CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Trouble in Mind

CD-Charts > Music > Roots Rock
by: Hayes Carll

Release Date April 08, 2008
It's nice to enjoy an album that is just plain fun with great guitar and fantastic band playing perfectly with a singer with fascinating lyrics that sometimes make me laugh out loud. If you enjoy a touch of country mixed with a touch of rock and you have a free spirit, this one is truly for you. I particularly love "She Left Me for Jesus", the humor that glides through the song of a poor fellow whose girlfriend tells him she has become saved by Jesus with him confused is pure knock out funny. And a "Girl Downtown" about a simple boy meeting simply girl with plunking guitar is another fun one that is just entertaining fun that sounds great particular with backing vocals that sound like a mature Dolly Parton. There are beautiful songs as well ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings

CD-Charts > Music > Roots Rock
by: Counting Crows

Release Date March 25, 2008
This is a great album, it has almost all the good elements that have made the Counting Crows the most amazing rock 'n roll band in all time. I've really missed the deep Matt Malley's bass guitar. But, you can't have it all, right?

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Dirt Farmer

CD-Charts > Music > Roots Rock
by: Levon Helm

Release Date October 30, 2007
This is my favorite album of the past two years. That 's saying alot because many fine albums have been pressed. However Levon Helm captures the soul of America and sings with a heartfelt passion very seldom heard. Bravo to Leon

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

Chronicle, Vol. 1: The 20 Greatest Hits

CD-Charts > Music > Roots Rock
by: Creedence Clearwater Revival

Release Date October 25, 1990
I saw Creedence Clearwater Revisited last year. That band takes a lot of heat for having a capable Fogerty sound-alike stand in for Fogerty. I understand some fans' complaints about the heart and soul of the music being compromised, but my argument was, and still is, that these songs are timeless gems and are worth hearing no matter who's singing them.

So, on to my review ... this is a very admirable greatest hits CD of one of the best bands of the late sixties. All of my favorite Creedence songs are here, including "Bad Moon Rising," "Lodi," "Run Through The Jungle" and "Travelin' Band." To me Creedence Clearwater Revival is the perfect example of how to be a rock band. Fogerty, the band's principal songwriter, can be serious when he needs to ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

I, Flathead Limited Deluxe Edition

CD-Charts > Music > Roots Rock
by: Ry Cooder

Release Date June 24, 2008
Ry's unexpected trilogy has produced his best work since the 'holy trinity' of the early 70s - Into the Purple Valley/Boomer's Story/Paradise & Lunch.

His literary talents are a real surprise: the book and lyrics are hilarious, moving and very subtle. Twenty years from now they'll be writing theses and trying to track down all the allusions and o-mages. And his voice has never sounded better - at an age when most are paring back the material to suit a reduced vocal range, Ry has found notes he never had before.

The previous one (My Name is Buddy) was very good. This is simply great.

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Just Us Kids

CD-Charts > Music > Roots Rock
by: James McMurtry

Release Date April 15, 2008
I've been listening to McMurtry since he was recording with the support of Mellencamp's band, and I s'pose, the music hasn't changed all that much. Hell, why should it? Each album get's just a little better and James is becoming a more accomplished guitarist. Maybe he is a little negative about our political state, but give a listen, and if you don't agree with the sentiment, then you deserve whatever musical schlock you may be enjoying.

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

A Long Way from Tupelo

CD-Charts > Music > Roots Rock
by: Paul Thorn

Release Date February 19, 2008
This was my first and last Paul Thorn album for me. I had several friends speak highly of his music......guess this is not the album they have. Won't waste my time or money again on him.

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Revival

CD-Charts > Music > Roots Rock
by: John Fogerty

Release Date October 02, 2007
First let me say I think John Fogerty is one of the all time great voices in Rock and Roll. I loved CCR and I think Premonition is a great CD but let's get real. I had great expectations for Revival but one listen and it goes into the case to rarely be played again. Listening to it will only piss me off. Flower power was great when we were 25 and thought that the world would like us if only we were nicer. Enough with the rock stars who haven't matured past the stage of naivety. There are bad folks out there and they want us dead for no bigger sin than envy. I am an American and proud to be so. I am also a veteran and have served my country. I am not sure what qualifies the singer as an expert on foreign or domestic policy.

When we were young we all thought ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

The Boxmasters

CD-Charts > Music > Roots Rock
by: The Boxmasters

Release Date June 10, 2008
I absolutely love 5 songs on the new album, and the rest I'd rate as good-average. I like the concept, the production, the sound and the musicanship. Lyrics are often very witty and funny. My 5 favorites are: The Poor House; She's Lookin' Better By The Minute; I'm Watchin' the Game; That Mountain; Propinquity. These are all excellent!! The Kids Are All Right cover is nice, too.

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

I, Flathead

CD-Charts > Music > Roots Rock
by: Ry Cooder

Release Date June 24, 2008
It takes courage to release a concept album, and something close to mad faith in one's art to release three in succession, as Ry Cooder has.
The concept album is usually an accident waiting to happen, so Ry Cooder is pushing his luck making three in a row.
"I, Flathead" is the concluding part of his 'California Trilogy', following 2005's "Chavez Ravine" and last year's "My Name Is Buddy", and it's a tribute to Cooder's talents that it's a match for either.
More than four decades since he emerged as an electric blues guitarist so highly rated that he turned down an offer to join the Rolling Stones when they looked for a replacement for Brian Jones in the Sixties, Cooder has ploughed a less commercial but hugely rewarding furrow as possibly America's most important ... Read More: