Jon writes re the Kenny/Ann-1979, G*rth/Shania-1999 comparison:
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.
I don't think that Wahl was comparing radio play (other people have had #1
records this past year, too, obviously) but was looking at in terms of
*sales*, which is what most of the articles I've read have focused on as
well; You have G*rth and Shania and then everyone else.
And re: McCall on Chesnutt and the Damnations:
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).
Guessing don't count for much <g>. But I think this goes a long way to
explaining why Jon doesn't "get" much of what most people refer to as
alt.country, where enthusiasm is *only* the point of making good music.
Re: Country.com encyclopedia: 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.
I don't have the disk to check, but I'm almost positive Walser is *not* in
there. The main problem I have with it is that it's almost exclusively
Nashville country based and doesn't take into account non-Nashville acts.
I'll keep the disc, though, My dog loves shiny frisbee. <g>.
Jim, not running for president of anything
