> On another note, been reading some 'zines lately and found some
> interesting
> stuff. I recommend Modern Screen Country Music (Shania Twain centerfold
> inside-I kid you not) for the column by Waylon Wahl that draws comparisons
> to the country music scene of 20 years ago (ruled by Kenny Rogers and Ann
> Murray) and today (ruled by G*rth and Shania)?
It's not a bad comparison, especially if you look forward a little bit -
1979 was a low point, followed shortly by the Neo-Trads (Skaggs, early
McEntire, et.al.) - but it has its limits; "rules" is a pretty slippery
term. Murray and Rogers each had 3 #1s that year (one of Rogers' was with
Dottie West), but Conway Twitty did, too, Waylon Jennings had 2, John Conlee
had 2, Charley Pride had 2, Don Williams had 2, and Mel Tillis, Moe & Joe,
and Willie Nelson & Leon Russell all hit that position, and when you get
deeper into the charts there was plenty of good stuff around (e.g., Emmylou
Harris had two Top 10s and another two that just missed). The problem, as
it were, is that country music history is generally too complicated to allow
for the kinds of general statements about the health of the field that folks
often seem compelled to make.
> Also, how could Michael
> McCall give the new Mark Chesnutt 4 stars and the Damnations 3
> stars in the new Tower Pulse. Seems kinda backward to me, especially
> because he doesn't like the D-nations for having more "enthusiasm than
> expertise." I thought that was the point.
I guess McCall thought there was some other point; maybe he thought that
enthusiasm is a *starting* point for making good music, not the ending
point. I wouldn't give the new Chesnutt 4 stars, but I wouldn't give the
Damnations TX 3, either, not on a country music scale, anyhow (meaning both
albums).
> I received a copy of "Country.com's Century Of Country Music: The
> Definitive Country Music Encyclopedia" CD-ROM. Went looking for the
> Derailers. Not there. Thing is fairly useless.
Well, like with any encyclopedia, stuff's gotta get left out. Walser's in
there, and so are Dale Watson, Kelly Willis, Townes Van Zandt, BR5-49, Julie
& Buddy Miller, the Flatlanders and Foster & Lloyd, to take a few
randomly-chosen (ha) instances. Personally, I think giving as much space to
Walser and Watson combined, or to Jim & Jesse, as to Shania Twain isn't a
half-bad approach. I'm sure someone would be happy to take that fairly
useless CD off your hands.
Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
