COUNTRY CLASSICS•Willie Nelson - Stardust
Stardust managed to capture something almost childlike in its simplicity; Nelson’s gently picked guitar drawing out the melancholy from the songs and filling the space around it with a wistful sense of the slow passing of time. The whole album is just a step away from being a collection of really fucking sad Muppets songs.
COUNTRY CLASSICS•Gretchen Wilson - Here for the Party
Here for the Party is the soundtrack to which we can honor our own gloriously complicated lives and fully accept our origin stories with outward pride.
COUNTRY CLASSICS•Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger
‘Red Headed Stranger’ not only catapulted Willie Nelson to superstardom, but it also marked his first artistic triumph on his own terms. Its impact on country music has been incalculable.
COUNTRY CLASSICS•Willie Nelson - Yesterday's Wine
When Willie found a new creative impetus in Austin, he began an artistic rebirth that continues unabated to this day. Crucially, Yesterday’s Wine is where it started.
COUNTRY CLASSICS•Miranda Lambert - Revolution
Revolution is a masterclass in songwriting that perfectly balances tradition with modern style. Inarguably, it remains the template for what great country music should always be about.
COUNTRY CLASSICS•Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood - Nancy & Lee
The songs on Nancy & Lee helped both artists to shape their sounds at pivotal moments in their lives; creating a dark, complex and ethereal synergy that would inform generations that followed.
COUNTRY CLASSICS•The Black Crowes - The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
Though Southern Harmony was followed by The Black Crowes’ slow descent from mainstream visibility, it marked the beginning of a vibrant creative streak that still resounds beautifully this many years later.
COUNTRY CLASSICS•Bobbie Gentry - Fancy
Put this record on and turn the volume up, this is our one chance to not let Gentry down any further.
COUNTRY CLASSICS•Willie Nelson - Always On My Mind
As with all of Willie’s albums, there are things to love here. It also remains a fascinating look at an artist trying to work out his place in the world.
COUNTRY CLASSICS•Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel
Grievous Angel is an extraordinary entry in the limited Gram Parsons catalog; a true milestone of Americana - or, more aptly, cosmic American music.
COUNTRY CLASSICS•Taylor Swift - Red
As with so much of Swift’s output, Red can be remembered as it should be: truly, gloriously singular. Just don’t say it’s her best album.
COUNTRY CLASSICS•Sam Hunt - Montevallo
It’s certainly not your momma’s taste of traditional country, yet Montevallo's honoring of storytelling roots makes it one of the great modern country classics.
COUNTRY CLASSICS•Steve Earle - Copperhead Road
After working within a standard country template for his first two albums, Steve Earle embraced hard rock with his third effort Copperhead Road, kicking off the doggedly nonconformist streak that’s defined his career ever since.
COUNTRY CLASSICS•Drive-By Truckers - Southern Rock Opera
There is never a moment throughout this saga when the playing, singing and vocals feel anything less than earthy, honest and pure. That’s quite an accomplishment for this expansive hour and a half listen, particularly one where lyrics are so crucial to its enjoyment.
COUNTRY CLASSICS•Dolly Parton - Coat of Many Colors
It's on 1971’s Coat Of Many Colors that Dolly Parton's Hall of Fame level talent as a creator and wordsmith emerged. As for the rest of the album, it’s a fascinating journey into how the foundations of her professional streak took shape.
COUNTRY CLASSICS•Deana Carter - Did I Shave My Legs For This?
Did I Shave My Legs For This? caught the fever that was tearing through country music in the 90s, as a new army of women spiced up tradition with a reinvigorated tone of feisty independence.
COUNTRY CLASSICS•Garth Brooks - Ropin' the Wind
It’s been exactly 30 years since Brooks released his pivotal third album and changed the way people heard country music. We take a look back on its legacy.
