Country music SQ

steveinaz

Anyone else notice that country CD's seem to be much better engineered/mixed? The sound quality just stomps most pop CD's. I was listening to Keith Urban and Rascal Flats today, and both sounded outstanding.

Demiurge

That is Pop with a twang.

disneyjoe7

Sara Evens will give you shivers up your spine it's that good.

janmike

A lot of the Rock CD's sound like Crap.

ND13

Nashville has had some of the best recording studios for decades, along with some of the best engineers. Doesn't surprise me a bit. I used to hang out at a friend's father's studio back in the day. It was state 0f the art.

shack

ND13 wrote:

Nashville has had some of the best recording studios for decades, along with some of the best engineers. Doesn't surprise me a bit. I used to hang out at a friend's father's studio back in the day. It was state 0f the art.

Noel is absolutely correct. A lot of good stuff comes out of Nashville.

RuSsMaN

Yes Steve, a lot of great recordings (most HDCD). Kenny Chesney's stuff is outstanding, and I agree Joe, Sara gets me misty every time.

Mike682

Although I don't own many country CDs, I think Country's sq is excellent. To me, country music CDs sound very clean and dynamic; there is very little background noise, drums seem punchy (powerful & controlled), and the voices sound clear and pronounced.

ND13

I remember having a Hank Jr. LP(yes vinyl), cut in the 1978-79 timeframe, that was digitally mastered. I'd say that Nashville is always one-step ahead of the pack. I guess I should have said two-steps:p

steveinaz

RuSsMaN wrote:

Yes Steve, a lot of great recordings (most HDCD). Kenny Chesney's stuff is outstanding, and I agree Joe, Sara gets me misty every time.

I'm a BIG Chesney fan, his recordings are excellent. I need to get some Sara Evans, I like her voice alot.

Come to think of it, I probably have about 20 country titles (not bad for a city boy) and all of them sound great.

What's a good Sarah Evan's CD to start with?

steveinaz

Mike682 wrote:

Although I don't own many country CDs, I think Country's sq is excellent. To me, country music CDs sound very clean and dynamic; there is very little background noise, drums seem punchy (powerful & controlled), and the voices sound clear and pronounced.

Exactly the way I would describe it. If all CD's were mastered this well, there'd be no need for "hi-rez."

okiepolkie

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks they are recorded well. There are a couple cd's that I wasn't too impressed with, but overall, I'm a lot happier with the recordings from this genre than I am with some of the other music I like.

As a family, we listen to country a good bit. It just seems to fit us better than a lot of other music

Demiurge

Wait, can we just stop calling this music country, please? It's an insult to the works of folks like Charlie Poole, Chubby Wise, Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams (one of THE best), and so on. This stuff that passes as country these days is a joke. It's just the same old rock and roll overproduced bubblegum pop with a southern twang. Lots of good artists still making great country music these days, but it's not the crap on CMT.

Demiurge

Rick88 wrote:

I agree Demiurge. Although there are still a few artists doing good 'ol traditional country, most of it is nothing more than twangy pop. I truly love traditional country and own about 500 country discs but rarely buy any of the new stuff. I have many recommedations for good REAL Country if anyone is interested.

I agree with you! I don't mean to slam it all, but Big & Rich, Toby Keith, etc...none of that stuff is anything but pop, IMO.

There's some great country artists out there right now, but unfortunately they don't get any face time.

Heard of Gillian Welch?

ND13

I agree, today's "country" is relabled pop. Kinda like badge engineering in the auto industry. It is an insult to the likes of Willie Nelson, George Jones, and so on.

Demiurge

Rick88 wrote:

Yes she is AWESOME!! How about you? Ever hear of Kasey Chambers,Heather Myles,Elizabeth Cook,Danni Leigh,Allison Moorer, Tift Merritt, Kelly Willis? They are just a few of the ones I think are great!! Of course my favorite, George Strait, will NEVER do anything but real Country!!

By the way, I CAN'T STAND Big And Rich!!!!!!!!

The thing I always liked about country music is that it told a story. Now it tells you how to shake your **** in a line dance. Honky Tonk Badonkadonk? WTF?

I've heard of a couple on your list there, and I would agree with you. I missed Gillian Welch at Bonaroo this year, but hopefully she'll be back again next year and I can pull away from my work for a week. Norah Jones is exellent as has been mentioned on this thread.

I like a lot of Alternative Country as well, such as Damien Jurado, and Cub Country. They're not solid line country musicians, but they sure do capture it on a lot of tracks. The old Wilco stuff with Billy Bragg is great too, but it's a tad more folk.

steveinaz

Ok, so which Sara Evans "pop-twang" CD should I get?

apc

Have y'all heard LeAnn Rimes a capella Amazing Grace?

steveinaz

Cool, thanks Rick!

Drumingman

What happened to Western music? As in country and Western....

millerman 3732

I stopped listening to country after George Straight stopped singing about the rodeo, the last country cd I think I bought was Garth Brooks Ropin' the Wind Or George Straight Box Set I can't remember but both where great

steveinaz

Millerman
Isn't today your birthday?

opus

Demiurge wrote:

I agree with you! I don't mean to slam it all, but Big & Rich, Toby Keith, etc...none of that stuff is anything but pop, IMO.

?

Wow, I knew that if I waited long enough there would be a postive Country music discussion on Club Polk.:p
Demi, I don't think of Big and Rich as "Country" stars but am curious why you lump Toby into that group also. I like the way he includes a little humor and a lot of attitude into his songs. "Do you think Hank would have done it that way" maybe not but if you throw out a couple of obviously middle of the road sappy balads I think he consistently brings a healthy dose of "I wanna kick your **** country".

As to the amount of "Bubble Gum" country out there I hate it too but I do see a trending toward more traditional and edgy songs in the past year or so.
Anyways, Don Williams rocks and I'm out...........:D

steveinaz

Well you hard core Country/Western fans need to bear with me for a moment. I'm a city boy, born and raised in Saint Louis, therefore I love jazz and Rock, despise all that which is country---or, used to.

Probably ever since Randy Travis, I've been slowly getting into country. It's been very slow, but I really like the hard driving (**** tonk?) style country of late.

I never did care for, and probably ever won't, for Tammy Wynett, Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, all that "big hair" country that I refer to as "twangy country." But I'm liking the new stuff, alot.

Probably explains why I do not like Alan Jackson---too twangy for me; too much me, my dog, and my truck lyrics. Same for Dwight Yokum (sp?) and the like. I do like much of George Straits stuff, but he's right on the edge of twangy for me.

opus

Yeah, Steve there is a good bunch of Honkytonk music out there but unfortunately like all other genres there is alot of crap that seems to float to the top. I find that the best music is often hidden on the album in favor of the 1 or 2 pop hits. Post what you like and I'm sure you will get many recomendations for other artists. I on the other hand will take a good cheating song set to a waltz anyday.:)

Demiurge

opus wrote:

Wow, I knew that if I waited long enough there would be a postive Country music discussion on Club Polk.:p
Demi, I don't think of Big and Rich as "Country" stars but am curious why you lump Toby into that group also. I like the way he includes a little humor and a lot of attitude into his songs. "Do you think Hank would have done it that way" maybe not but if you throw out a couple of obviously middle of the road sappy balads I think he consistently brings a healthy dose of "I wanna kick your **** country".

As to the amount of "Bubble Gum" country out there I hate it too but I do see a trending toward more traditional and edgy songs in the past year or so.
Anyways, Don Williams rocks and I'm out...........:D

I'll tell you what. I was at my Father's house for some steaks and drinks a couple of weeks ago and he was playing one of Toby Keith's CDs while preparing our meal. The music made me cringe, and I was embarassed to listen to it. It honestly made me feel weird. Maybe he's got more to offer, but that stuff sucked. Believe me Toby and I have similar political views and I love that he's out there carrying that banner, but he simply doesn't play music that I am even remotely interested in. The patrioric thing is laid on so thick it sounds contrived.

I'll be the first to admit I get rather snobbish when it comes to music, and it doesn't come from never having been where he is with his musical tastes now. I would have just been a hell of a lot more happy to be listening to some old time tunes that actually had some soul to it.

I guess that's what I am trying to say -- the country music of today for the most part sounds devoid of soul. You can tap your foot and it sounds good, but does it mean anything? Is there any depth? Music should have some depth, I think.

opus

Demiurge wrote:

I'll tell you what. I was at my Father's house for some steaks and drinks a couple of weeks ago and he was playing one of Toby Keith's CDs while preparing our meal. The music made me cringe, and I was embarassed to listen to it. It honestly made me feel weird. Maybe he's got more to offer, but that stuff sucked. Believe me Toby and I have similar political views and I love that he's out there carrying that banner, but he simply doesn't play music that I am even remotely interested in. The patrioric thing is laid on so thick it sounds contrived.

I'll be the first to admit I get rather snobbish when it comes to music, and it doesn't come from never having been where he is with his musical tastes now. I would have just been a hell of a lot more happy to be listening to some old time tunes that actually had some soul to it.

I guess that's what I am trying to say -- the country music of today for the most part sounds devoid of soul. You can tap your foot and it sounds good, but does it mean anything? Is there any depth? Music should have some depth, I think.

OK:)

Demiurge

haha, best response ever. Rock on, opus!

millerman 3732

steveinaz wrote:

Millerman
Isn't today your birthday?

yep:D I try not to make to big a deal out of it though

Polkersince85

Listen to Vince Gills "Nobody Answered When I called your Name" on a pair of SDA's and count the background singers. Great recording. Just today I picked up a Johnny Cash Greatest Hits album......On a SUN label. Oldie/collectable there.

disneyjoe7

steveinaz wrote:

What's a good Sarah Evan's CD to start with?

Steve,

With over 100 CD for this Country with Pop with a twang, I say Sara Evans - Restless CD is great I would start there.