Country reviews, 2006-’13

Gary Allan, Set You Free Gary Allan has long been one of country’s most velvet-voiced beautiful losers. But on Set Me Free he lets the crazy out, howling psychobilly graveyard threats in “Bones,” interrupting a recovery meeting church organ to blame mental ghosts in “It Ain’t The Whiskey,” vegetating in his hotel room while college…

Country Lady Licks, 2004

Fun Fact: The next Elizabeth McQueen and the FireBrands album was an all-pub-rock-covers record, partially inspired by this review! ELIZABETH MCQUEEN & THE FIREBRANDS The Fresh Up Club No confirmation that the two songs addressed to a former love interest no longer in the band concern Asleep at the Wheeler David Sanger, who produced the…

Country Dude Licks, 2003

Toby Keith tests the army’s latest super-secure landline technology. MERLE HAGGARD Like Never Before Merle has no doubt made more beautiful, more political, and jazzier albums, but maybe not all at once, and probably not in the past quarter-century. This one’s two pinnacles might be the best Gulf War II song and best Patriot Act…

Folk Bands in Denial, 2008

Haven’t kept up with any of these bands since — My Americana attention span is not long. Not even sure whether Darius Rucker’s (i.e., the Artist formerly known as Hootie’s) cover of Old Crow Medicine Show’s fleshing out of Dylan’s “Wagon Wheel” made Ketch Secor a rich man. Apparently a lot of it went back…

Scooter review, 2008