Growing up I never, I mean never listened to country music. Growing up in Kansas City admitting you listened to country music meant that you were some kind of hillbilly bumpkin. And to be honest, I don't like most of the country music you hear on the radio today. But while I was in college I began to develop an appreciation for roots based country music and alt-country. I began to listen to guys like Lyle Lovett, Johnny Cash, Dwight Yoakam, Junior Brown, The Mavericks, Nickel Creek, and the indomitable Willie Nelson. My appreciation turned into full blown admiration when I heard the soundtrack to 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' Willie Nelson became one of my favorites and last year saw him in concert for the first time in Grand Prairie, Texas. My favorite Willie Nelson album is 1998's Teatro. Teatro is a concept album about loss and heartbreak. You know you're in for something different when the album begins with an instrumental piece and the first line sang on the album is "The sun has turned to ice and gives no warmth at all." Teatro is definately not a traditional sounding country album. Blues chords backed by latin syncopation and reggae pacing gives this album an otherworldy sound. When I saw Willie Nelson singing "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" at the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake on t.v. I knew he was the man. Teatro is one of his best.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
CD Pick of the Week - Teatro
Growing up I never, I mean never listened to country music. Growing up in Kansas City admitting you listened to country music meant that you were some kind of hillbilly bumpkin. And to be honest, I don't like most of the country music you hear on the radio today. But while I was in college I began to develop an appreciation for roots based country music and alt-country. I began to listen to guys like Lyle Lovett, Johnny Cash, Dwight Yoakam, Junior Brown, The Mavericks, Nickel Creek, and the indomitable Willie Nelson. My appreciation turned into full blown admiration when I heard the soundtrack to 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' Willie Nelson became one of my favorites and last year saw him in concert for the first time in Grand Prairie, Texas. My favorite Willie Nelson album is 1998's Teatro. Teatro is a concept album about loss and heartbreak. You know you're in for something different when the album begins with an instrumental piece and the first line sang on the album is "The sun has turned to ice and gives no warmth at all." Teatro is definately not a traditional sounding country album. Blues chords backed by latin syncopation and reggae pacing gives this album an otherworldy sound. When I saw Willie Nelson singing "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" at the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake on t.v. I knew he was the man. Teatro is one of his best.
