Brand New Country Songs For The Summer: Carrie Underwood, Zac Brown Band, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith

"TWO BLACK CADILLACS"   CARRIE UNDERWOOD

Sounding like the follow-up to "Before He Cheats", this new song has MAJOR hit potential.  Carrie's theme of vengeance for cheating gets doubled when a man's wife and mistress meet at his grave.  "It was the first and last time they saw each other face to face, they shared a crimson smile and just walked away".

"NO HURRY"   ZAC BROWN BAND

July 10th is the scheduled release date for the new Zac Brown Band CD, "Uncaged".    I've been loving this band for years before they hit it big and look forward to see what direction they're heading with the new material.  The lead single is this perfect laid-back summer song.   "Heaven knows I ain't perfect, I've raised a little cain, and I plan to raise a whole lot more before I hear the angels sing".

"SING 'EM GOOD MY FRIEND"  KENNY CHESNEY
Early running for my favorite CD of 2012 is the new Kenny Chesney CD, Life In A Fishbowl.   "Sing Em Good My Friend" is INCREDIBLE!   It's a contender for the greatest song Kenny has recorded.  The "do do do" intro reminds me of Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side".   The lyrics remind me of "Don't Blink" and "I Go Back", tender words about cherished memories of the love of your life.  Some funerals turn into festive parties of the great memories, this song conjures up those images.
                                                                                  

"HER LIFE'S A SONG"  ALAN JACKSON

Traditional country will never go out style while artists like Alan Jackson are still around.  "Her Life's A Song" is 1990's AJ with a style similar to his biggest hits "Gone Country" and "Chattahoochee".    The new song is about a woman who loves great music whether it's hip hop, country, rock, or tunes that make her dance all night long.    

"BEERS AGO"   TOBY KEITH

Another great summer jam, Toby's back with a fast paced rocker.   "Beers Ago" is from his Clancy's Tavern CD and it's the perfect country song to crank up the volume, roll down the windows, and get the party started!   "Had me a hand me down ride painted rattle can red, second hand tires with poor boy tread" going to get his girl "the second runner up in the 4H pageant"!     FUN summer jam!

Brothers Under The Sun Hangover: Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Jake Owen

"COME OVER"   KENNY CHESNEY

It's been one week since I went to the Kenny Chesney/Tim McGraw concert extravaganza.   What an amazing show!   You may not be a country music fan but you will become a Kenny Chesney fan if you attend one of his shows.   He's electric on stage.  Like any great showman, he knows how to work a crowd, pull your heartstrings, get the party started, and draws you into his lyrics.   "Come Over" just premiered and will be released on his new CD, Welcome To the Fishbowl, this month.   Kenny described it as a "sexy bootycall that you just can't shake from your memory" :)

"BETTER THAN I USED TO BE"   TIM McGRAW

"I can finally stand the man in the mirror I see, I ain't as good as I'm going get, but I'm better than I used to be". Tim McGraw played most of earlier classics at the concert but he did include some new songs.   The ballad that blew everyone away was this song, "Better Than I Used To Be".   50,000 people were singing along with Tim lines like, "I can't count the people I've let down, the hearts I've broke, you don't have to dig too deep to find the dirt on me", vulnerable lyrics that we can all relate to.

"THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY"   JAKE OWEN

Watching Jake Owen open up the concert, the arena was about 20% full.  For those who missed it, his set was incredible!   Rocking covers of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "That Smell" and an Alabama Greatest Hits medley perfectly segued with his big hits like "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" and "Alone With You".   I kept thinking in a couple of years, Jake will be the headliner filling up stadiums.    "The One That Got Away" is New Country, no twang, rock guitars, lyrics that feel like they were written about your life.    This behind the scenes video is a lot of fun!

Brothers Under The Sun Tour At Tampa Stadium: Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Jake Owen, Grace Potter

"BETTER AS A MEMORY"    KENNY CHESNEY

The Brothers Under The Sun kicks off today at Tampa Stadium.   Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Jake Owen, and Grace Potter plus who knows what guest stars will drop in for the big event.  After each of the four solo sets, Kenny and Tim will be playing a 40 minute set during which they'll be playing each others songs, rock covers, anything goes!  Luckily, I was able to get club level tickets at the last minute!   

Kenny released a 3-D concert film in the summer of 2010.   Here's a version of "Better As A Memory" from the last day of the tour when Kenny's emotions took over.   The crowd sang almost the entire song for an unforgettable concert moment.

 "SOMETHING LIKE THAT"   TIM McGRAW

My first big country music concert was Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and a relative unknown Australian opening act at the time named Keith Urban in the mid 90's.   I didn't know much by Tim but knew all of the big Faith Hill crossover hits.   Wow!   What a fun experience! Keith's guitar skills blew us away.  Faith Hill came next and Tim joined her for songs like "It's Your Love".  When Tim McGraw hit the stage to close the show, the crowd went insane.  "I Like It, I Love It, I Want Some More Of It" and "Something Like That" were incredible.  Always loved the line - "she had a BBQ stain on her white t-shirt, killing me in that mini-skirt, heart can't take something like that!"

"EIGHT SECOND RIDE"   JAKE OWEN

Florida has been the breeding ground of many country music superstars and the next to join this elite club is Vero Beach's Jake Owen.   I saw Jake open for Keith Urban last summer and he's unbelievable live!   Jake has a rock n' roll energy, movie star looks, and songs that will get you singing along the first time you hear them.    Yes, the double entendres in "Eight Second Ride" are laughable but the song rocks!  

"PARIS (Ooh La La)"    GRACE POTTER and the NOCTURNALS

Blues rocker, Grace Potter, is the fourth member of the Brothers Under the Sun tour.    Hmmm, watching Grace jamming on her guitar, sexy legs shimmering under her short skirt, I'm not sure she fits the "Brothers" tour theme.   Grace teamed up with Kenny Chesney for the beach themed ballad "You And Tequila (Drive Me Crazy)"  and I'm sure that will be a highlight of the concert set having the two pair up for the duet.   This version of her hit, "Paris", comes from the Ellen DeGeneres Show (a big fan of Grace).

 

What Were The Record Companies Thinking? 3 Sexy songs they messed up on: Lenny Kravitz, Kenny Chesney, Melissa Etheridge

"SOMETHING SEXY ABOUT THE RAIN"    KENNY CHESNEY

"She only loved me for a season, but my heart won't be the same, even now her love's the reason there's something sexy about the rain".  Coming off the chart busting, record setting CD, "When The Sun Goes Down", Kenny released a personal beach themed CD called "Be As You Are".    There were no singles released from this disc but the best song is this hypnotic slow jam, perfect song for a rainy night!

 

"UNEXPECTED RAIN"   MELISSA ETHERIDGE

2007 was the release date of Melissa's ninth CD.   It was a personal record called the "Awakening" about her feelings on God, politics, and her personal struggles over health and relationship issues.  Track 3, "Unexpected Rain" is sexual, hypnotic, and one of the strongest non-released singles Melissa has ever recorded.   The guitar solo is dynamic and the tempo changes are theatrical and perfectly placed.

"DANCIN' 'TIL  DAWN"  LENNY KRAVITZ

"Is It Time For A Love Revolution" was Lenny's 2007 CD which was called by Rolling Stone magazine, "As a blast to the past, it's the finest record Lenny has ever recorded".    Paying tribute to the Rolling Stones and "Miss You" comes this steamy late night club jam, "Dancing Until Dawn".    Saxophone solo, funk guitar, and a retro 70's rock sound, the video is out of control, sultry, steamy, and borderline porn which probably killed airplay.

Breakup Recovery Song: Kenny Chesney, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Sara Evans

"SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL"           LYNYRD SKYNYRD

THE Southern Rock Band lead by the incomparable Ronnie Van Zant.   In his short life, he inspired a generation and wrote epic songs like Freebird and Simple Man that will live forever in rock & roll history.   This is an interesting message song about gun control, especially since Ronnie was a gun owner.    But the lyrics demonstrate that impulse violence is always possible when a gun in around.   "Ain't good for nothing, put a man 6 feet in a hole".

"A LITTLE BIT STRONGER"                     SARA EVANS

First off, Sara Evans is one of the sexiest women in country music history.    This song was written by Lindsey of Lady Antebellum but rather than record it, she offered it to Sara.   For anyone who's had a traumatic breakup, it's a struggle, you have your good days and then something (a song, a comment from a friend, a picture found in a box in your closet) triggers all of those emotions again.   This brilliant video captures Sara dealing with the pain and getting stronger and stronger over time.    Great video to build your confidence and pick yourself back up when life feels rough.    Sara's emotional performance of "A Little Bit Stronger" at the CMT Awards received a standing ovation!

"I GO BACK"                              KENNY CHESNEY 

On New Year's Eve, the perfect song is "I Go Back" by Kenny Chesney.     Kenny wrote this song about a high school friend who died at age 16 but there is nothing morose in the lyrics.


"Jack and Diane" painted a picture of my life and my dreams
Suddenly this crazy world made more sense to me
Well I heard it today and I couldn't help but sing along
Cause everytime I hear that song


We all have a song that some how stamped our lives
Takes us to another place and time
So I go back to a pew, preacher, and a choir
Singin' about god, brimstone and fire
And the smell of Sunday chicken after church
And I go back to the loss of a real good friend
And the sixteen summers I shared with him
Now "Only The Good Die Young" stops me in my tracks
And everytime I hear that song
I go back, I go back

Sexy Country Duet: Kenny Chesney with Gretch Wilson, Keith Urban, Stereoside

"TONIGHT I WANNA CRY"            KEITH URBAN

The timing of this song's release hit me harder than ANY song has ever effected me.   Music has the amazing power to transport you to another place, to bring back Vivid memories, to bring you energy when you have none left, to open old wounds, to bring you a ray of sunshine when you're hurting inside.     Thank you Keith for this heart-wrenching song!

"ON OUR OWN"                        STEREOSIDE

From Ocala, FL, Stereoside keeps Southern Rock alive in the last few years.   Their 2011 release is incredible.   Check out "Crazy and Paranoid", "Walk Alone (Back to You)", powerful songs with a HUGE chorus.    The song, "On Our Own" is from their 2nd CD and the first song I heard from the band.   Classic Southern Rock, changes in tempo, headbanging beats, and I love the name dropping of rock superstars, SRV, Elvis, Motley Crue, look for Laura Bush throwing up the devil horns :), Steven Tyler, Johnny Cash, Cinderella, you name it!  

"HURT SO GOOD"            GRETCHEN WILSON & KENNY CHESNEY

Saw them in concert perform this together.    Gretchen was ruling the charts with "Redneck Woman" and she opened for Kenny.     Kenny Chesney knows how to put on a party, beach songs, high energy, sing-a-longs!    When he started singing Mellancamp's Hurt So Good, I was blown away then he introduced Gretchen who came strutting out in her cowboy hat, leather pants, and heels, oh my!    Great duet!!!