Reviews

Since the release of their album, "Diamonds & Gasoline" early in 2011, The Turnpike Troubadours have been steadily expanding the business. Lead singer/songwriter Evan Felker and the rest of the band are playing more shows in more places all the time, including several recent appearances in Abilene. With the release of their latest CD "Goodbye Normal Street", expect more growth from this unique group of guys.

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If there were ever a rock and roll story that could be told over and over, it's that of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Finally, tour manager Ron Eckerman has written what could be the most in-depth book about Skynyrd and the players in the band. Eckerman's new book, 'Turn It Up!: Love, Life and Death, Southern Rock Style' uncovers details about the band that lived the rock and roll dream and defined rock and roll tragedy.

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Music fans, fellow songwriters and critics alike tend to agree that Ryan Bingham is deserving of a spot on the short list of the best singer/songwriters of this generation. And the Oscar and Golden Globe Award-winning troubadour is back at it with his 4th studio offering, 'Tomorrowland', a CD that does not disappoint.

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Some good movies inspire endless repeat viewings. I've seen 'Citizen Kane' several dozen times; I've watched 'Ghostbusters' at least twice that. Then there are other good movies for which one viewing is enough for an entire lifetime. Films like 'Requiem For a Dream' and 'Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom' are powerful works of art -- perhaps too powerful and too overwhelming in their depictions of death, misery and human cruelty to endure more than once. 'Amour,' the new film from Michael Haneke, falls into the latter category. I am glad I saw it -- and hope I never see it again.

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Dark and volatile are this year's black in country music, and Miranda Lambert reminds fans she is still the lead diva of danger with a new single called 'Mama's Broken Heart.' Her performance is every bit as enjoyably unstable as previous hits like 'Kerosene' and 'Gunpowder and Lead.' When she's mercurial, she's magic. 

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On 'Wagon Wheel,' Darius Rucker brings his signature sense of urgency to a modern classic that has been living just beneath the surface of mainstream success for nearly a decade. Old Crow Medicine Show turned the song into a gold single. Rucker's version -- although more polished than the original -- will have equal success in a fraction of the eight years it took OCMS.

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Mumford and Sons' honest and revealing lyrics give their hit song 'I Will Wait' a shot with a genre that is typically nervous around outsiders. The folk-rockers from England have offered their gold single to country radio four months after releasing it as the lead single from their Grammy-nominated 'Babel' album. 

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Train's collaboration with Pistol Annie Ashley Monroe feels random, but the marriage of two very different vocal styles makes 'Bruises' a captivating listen. The forever sympathetic Monroe was a perfect choice for this class reunion-type song. While it might not be the official reason her solo album was pushed back to 2013, it's certainly a good reason.

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Without the expressions and the palpable tension between characters, songs from 'Nashville' lose their edge. Flaws otherwise hidden by the drama step forward to dilute your favorite moments from the ABC drama.

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Don't trust that grapefruit-sized flower growing from RaeLynn's platinum blonde hair. This girl and her first single 'Boyfriend' are absolute country trouble with a capital "T." But rarely has trouble sounded this much fun.

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Aaron Watson is a real guy. Every time you hear him talk, you know you're going to get a straight story from him. This no-nonsense, independent, and hard-working approach to his music has won over fans in the blue collar southwest. The man known as the 'Honky Tonk Kid' is on top of the Texas music world, and shows no signs of giving up his foothold with the release of his eleventh CD, 'Real Good Time'.

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It didn't take much -- maybe just a pinch or a skosh -- but the spice added to Easton Corbin's new song 'All Over the Road' will leave fans and followers looking at him a bit differently. It's wholesome enough to be mother-approved, but saucy enough to leave daughters interested.

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