Country Lines

Various Artists - Wizards of Country Guitar: Selected Sides 1935-1955 (2011) {4CD Set, JSP Records JSP77144D}
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© 1935-55, 2011 JSP Records | JSP77144D
Country Boogie / Jazz / Early Country / Instrumental Country / Western Swing / Guitar

The invention and introduction of electrically amplified instruments – most notably the guitar and steel guitar – began slowly transforming every branch of pop music beginning in the mid- to late '30s, shifting emphasis in bands from an ensemble approach to one that allowed for sharper sound definition and easily heard instrumental solos, all of which made the world, at least the recorded version of it, more defined and, well, louder. For the Western swing, honky tonk, and country genres, the change came when steel player Bob Dunn went electric with his group Musical Brownies in 1935.

Various Artists - Sweet Dreams: Where Country Meets Soul Vol. 2 (2013) {Ace Records CDKEND 395}
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© 2013 Ace Records / Kent Records | CDKEND 395
Country / Soul / R&B / Country Soul / Southern Soul

Sweet Dreams: Where Country Meets Soul, Ace's second dip into the country-soul well, is every bit as good as its 2012 predecessor. Basically, it's cut from the same cloth as the first volume, concentrating on recordings from the late '60s but stretching deep into the '70s (Millie Jackson's "Sweet Music Man" dates from 1977), with Ted Taylor's 1962 "I'll Release You" and Orquestra Was' 1996 "Forever's a Long, Long Time Ago" functioning as de facto ringers. "Forever's a Long, Long Time Ago" may fit aesthetically but certainly not sonically, as it's a crisp digital blast on a collection devoted to warm, lush, analog soul.

Though Michael Feinstein remained in the public eye throughout the latter half of the 2010s, performing live and appearing intermittently as a presenter on the Turner Classic Movies network, the onetime Ira Gershwin archivist went nearly a decade without releasing any albums. It was his first gap of more than two years since his 1987 studio debut, Pure Gershwin. He comes back to key influences George and Ira Gershwin, for more than the first time, on his return, 2022's Gershwin Country. A set of 11 duets, each with different guests, it navigates timeless romantic ballads and what prove to be playfully old-fashioned, vaudeville-esque takes with giants of country music (and one with album executive producer Liza Minnelli).

If there’s one lesson to be gleaned from Jaime Wyatt’s latest album, Neon Cross, it’s that life goes on. And through it all - good times and bad, dreaming and desperation, there is truth. When it came to capturing that truth on tape, Wyatt had some assistance from Shooter Jennings, who produced Neon Cross. Together, she and Jennings boldly colour out- side the country lines, taking a wide-lens sonic and stylistic approach to the songs on Neon Cross.