After listening to the first half of Gary Allan’s new album, Living Hard, I decided I’d do some market research. I had honestly never heard of Gary, but seeing that his record was on MCA Nashville I knew he was probably in good company. And it turns out that I was right. Other artists on the […]
Drew Gibson/Letterbox
Listening to Drew Gibson’s new album, Letterbox, I thought, “This sounds nothing like Lyle Lovett’s new disc.” Why in the hell I thought that I have no idea. But I did. Then I thought, “Gibson’s disc sounds just as much like Lovett’s new disc as I sound like Lucinda Williams.” And folks, just for the […]
The Best of Jonathan Rundman: 20 Songs from the 20th Century
I’ll be honest and admit that I’m not accustomed to receiving “Best Of” CDs from artists I’ve never heard of. But hey, when someone’s been recording albums for around 15 years there’s got to be something good in the catalog right? Thankfully, on this album, there are a number of gems. According to the press […]
Various Artists/House Soundtrack
So, House is a TV show that comes on Fox about a miracle working doctor with a cocky attitude, a sad love life and an addiction to pain pills. At least that’s what it seemed like the 4 or 5 times I’ve watched the show.  “So, who would make up such a soundtrack?” you ask. […]
Tommy Womack/There I Said It!
Tommy Womack’s biography from his website starts out like the following: “My name is Tommy Glynn Womack.  Skot Willis once said I was the craziest person he’d ever met who had his life together.  Todd Snider says I’m the only person he’s ever met in Nashville who’s crazier than he is.  So I must be […]
Johnny Cash/The Great Lost Performance
My Johnny Cash collection consists of Live at San Quentin, the box set of Love, God & Murder, the 5 main discs done with Rick Rubin/American Recordings and a couple of old LPs with titles such as Here Comes Cash or The Best of Johnny Cash…you know the drill. Anyway, while I’m a big fan […]