Tuesday, June 29, 2004
A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME
My brother's enthusiasm for the Loretta Lynn record is well founded. I haven't heard a real country record in a while. The Rick Rubin produced Johhny Cash albums are some of the finest country records ever recorded, and I feel the best of his long and legendary career. Now Loretta Lynn has found in Jack White what Johnny had found in Rick. A rock producer with a love for true country music. This record rocks! Why is it that the best country records are being produced by noted rock producers? Because Nashville has gotten greedy. The nineties were kind to country. The likes of Garth Brooks et al brought country to mainstream for better or worse, and the general effect has been for worse. The horribly polished renowned lip syncher Shania Twain is produced by noted rock producer/husband Jeff "Mutt" Lange, but the result sounds nothing like country, or Def Leppard, so the formula doesn't always work. I am heartened, though, by this Loretta Lynn record because it proudly displays all the things I love about country. It showcases great guitar playing, not to mention pedal steel, mandolin, and other classic country instruments, along with great songs about ...what else, the life of country great Loretta Lynn, who is more than a coal miners daughter, oh so much more. Loretta, along with Johnny, and Willie, offer us true american music, and it's that legacy that I don't want to see wasted by a bunch of greedheads down in Nashville. Now I'm waiting for the Trent Reznor produced George Jones album.
My brother's enthusiasm for the Loretta Lynn record is well founded. I haven't heard a real country record in a while. The Rick Rubin produced Johhny Cash albums are some of the finest country records ever recorded, and I feel the best of his long and legendary career. Now Loretta Lynn has found in Jack White what Johnny had found in Rick. A rock producer with a love for true country music. This record rocks! Why is it that the best country records are being produced by noted rock producers? Because Nashville has gotten greedy. The nineties were kind to country. The likes of Garth Brooks et al brought country to mainstream for better or worse, and the general effect has been for worse. The horribly polished renowned lip syncher Shania Twain is produced by noted rock producer/husband Jeff "Mutt" Lange, but the result sounds nothing like country, or Def Leppard, so the formula doesn't always work. I am heartened, though, by this Loretta Lynn record because it proudly displays all the things I love about country. It showcases great guitar playing, not to mention pedal steel, mandolin, and other classic country instruments, along with great songs about ...what else, the life of country great Loretta Lynn, who is more than a coal miners daughter, oh so much more. Loretta, along with Johnny, and Willie, offer us true american music, and it's that legacy that I don't want to see wasted by a bunch of greedheads down in Nashville. Now I'm waiting for the Trent Reznor produced George Jones album.
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