In June of 2011, Glen Campbell, 75 years old, announced that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In spite of the ailment, he finished and released an album, Ghost on the Canvas, at the end of the summer and ...

EAST TENNESSEE CHRISTMAS has a distinctly warm and serene ambiance. Chet Atkins' smooth guitar sound and lyrical touch--together with the silken voices of a (mostly) female choir and the lush outline of a string orchestra--make this an out of the ...

The series of Icon releases from UME are budget-priced compilations by pop legends, as well as younger artists who've scored on the singles charts. The Billy Currington volume selects two cuts from his self-titled debut in "I Got a Feelin'" ...

Recording information: Aimeeland Studios; Ocean Way Nashville; Sound Stage Studios. Photographer: Mark Anthony Jeffries. Personnel: Jake Owen (acoustic guitar); Kenny Greenberg, Tom Bukovac (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Ilya Toshinsky (acoustic guitar, dobro, banjo); Jerry McPherson, Adam Shoenfeld, Brent Mason (electric guitar); Glen ...

Brenda Lee's Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree includes the festive title track and a mix of classic holiday tunes, including "Winter Wonderland," "Silver Bells," "White Christmas," and "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town." Unique Christmas and winter tunes like "Christy ...

Dierks Bentley's sixth album, Home, his first since the bluegrass-themed Up on the Ridge from 2010, features a dozen new songs that the singer road-tested on tour, and it's an eclectic and varied affair, with guest spots from Little Big ...

Josh Turner had number one hits prior to Haywire but that 2010 set had two chart toppers -- the swinging "Why Don't We Just Dance" and "All Over Me" -- and not long after its release, American Idol contestant (and ...

Sony/Legacy continues its compelling and welcome The Johnny Cash Bootleg Series with this fourth volume, The Soul of Truth, which collects sides (some previously unreleased) Cash recorded in the 1970s and '80s in a faith and gospel vein. Recording information: Hendersonville ...

Charley Pride was country music's first African-American star, and with 30-plus number one chart hits to his name, he obviously knew what he was doing, and if he played it carefully close to the vest and kept things traditional, he ...

On the cover of his 2010 debut, Love Like Crazy, Lee Brice looked a little bit like an everyday bro in his T-shirt and backwards baseball cap but on its 2012 sequel, Hard 2 Love, he cuts a slightly more ...

Legacy's 2012 set The Essential Alan Jackson is a retitled reissue of 2010's 34 Number Ones, containing the same songs in the same sequence but bearing a different title and artwork. Upon its release, three of these cuts -- "Ring ...

Crossover country and pop singer left her longtime label RCA for Republic Nashville, where her 2011 album Eleven was released. Her former label has assembled a definitive 20-track hits collection that begins with her first charting single for RCA 1993's ...

Liner Note Author: Alan Cackett. Photographer: Anthony Baker. Ultimate Collection: Complete MCA Singles 1990-2000 gathers 30 tracks recorded by Mark Chesnutt during his tenure with the label, including the hits "Brother Jukebox," "Bubba Shot the Jukebox," and "I'll Think of Something." Recommended ...

A honky tonk album filled with religious themes may sound a bit incongruous, but if you know the Bellamy Brothers, it's just business as usual. The duo have always gone their own way, ignoring trends and making the kind of ...

Jerry Douglas is the undisputed King of the Dobro, a musician with monster chops. He cut his teeth playing bluegrass with the Country Gentlemen, but he's equally adept at almost any kind of music and has played with the top ...

Recording information: Bayou Recording Studio, Nashville, TN. Personnel: Reggie Young (electric guitar); Joe Spivey (fiddle); Mike Chapman (bass guitar); Randy Hardison (drums); Tim Hunley, Kenny Hunley (background vocals); Mark Casstevens, B. James Lowry (acoustic guitar); Larry Byrom (electric guitar); Sonny Garrish, ...

Justin Townes Earle's 2010 effort Harlem River Blues sounded like he'd found his way as a singer/songwriter amid the spidery, criss-crossing lines of Memphis' long and sometimes fractious musical heritage. Earle moved to London, but the sound of Nothing's Gonna ...

This single-disc, 14-collection features several hits by George Jones & Tammy Wynette including "Golden Ring," "We're Gonna Hold On," and "Two Story House." This is a perfect set for casual listeners on a budget. ~ Al Campbell Liner Note Author: John ...

This 2012 Time/Life budget-line compilation rounds up ten sides from George Jones' '60s recordings for Musicor. This means the version of the big hit "White Lightnin'" is a re-recording, but it's a good one and it's surrounded by a bunch ...

Australia's Raven Records releases another entry in its Jerry Jeff Walker reissue program, featuring his third and fourth albums for MCA, Walker's Collectibles and Ridin' High, on two discs with bonus cuts. Walker's Collectibles was recorded in Austin. It followed ...

Fresh off his work with producer T-Bone Burnett on 2010's Junky Star, Ryan Bingham has left Lost Highway Records, which put out his last three records, and returns to the indie ranks with his Tomorrowland album. Tomorrowland was recorded in ...

Hank Williams is where modern country began. His brilliant songwriting, stage sense, and unassuming vocal delivery, although it's hard to imagine it now, made him the template for everything that followed in his wake. This archival set includes the only ...

Known for their regular Monday night gig at Nashville's renowned Station Inn, Western swing band the Time Jumpers now include Vince Gill as a member, and his acoustic and electric guitar and vocals are featured on the band's debut album ...

Adapters: Les Taylor; Billy Liebert. Unknown Contributor Role: John Wayne. Arrangers: Les Taylor; Billy Liebert.

Taylor Swift abandons any pretense that she's a teen on her second album, FEARLESS--which isn't to say that she suddenly tarts herself up, running away from her youth in a manner that's all too familiar to many teen stars. Swift's ...