If That Ain't Country

In this episode, we're featuring a fabulous Conway Twitty compilation/sampler: "I'm So Used To Loving You" (1973). This is no ordinary sampler, however - it features 10 tracks from Conway's best and most country period (in my opinion) 1968-1973, all but one of which were written by Conway himself - and NONE of which were released as singles. Astoundingly, you feel like you've discovered buried treasure as you peruse these album cuts that you may never have heard before, all of it honky tonk gold, complete with fiddles, steel guitar and the requisite songs about love, loss, cheating, drinking, lying and dying. The quality of this release just underscores how much of a country hitmaker Conway Twitty was: highlights include the country weepers "Heartache Just Walked In" and "Table In The Corner", the regret-tinged "I Told My World To Go Away (And She Did)", and a tip of the hat, perhaps, to his rock 'n' roll roots in "One For The Money". VERY highly recommended.

In this episode, we're featuring the debut album for an often overlooked Mississippi country star, OB McClinton: "OB McClinton Country" (1971). As a black man who sang with shades of Hank Williams, he was dubious of his chances of success in the world of country music, so he turned his prodigious singing and writing talents to R&B music instead. He scored cuts from James Carr, Clarence Carter and Otis Redding before a fortuitous trip to Muscle Shoals found him signed to Enterprise Records (a subsidiary of R&B giant Stax), who were looking to go into country after Charley Pride's proven success. This debut doesn't showcase Obie's writing ability, but rather his vocals - and that Williams twang is in fine form on tracks including the romping "San Bernardino", the cautionary tale of "Bad Guys Don't Always Wear Black Hats" and the statement of fact "Country Music That's My Thing". OB didn't have a long or prosperous career but he garnered respect and admiration from his peers in country music, and we'll explore why on this week's episode.

In this episode, we're featuring a good old-fashioned duet album from Rhonda Vincent & Daryle Singletary: "American Grandstand" (2017). These two have been friends since the mid-90s when they were both labelmates at Giant Records - and this album has been years in the making. Now that the timing is right, the result is sublime. Singletary's baritone takes on a surprisingly good harmony vocal role on many of these songs, while Vincent's lead is pure and simple. These duets were recorded the old-fashioned way: both singers were in studio at the same time when the tracks were laid down, which leads to a wonderful result. Strong steel guitar and fiddles lead the listener through a collection of classic duet tunes, including the Jones/Wynette staple "Golden Ring", the Twitty/Lynn collaboration "After The Fire Is Gone", a surprisingly good "Above & Beyond (The Call Of Love)" from the pen of Harlan Howard and an original, "American Grandstand", written specifically for the album by Vincent is also a highlight. A deep knowledge and respect for the traditions of country music duet stylings from both singers make this one of the best releases of 2017.