Keith Urban - Be Here CD

Be Here buy CD music Fronted by the seriously soulful vocalist Jennifer Nettles, Sugarland is a trio that makes immediately accessible, radio-ready country-pop. Singer/songwriters Kristen Hall and Kristian Bush comprise the other two-thirds of the group, and together they generate a sound that is equal parts backwoods twang, urban-cowgirl glamour, and suburban working-class malaise, a mix that will undoubtedly appeal to all three demographics. TWICE THE SPEED OF LIFE is Sugarland's full-length debut, and it fulfills the promise of its major-label status by delivering the goods in full. While the crisp production, Nettles's gospel-inflected alto, and Hall and Bush's sweet, multi-part harmonies are what catch the ear on first listen, the secret weapon here is the quality of the songwriting. "Something More" bemoans the dreariness of 9-to-5 life and yearns for transcendence in its memorable, sing-along chorus. "Hello" is a lilting, mid-tempo narrative of an idyllic romance, while "Down in Mississippi (Up to No Good) is the sort of rollicking party anthem tailor-made for wild nights on the town. In short, Sugarland has all the makings of major country-pop act. Personnel: Jennifer Nettles (vocals, background vocals); Kristian Bush (acoustic guitar, mandolin, background vocals); Kristen Hall (acoustic guitar, background vocals); Dan Dugmore (electric guitar, steel guitar, lap steel guitar, dobro, banjo); Tom Bukovac (electric guitar); Rob Hajacos (fiddle); Brandon Bush (organ); Greg Morrow (drums, maracas, shaker, tambourine, percussion); Chad Cromwell (drums); Steve Brewster (percussion); Garrison Starr, Garth Fundis (background vocals). Audio Mixers: Matt Andrews ; Chuck Ainlay. Recording information: Sound Emporium Studios, Nashville, TN. Photographer: Julie Dennis Brothers. Sugarland includes: Kristen Hall (vocals, guitar); Kristian Bush (vocals, mandolin); Jennifer Nettles (vocals). Sugarland: Kristen Hall (vocals, guitar); Kristian Bush (vocals); Jennifer Nettles.

Be Here CD music Country superstar Tim McGraw surely needs no apologists; the Louisiana-born singer, who's racked up millions of record sales and married country diva Faith Hill, is practically a force of nature. However, there is a misconception of McGraw as just a high-gloss hat act, a notion that a close listen to LIVE LIKE YOU WERE DYING should dispel. For one thing, while almost all of his peers record with the same pool of Nashville studio hotshots, McGraw continues to work with his longtime band, the Dancehall Doctors. Additionally, progressive-country cult heroes Bruce Robison and Rodney Crowell are among the songwriters tapped for material here. Most importantly, at a time when most mainstream country artists are compelled to pander to their audience by maintaining a "don't worry, be happy" attitude, McGraw isn't afraid to journey into darker emotional territory, often with no clear way out--see the heartbreaking "Blank Sheet of Paper," and "Open Season on My Heart." The latter song is surely one of the most powerful pieces to be found on a circa-2004 hit country album, and even though Crowell penned it (with James T. Slater), you can thank Tim McGraw for bringing it to the light of day. Recording information: Allaire Studios, Shokan, NY; Blackbird Studio, Nashville, TN. Author: George Washington . Photographers: Darran Smith; Dean Brown ; Mark McKenna; Tony Duran . Personnel: Tim McGraw (vocals); Tim McGraw; Darren Smith (acoustic guitar); Charles Bisharette, Natalie Leggett, Sara Parkins, Armen Garabedian, Darius Campo, Susan Chatman, Berj Garabedian, Charlie Bisharat, Mario Diaz de Leon (violin); Evan Wilson, Bob Becker (viola); Suzie Katayama, Larry Corbett (cello); Jeff McMahon (piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Wurlitzer piano, Hammond b-3 organ, synthesizer); John Marcus (bass instrument); Dave Dunkley, David Dunkley (percussion); Chris Rodriguez, Gene Miller, Greg Barnhill, Robert Bailey, Jr. , Kim Carnes, Rodney Crowell, Steve McEwan, Vicki Hampton, Wes Hightower, Robert Bailey , Kim Fleming, Russell Terrell (background vocals); Darran Smith (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Bob Minner (acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin); Denny Hemingson (electric guitar, slide guitar, steel guitar, baritone guitar, dobro); Dean Brown (mandolin, fiddle); Billy Mason (drums); Faith Hill, Brett Warren (background vocals). Audio Mixers: Tim McGraw; Byron Gallimore.

Be Here songs If anyone in the 21st century still thinks that country music is all HEE HAW hillbilly tunes, one listen to Rascal Flatts's FEELS LIKE TODAY proves that nothing could be further from the truth. More Backstreet Boys than Buck Owens, Rascal Flatts are in may ways the musical embodiment of the true New South; these boys may acknowledge their place in a rural history, but they're just as likely to be watching basketball as rodeo riding. Throughout, lead singer Gary Levox shows off his finely honed contemporary-R&B-esque vocal chops, giving even Usher a run for his money. The production style is suitably bright and punchy, with every twanging Telecaster lick, cracking snare, and sparkling cymbal crash perfectly in place. The group is at its best on the power ballads ("The Day Before You," "Bless the Broken Road"), when the music's Nashville heart, urban sheen, and Levox's yearning vocals mesh in just the right quantities to please an unusually wide cross-section of listeners. Live Recording Rascal Flatts: Joe Don Rooney (vocals, electric guitar); Jay (vocals, bass guitar); Gary (vocals). Additional personnel: Jerry McPherson, Tom Bukovac (electric guitar); Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Jonathan Yudkin (banjo, mandolin, fiddle); Tim Akers (accordion, keyboards, synthesizer); Steve Nathan, Gordon Mote (piano, Hammond b-3 organ); Lonnie Wilson (drums).

Be Here album for sale Considering that Keith Urban grew up in New Zealand and cultivates an image that's more Kelly Clarkson than Roy Clark, one might be tempted to doubt his abilities when it comes to Nashville hit making. On GOLDEN ROAD, however, Urban delivers a solid set of contemporary country with more panache and chops than many of his American-born, cowboy-hatted contemporaries. A virtuoso picker who credits Lindsay Buckingham as a primary influence, Urban has fashioned a highly melodic country/alternative-rock fusion that's equal parts Fleetwood Mac, Rodney Crowell, and Third Eye Blind. On several tunes, twangy vocals and banjo blend seamlessly with distorted Lynyrd Skynryd-style guitar leads and the pounding drums of rocker Matt Chamberlain (David Bowie, Tori Amos, Dave Navarro). In addition, Urban wisely avoids using Music City cookie-cutter material, instead favoring mature tunes from left-of-center stalwarts such as Crowell and Radney Foster. Overall, GOLDEN ROAD offers few real surprises, but serves as a welcome reminder of Nashville's occasional ability to produce music that's simultaneously slick and substantial. Feat. Single "Somebody Like You" Audio Mixer: Justin Niebank. Recording information: Blueberry Hill; Emerald Entertainment; Hound's Ear; The Sound Kitchen, Nashville, TN. Photographer: Juan Pont Lezica. Arranger: Ronn Huff. Personnel: Keith Urban (vocals, electric guitar, gango, e-bow, cardboard box); Dan Dugmore (guitar, steel guitar); Tom Bukovac, Dan Knuff (guitar); Jason Mowery (dobro); Aubrey Haynie (fiddle); Tim Akers (Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards); Steve Nathan, John Hobbs (keyboards); Jimmie Leee Sloas (bass); Chris McHugh, Matt Chamberlain (drums, percussion); Eric Darken (percussion); Russell Terrell (background vocals); The Nashville String Machine. Personnel: Keith Urban (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, E-bow, banjo, piano, background vocals); Dan Dugmore (guitar, steel guitar); Dan Huff, Tom Bukovac (guitar); Kathryn Vanosdale, Carl Gorodetzky, Pamela Sixfin, Alan Umstead (violin); Aubrey Haynie (fiddle); Kris Wilkinson, Gary VanOsdale (viola); Carl Rabinowitz (cello); The Nashville String Machine (strings); John Hobbs (piano, keyboards); Tim Akers, Steve Nathan (keyboards); Chris McHugh (drums, percussion); Matt Chamberlain (drums); Eric Darken (percussion); Jerry Flowers, Monty Powell, Scotty Huff (background vocals).

Be Here CD music Electronic-sounding beats, soaring string arrangements, and searing lead guitar mesh seamlessly with banjo, steel guitar, and mandolin throughout the album. The amalgamation of '70s/'80s widescreen pop-rock a la Elton John and Bryan Adams with contemporary country sounds surprisingly natural here. From the airborne "Shine" to the down-and-dirty "Raise the Barn" (with a guest turn from Brooks & Dunn's Ronnie Dunn), Urban never falters. Whether the reason lies chiefly in his guy-next-door persona, hook-heavy songcraft, or instrumental deftness, LOVE, PAIN has platinum written all over it. The fair-haired Aussie who came across the pond with guitar in hand to show Nashville how it's done, Keith Urban became a country music phenomenon in the early 2000s. Like his contemporary Brad Paisley, Urban combined songs with a broad-based appeal and fiery fretboard skills to gain a wide audience. LOVE, PAIN & THE WHOLE CRAZY THING finds Urban refining his approach ever further, to achieve the perfect marriage of pop, rock, and country. Personnel: Keith Urban (vocals, guitar, E-bow, bouzouki, mandolin, piano, bass guitar, percussion); Ronnie Dunn (vocals); Tom Bukovac (guitar); Rami Jaffee (keyboards); Jimmie Lee Sloas (bass guitar); Chris McHugh (drums, programming).

Be Here buy CD music Technically, the Ranch was a country trio consisting of Peter Clarke, Jerry Flowers, and future superstar Keith Urban. In practice, though, it was a group of equals to the same extent as the Jimi Hendrix Experience, which is to say, it wasn't a group of equals at all. Clarke provides drums and percussion on this debut album, Flowers plays bass, and Urban does everything else. That means singing lead vocals, playing a variety of stringed instruments, handling keyboards, and co-writing nine of the album's 12 songs. The album is essentially a showcase for Urban, the up-and-coming Aussie performer who left his homeland, moved to Nashville, and would eventually become one of the city's biggest stars. Urban is a triple threat here: he writes songs steeped in country traditions (but avoids music that's purely traditionalist), sings them with confidence, and, most impressively, picks a guitar authoritatively. His pop/country/rock sound occasionally recalls the 1980s style of Rodney Crowell, particularly on one of the songs he didn't write, "Just Some Love." His is an approach that takes the history of country into consideration while also looking forward. He may plead "Hank Don't Fail Me Now" in one song title, but he never really sounds like Hank Williams. He sounds modern instead, and the album reveals a broad, budding talent not far from fully flowering. Not surprisingly, after the commercial failure of this release, the Ranch broke up and Urban went solo, breaking through to success shortly after. ~ William Ruhlmann Additional Tracks Personnel: Keith Urban (vocals, guitar, banjo, keyboards); Jerry Flowers (bass, background vocals); Peter Clarke (drums, percussion). This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.