Are you a George Jones guy in a Garth Brooks world? A Loretta Lynn gal trying to understand why people still call Shania Twain a "country" artist?

Well, then this website is for you! Here's your chance to read all about Nashville pop, from the late-'50s "Nashville Sound" and the "countrypolitan" scene of the '70s to today's chart-toppers and pretty-boy hat acts, seen through the lens of DJ Joe Sixpack, a hick music know-it-all with a heart of gold...

Your comments and suggestions are welcome, particularly suggestions for artists or albums I might have missed. Other types of twang are reviewed elsewhere in my Hick Music Guide.

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Pam Gadd & Porter Wagoner "Something To Brag About" (Gusto Records, 2004)
Hillbilly old-timer Porter Wagoner had a soft spot for singing duets with purty gals -- first he had Norma Jean as his partner, then Dolly Parton, and later Pam Gadd, of the band Wild Rose. Porter sounds pretty washed-up here, but Gadd puts in a good performance. Good songs, but you can easily find better records by both of these artists singing solo, and they never really click as duet partners. You could pass on this one, unless you're really a super-duper dedicated fan.


Pamela Rose Gadd & Porter Wagoner "22 Country And Gospel Duets" (Tee Vee Records, 2007)



Chris Gaines - see Garth Brooks



Pat Garrett -- see artist profile


Glen Garrison "Country! Country!" (Imperial Records, 1967) (LP)
(Produced by Scott Turner)

An ex-rockabilly rebel-gone-West Coast country singer who sounds stylistically and vocally very much like Buck Owens, Garrison only had two songs chart in the Top 100, including "Goodbye Swingers," off this album, which hit #72. Despite the lack of commercial success, this is still fun stuff. If you like vintage Buck Owens, there's no reason not to like this album, too... Even Buck agreed: he wrote the liner notes, opining on the differences between Hollywood and Nashville country. Garrison certainly seems like an artist ripe for reissue, particularly if anyone wanted to collect his earlier rock'n'roll records, which for years have only been available on far-flung rockabilly comps.


Glen Garrison "If I Lived Here: The Country Soul Of Glen Garrison" (Imperial Records, 1968) (LP)
(Produced by Scott Turner)


Matt Gary "I'm Just Sayin' " (EP) (Quarterback Records, 2010)
I could see this guy making it big. This indie-released EP is very faithful to generic, guy-oriented, modern Nashville pop-country conventions: there are the ringing, vaguely U2-ish electric guitars, the appeals to nostalgia and simple virtues (as on "The Days You Live For" which evokes milestones such as buying your first car and saying "I do" at the altar...) and even a novelty number that's so dumb that it might just be a hit ("Can't Take Her Anywhere" in which his girlfriend isn't very portable not because she's difficult or weird, but because she's so freakin' hot, that everyone always flips out whenever she's around...) Gary doesn't have the world's greatest voice, but he sounds about as "okay" as most of the other dudes in the Top Country charts today; a little bit of extra ooompf on the mix, and he's golden. I'm sure there are about a bazillion well-produced demos just like this out there these days, but I'm still curious to see how things go for this guy. Only time will tell!



Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers - see artist discography


Keith Gattis "Keith Gattis" (RCA Records, 1995)
(Produced by Norro Wilson)

Well, alright!! Now and then you hear this-or-that modern country singer praised as a neo-trad, back-to-basics kinda guy, but Keith Gattis really delivered the goods. On the opening track, appropriately titled "Real Deal," he goes full-on George Jones, and spends the rest of the record splitting his time between his sounding like early-'70s Jones and hinting at a bit of Buck Owens. The music's great, the songs are great, his vocals are strong and the commitment is there... All around, this disc is as potent a twangfest as you could expect from modern-day Nashville, be it in 1993 or any other year. A surprisingly strong record that lives up to its reputation.


Keith Gattis "Big City Blues" (Smith Music Group, 2003)


Crystal Gayle "The Best Of Crystal Gayle" (Curb Records, 1993)
Think how scary it must have been to be Crystal Gayle... You're Loretta Lynn's kid sister, and in the mid-1970s ya emerge out of the lower rungs of the Country Top 40 to become a super-duper superstar in your own right, epitomizing the height of 70's pop-country cheesiness... Then, when you make a few sad little stabs at sounding country again (as heard here on songs like "Heart Mender" and "River Road"), you're brutally punished in the sales charts... This disc is an interesting collection, which hopscotches back and forth between her pre- and post-"Brown Eyes Blue" recordings, including a few less well-known tracks from the early '70s that show a slightly rootsier side to her work than we normally hear... In a sense -- a very limited sense -- I guess this could be considered her "true" country record... At any rate, it was thoughtfully assembled with an ear for material that Gayle's regular fan base might not know that well. The sci-fi-ish "We Must Believe In Magic," which closes off the disc, is a real disaster, though... But other that that, this disc has some interesting surprises.


Crystal Gayle "The Best Of Crystal Gayle" (Rhino Records, 2002)
The ultimate, horrible conclusion of the whole super-posh, pretentious torch song tendencies of the countrypolitan scene. Yeesh. If you've heard "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" (which, I hate to admit, I still sort of like, in a pit-of-my-stomach sick kinda way...) well, then you've heard the best she can do. The rest of her hits follow the same formula, but they aren't as good. I am horrified to find out how many of the other songs I actually dimly recall hearing at one time or another. And they called this stuff "country"? Brrrrrrr. Scary.


Ashley Gearing "Maybe It's Time" (Squeeze Records, 2006)
(Produced by Cliff Downs)

The lone record by this youthful performer... Sort of a "lost album" of early 21st Century top-country, this came out on an indie label but has all the hallmarks of the major label chart-toppers in an era when Sara Evans and Martina McBride still reigned supreme: plenty of gooey romantic ballads slathered with bombastic pop arrangements, sounding more influenced by contemporary R&B than by old-school C&W. Even the twangy numbers go overboard, with American Idol-style soul vocalese and really bad electric guitar solos. I'm sure for some super-fans of the style this is a real gem, but for me it was real torture. Terrible music combined with no sense of restraint or self-editing, although Gearing does seem like a very earnest performer.



Bobbie Gentry - see artist discography


Gary Gentry "Greatest Hits" (Saico Records, 2005)
A Texas songwriter who had a couple of Back Forty singles in the early 1980s... Not sure what vintage these recordings are, but he sure is looking long in the tooth on the album cover... Guess he went kind of novelty/outlaw... and indie, too... as these albums would suggest.


Gary Gentry "Biker Songs: Biker Heroes And Hell Raisers" (Laughing Hyena Records, 2008)


Gary Gentry "Trucker Songs" (Laughing Hyena Records, 2008)


Tom Ghent "Tom Ghent" (Tetragrammaton Records, 1969) (LP)


Tom Ghent "Yankee's Rebel Son" (Kapp Records, 1971) (LP)


Tom Ghent "All Strings Attached" (Sutherland Records, 1983) (LP)


Terri Gibbs "The Best Of Terri Gibbs" (MCA Records, 1985)
Amazingly, even though she was a pretty huge star in the early 1980s radioscape, singer-pianist Terri Gibbs has all but dropped off the face of the planet, as far as the availability of her music goes. This best-of set is the only best-of set that ever came out on CD(!), at least so far. I'm guessing that either she ruffled some major feathers when she turned to Christian pop, or maybe that after she left the pop world, she put a block on her old hits staying in print. Or, maybe the public tastes just changed, and her brand of slick, synthy country-pop just isn't of interest anymore. At any rate, Gibbs' music is mysteriously hard to find these days... I don't expect that'll last forever, though.


Terri Gibbs "Somebody's Knockin' " (MCA Records, 1981) (LP)


Terri Gibbs "I'm A Lady" (MCA Records, 1981) (LP)


Terri Gibbs "Some Days It Rains All Night Long" (MCA Records, 1982) (LP)


Terri Gibbs "Over Easy" (MCA Records, 1983) (LP)


Terri Gibbs "Old Friends" (Warner Brothers, 1985) (LP)


Terri Gibbs "Turnaround" (Canaan Records, 1987) (LP)


Terri Gibbs "Comfort The People" (Canaan Records, 1988)


Terri Gibbs "What A Great Day" (Morning Gate Records, 1990)



Don Gibson - see artist discography


The Gibson/Miller Band "Where There's Smoke" (Epic Records, 1992)
(Produced by Doug Johnson & Bill Miller)

Dave Gibson and Bill Miller had a handful of modest hits, most of which are on this disc. "High Rollin'," which kicks off the album, was their only song to crack the Top Twenty; everything else was tucked away further down the charts... They were likeable enough, though, with a formulaic but palpably heartfelt blend of Southern rock and hard-ish country... Confederate Railroad, Travis Tritt and ZZ Top come to mind as touchpoints, and while some songs are a little too safe-sounding, others might get your toes tapping. Worth checking out, but mostly if you're on the Southern/Country tip to begin with...


The Gibson/Miller Band "Red, White & Blue Collar" (Epic Records, 1994)


Brantley Gilbert "Modern Day Prodigal" (Valory Music, 2009/2011)
(Produced by Brantley Gilbert & Jeremy Medkiff)

Songwriter Brantley Gilbert is one of those dudes who's had a real up-and-down relationship with Music City. This album was originally scheduled for release in 2006, but got shelved for a few years until it came out on the independent Average Joe's, and was finally picked up by the Valory label for more mainstream distribution. Nutty, huh?


Brantley Gilbert "Halfway To Heaven" (Average Joe's Entertainment, 2010)



Vince Gill - see artist discography



Mickey Gilley - see artist discography


Billy Gilman "One Voice" (Epic Records, 2000)
(Produced by Blake Chancey, Don Cook & David Malloy)

Awwww... a 12-year old kiddie country crooner. Iddn't dat cute? It's Nashville's answer to Hanson...! Or... Donny Osmond, even. As a singer, Gilman has remarkable control of his phrasing, and even a degree of expressiveness that belies his years... However, he founders on romantic ballads (just too young), and his style is too derivative of the Whitney Houston/Star Search/American Idol soul school to be taken credibly as true country music. His perky spins around pop oldies such as "Little Bitty Pretty One" and "Little Things" are cheery enough. The title track, an inspirational religious ballad, is the album's creative centerpiece, but if you ain't on either that wavelength, or into the novelty act aspect, there really isn't much going on here that will stick to your ribs.


Billy Gilman "Classic Christmas" (Sony-Epic Records, 2000)
(Produced by Blake Chancey, Don Cook & David Malloy)

Yeesh. Yeesh. Yeesh. And anyway, whatever happened to Billy Gilman...? Did his voice change or something? Anyway, the kid was all of twelve years old when this album came out, and for a child star, his phrasing and vocal control are impressive (I guess...) but honestly, he's just too young to put much sincere emotion into any of these songs -- it's just a well-produced, glitzy "Star Search"-ish pop outing, too cutesy by half. And not very "country," either... Sounds more like like Harry Connick, Jr. than Hank Williams.


Billy Gilman "Dare To Dream" (Epic Records, 2001)
(Produced by Blake Chancey, Don Cook & David Malloy)

It seems a bit odd saying that this album has more "depth" than his debut: both are super-fluffy, and popped-out prefab in a way that I find extremely tacky, and unlistenably soulless. Yet, be that as is may, this is a better produced album -- the arrangements are more complex, the mix is more textured, Gilman seems slightly more sophisticated as a singer. He's still too young and emotionally inexperienced to really carry these tunes, but there's less emphasis on his cutesy novelty status, and more songs that give him at least the opportunity to appear as more of a vocalist and less of a post-Millennial Shirley Temple. Still, I don't think this really works as music -- I'd like to wait until the kid's voice changes and he makes his first album as a young adult, and reserve final judgment until then. Check back with me in the year 2009...


Billy Gilman "Music Through Heartsongs" (Epic Records, 2003)


Billy Gilman "Everything And More" (Image Entertainment, 2005)
(Produced by Sandy Linzer)

...Well, okay, how about 2005? After the novelty wore off, Gilman faded from sight for several years, sorting out what he characterizes as personal doubts... On his return disc, as a full-fledged adolescent, Gilman unveils his new voice, still youthful and thin, but presumably settled down after breaking with puberty, with a range that places him squarely in the Emerson Drive-ish boy band style... He's also found religion: although there are some good secular songs on here, the album is preponderantly inspirational and perhaps we can assume that religion helped Gilman sort out the pressures associated with being so famous so young in life. The opening track, a secular love song called "Something To Do With That," shows Gilman is top form, and could easily make it into the charts, even if the rest of the album is very pop and not very country. Even if a mainstream commercial comeback isn't in the offing, I'm sure he'll find an eager audience among faith-based listeners. Fans of his old albums will not be disappointed.


Billy Gilman "Billy Gilman" (Image Entertainment, 2008)
(Produced by Sandy Linzer)


Billy Gilman "My Time On Earth" (Sony-BMG Records, 2007)
A collection of songs from his two Epic albums...


Girls Next Door "The Girls Next Door" (MTM Records, 1986) (LP)


Girls Next Door "What A Girl Next Door Could Do" (MTM Records, 1987)


Girls Next Door "How 'Bout Us?" (Atlantic Records, 1990)


The Jim Glaser Singers "Old Time Christmas Singing" (Starday Records, 1961-?) (LP)


Jim Glaser & The Americana Folk Trio "Just Looking For A Home" (Starday Records, 1962-?) (LP)


The Jim Glaser Singers "Country Spectacular Live From The Stage In Nashville" (Wyncote Records, 1964-?) (LP)


Jim Glaser "Man In The Mirror" (MCA/Noble Vision Records, 1983)
A more modern solo album by Jim Glaser, younger brother of Tompall Glaser and one-third of the Glaser Brothers family band. This album includes his #1 hit, "You're Gettin' To Me Again."


Jim Glaser "Past The Point Of No Return" (MCA/Noble Vision Records, 1984) (LP)


Jim Glaser "Everybody Knows I'm Yours" (MCA/Noble Vision Records, 1985) (LP)


Jim Glaser "Me And My Dream" (Solitaire Records, 2003)



Tompall Glaser & The Glaser Brothers - see artist discography


Gloriana "Gloriana" (Emblem Records, 2009)
Hyper-poppy -- and hyper-popular -- Top-40 country featuring four-part harmonies (two guys, two gals) that are carefully sculpted to sound like a mildly twangier Fleetwood Mac. Aside from the strummy-acoustic '70s-style tunes, there are also plenty of bombastic, wall-of-sound Nashville moments, with wailing vocals atop oceanic orchestrations. Not my cup of tea? Gee, how'd you guess? The sleek sounding Fleetwood-izations are okay, but I think I'd rather just dig out an old copy of Rumors instead: this is like getting into EMF when what you really wanted was a New Order album. Oh! I almost forgot to mention that reality show gal Cheyenne Kimball is a bandmember, for what that's worth.


Gloriana "A Thousand Miles Left Behind" (Emblem Records, 2012)
(Produced by Matt Serletic)

Cheerful but generic country-pop from this nearly-chart-topping band... This is gentle, pleasant, catchy stuff, a set of sweet, romantic pop songs, with wistful melodies, yearning lyrics, and sugary, prefab twang. It's not quite my style but I appreciate the lack of macho posturing and phony nostalgia for a mythic small-town world, the stuff that clutters up so many other contemporary Nashville albums. Rather than beckon you back into a Mayberry filled with gun-racks, pickup trucks and empty beer bottles, Gloriana are content to ask you to gaze into a lover's eyes. Nothing wrong with that!


Danny Gokey "My Best Days" (RCA Nashville/19 Recordings, 2010)


William Lee Golden "American Vagabond" (MCA Records, 1986)
A solo album from William Lee Golden, a booming-voiced member of the Oak Ridge Boys...


William Lee Golden "My Life's Work" (Golden & Halsey Records, 2000)


Noah Gordon "I Need A Break" (Capitol Records, 1995)



Vern Gosdin - see artist discography


Brian Gowan "Warm Spanish Wine" (2001)
The first solo set by songwriter Brian Gowan who was half of the short-lived duo of Blake & Brian, and composer of several songs recorded by Top 40 star Rodney Atkins...


Brian Gowan "Day One" (GMG Records, 2005)


Brian Gowan "I Am Strong" (Designs Of Hope Records)
I'm not sure, but I think this was a fundraiser for a children's cancer research program... The music may also have been pitched at a younger audience...


Josh Gracin "Josh Gracin" (Lyric Street Records, 2004)
(Produced by Marty Williams)

Yet another American Idol alumnus muscling his way onto the charts... Gracin is aided by huge, lavish production, some of it pretty silly-sounding, and most of it very by-the-numbers. The first single, "I Want To Live," shamelessly lifts a Led Zeppelin guitar riff; many of the songs have sugary, jittery pop-isms worthy of boy-band country acts like Rascal Flatts and Emerson Drive, although to his credit it must be said that Gracin is able to muster a bit more vigor than any of those wimpier singers. This is all tremendously fake and prefab, but it works well, given the formulae. Be interesting to see if his career really goes anywhere.


Josh Gracin "We Weren't Crazy" (Lyric Street Records, 2008)
(Produced by Marty Williams & Brett James)

Super-overproduced pop-country with merciless waves of over-sculpted, antiseptic, tightly woven studio-generated hooks, packed with mathematically precise beats and plenty of neutered, harmless electric guitars... I suppose if you're used to hearing this stuff on a regular basis, it might be an irresistible formula, but I gotta say I have listened to a lot of Top Country, and I still find records like this to be irritating and soulless. Usually I can find at least a few tunes on a Top 40 record that I can get into, here there was nothing. Gracin has been decisively cast as a "chick" singer, putting his market-tested "feelings" on his sleeve and singing in a remarkably torturous warble: God, I feel sorry for anyone who has to listen to this longer than a few seconds. Two funny moments stand out: in the vaguely-creepy stalker/love song "Invisible," Gracin declares his devotion by saying that he'd "ride shotgun with you all the way to work/just to watch you walk in the door" (Riding shotgun with a chick driving? Dude!) and the chorus of the title track where he swallows the "n't" every time, so it sounds like he's saying the exact opposite of what he means: isn't there anyone at the label who can offer him a little constructive criticism about this kinda thing? Anyway, this is definitely not my kind of country record, although I suspect I'm really not the target audience...


Josh Gracin "Redemption" (Average Joe's Entertainment, 2011)
(Produced by Josh Gracin & Kevin Murphy)


Tammy Graham "Tammy Graham" (Career Records, 1997)
(Produced by Barry Beckett)


Billy Grammer "Gotta Travel On: The Very Best Of Billy Grammer" (Collectables Records, 1998/2006)
Guitarist Billy Grammer was a popular sideman and studio player throughout the 1960s and '70s... He was also a successful solo performer, starting his recording career with his biggest hit, a jaunty, rollicking version of the folk-tinged "Gotta Travel On," which rose to #5 on the charts in 1959. He also had a hit with Bobby Bare's "Detroit City," while the early '60s folk boom was still in full swing, although chart success became more elusive after that... This is a strong best-of set that gathers some of his early stuff, including a bunch of instrumental tracks that show his chops as an axe-man. Nice introduction to his work!


Gil Grand "Famous First Words" (Sony Records, 1998)


Gil Grand "Burnin' " (Royalty Records, 2004)


Gil Grand "Somebody's Someone" (Royalty Records, 2006)


Claude Gray "Songs Of Broken Love Affairs" (Mercury Records, 1961) (LP)
A delightfully corny, richly robust set, the debut album by Texas baritone Claude Gray, with his two biggest hits, "I'll Just Have Another Cup Of Coffee (Then I'll Go)" and "My Ear Should Burn (When Fools Are Talked About)" and ten other tunes of equal caliber. The backup is pleasantly kitschy, with a treble-happy, echo-y steel guitar flitting about in contrast to Gray's deep, stolid vocals. It's nice stuff, kind of like the music Ferlin Husky might have made if he'd hung on to his testicles, rather than going all soft-pop so early on. There are a lot of swell, lesser-known tunes on here, such as John D. Loudermilk's "You Take The Table (And I'll Take The Chairs)" or his searing rendition of the old Johnny Bond weeper, "Your Old Love Letters." Nice album -- someone oughta reissue Gray's work on CD one of these days.


Claude Gray "Sings" (Decca Records, 1967) (LP)


Claude Gray "Best Of The Best" (Federal Records, 2002)


Claude Gray "His Very Best" (K-Tel Records, 2008)


Damon Gray "Lookin' For Trouble" (Broken Bow Records, 2000)


David Gray "Signature" (BMG-BFE Records, 1993)
(Produced by Mick Lloyd, Mike Daniel & Ken Little)


Mark Gray "Magic" (Columbia Records, 1984) (LP)


Mark Gray "This Ol' Piano" (Columbia Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Montgomery & Steve Buckingham)

This is halfway okay. The album alternates between moderately catchy, uptempo pop-country tunes (with a slightly synthy gloss) and slower, torturous ballads. The slow songs have a Michael McDonald-ish feel, and they are just horrifyingly awful. This includes his duet with Tammy Wynette, cover of "Sometimes When We Touch" (yikes) which proved to be his biggest career hit, reaching #6 on the charts. But you can see where this is headed, though, right?


Mark Gray "That Feeling Inside" (Columbia Records, 1986) (LP)
(Produced by Steve Buckingham & Mark Gray)

Absolutely dreadful '80s country, slick, soulless and full of intrusive, tinkly piano riffs and sterile, tinny electric guitars. Oh, and cheesy vocals. Lots of those, too. Reminds me of Lee Greenwood, or Kenny (Sauron) Rogers, which are not complimentary comparisons in my book. Really, there's not a single track on here that I'd recommended, and a couple that I can't stand to listen to. His R&B rave-up version of "Walking After Midnight" is particularly cringeworthy and embarrassing...


Mark Gray "I Still Need Him" (Mark Gray Music, 2011)
A gospel album...


Jack Grayson "A Loser's Night Out" (Koala Records, 1981) (LP)
Singer Jack Grayson released one sleek, slinky rockabilly-pop single back in 1959, and reemerged in the early '70s with the first of several singles that appeared in the country Back 40 over the next decade or so. His biggest hit was his cover of the Percy Sledge oldie, "When A Man Loves A Woman," which went to #18 on the Country charts... Grayson wasn't a particularly impressive vocalist, working mainly in a light style of Nashville Sound retro... It's a little hard to place his similarities, but after a while I figured Hank Locklin was a good match. This isn't earthshaking material, but it's nice in a nostalgic way: it would be nice to see a cross-label retrospective of his work someday, covering the major label stuff as well as the indie records.


Jack Grayson "When A Man Loves A Woman" (Koala Records, 1982) (LP)


Jack Grayson "Jack Grayson Sings" (Joe-Wes Records, 1982) (LP)


Great Divide "Goin' For Broke" (Campfire Records, 1995)


Great Divide "Break In The Storm" (Warner Brothers, 1998)


Great Divide "Revolutions" (Atlantic Nashville, 1999)


Great Divide "Afterglow: The Will Rogers Sessions" (Broken Bow Records, 2000)


Great Divide "Dirt And Spirit" (Broken Bow Records, 2001)


Great Divide "Remain" (Thirty Tigers Records, 2002)


Great Divide "Under Your Own Sun" (Time Records, 2005)


Great Plains "Great Plains" (Columbia Records, 1991)


Great Plains "Homeland" (Magnatone Records, 1996)



Lloyd Green -- see artist discography



Pat Green -- see artist discography



Jack Greene - see artist discography



Lee Greenwood - see artist discography


Ricky Lynn Gregg "Ricky Lynn Gregg" (Liberty Records, 1993)


Ricky Lynn Gregg "Get A Little Closer" (Liberty Records, 1994)


Ricky Lynn Gregg "Careful What You Wish For" (Row Music, 2001)



Clinton Gregory - see artist discography


Terry Gregory "The Handshake Years Anthology" (Renaissance Records, 2005)
Pretty much the complete works of this Top Forty back-bencher... Her biggest single, "Just Like Me," hit #15 on the charts, but even with numerous follow-ups, she never quite clicked with the bigtime... This collection reveals her as a pretty modest talent, alternately yearning and sincere or a bit overconfident and lofty (as on her cover of "Stand By Your Man," a song that requires a real belter, and not a Maureen McGovern wannabee...) A couple of tunes, like "I Need Another Lover (Like A Hole In The Heart)" have a perky lightness that's in keeping with some of the funner, sillier side of '70s country, but mostly this is pretty stuffy material, more geared towards the sappiest Top 40 AOR of the time, and a few dips into the nascent synth-country sound of the early '80s. Not my cup of tea, but I'm sure there are some devoted fans out there who will be psyched to find these old, hard-to-find indie recordings all in one place.


Terry Gregory "Terry Gregory" (Handshake Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Mark Sherrill)


Terry Gregory "Just Like Me" (Handshake Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Mark Sherrill)


Terry Gregory "From The Heart" (Handshake Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Mark Sherrill)



Ray Griff - see artist discography


Glenda Griffith "Glenda Griffith" (Ariola Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Don Henley & Jim Ed Norman)

A very, very, very LA in-crowd album with backing by a sizeable portion of The Eagles (Don Henley on drums, Don Felder and Joe Walsh playing guitar and Eagles producer Bill Szymczyk mixing the tracks...) as well as Carole King playing piano on a couple of songs and contributing a song called "Eagle," as well as a whole slew of folks from the Southern California soft-rock/country-rock studio scene in tow: Karla Bonoff, Valerie Carter, Danny Korchmar, J.D. Souther, Waddy Wachtel, et. al. Griffith seems to have been a particular protege of Danny O'Keefe, recording four of his songs and getting him to back her on one track; she herself contributes two originals to the repertoire. This is mostly a '70 pop record, in a lush, sometimes overripe Carole King/Carly Simon-esque mode, though with enough hints of twang to qualify it for mention here... The songs featuring the Eagles dudes sound very Eagles-y, with specific riffs and production touches that are lifted straight from the Hotel California playbook, just with a gal singing rather than Henley and his peeps. Really, though, I guess this is more of a buyer-beware review: I kept seeing this popping up in country bins and finally had to check it out, but there isn't really much twang on it. Her cover of Marty Robbins' "Don't Worry About Me" spotlights Sneaky Pete Kleinow on pedal steel and has a nice, plinky honky-tonk vibe, though her vocals are underwhelming; some nice steel work on O'Keefe's "Quits," which appropriately enough closes the album out.



Nanci Griffith - see artist discography


Andy Griggs "You Won't Ever Be Lonely" (RCA Records, 1998)
The perfect balance of pretty-boy image and hard-country grit, all anchored by Griggs's good natured, masculine drawl. This is a very enjoyable album, with a real country feel and plenty of clever, compelling songwriting. Griggs even lightly treads into territory that has become the bane of modern Nashville -- sensitive-stud chickbait weepers and "issue songs" -- and walks away the winner. The title song, which he cowrote, is a great romantic ballad, while the next track, "Waiting On Sundown," addresses domestic violence while succeeding as a pop song (and a very steamy one, at that!) in which a younger man helps an older woman escape her abusive husband. Even the obligatory, southern rockish, I-scratch-myself-in-public, he-man honkytonk tunes are first rate... In fact, the only song that doesn't work on here is the jittery, house-rockin' cover of "Ain't Livin' Long Like This..." But hey, even if he falls on his face, covering a Rodney Crowell tune is more than enough to make up for it... As far as the late '90s Nashville scene goes, this disc's a winner, definitely worth checking out.


Andy Griggs "Freedom" (RCA Records, 2002)
Yawnsville... in a big, big way. What a drag, that an artist who started out his career so playful and full of old-fashioned country grit would wind up doing one of these wanky, overwritten, post-millennial High Concept, high gloss pop-country outings. He still has a great voice, but these songs are just too darn overblown. One after another; boom boom boom. The closest thing to a plain old, straight-ahead catchy country song is the ballad, "Tonight I Wanna Be Your Man," which is pretty sappy, but not quite as lofty and poetic as the rest of the disc. I sure wish he'd go back to going back to basics: he was really good at it!


Andy Griggs "This I Gotta See" (BMG-RCA Records, 2004)
(Produced by Randy Scruggs)

For an old-fashioned, hard country fan like me, an album like this is nigh unbearable: it's bland and flat-sounding, while simultaneously floridly overproduced... Griggs is basically a pin-up artist: a clean-shaven pretty-boy with perfectly-coiffed, dusty blonde-highlighted hair, and a rather questionable voice. And yet, there is an interesting aspect to his work: Griggs is the latest in a line of purposefully(?) imperfect singers, who use their rough edges as a selling point, picking up the torch that Hank, Jr. has laid down. In Griggs's case, it's both an asset and a liability: he does manage to make himself stand out from the crowd, and the more maudlin, emotive aspects of his work come out quite prominently, which is a plus when you're building a career on slushy romantic tunes like "My Kind Of Beautiful," "Why Do I Still Want You" and "She Thinks She Needs Me." Griggs's reading of these lyrics is so amazingly clumsy that you are compelled to listen to every word he sings, so in a sense, I guess it works. Still, the neutered Southern rock guitars, buried under an avalanche of lifeless, studio-perfect production, and all his other Travis Tritt-isms consign Griggs to an eternity of artistic mediocrity, no matter what his momentary chart success may be.


Andy Griggs "The Good Life" (Montage Music, 2008)
Like many modern-day Nashvillers, Griggs had a short shelf life: he seemed next big-thingish in '98, but nowadays if you can't hit the top of the charts, the major labels lose interest pretty quickly. So, like a lot of contemporary country singers who've been chewed up and spat out by the Music City powers that be, he went indie. This album didn't chart, but fans might still want to check it out.


Andy Griggs "Naked" (Little Hannel Records, 2013)
I'm still underwhelmed by Griggs' vocals, but it's kind of neat to hear an all-acoustic album from someone whose career was so powerfully defined by slick, modern overproduction. If nothing else, this gives us some insight into how Nashville producers sculpt and (pre)package their artists. None of the songs stood out for me, but it's still an interesting change of pace.


Bonnie Guitar "Dark Moon" (Bear Family Records, 1991)
In her way, Bonnie Guitar was an iconic, groundbreaking female performer and musical entrepreneur... As a guitarist, she cracked into the Nashville and Los Angeles studio scenes, and is featured on numerous pop and pop-vocals albums; she also had considerable success as a solo artist in her own right. In addition, she was a pioneering DIY-er, starting her own record label (Dophin/Dolton records, which she sold after a few years), all of which was pretty remarkable for a gal in the Eisenhower/Kennedy era. As a musician, however, particularly as a country musician, I find her pretty underwhelming, pretty much epitomizing the snoozy, lethargic pop sound of the time. This collection showcases a bunch of her early stuff (though not necessarily her biggest hits...) Doesn't do much for me. There are also a bunch of original albums, but they strike me as too "pop" to list here... Even though she charted as a country artist, there's precious little twang to be heard in her work.


Randy Gurley "Let Me Be The One" (ABC Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Harold Bradley)

This was the lone album by gal singer Randy Gurley, who scored a minor chart hit from the single, "Heartbreaker." She also recorded a few singles for RCA, but those were never collected into an album, as far as I know...


Guy & Ralna "Country Songs We Love To Sing" (Ranwood Records, 1973) (LP)
The husband-and-wife duo of Guy Hovis and Ralna English were regulars on "The Lawrence Welk Show" and had a built-in national audience to help with their modest success on the charts. Most of their albums were gospel-oriented, a few were secular... I'm not sure how "country" the religious records were...


Guy & Ralna "Guy & Ralna Country" (Ranwood Records, 1974) (LP)




Commercial Country Albums - Letter "H"



Hick Music Index



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