Various Artists [Country Gold '40 Classic Country Tracks']Well these compilation discs prove the point that i'm really into everything, and i'm still trying to expand that 'everything' into a wider scope, especially this year, and here's one of the results of that effort, i do like Country Music, it's just that i'm off put by Honky Tonk, Line Dancing, and to a lesser degree Bluegrass, this compilation sticks to late 1950's to early 1990's, with chart hits being the overall theme, it's a good compilation to have, there's some of my favourites on here.
On this listen i liked quite a number of tracks, some are actually new to me, because in the past i haven't been much of a Country Music fan, so it was nice getting to know some new friends, other tracks i know, but i don't have a great outlet to listen to them, so it was good to renew their acquaintance, and some of course i plainly don't like, the tracks i enjoyed the most were 1-3, 5, 7-8, 13-14, 20, 23, 26 & 38, and i guess the cream of those dozen were 5-6, 23 & 26, and here's a short synopsis of each of these tracks,
5 Dolly Parton - Jolene, in essence this is not really a Country song, written by Parton herself, it uses a flavour of Indian rhythms and music, especially in the female backing singers, and the rumbling percussion mimics the sound of Indian tablas, it's the complex picking acoustic guitar in the right ear that's incredible, and isn't Jolene such a lovely name?.
6 Johnny Cash - Ring Of Fire, it's those Latin trumpets that go halfway towards the greatness of this song, i just love them, they keep coming back again and again, the other half is Cash's dark baritone growl, i'm not a Johnny Cash fan, but he has a certain way with the way he can just hesitate slightly to superb effect, the song has a chuggy rhythm which is incredible.
23 Bellamy Brothers - Let Your Love Flow, a song that i heard in the charts during the Seventies, and i really liked it then, in one YouTube video the lead singer really looks like Lieutenant John Dunbar / Kevin Costner of Dances With Wolves fame, haha, with strumming guitars, and a male duet in the chorus, there's a strong forward momentum to the whole song.
26 Lee Greenwood - The Wind Beneath My Wings, a song i first heard from Bette Midler, i was in a Video Rental and this song came over the radio, and even though i had finished and it was time to leave, i stayed looking through the racks just to listen to the song, the chorus is powerful, the Lee Greenwood version is quite similar, acoustic guitars, piano, and especially a string orchestra, the words are really meaningful, again not really a Country song as such.
5 Dolly Parton - Jolene, in essence this is not really a Country song, written by Parton herself, it uses a flavour of Indian rhythms and music, especially in the female backing singers, and the rumbling percussion mimics the sound of Indian tablas, it's the complex picking acoustic guitar in the right ear that's incredible, and isn't Jolene such a lovely name?.
6 Johnny Cash - Ring Of Fire, it's those Latin trumpets that go halfway towards the greatness of this song, i just love them, they keep coming back again and again, the other half is Cash's dark baritone growl, i'm not a Johnny Cash fan, but he has a certain way with the way he can just hesitate slightly to superb effect, the song has a chuggy rhythm which is incredible.
23 Bellamy Brothers - Let Your Love Flow, a song that i heard in the charts during the Seventies, and i really liked it then, in one YouTube video the lead singer really looks like Lieutenant John Dunbar / Kevin Costner of Dances With Wolves fame, haha, with strumming guitars, and a male duet in the chorus, there's a strong forward momentum to the whole song.
26 Lee Greenwood - The Wind Beneath My Wings, a song i first heard from Bette Midler, i was in a Video Rental and this song came over the radio, and even though i had finished and it was time to leave, i stayed looking through the racks just to listen to the song, the chorus is powerful, the Lee Greenwood version is quite similar, acoustic guitars, piano, and especially a string orchestra, the words are really meaningful, again not really a Country song as such.
