LaCosta (Tucker) - see artist discography

Lady Antebellum "Lady Antebellum" (Capitol Nashville, 2008)
Tragically bad, prefab pop-country, with alternating male/female vocals. Like their predecessors, Sugarland, they seem at least as equally rooted in rock and pop as they are in country (or what passes for country these days...) There are also some tepid nods towards some watered-down version of old-school R&B... I can't help thinking of Hall & Oates or John Mellencamp... But that's really giving these guys way too much credit. This is not worth listening to. Although the band is coed, gal singer Hillary Scott is generally overshadowed by the dude, Charles Kelley, and his vibe doesn't do much for me. They were wildly popular, of course, scoring several #1 hits and winning all kinds of industry awards. For a twangfan, though, this music is simply dreadful.

Lady Antebellum "Need You Now" (Capitol Nashville, 2010)
Tragically worse than before, the band delves deeper into what seems to be a frightfully sincere love of really, really bad pop music. Hillary Scott forcefully comes into center stage, and with her increased exposure reveals herself to have even worse taste in pop music than what we'd heard before -- the worst, most vapid fake-soul melodrama, etc., etc. It's really horrifying -- while their first album wasn't one you'd want to waste time on, this one is sheer torture. Blech. I'll pass.

Lady Antebellum "Own The Night" (Capitol Records, 2011)

Lady Antebellum "On This Winter's Night" (Capitol Records, 2012)
(Produced by Paul Worley)
Christmas standards from the Lady Antebellum trio. They take a pretty strictly pop approach, with just a tiny trace of twang. Not much, though... I doubt it will matter to fans, though, particularly those in a holiday kind of mood. This sounds kinda like a lost Michael McDonald/Stevie Nicks album from the early '80s; make of that what you will.

Lady Antebellum "Golden" (Capitol Records, 2013)

Miranda Lambert - see artist discography

Cristy Lane - see artist discography

Jerry Max Lane -- see artist discography

Red Lane "The World Needs A Melody" (RCA Victor, 1971)
(Produced by Ronny Light)
An interesting -- and unusual -- item from the countrypolitan/sunshine country days. I think this was the only album from songwriter Red Lane, who was best known for penning Merle Haggard's hit, "My Own Kind of Hat" and "Miss Emily's Picture" for John Conlee. Those hits were a long way off from this early album, though: he had more modest hits in the late '60s with folks like Waylon Jennings and Dottie West. This disc is kind fun, though, and has a distinctive sound, with an almost folk-scene acoustic feel that probably sounded pretty close to the demos he cut for his own songs (although the tracks have various levels of arrangements and added instruments). Lane's delivery sounds like a mix of early Merle Haggard and old Jerry Reed, not too robust or too gimmicky in either direction, but you can hear the similarities. All the songs are Lane's original work, including a collaboration with Wayne Kemp and two songs co-written with Hank Cochran. It's all pretty good, and surprisingly low-key and un-flowery for the era; the only bum note comes on the novelty song, "The Courtroom," which is a creepy, sexist song about a woman who falsely accuses a preacher of raping her, but the case gets thrown out when it is disclosed that the good Reverend "got so shot up back during the war/that he couldn't even take him a wife," and the naughty girl is duly reprimanded. But I guess that's just a product of its time... Not a song to remember, but not one to worry much about, either. Overall, this is a nice record, and a good document of an artist not well-remembered these days. One footnote: Lane toured and recorded with Haggard in the early '80s, and continued to write hits well into the decade.

k. d. lang - see artist discography

Sandy Lankford "Sandy's Country" (Total Eclipse Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Charlie Callelo)
Wow, this is such a weird record. I mean, musically it's pretty pedestrian -- just how "country" it is, is pretty questionable. It's more like early '70s soft-pop/pop vocals lounge singing, more Vikki Carr than Anne Murray. Lots of cover tunes of mellow Top 40 hits like "Oh Happy Day, "For All We Know" and "Look What They've Done To My Song," delivered in perky yet low-key style, backed by a band that has a teeny bit of twang and a tiny dash of disco, very Vegas-y overall. What's most interesting, though, is the story behind it, and the weird vanity label that it's on, apparently a one-off imprint of RCA Records, which adds its Dynaflex logo and general art design, but not their corporate logo to the project. Hmmm. Then there are the liner notes, which describe Ms. Lankford's background as a Texas pageant winner and her being "discovered" singing at a Ford car dealers convention where they were launching a "Miss Ford Country" sales campaign, which she got hired to be the public face of... (Hey, there's even an old press kit for sale on eBay!) Anywayyyy... Well, I'd say as a country record this ain't no great shakes, but as a cultural artifact, it's rather intriguing. Along with all the pop covers there are a couple of original songs, the perky "A Texas Country Girl," and the very-'70s and semi-disco "You Don't Turn Me On Anymore." For some reason, I keep expecting to see Don Draper listed as an executive producer....

Billy Larkin "Billy Larkin" (Bryan Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Nelson Larkin)
Tennessee native Billy Larkin made a big splash as an indie artist when his single, "Leave It Up To Me" it #22 at the start of 1975... But that song -- included on this album, along with a couple of other low-charting singles -- ultimately was his biggest success. A nice footnote is that this album showed the staying power that country's indie labels had well into the early 1980s...

Billy Larkin "Uptown Country" (GRT-Casino Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Nelson Larkin)
Although he's all babyfaced in the photos, larking had a pretty deep, robust voice, suitable for honkytonk but squandered on the wimpy, breezily orchestrated countrypolitan of this album. But that's just my personal bias: in many ways Larkin was a canny performer, and maybe ahead of his time with the soul-pop crossovers that are sprinkled throughout this album. He eked his way into the Top 40 with his cover of The Manhattans' "Kiss and Say Goodbye" (their version being a chart-topping hit on the Pop and R&B charts) and his lightly countrified versions of "Afternoon Delight" and Neil Sedaka's "#1 With A Heartache" are also appealing. The most country-sounding song on here is Larkin's only original as a songwriter, the bouncy though still-slick "Lonely Woman (Love A Lonely Man)" which has a catchy feel to it. I think he may have been aiming for a Charlie Rich-like white-soul sound, though without knowing it, he was actually anticipating the Garth Brooks pop-country of the '80s. Larkin went on to record several other records, and flirt with bigger success, though this was about the peak of his career.

Blaine Larsen "In My High School" (Giantkiller Records, 2004)
WOW. Mark my words, this guy -- or should I say, this kid -- is going to be huge. Like, super-duper, Kenny Chesney-Tim McGraw-Alan Jackson mega-huge. Blaine Larsen, an eighteen-year old newcomer from an old logging town in Washington state, has a tremendous voice, with perfect vocal control, and a strong command of the musical conventions and sentimental lyrical formulae of modern neo-trad country. I put this disc into my player not knowing what to expect and was, quite simply, totally blown away. I've heard a lot of independently produced country records which aim at recreating the sound that the fats cats in Music City use to put a lock on the Top 40, and usually these underfunded efforts fall well short of the mark... This is the first one I've heard that really had no flaws -- Larsen's voice is tremendous, and the simple, strong studio accompaniment is right there to back him up. Plus, he writes most of his material, and the songs are pretty darn good. You might never have heard of this guy, but if you like those deep-voiced, sensitive hat act guys who are on TV and the top of the Billboard charts, then you should buy this record and enjoy the fact that you just got in on the ground floor. I think he's going to be huge.

Blaine Larsen "Off To Join The World" (BNA Records, 2005)
The first time I heard Blaine Larsen sing, I thought, Dang! This kid's got the goods! That was about a year ago, when his name came up as a customer recommendation on Amazon... I was working as an online Country Music Director, so I got ahold of Larsen's independently-released debut album and was pretty blown away... I mean, there is a whole substrata of country music that practically nobody ever hears, of commercially-inclined, indie-label folks who are nowhere near the Nashville power structure, but who are also not aligned with the twangier-than-thou, alt-country scene... These are people who want to make it big, but probably never will, and usually their demo tape-y releases fall pretty short of the mark. Blaine Larsen was the first of these would-be chart stars who simply blew me away, and the only one who I knew from the instant I heard him sing that he was gonna be a star. To begin with, he's got an amazing voice, more rich, confident and resonant than any eighteen year old has got a right to sound. Then, there's his material, and his allegiance to rootsy-sounding, rumbling country. Oh, sure, he's very commercial sounding, but he's got real roots, too, sort of like Alan Jackson or Randy Travis... I played several songs off the album in a variety of radio formats and they all did really well... So, here it is a year later and sure enough, Larsen is blowing through the roof and sailing up the charts. This album is mostly a reprise of the original record, In My High School, with one new tune ("That's All I've Got To Say About That," which unfortunately is the weakest tune in the set...) and a fresh coat of paint on that fine batch of tunes (including an added-on cameo by Mr. Haggard himself on the end of the tribute tune, "If Merle Would Sing My Song...") And it's still a damn fine album. If you want to hear some Top 40 country that's heartfelt and doesn't suck, then pick this album up. You won't be disappointed.

Blaine Larsen "Rockin' You Tonight" (BMG/BNA Records, 2006)
(Produced by Rory Lee Feek & Tim Johnson)
Washington state's Blaine Larsen continues to be one of my favorite new country singers, precisely because that's what he really is: a for-real country singer, a guy who sounds great when he digs deep into style's long tradition of morose emotional ballads. Now a country veteran at the ripe old age of 18, Larsen's deep baritone growl is less remarkable than when he put his first album out (at age 16), but he still sounds like the guy most likely to be the next Alan Jackson -- and I mean that in a real good way. This disc took a couple of listens before I was really sold, but, yeah -- the kid's still really, really good. The opening track, "I Don't Know What She Said," is one of those tropical-themed, margaritas-and-little-grass-shack songs that seem to be all the rage in Nashville these days. It's okay, but it doesn't hold a candle to the album's best songs, the heartrending "They Don't Grow Enough Roses," "Lips Of A Bottle" (a great duet with Gretchen Wilson) and "No Woman," a hilarious guys-will-be-guys novelty song penned by Larsen and co-producer Tim Johnson. Larsen also covers Mark Chesnutt's hit, "I'm In Love With A Married Woman" (also written by Johnson) and turns in another rollicking performance on the uptempo "I Don't Wanna Work That Hard," wherein the singer decides his high-maintainance girlfriend just ain't worth the effort. There are a couple of misfires, though. The title track is terrible: Larsen should stay away from that kind of loud, rock-based material, and stick to the Lefty'n'George side of the street, rather than getting all Montgomery Gentry about it. Also, his version of "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me" initially struck me as a mistake (really, no one's ever gonna take that tune away from Mac Davis -- why even try?) but eventually I decided it was okay... Not great, but okay. The album's closer was another nice surprise, a gospel tune called "At The Gate" which summons a lot of depth and further demonstrates Larsen's versatility. All in all, a Top 40 country record with just one song on it that I don't like is a damn good ratio... I've said it before, and I'll say it again: this guy could be country music's real future. Check him out.

Tracy Lawrence - see artist discography

Rodney Lay "Desert Rock" (Sun Records, 1978) (LP)

Rodney Lay "Rockabilly Nuggets" (Sun Records, 1980) (LP)

Rodney Lay "Silent Partners" (Sun Records, 1981) (LP)
A modest success as a solo artist, singer Rodney Lay was a teenager rocker in the late '50s and early '60s, going out on the road on package tours with rockabilly stars such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Wanda Jackson, before returning to the Midwest to work as a radio DJ in his hometown of Coffeyville, Kansas. As with many first-generation rockers, Lay drifted towards country music and scored a few hits as a songwriter, composing tunes that were recorded by the likes of Waylon Jennings, Bob Luman and Hank Thompson in the late-1960s... He was also a protege of Roy Clark, becoming the bandleader for Clark's touring group (which doubled as Lay's own band, the Wild West, and backed Clark on several albums...) Lay also worked as a cast member of the '80s edition of Hee Haw TV show, again, under Roy Clark's wings.

Rodney Lay "Heartbreak" (MCA/Churchill Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Nereco & Joe Bob Barnhill)
A modest success as a solo artist, singer Rodney Lay was a cast member of the '80s edition of Hee Haw and the bandleader for Roy Clark's touring group (which doubled as Lay's band, the Wild West, which backed him on several albums) This album includes several songs that grazed the Top 100, such as "Happy Country Birthday Darling," "You Could Have Heard A Heart Break" and his highest-charting single, "I Wish I Had A Job To Shove," which peaked at #45, a plaintive answer to Johnny Paycheck's old '78 hit. Lay was an okay singer, with some performances better than others... Musically, this was a bit of a throwback, a relatively rootsy, honkytonk-ish set of good old weepers and novelty songs that sounded a bit like early Moe Bandy, even as the synthy side of '80s country was beginning to pick up steam. The record includes a duet with Roy Clark on "I'm A Hog For You." Not a great album, but it's certainly worth a spin.

Chris LeDoux - see artist profile

Brenda Lee - see artist discography

Dickey Lee - see artist profile

Johnny Lee - see artist profile

Danni Leigh "29 Nights" (MCA-Decca, 1998)
A couple of real slam-bang, hard country novelty tunes open this striking debut... On "Beating My Head Against The Wall" and "If The Jukebox Took Teardrops," Leigh evokes the rollicking, upbeat, take-no-prisoners attitude of West Coast honkytonkers like Buck Owens and Dwight Yoakam, with a perky, propulsive instrumental attack similar to Trick Pony. For the most part, the rest of this album lives up to the promise of this opening salvo -- midway through, there are a couple of songs that falter, the band sounds uninspired and like they weren't taking the work seriously, and Leigh also sounds like she's just walking through the material. But then the pace picks up again, and the album closes with some strong, fun songs. Her cover of the steamy, sexy ballad, "Touch Me," isn't as shocking as the George Jones version (hard act to follow), but just by picking that song to cover as one of the album's few slow numbers shows you that Leigh knows her stuff when it comes to real, old-school country stuff. This disc didn't make a very big dent in the charts, but it sure did gather a few devoted fans into her orbit... Worth checking out!

Danni Leigh "A Shot Of Whiskey And A Prayer" (Sony, 2001)
(Produced by Richard Bennett & Emory Gordy, Jr.)
This disc opens strong, with a set of twangalicious, hot-blooded honkytonk tunes worthy of Dwight Yoakam at his best... Then she kind of tilts sideways and gets into more soul'n'rock oriented material, sort of in a Sheryl Crowe-like mode. She kind of loses me on that stuff, but the country material is cool... Kind of like Tanya Tucker, with sharp, sweet guitars. A mixed bag, but definitely worth picking up.

Danni Leigh "Divide And Conquer" (Audium Records, 2001)
There's a little something for everyone here... Teamed up with Dwight Yoakam's main man, Pete Anderson, Leigh kicks this disc of with some alt-y, hard country material reminiscent of Rosie Flores -- charmingly un-slick and a little bit raw. Moving into slower material, she gets kinda poetic and ballad-y, then indulges in a bit of Dixie Chicks-type Top 40, and finally settles back into rawer material, sounding for all the world like a latter-day Carlene Carter. Who knows? Mainstream airplay seems possible; I'm sure the indie crowd will embrace her as well. Certainly worth keeping an eye on this gal.

Aaron Lewis "The Road" (Warner/Blaster Records, 2012)
(Produced by James Stroud & Aaron Lewis)
A rocker from the alt-metal band, Staind, singer Aaron Lewis "went country" and signed with Nashville producer James Stroud's short-lived Stroudavarious label. He was still working with Stroud on this solid set of chunky neo-trad twang -- it's not quite in Dwight Yoakam or Alan Jackson territory, maybe more like Montgomery Gentry or Tracy Lawrence in their rootsier moments, though still a welcome change of pace from the usual Nashville pop of the times. Lewis wrote almost all the songs on this album and he dutifully follows the formulas -- songs about God, guns and gettin' drunk. He also adds deep, robust vocals, although I have to say it doesn't feel like he cuts loose as much as he could -- he doesn't quite rise above the music mix and fully own it, maybe because he doesn't want to go all rock'n'roll on it? Well, anyway, this is commercial country, but it's got some grit - worth checking out if you're looking for mainstream stuff with a little edge.

Bobby Lewis - see: see artist profile

Hugh X. Lewis "The Hugh X. Lewis Album" (Kapp Records, 1966) (LP)
(Produced by Paul Cohen)

Hugh X. Lewis "Just Before Dawn" (Kapp Records, 1966) (LP)
(Produced by Paul Cohen)

Hugh X. Lewis "My Kind Of Country" (Kapp Records, 1967) (LP)

Hugh X. Lewis "Just A Prayer Away" (Kapp Records, 1968) (LP)
(Produced by Paul Cohen)

Hugh X. Lewis "Country Fever" (Kapp Records, 1968) (LP)
(Produced by Paul Cohen & Jim Williamson)
I do enjoy his guileless hick-osity, which is often in the same general wheelhouse as Porter Wagoner, and the cornier the material, the better the results. The album opens with the title track, Vaughn Horton's "Country Music Fever," a fairly lightweight novelty number about a guy whose excessive love of country music necessitates medical intervention... and whose recovery is complicated when it turns out that his wife secretly likes Dean Martin, Engelbert Humperdinck and other square-sounding pop artists(!) This is followed by a brisk, jaunty rendition of "Tonight We're Calling It A Day," one of two Harlan Howard tunes on this album, and one of the stronger comedic numbers. One album highlight is the Lewis-penned "War Is Hell," a novelty number that transposes the cliches of a war movie onto the battlefield of a broken romance -- it's a bit strained conceptually, but has an unusual arrangement and a curiously spooky vibe. Lewis contributes several other originals, all tucked away on Side Two, and gets variable results on his covers of some well-known country hits. An attempt at grittiness on Charlie Rich's classic, bluesy boozing ballad, "Sittin' And Thinkin'," doesn't quite ring true, while a cover of the Ernest Tubb oldie "Thanks A Lot" gives the unidentified studio pickers a chance to showboat a bit, and his version of "Drinking Champagne" is passable though definitely nothing new. Overall, this is a pleasant set or reasonably twangy mainstream 'Sixties country -- a little rinky-dink and hardly historic, though it's really his lack of glamor I enjoy.

Hugh X. Lewis "Goodwill Ambassador" (President Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Aubrey Mayhew)

Hugh X. Lewis "Just A Matter Of Time" (Phonorama Records, 1983) (LP)

Jerry Lee Lewis - see: see artist profile

Sid Linard "Juke Box Angel" (Ovation Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Henry Strzelecki)
This is a cool, twangy honkytonk-edged country set, with plenty of cheatin' songs, boozing tunes, and their natural compliment, divorce songs. Like Moe Bandy around the same time, Birmingham's Sid Linard was kind of an unexpected throwback to a grittier sound than what was generally in the air in the mid-'70s and he threw himself into hard country tune like "Juke Box Angel" and the anti-alimony anthem, "I'm Not Gonna Let You Sock It To Me (Lying Down)," as well as the good-timing "The Undertaker's Gonna Have A Hard Time (Wiping The Smile Off Of My Face)," which Jerry Lee Lewis would have had a field day with as well. All the songs are originals by Linnard, with one song about hardcore alcoholism, "A Lord Calvert's Kind Of Day," resurfacing on the 2012 sitcom, "Parenthood." This album failed to make even a tiny dent in the country charts, and Linard faded from sight, although he did pen a 1979 political novelty song, Roger Hallmark's 1979 single, "A Message To Khomeini." Other than that, I wasn't able to track down much info about this guy. He did make one great record, though, and I'm listening to it right now. If you like Jerry Reed or Moe & Joe, you might want to check this guy out.

LaWanda Lindsey - see artist discography

Aaron Lines "Love Changes Everything" (Combustion, 2001)

Aaron Lines "Living Out Loud" (RCA, 2002)
Good-natured, rock-flavored top country with a positive, sensitive-guy romantic touch. The album's first single, "You Can't Hide Beautiful," is kind of a Nashville update of Billy Joel's old "I Love You Just The Way You Are," a painfully earnest appeal to overcome the oppressive confines of an anorexic culture... Sure, it's a little contrived, but still a welcome message. Compared to his soul-drenched, synthy Nashville contemporaries, Lines' guitar-heavy pop approach is practically hillbilly heaven. A pretty decent, relatively rootsy album by the standards of the post-Millennial Top 40 country scene. Not bad for a fella from Canada!

Aaron Lines "Waitin' On The Wonderful" (BNA Records, 2005)

Aaron Lines "Moments That Matter" (Outside The Lines, 2007)

Aaron Lines "Sunday Afternoon" (Ramp Records, 2010)

Little Big Town "Little Big Town" (Sony, 2002)

Little Big Town "The Road To Here" (Capitol Nashville, 2005)
(Produced by Little Big Town & Wayne Kirkpatrick)
Here's a band that's got a bright future, even if they've been out of the spotlight for a few years since their '02 debut. This new disc has already got 'em into the Top Twenty charts, with the single "Boondocks," and followup hits seem likely. Personally, I find a lot of their songs a bit cluttered -- those melodic hooks and swoopy key changes are proven winners, though maybe they could streamline a tune or two -- but in Nashville formula is king, and these guys've got hooks up the wazoo. They also sound a lot like Fleetwood Mac, with female solo vocals that get pretty Sheryl Crowe-ish... Again, these are reference points that modern country fans are gonna respond well to... Although I wasn't totally ga-ga over LBT, I also didn't find anything overtly yucky about their sound -- I could listen to this disc without wincing the way I do while checking out, oh, say, Sugarland, who are way more over the top and phony-sounding... In contrast, there's an underlying sincere, real musical root to Little Big Town's sound that comes through despite the dense production, something that tells me they love a little twang on top of the pop. Anyway, they certainly are a band to keep your eye on, with a male-female harmony mix that helps 'em stand out, and the potential to become one of the decade's big hitmakers. They just need to S-I-M-P-L-I-F-Y things a little and they could rule the world.

Little Big Town "A Place To Land" (Capitol Nashville, 2008)

Little Big Town "The Reason Why" (Capitol Nashville, 2010)

Little Big Town "Tornado" (Capitol Records, 2012)
(Produced by Jay Joyce)
These guys are so totally a country Fleetwood Mac. Hence the popularity. And the Stevie Nicks-ish slow songs. And the purty harmonies. Hey, it worked in '76... why not now?

Little Texas "First Time For Everything" (Warner Brothers, 1992)
(Produced by James Stroud, Christy Dinapoli & Doug Grau)
What with their metal-ish, longhaired rocker look, you'd think these guys would have some really great country musicianship to back it up, just so's folks couldn't make fun of them all the time. Not so: they suck. They really do just sound like a pop-rock band slumming on the country charts. Still, they did pretty well, all things considered. This debut disc garnered five Top 20 hits, which ain't nothing to sneeze at. The trouble is that none of these songs have a hummable melody or memorable lyrics, and the lead vocals are pretty bad. Oh, oops... I almost forgot to mention that this is where future solo star Tim Rushlow comes from; he splits the vocals chores with Brady Seals.

Little Texas "Kick A Little" (Warner Brothers, 1994)
(Produced by Christy Dinapoli & Doug Grau)
The production gets less tinny and more solid-sounding on here, so there's more of a Bryan Adams feel, as opposed to some washed-out group vocals pop. At their best, they sound kinda like America or the Eagles (especially on the big hit, "Amy's Back In Austin"), although other than a couple of singles, most of this album sounds pretty negligible. Rushlow's still in the band, and they all still have really, really scary hair.

Little Texas "Little Texas" (Warner Brothers, 1997)
Their last album, apparently... and indeed, this is a pretty weak release. Tons of dull, by-the-numbers, rock-country riffs and tacky, slow ballads, none of which really had much emotional impact, as far as I was concerned. They seem to have thought that once the harmonies kicked in, and they got it all going in high drive, no one could resist them. But they were wrong: they needed some of that special something that's in really short supply here. This one's a big yawn-eroo.

Little Texas "Greatest Hits" (Warner Brothers, 1995)
An early '90s mix of formulaic, Eagles-y MOR soft-pop and a dash of neutered Southern rock, heavy on the drum kit and harmony vocals... Sorta like Restless Heart with more guitars. Effective, but unexciting.

Hank Locklin - see: see artist profile

Lonestar "Lonestar" (BNA Records, 1995)
(Produced by Don Cook & Wally Wilson)
A great debut, packed with thoroughly likable, easygoing soft-poppish, harmony vocal-based country, and enough fiddle and pedal steel in the mix to keep a crabby old traditionalist like me listening. The album opens strong, with the bouncy "Heartbreak Everyday" and "Tequila Talkin'," which has a great chorus. Some songs after that are kinda so-so, but mostly it's all rather enjoyable; they sound best when the whole group sings, and when they stay upbeat, and skip over the sappy stuff. Lead singer John Rich has an imperfect voice, the kind of imperfect voice that's (oddly) so often used to front these vocal groups... Unlike his contemporaries in Alabama and Blackhawk, though, his voice never falls flat or hits a real bum note. Nothing on here'll touch your soul like an old Hank Williams song, but all in all I'd say this disc's a keeper.

Lonestar "Crazy Nights" (BNA Records, 1997)
(Produced by Don Cook & Wally Wilson)
Yeah, sure, they got slicker (though they were pretty slick to begin with...) and more formulaic, but they're still pretty catchy and -- for Nashville -- still pretty rootsy. What can I say? It's good commercial country music: it makes your toes tap and it has plenty of catchy choruses; heck, they even covered the Pure Prairie League's "Amie," one of the greatest country-rock songs ever! What more do ya want? Not as big a commercial success as their first album, but still a fun record. Plus, they sound like they had a good time making it! Avoid the slow ballads and you'll do just fine.

Lonestar "Lonely Grill" (BNA Records, 1999)
(Produced by Dann Huff, Sam Ramage & Bob Wright)
Oh, dear. I'm afraid they lost it on this one... They went all glossy and "boy band," playing the kind of pretentious, overproduced crap that bands like Emerson Drive and Rascal Flatts would play later on, including a bunch of slow, sappy ballads... Where are, um, the fiddle and guitars? Where'd that dorky electric piano come from? Why are the harmonies so flattened out and buried so far under the mix? A couple of songs, like "What About Now," come close to their old vigor, but even then, by the song's end, the studio wizards simply go overboard and screw everything up. It's a sucky album. Sorry. They used to be a lot of fun, though.

Lonestar "I'm Already There" (BNA Records, 2001)
(Produced by Dann Huff)
Yeesh. It just got worse. The opening track has a Mavericks-style Roy Orbison-y thing going on... And then they do some weird vocal processing on the next track... (But WHY would you do that to a band that can actually sing??) The songs are crappy and dumb, just more fluffy pop ("Unusually Unusual") or unbearably sappy ("Not A Day Goes By," "I'm Already There," etc.) Sure, I guess that's what was selling at the time... but I sure ain't gonna listen to it. This is a huge disappointment from a band that was once so unpretentious and straightforward.

Lonestar "Let's Be Us Again" (BNA Records, 2004)
Not that this band was ever particularly vigorous, but I think they've kinda lost it on this one... The songs are just so belabored and drawn out... and so dorky! I dunno, it just seems like you gotta work too hard to get into some of these songs, no really strong concepts or choruses, and while I've never been a huge fan of Richie McDonald's voice, it really seems to get swamped by the formulaic, tinny production... He just sounds so damned whiny, ya want to give him a beer to drink to thicken things up a little. This is calculated, commercial stuff, but I'm not sure the formula's really working for them here. The patriotic war ballad topical song, "Somebody's Someone," is a highlight -- it's thoughtful and reserved; the comedic "Mr. Mom" is a close follow-up, even though it's pretty lightweight and forgettable. But the rest of is simply boring and strained. Yawn.

Lonestar "Party Heard Around The World" (Saguaro Road Records, 2010)
(Produced by Lonestar & Dean Samms)
The shift to an indie label doesn't seem to have changed much for these guys... Slickly produced, relentlessly earnest country-pop with several inspirational/positive thinking songs (as typified by the title track, which has a slightly AC/DC-ish rock vibe, but is still pretty perky and pop...) It's all a little too bland and prefab for me, but I'm sure longtime fans will be pleased.

Lonestar "Life As We Know It" (4 Star Records, 2013)

Bobby Lord "Everybody's Rockin' But Me" (Bear Family Records, 2011)
Florida-born singer Bobby Lord (1934-2008) started his musical career while still in high school, and had enough of a regional buzz in 1952 that he was given his own TV show at a station in St. Petersburg. That same year he broke through nationally with an appearance on Paul Whiteman's Teen Club program, and soon landed a contract with Columbia Records, as well as a spot on the cast of the nationally-syndicated Ozark Jubilee. In the early 'Sixties he moved to Nashville, joined the Opry, and moved through a couple of different record labels, and again hosted his own TV show, starting in 1967. Although a reliable, stalwart figure on the Nashville country scene, Bobby Lord proved to be a resolute second-stringer, with only one single, "Without Your Love," that cracked into the Top Ten, and many others that fell short of the Top Forty. This Bear Family set concentrates on his earlier, teen-oriented material, including the delightful title track, which was one of Nashville's most enjoyable efforts at grappling with the new rock'n'roll sound, as well as a slew of little-known tunes from Boudleaux Bryant and Felice Bryant, who championed Bobby Lord early in his career.

Bobby Lord "Bobby Lord's Best" (Columbia-Harmony Records, 1964) (LP)
(Produced by Frank Jones & Don Law)
Pro tip: the Harmony series was a budget-line series from Columbia Records which usually collected early material from country artists who later hit it big on other labels, with the idea being that old stuff from the Columbia vaults could be profitably recycled as "new" music from now-hot artists that the label had previously dropped. For country fans who prefer rougher, twangier material, the Harmony albums provide a different avenue to approach artists who were easy to write off as bland Nashville Sound pop crooners -- particularly true in the dark ages before reissue labels roamed the land. In Bobby Lord's case, Harmony unearthed his early stuff from the 'Fifties, when he was pitched as a "teen" singer, including a long string of singles which failed to connect on either the Pop or Country charts. Alas, this set does not include his one real hit, "Without Your Love," with peaked out at #10 on the country charts, back in 1956, but it does have ten other tracks which might reveal a little more vigor that his later work for Decca and Hickory in the 'Sixties. Also worth noting: only half of these songs also appear on the Bear Family retrospective above, so if you dug that collection, this disc might be worth tracking down as well.

Bobby Lord "The Bobby Lord Show" (Hickory Records, 1965) (LP)

Bobby Lord "You And Me Against The World/Wake Me Up Early In The Morning" (Decca Records, 1970) (LP)
A relic of that odd, brief era in the early '70s when country albums had these improbably long titles, often the sum of two songs chosen as singles. Well, this was also Bobby Lord's swan song as a recording artist, and the folks at Decca certainly seem to have made a real go at promoting him: despite the overall cheesiness of the album, the two title tracks were among his most successful semi-hits, with "You And Me Against The World" topping out at #15. A few other songs were plugged as well, but they were generally speaking more of "back forty" material. Lord released a few non-album singles in the next few years, but nothing clicked and he retired from show biz, resurfacing in the '80s to host a show on TNN. Of note here: over half the songs were composed by a guy named Ted Harris (who also wrote the liner notes and possibly produced the album) and there's also a version of "When A Man Loves A Woman (The Way That I Love You)," an early song by Gary Stewart that was a big hit for Billy Walker, and even one from the elusive Texas songwriter Dee Moeller. For my money the lone standout track on here is Tom T. Hall's mildly-suggestive "Do It To Someone You Love," but mostly this is pretty florid, wimpy Nashville pop-vocals material. You can skip this one.

Bobby Lord "Especially For You" (Rice Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Key, Jimmy Key & Skip Shimmin)
A late-career album that came out on a private label owned by former Top Forty star Bobby G. Rice. I haven't heard this one, but I have to confess a fondness for this subgenre, of indie albums recorded by country old-timers whose chart-topping years were long since past. In the early 1970s many of them were unceremoniously dropped by previously forgiving major labels, and it wasn't until the end of the decade ad the early 'Eighties that they would get a chance to record again.

The Lost Trailers "Story Of The New Age Cowboy" (Two State Brothers, 2000)

The Lost Trailers "Trailer Trash" (2002)

The Lost Trailers "Welcome To The Woods" (Universal-Republic Records, 2004)

The Lost Trailers "The Lost Trailers" (BNA Records, 2006)

The Lost Trailers "Holler Back" (BNA Records, 2008)

John D. Loudermilk - see artist discography

The Louvin Brothers - see artist discography

Love And Theft "Live In Savannah" (EP) (Lyric Street Records, 2008)

Love And Theft "World Wide Open" (Lyric Street Records, 2009)
(Produced by Jeff Coplan & Jake Orrall)

Love And Theft "Love And Theft" (RCA Nashville, 2012)
(Produced by Josh Leo)
Light pop with a modest country-rock twang. This is boy-band stuff, with a bubblegummy feel... Very unchallenging, and only tangentially "country", but I guess it was country enough at the time. Those in search of a break from the phony macho posturing of various hat-act dudes may find some relief in these wispy, non-threatening romance songs.

Love And Theft "Whiskey On My Breath" (Thirty Tigers Records, 2015)
(Produced by Josh Leo)
On the face of it, an odd sideways shift to the independent Thirty Tigers, though I guess right around this time Thirty Tigers had become a more Top Forty-oriented business. This album certainly has the same flat, poppy feel as their earlier work... Again, reasonably rootsy, but pretty prefab. Doesn't particularly wow me, but then again, I'm not the target audience.

Lyle Lovett - see artist discography

Patty Loveless - see artist discography

Bob Luman - see artist discography

Mike Lunsford "Honey Hungry" (Power Pak Records, 1994)
A late-70s minor leaguer, Oklahoman Mike Lunsford had a couple of mid-level hits with "Honey Hungry" and "Stealin' Feelin'," on the then-fading Starday label. He's a pleasant enough country crooner, with a nice voice and a penchant for slower, midtempo ballads. The arrangements aren't that striking, nor his delivery, which is hampered by a lack of rhythmic oompf, but he's still nice to listen to... Nothing earthshaking, but worth checking out, if you're into the whole 'Seventies countrypolitan crooning scene.

Mike Lunsford "Mike Lunsford" (Starday/Gusto Records, 1975) (LP)

Mike Lunsford "Stealin', Feelin' And Others" (Starday/Gusto Records, 1976) (LP)

Dustin Lynch "Dustin Lynch" (Broken Bow Records, 2012)
(Produced by Brett Beavers & Luke Wooten)
Lively, good-natured Top 40 dude-country, this alternates between yearning romantic ballads and a couple of sledgehammer macho tunes like the album's mechanically-inclined opener, "She Cranks My Tractor." A Nashville newcomer, Lynch has a good, solid voice which he uses best on the more rugged, manly numbers. One exception: the closing number, a subtle acoustic gospel ballad, "Your Plan," is a gentle gem that shows another layer of depth that you wouldn't expect from the rest of the record... I'd be interested to hear more quiet stuff from Lynch... The album's production is very modern and sleek, with the echo-y rock-pop guitars that Toby Keith brought into the country mainstream -- on some songs the pop production goes a little too far for me (the too-cute backup vocals on "Last Lap" and "Dancing In The Headlights," for example) but essentially this is a pretty solid, radio-friendly modern Nashville set. Seems to me that this guy should do quite well in years to come.

Dustin Lynch "Where It's At" (Broken Bow Records, 2014)

Dustin Lynch "Current Mood" (Broken Bow Records, 2017)

Dustin Lynch "Tullahoma" (Broken Bow Records, 2020)

Dustin Lynch "Blue In The Sky" (BBR Music Group, 2022)

Dustin Lynch "Killed The Cowboy" (BBR Music Group, 2023)

Judy Lynn - see artist discography

Loretta Lynn - see artist discography

Rebecca Lynn "Hold Me Tight" (Elka Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Mike Borchetta, Eddie Martine & Warren Roche)
Singer Rebecca Lynn was an also-ran country singer from Texas who recorded a few singles on the Ranwood label before releasing her first album, which was made up of a lot of the same material... She went on to release one other LP before going back to to singles-only releases, and eventually retired from the spotlight. There are plenty of A-list musicians backing her up, including guitarist James Burton, bassist Emory Gordy as well as Richard Bennett and J. D. Maness on pedal steel, though I think the songs were recorded over a period of several years and the lineup changes a lot from track to track. Who played on which songs isn't really clear. Anyway, it took me a while to warm up to this album since Lynn's vocals seem fairly flat (especially on the first side of the album) and her high pitched tones seem better suited to "girl group" pop than to country. But a few songs stuck out on Side Two, such as "He's Too Busy Working To Cheat On Me" and "Cold Carolina Morning," and I was able to see her as working in the style of singers such as Skeeter Davis or Donna Fargo. What's most notable about this album is that it's the first country album produced by Mike Borchetta, who was married to Rebecca Lynn at the time, and his experiences working to promote Lynn led him to switch his career path from working with rock artists in LA to becoming one of the big names in Nashville. (Borchetta helped start Curb Records' Nashville office, and signed Tim McGraw while working there, and he later started several successful indie labels... and it all started here!) Not a great record, but it have a certain '70s sunshine-y charm.

Rebecca Lynn "Somethin' Pretty Bad" (Calliope Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Mike Borchetta)
Like her first album, this one failed to chart nationally; oddly enough she did have a string of (low) charting singles that came out later on a different label. The highest of these was "Music, Music, Music," which grazed the Top 40 in the summer of '78, but after that everything was strictly in the back forty... Also, what an awful title for an album by a struggling artist.

Rockie Lynne "Big Time In A Small Town" (Self-Released, 2003)
(Produced by Daniel Leblanc)

Rockie Lynne "Rockie Lynne" (Universal South Records, 2006)
(Produced by Tony Brown, Blake Chancey & Kevin Law)
A generic, deep voiced, manly-man/sensitive guy Nashville dude, North Carolina's Rockie Lynne seemed like a capable performer, and if he played his cards right, a guy who could become an important new voice in the top country field... What he needed, though, was better material, which is kind of harsh, since a quick glance at the songwriting credits reveals that he actually wrote or co-wrote pretty much everything on this album. Sure, some of these tracks have enough shameless hit-factory formula slathered on them to generate radio airplay, but some tunes are just plain lame. "New Branch On The Family Tree" leaps to mind, one of the most desperate-sounding novelty tunes I've ever heard, which seeks to lay claim to some sort of Big & Rich or Tim McGraw-ish genre-busting mega-crossover ethos... The chorus proclaims Lynne to be a "super-country-evangelic-rockabilly-psychedelic cowboy," clunkily sung over an equally cluttered musical backdrop. (The song was originally presented on Lynne's self-released album above, as, well, "Super Country Evangelic Rock-A-Billy Psychedelic Cowboy." Another song, "More," was also reprised from that album.) "Lipstick," the album's first single, is catchy, and some of the slower, more relaxed country ballads redeem him as well. Honestly, though, there's little on here to distinguish him from a zillion other rock-conscious hat-act young'uns. This was okay, though it didn't really wow me, and apparently didn't wow Nashville much, either -- though Universal dropped him after a lackluster showing in the charts, Lynne managed to forge ahead and self-released several albums, but superstar status never quite materialized.

Rockie Lynne "Twilight" (Carolina Blue Sky, 2007)

Rockie Lynne "Songs For Soldiers" (Carolina Blue Sky, 2010)

Shelby Lynne - see artist discography

The Lynns "The Lynns" (Reprise Records, 1998)
(Produced by Don Cook)
Loretta's daughters, twin sisters Patsy and Peggy Lynn, don't exactly have Mom's arresting, charismatic presence, but they do sound nice enough and have a traditional bent that's pleasant to hear, although it does tend to get obscured in some fairly generic, Foster & Lloyd-ish pop-country arrangements. Their family harmony sound brings to mind the Judds (although the Lynns sound more legitimately bluesy...) but also leaves one of the sisters (not sure which one) overshadowed by the other. Not stellar, but I bet with the right producer, these gals could sound super-cool.

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Hick Music Index

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