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Great Country Music You May Have Overlooked

Ya know..... I usually don't put much of my thought into what the charts say in any given year. There is always (at least to me) much more GOOD Country music, and better music at that, than any radio station is going to offer up. My picks, for what it's worth, are seldom heard on mainstream Country Music Radio. That's not to say radio plays bad tunes, more to the fact that they miss out on some really good Country Music simply by playing what they THINK we want to hear. Here, I will use this area to give you my picks, the ten best Country CDs according to me.... Your opinion will undoubtedly differ, but that's what is so great about music, it is what you like, not what someone tells you you should like! OK, this is actually the top 11 Country Albums since I had a tie for second place!

My first List is simply put, artistically and production-wise what I feel to be some of the most incredible Country Music to be offered up to us this year.

	10. George Canyon - One Good Friend (Universal South)
	9. Aaron Watson - The Honky Tonk Kid (Independent)
	8. Montgomery Gentry - My Town (Sony)
	7. TIE !   Pat Green - Lucky Ones (Republic) and John Arthur Martinez - Lone Starry Night
	6. Adrienne Young - Plow To The End Of The Row (Independent)
	5. BR549 - Tangled In The Pines (Dualtone)
	4. Walt Wilkins - Mustang Island (Independent)
	3. Jason McCoy - Sins, Lies and Angels (Open Road)
	2.Chris Young - I Wish I Was Lyin' (Independent)
	1. Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose (Interscope)

Near Misses - Some reviews done by Rikks Revues of artists you simply must get to know!

Cowboy Jack Clement showed why he should be hailed as one of America's true Americana Music Pioneers. Writing For The Man In Black and many others over the years. I Guess Things Happen That Way is a long overdue CD that is a welcome treat!

Clay Walker gave probably the vocal performance of his career on the CD " A Few Questions" which included the soulful hit "I Can't Sleep".

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band returned in 2004 (Review soon) with Welcome To Woody Creek. This is a solid CD and it sure is great to have John McEuen back with the band.

Be sure to check out the new releases by Mike Clifford. This guy has got a bit of an outlaw wrapped with Good Times! Mike's new CD All Night All Day shows some real promise from this new upstart! Great CD, Read the Rikks Revues review - Click for Mike Clifford review

Charlie Robison's latest CD Good Times is the best of his career. Good Times should be on every Texas music and  Country Music Fans wish list! Read the review here!

Seth Turner is another Country Music singer and songwriter that has a BIG future in the BIZ! Seth Turner writes from the roots of a true cowboy. Songs with messages of good times, forgotten nights and drinkin' abound, Seth Turner is pure country! Check out the review of The Seth Turner demo click here . Look for the review of his newly pressed FULL Length CD coming soon, he tells me it's on it's way!

I am waiting patiently for the next Billy Hurst CD, fingers crossed on that one.

Some rockers showed in 2004 that Country Music really is growing (Up 12 more percent from 2003). Sheryl Crow leaves the rockers life and said she wants to focus on mainly Country Music now. well, if No Depression In Heaven from the Unbroken Circle Carter Family tribute CD is any indication, Country fans will welcome her with Open arms. And what about Uncle Kracker teaming up with Kenny Chesney, TWICE and I was a bit let down that the Kid Rock album released in very late 2003 didn't have 2 discs, 1 hip-hop and one Country like he was thinking of, but there's some great Outlaw country tracks on the CD, and former POISON (Look what the cat dragged in) front man Bret Michaels was at CMA fest this year, and he showcased a bit of his country side, who's next, Alice Cooper?? Ozzy??

Randy Thompson got off to a good start with his CD "That's Not Me" which mixes Americana heart with a pinch of Outlaw. Randy's CD should be on your must get list for sure! Read the review of That's Not Me - Click Here

A real honest-to-God fireman has embarked on a new Journey - The Journey of Country Music, Anthony Michael James' CD "Old Friends" is for sure worth a look . Want to read the review - Anthony Michael James Click Here 

Check out all my reviews: 

Review Category Page     Country Music Reviews    

Names to watch in 2005 - The Best Indie (Independent) Country Music of 2004, Indie Country artists/ Bands to watch for in 2005

Read the Taya Lear Indie CD review.....

Read the Laurelyn Carter Indie CD review.....

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Michael Scott Carpenter

OK, So I head down to Nashville this year for the CMA Festival. Besides all the awesome concerts and shows, I got to meet a great songwriter playing outside on the sidewalk on Broadway. 

Michael Scott Carpenter and I exchange a few words, and I leave with a demo of this guy. The Wilkes County, North Carolina native made his third trip to Nashville in 2004, this time to live! Michael Scott Carpenter plays music from the heart, and although this CD is only a demo with all but one track featuring the man and his guitar only, this is some great stuff. 

So I call the number on the demo CD, why, because this is one of those occasions that I simply had to make you aware of a truly talented singer, and writer. I get to chatting with Michael simply about little or nothing. I mean just a true down-home conversation. Michael shares some info with me and I hang up the phone with a sensation that this guy is a true personable performer with a big future. 

Don't go heading out in Nashville looking for his name in lights just yet. Michael Scott Carpenter teamed up with another artist, a "great guitar player" in Michael's words, in Nashville. Michael Scott Carpenter and David Lee Cooper are now playing under the moniker "Outlaw Country".

34 Year old Carpenter also has an 11 Year old daughter, Samantha who finds it a little hard adjusting to the life with Daddy as a musician, but he says things are going well. 

A few songs on the demo really grabbed me..... among them, "The Man Is Gone" - a tribute song to Dale Earnhardt, and the great track "Mama Don't Cry" which was written from the perspective of Nathan White - A 17 year old teen that was struck by a truck (driven by an intoxicated man), and killed walking home from a school football game.

Be on the lookout for Michael Scott Carpenter, and if you are in the Nashville Area, make sure you try and check out "Outlaw Country" on your travels.

Click Here to return to the 2004 - Year IN Music Home page 

Be sure to check out all of the CD and DVD reviews at Rikks Revues! Great Indie music and some awesome major label stuff.

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To Buy the best in country music, Rikks Revues rekkomends the following online retailers. These links will take you directly to the Country Music Section of each retailer.

Amazon.com   Amazon.ca   Amazon.co.uk   TowerRecords.com
 Buy.com     JR.com    WalMart.com

Independent Country Music Retailers

CD Baby.com Music-Utopia.com

Country Music Clubs

Get 12 Free Country CD's (plus shipping and handling)

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