Country music just lost a giant.
Jerry Reed wasn’t one of the most influential singing, songwriting, guitar-playing, movie-acting talents in Nashville because while his always-delightful output of cleverly crafted material was absolutely perfect for him, it wasn’t particularly adaptable to other artists. In “the biz,�?the term for songs that are hard for other artists to cover is “it doesn’t travel well.�?/P>
Still, he was without a doubt one of the all-time greats of country music, and his infectious enthusiasm for �?and always on-target interpretation of �?the music of the American common man will be sorely missed.
Eastbound and down, Jerry. Godspeed to you, son, and keep it between the ditches.
Now, let’s talk about some other things going on in country music these days.
“DO YOU KNOW�?BY JESSICA SIMPSON. When Jessica Simpson appeared in the lame movie version of “The Dukes of Hazzard,�?did ANYONE doubt she’d be releasing a “country�?album before too long?
With “Do You Know,�?the blond pop diva proves that with enough money and enough music business clout, a superstar can do anything he or she wants. In this case, that’s going to Nashville and recording with the locals.
It’s not that “Do You Know�?is a bad example of modern country music. In fact, it absolutely nails what passes as mainstream radio country music these days. It has plenty of steel guitar, fiddles, mandolins and good, earthy acoustic rhythm guitar.
But the songs are so formulaic and forgettable that they could have been recorded by anyone else and come out sounding just as…well, formulaic.
But probably the most irritating thing to me about “Do You Know�?is the way Simpson has to oversing every song, whether it’s a rocker or a ballad.
Yes, we KNOW she can sing with a lot of power on choruses, but can’t she throw in a little more subtlety once in a while?
Fans will like “Do You Know�?a lot, and I guess that’s all she was after. (NEXT rating: C)
“SLEEPLESS NIGHTS�?BY PATTY LOVELESS. In another time, Patty Loveless would go down in country music history as one of the greatest women ever to step up to a microphone and pour out her heart in song.
Now, though, “Sleepless Nights,�?her absolutely amazing collection of traditional country favorites, will probably go mostly ignored. And that’s just not right.
With songs like “The Pain of Loving You,�?“There Goes My Everything,�?“He Thinks I Still Care,�?“Cold, Cold Heart,�?and on and on through a generous 14-song set, Loveless reminds us that country music is not about shallow pop/crossover production and easily disposable songwriting. It’s about life and heart and soul-deep values.
And no one performs real country music better today than Patty Loveless. (NEXT rating: A)
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