Calling all crazies: Lee Ann Womack's here to call you out…starting with "Last Call," an instant country classic featuring aching heartbreak and alcohol-rocky with a twist. Accompanied by a sufficiently sad video, the piece is the first single from Womack's eighth album, set to be in stores on the 28th. Written by Erin Enderlin ("Monday Morning Church") and Shane McAnally, it finds Womack wandering the streets when her (presumed) ex calls her to pick him up and lays loving lies on her all the while. Of special lyrical prowess are the changes in chorus from the first to last, describing the descent of song type and a glass of Johnny Walker Red. Also especially clever is the play of "I'm always your last call – me crazy," probably how the album title was conceived, too.

     Elsewhere, there's the unstoppable sentiment in "Everything But Quits," a duet with George Strait (their second together). The Womack/Strait pairing is a straight shot that clearly just comes natural. Southern rock sensation Waylon Payne, who starred as Jerry Lee Lewis in the movie Walk the Line, wrote the smooth "Solitary Thinkin'." And Keith Urban adds a unique flavor to the sweet circle of the five-minute spellbinding story of "The Bees."

      Among the other special songs making a stand on Crazy are "New Again" (co-written by Womack); "If These Walls Could Talk," and "I Think I Know." "Know" is beautiful, while also possibly one of the most depressing works ever – with lines like "I think I know what killed Keith Whitley" and "I think I know what took Old Johnny" flowing from the pens of hit writers Tom Shapiro, Tony Martin and Mark Nesler. Recording artist Whitney Duncan also lends in lyrics (on "I Found It In You"). Brent Mason, Chris Stapleton, Wes Hightower, Jason Sellers, and other notable talents share vocals and musicianship to the collection. The album is produced by the acclaimed Tony Brown.

     Crazy is as crazy does, and Lee Ann plays the part with style. ..so she just might be the lunatic you're looking for. -MELISSA COKER

      Hay! Dolly’s back with a brand new truckload of tracks for your listening pleasure. And the Backwoods Barbie album cover offers quite the picture, too: Dolly, finely clad in a flowing pink dress and animal print undergarment, rests comfortably against some stacks of hay in a yellow truck bed. Much like it’s hard to be humble when you’re perfect in every way (to reference Mac Davis), it’s difficult to play favorites with this album’s many attributes.

      In one of the true travestys of our time, it may not make a lot of radio buzz -- but that said, the first two singles thus far (complete with mainstream videos), opener “Better Get to Livin’” and “Jesus and Gravity” are definitely two to gravitate to. “Livin’” offers upbeat inspirations and explanations to those who wonder “Dolly, what’s your secret?” [to keeping a good attitude] … and it features the playful line “I’m not the Dalai Llama but I’ll try.” “Gravity” doesn’t let hopes fall to the ground, and does a beyond excellent job of describing Dolly, while astoundingly not being written by the woman herself. She tones down the emotion a notch with a fiddled-up version (and added crazy end lyrics) of “Drives Me Crazy,” a hit by The Fine Young Cannibals and speeds it back up with a vengeance in current/third single “Shinola.” This one shines an accusatory playful spotlight on a subject who apparently doesn’t “know love from Shinola.” And there’s something to be said for that, not to mention she’s censored during a small section of the call-out selection. As she’s barbed herself: “It costs a lot of money to look this cheap.” Oh, and appropriately, the album’s inside boasts Barbie doll representations of the real thing.

      Among the many other prime Parton picks (which truthfully could be the entire album) are “Made of Stone,” which finds her far from unshakable in the midst of a lover’s affair. “Cologne” sprays on a sentimental look during the sorrow of the other side of cheating and wondering if it will become more. And “I Will Forever Hate Roses” plants seeds of sadness as roses take on different meanings in life. Closer “Somebody’s Everything” sums it up with a stand on still believing in a so-called fairy tale. All twelve (or thirteen on the Wal-Mart version which includes “9 to 5” live) Barbie selections are written by Dolly herself except for: “Better,” which she co-wrote with Kent Wells, “Jesus and Gravity,” by Craig Wiseman and Betsy Ulmer, and of course covers “Drives Me Crazy” and “The Tracks of My Tears.”

      Dolly Parton’s drive into this latest contribution to the country cause is no cheap shot. And she certainly practices what she preaches: “Don’t judge me by my cover ‘cause I’m a real good book.” Let’s be glad she comes out of the woods for awhile and into the great wide open to share with the rest of the world.

"Sleepless Nights"- Patty Loveless
JimMoulton

1st new CD since 05 ,

This new album by Patty Loveless follows the road she has been on since "Mountain Soul", finding new mixes on the traditional mountain side of Patty's life. She had planned to do a CD for her older sister Dot and this was it. Her sister, she always considered to be a better singer and always kept her close by, then a few years back, she died. Her and Emory went thru 500 songs to get down to the 14 on the disc. On the road, she changed labels too, going with Saguaro Road Records. This is an interesting label, interested in rootsy singers, attracting the likes of Rebecca Lynn Howard and Joan Osborne, besides Patty.
Emory produced the disc, and went with half old school studio musicians and half contemporary types like Biff watson, Al Perkins, and Vince Gill on background vocals.
As for Old school ,there is Pig Robbins, Pete Finnie, Harold Bradley and Jedd Hughes. The result is what is called "traditional country soul", the records sub title.
"Sleepless Nights"(Bryant/Bryant) An awesome sweet ballad with Vince Gill, the title track. There is some really pretty pedal steel here.
"Crazy Arms"(Mooney/Seals) I love this song, heard Linda Ronstadt do a very similar version of it in '73. This is a timeless song.
"Color of the Blues" (Jones/Williams) has guitarist Guthrie Trapp ,a member of her road band for two years answering her vocals with some sweet understated blues guitar, great track. Patty sounds rejuvenated after going thru some trials of family deaths over the last couple of years.
"Cold, Cold Heart" (Hank Williams) Well, Patty closes this record up with a real classic and she is singing full of emotion with nothing to prove. That is a real comfort level.
Overall, this a gal that probably will not get a lot of radio play for these very well sung picks of songs that she loved when she was growing up, but we get to look a little deeper into the gal who helped make country music what it is today.

Release date 9/9/08

As the Avett Brothers pack their bags for the big time of American Recordings and Rick Rubin, they've left this six-song EP as a capstone to their five years on the indie Ramseur label. Unlike the fuller, rock-inflected country-folk productions of last year's "Emotionalism," their latest is pared back to just the brothers, their guitars and a banjo. Bassist Bob Crawford is absent, the vocals are mostly solo and the lyrics are pushed up front, with instruments providing a setting rather than active elements of the songs. The result is more like a songwriter's circle than a studio recording, leaning more heavily on the tunes than the performances. The six songs (clocking in at just under 21 minutes) are thoughtful, direct and personal, covering themes of growing up and letting go, romantic desire, brotherly considerations of family, and some philosophical wonderings. The brothers finger-picking is particularly fetching on "Bella Donna," a song of innocent teenage longing that winningly brings to mind Alex Chilton's "Thirteen." The Avett's capture a frankness, in their writing, singing, playing and production that's startling in its quiet power. [©2008 redtunictroll at hotmail dot com]

The Road Hammers take their latest collection, Canadian originated and otherwise, to the streets in style with Blood, Sweat, and Steel. A collage on Montage Music, this is the group's first United States-based release, though in Canada they've already nailed down loads of credits, including Canadian Country Music Awards such as the 2006 Group of the Year (with six 2005 nominations), a Juno, - had four singles rev into Top Ten territory, video successes, and platinum status to their name(s) (ten of these 13 tracks made the merge from that certified CD). And those names behind the band wheel are: Jason McCoy (lead vocals/guitar), Clayton Bellamy (vocals/guitar), Chris Byrne (vocals/bass) and Corbett Frasz on drums.

Lead-off track "I'm a Road Hammer," which jump starts the atmosphere of the album through fast-driving diction like "I'm building a rolling empire of blood sweat and steel," is what lends a line to the CD's title. "Hammer" first peels out with a creative CB announcement of the ride listeners find themselves in.

Bound and determined, the foursome follows a few different paths thematically, (thankfully) not particularly knowing many boundaries. Glancing in the rearview reveals a couple of covers – the runaway classic "East Bound and Down" (driving force of film Smokey and the Bandit) is in fine form, rolling it up and trucking into a rocking Reed rendition. The Jerry Reed romp isn't alone now, with rising current single "Girl on the Billboard," first a successful sign for Del Reeves, also planting itself into the musical mix. As for who new is leading the lyrical trip, much acclaimed writers/artists in their own right such as Chris Knight, Dean Miller (son of the legendary Roger Miller), Paul Thorn, and John Rich, among others, share co-writing credits. McCoy also lends in a pen, as do fellow members Byrne and Bellamy (no known relation to the Brothers, by the way).

As for how they change things up, the sweetly stated "I Don't Know When to Quit," followed by "I've Got the Scars to Prove It," "Nashville Bound," and "Keep on Truckin" are some prime examples. "Truckin'" shows off some Gary Allan-esqueness by replaying a main riff throughout that is reminiscent of trademark chords in Allan’s “Man of Me,” and McCoy actually shared billing with Allan when they dueted on “Doin’ Time in Bakersfield.” Appropriate, since McCoy hails from it and Allan is oft classified as carrying down that very town's sound. In "Nashville Bound;" however, they find themselves in Music City – where they "tried to do the right thing, but busted [my] left hand."

Speak of the devil, of prime note is the Hammers' Great American Country reality TV show on about the inner workings of the music industry. The documentary of their travels is produced by none other than Jason Priestley.

Lucky track 13, "Flat tires," closes out the convoy with behind-the-scenes bloopers and such. This says something of their incredibly engaging live shows, which work to further fuel enjoyment of these recorded moments. The on-stage charisma and antics are certainly a sight to see (and hear). Included in those special times are when the men feature one another's feminine sides – background vocals take center stage as take over from the not-present women. Jason McCoy, Michael Knox and Scott Baggett produced this project, and that latter contribution was no small step. Baggett co-produced the (Canadian) original and due to budget disputes, he almost wasn't back for this one. That would've been a very bad thing, considering liner notes thank him for "extra-marital musical counseling, consultation, life coach, and sonic-mid-wifery."

Even those typically wary of four-wheelers on real-life roads shouldn't tire of these songs. So, here's hoping we get to be in the passenger seat for more music and aren't left in the goodbye dust from these high-performance boys.

Seventeen tracks, produced by Mark Neill, are self-released by Hammond on the “Hammond family label,” Humminbird Records.

Country artists taking on pop standards wasn’t a new idea when Willie Nelson released the ten tracks of 1978’s Stardust LP. Ferlin Husky had released an entire album’s worth on 1957’s Boulevard of Broken Dreams, and other country stars regularly drew from the Great American Songbook. Nelson himself had recorded “That Lucky Old Sun” two years earlier for his The Sound in Your Mind LP. What made Stardust so audacious was the confluence of Nelson’s iconoclastic career and the times in which the album was released. Where his outlaw compadre Waylon Jennings had directly confronted Nashville, Nelson vented his subversion by retreating to Texas, and waxing concept albums like “Phases and Stages” and “The Red Headed Stranger.”

As Chesnutt’s hit-making years wound down at the end of the ‘90s, his MCA releases crept away from the neo-traditional honky-tonk that originally made him famous By the end of his tenure, and on his one album for Columbia, he was neither true to his country roots, nor finding crossover material that could catch the fickle ears of country radio. That all changed with his reemergence in 2004 as an indie artist. “Savin’ the Honky Tonk,” with its front cover nod to Waylon Jennings’ “Honky Tonk Heroes,” found Chesnutt rededicated to the sort of music that first energized his career: two-steps, shuffles and twangy ballads about loving, cheating, drinking and all manner of behavior in between.

Vocalist, songwriter and group co-founder Chris Gaffney’s passing in April 2008 can’t help but retint this third studio album as a memorial to the group’s fallen leader. And while there are plenty of sad songs here, and some lyrics that eerily presage Gaffney’s departure, the album is filled with life, particularly in Gaffney’s singing. The group once again worked with Muscle Shoals songwriting and producing legend Dan Penn, but with his input limited to five tracks, there’s a stronger honky-tonk vibe here than the country-soul heard on 2006’s “What’s Wrong With Right.” The group’s co-leader, guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Dave Gonzalez, picks tasteful twangy leads, David Berzansky bends the strings of his pedal steel, and the band’s rhythm section (Hank Maninger on bass and Dale Daniel on drums) count off two-steps, shuffles and Western swings with enthusiasm. On top of it all, Gaffney’s rough-edged, occasionally wavery vocals are packed with emotion.

Like their labelmate Andy Griggs, The Road Hammers play a nitro-boosted brand of funky modern country rock that’s drawn in part from the Muzik Mafia stylings of Big & Rich. The group’s playing and production is solid, and their vocal harmonies are tight, but what really provides distinction is their slate of blue collar truckin’ tunes. But unlike Dale Watson’s “Truckin’ Sessions” this isn’t a throwback to earlier truckin’ sounds, and the group’s originals aren’t your daddy’s lonely songs of haunted, pill-popping, one-arm tanned long-haul truckers. Instead, the band lives up to its name with swaggering, full-throttle performances of originals and tunes borrowed from the pens of John Rich, Chris Knight, Jerry Reed and Lowell George.