Music City shares a bounty of albums
Only halfway through 2017, this list of the best Nashville-connected albums already is buckling under the weight of stellar efforts by Chris Stapleton, Alison Krauss, Jason Isbell, Paramore, Brad Paisley, Chuck Berry and others. We can only imagine how long the list will be by year’s end.
ALISON KRAUSS WINDY CITY
Krauss’ first solo album of new material in 18 years is worth the wait. With its lush strings and Krauss’ impeccable vocals, the record — produced by Buddy Cannon — is reminiscent of the smooth Nashville Sound and countrypolitan releases that came out of Music City in the ’50s and ’60s.
ANGALEENA PRESLEY WRANGLED
Presley, one-third of the Pistol Annies, shoots from the hip on her first album since 2014’s Amer
ican Middle Class. Her biting wit and honeyed alto make Wrangled — which includes songs she cowrote with Guy Clark, Chris Stapleton, rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson, and her Pistol Annies bandmates Miranda Lambert and Ashley Monroe — one of 2017’s most enjoyable listens.
BRAD PAISLEY LOVE AND WAR
At a time when country music is as pop as it has ever been, Brad Paisley releases one of his most country albums to date.
DADDY ISSUES DEEP DREAM
Crunchy guitars and infectious hooks abound on the promising debut LP from this local grunge- pop trio, whose members met while students at Belmont University and got their band name from bathroom graffiti.
JASON ISBELL AND THE 400 UNIT
THE NASHVILLE SOUND Isbell’s sixth studio release, features some of his best songwriting to date, from the rage and despair of Cumberland Gap to meditations on mortality in If We
Were Vampires. LITTLE BIG TOWN THE BREAKER
Soaring harmonies, infectious melodies and meaningful lyrics are hallmarks of Little Big Town’s
The Breaker. The collection is lighthearted yet haunting — the type of songs that never age and carry listeners on a journey through life’s peaks and valleys with every play.
MAC WISEMAN I SANG THE SONG
Wiseman has seen a lot in his 92 years. For this album, the Coun- try Music Hall of Famer teamed up with Thomm Jutz and Peter Cooper to turn his remarkable life story into song.
RODNEY CROWELL CLOSE TIES
This pensive, narrative-driven record finds Crowell looking back at his four-decade career, poking fun at his mullet-sporting younger self and reflecting on some of his friends who’ve passed away in recent years.
CHRIS STAPLETON FROM A ROOM: VOLUME 1
Stapleton’s follow-up to his 2015 breakout success with Traveller carried the pressure of being the most anticipated country release of the first half of the year. He was determined to not drink his own Kool-Aid. From A Room: Volume 1 is rich with Stapleton’s vocal textures, classic country sounds and thoughtful, articulate lyrics about love, life and pain.
CHARLIE WORSHAM BEGINNING OF THINGS
Charlie Worsham spent years working on his second Warner Music Nashville release Begin
ning of Things, which is reflected in its thoughtful track list and fearless production. Not a beat is wasted.
DAN AUERBACH WAITING ON A SONG
Taking another break from his blues-rock outfit The Black Keys, Auerbach holed up in his Nashville studio for a year to make his second solo album. To get to its 10 wide-ranging rock and country tunes, he wrote and recorded 200 songs with a cast of legendary collaborators, including songwriting master John Prine and rock guitar pioneer Duane Eddy.
LILLIE MAE FOREVER AND THEN SOME
She’s only 26, but the road that Lillie Mae Rische took to her Third Man Records debut was long and impressively winding. She began playing fiddle in her family band at age 7, was a fixture of Nashville’s honky-tonk scene by her teens and toured with Jack White on his major solo jaunts. All that adds up to a unique voice, as Forever mixes bluegrass roots with a sweet melodic sense, deft instrumental work and distinctly southern soul.
CHUCK BERRY CHUCK
Nashville’s Dualtone Records had the honor of releasing the final album from a rock ’n’ roll legend.
Chuck arrived three months after Berry’s death at age 90, and closes the book on a legendary career with a spirited collection of rockers, covers and love songs. (The album is dedicated to his wife of 68 years.)