The Gobblers Knob

Down by The Ol’ Mainstream has been a not-too occasional feature here on the Knob, but you’ll likely see it more.  My goal is to spotlight worthy releases that have a bit more polish to them than the normal music I blab about. Check the “categories” on the left of the page for others in this series. 

I’ll admit it, I watched the CMT show Can You Duet this past summer.  This is gonna sound crazy…real crazy, but there was some serious talent on that show, and for once, the artists that had real talent ended up making it to the end.  I did have my issues with the show.  The judges (Naomi Judd being one of them) were corny and painfully obvious in their attempt to be American Idol clones.  Also, they manipulated certain teams to form new duos and I just felt that was a bit too much meddling and took away from the point of the show.  Having said that, a pair that almost won the thing and needed no meddling from the judges was the hubby/wife combo of Joey + Rory. 

Joey Martin and Rory Feek quickly signed to Sugar Hill Records and have recently released The Life of a Song.I can only hope is sign of things to come for Top 40 Country. Martin (the female half of the duo) sings lead to great effect with her sultry, twangy style. With piano and fiddle driven Honky-Tonk numbers like “Cheater-Cheater” and “Tune of a Twenty Dollar Bill” that have the energy and spunk of some of Mary Chapin-Carpenter’s hits from the 90′s (think “I Feel Lucky” or “Down at the Twist & Shout”) and slower, softer tracks like “Say Goodbye”, “Sweet Emmylou”, and “Loved the Hell” that bring to mind some of Trisha Yearwood’s more memorable ballads for thier drama and strong, emotional resonance (think “Song Remembers When” or “Walk Away Joe”).  Perhaps you noticed that the two artists I mentioned are ones that enjoyed their commercial hey-days in the 90′s.  Sadly, those are talented artists that continue to make solid music yet do not receive much attention for it.

I guess you could say that I am nervous that this album will not make the big splash that it deserves to make as a result of being so true, heartfelt and most of all, country. There are some great and fairly new artists that are attempting to bring some semblance of tradition back to the mainstream such as Jamey Johnson, Ashton Shepherd and even Zac Brown to a lesser degree. Perhaps with the addition of Joey + Rory to this collection, we will continue to see more artists making the records that aren’tashamed of actually showcasing piano, fiddle and pedal steel as primary sounds and not just merely background dressing. See? Reality TV isn’t so bad!