Alan Jackson - Under the Influence/Drive CD

Under the Influence/Drive album for sale While the two-disc 35 BIGGEST HITS is far from the first Toby Keith hits collection, it's easily his most comprehensive to date, including the biggest songs from every stage of the country superstar's first 15 years. It moves from early hits like "A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action," which found him coming on like an Alan Jackson-esque New Traditionalist, to catchy, in-your-face anthems like "How Do You Like Me Now" and "I Wanna Talk About Me." Naturally, it also contains Keith's controversial post-9/11 "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)," as well as his most mature work, such as latter-day smashes "Big Blue Note" and "A Little Too Late." It all adds up to a definitive portrait of an American original. Photographer: Richard McLaren.

Under the Influence/Drive buy CD music After the success of their first two singles -- "If I Die Young" and "Hip to My Heart," the Band Perry issued a self-titled teaser: a five-track EP that featured a different mix of the latter track. This is confusing, given that it's also the title of their debut album. This is especially true since everything about the group -- Kimberly Perry (lead vocals, guitar, and piano), Reid Perry (bass guitar), and Neil Perry (drums, mandolin, and accordion) -- is so carefully crafted by management, from their look and public image as a family group to their production and presentation (in other words, everything but their considerable talent for writing hooky, rootsy, country-pop songs). Ultimately, it's the latter that matters most. The Perrys wrote or co-wrote the vast majority of what's here. All five tracks from the EP are included on the album (the original mix of "Hip to My Heart" is here, rather than the video mix) along with six others. The meld of acoustic guitars, mandolins, accordion, and piano is added to considerably, with strings, big kick drums, pedal steel, and of course, fiddle. The songs here are carefully crafted; there isn't an extra word, chorus, or beat. The guitar solos are all in the right places, and all the electric instruments take a back seat to the acoustic ones. Standout tracks include the two singles, the angry, damning heartbreak song "Postcards from Paris," and "Independence," with its anthemic chorus and Kimberly Perry's passionate vocal chock-full of determination. The bluesy little rocker "Double Heart" is uncharacteristic of the rest of the set, and may be its best, most unguarded cut. There is no doubt that the Band Perry fits 2010's contemporary country radio and video format. Despite their obvious gifts for writing, singing, and arranging, the album is prone to some overly glossy mistakes. It will be interesting to see how they mature with album number two. ~ Thom Jurek Recording information: Blackbird Studios, Nashville, TN; Emblem Music, Calabasas, CA; Eye Spy Sound Studio, Nashville, TN; I.T. Sound; Loveshack Studios, Nashville, TN; OMNI Sound; Pain In The Art Studio, Nashville, TN; Sound Stage Studios, Nashville, TN; Soundgrounded, Ljublijana, Slovenia; Warner Studios, Nashville, TN. Photographers: Justin Nolan Key; Joseph Anthony Baker.

Under the Influence/Drive songs The 20-year anniversary of Alan Jackson's first Top Ten hit is the perfect occasion to release a collection like 34 Number Ones, a double-disc set rounding up the great majority of his blockbusters. Technically, the title bends the truth a bit and not just because three of the cuts -- "Ring of Fire," "Look at Me," and the Zac Brown Band duet "As She's Walking Away" -- are new. "Chasin' That Neon Rainbow," "Here in the Real World," "Tonight I Climbed the Wall," "(Who Says) You Can't Have It All," and "Who's Cheatin' Who" never topped the Billboard charts but a comprehensive Alan Jackson hits collection is unimaginable without them, so they're here alongside all the number one hits from 1991 through 2008. Jackson certainly has more to offer than just number one singles -- his facility with slow-burning torch songs and gospel is absent here, as are several singles that never reached the upper echelon of the charts ("Pop a Top," "The Talkin' Song Repair Blues," "USA Today," "A Woman's Love," "www.memory," "It's Alright to Be a Redneck," "When Somebody Loves You") -- but by its very length 34 Number Ones is the first of his compilations to really suggest the depth and breadth of his body of work, and it's a tremendously entertaining listen to boot. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine 2010 two CD collection from the Country superstar. Alan Jackson is celebrating the 20-year anniversary of his debut album with the release of 34 Number Ones, a career-spanning, double-disc collection featuring all 34 of Jackson's #1 hits. With 37 songs in all, the project will also include two rare tracks and the new Zac Brown Band single, 'As She's Walking Away,' featuring Alan Jackson. Jackson is a 16-time CMA and ACM Award winner and a Grammy-honored songwriter. His career, to date, has included sales of more than 50 million albums. Most recently, Jackson was honored with the ASCAP Founders Award, recognizing him for his innovative, influential, and pioneering contributions to music. Liner Note Author: Judy Forde-Blair. Photographers: Pamela Springsteen; Russ Harrington; Randee St. Nicholas.

Under the Influence/Drive CD music Freight Train, Alan Jackson's 16th album, has none of the momentum of a locomotive but all of the reassuring sturdiness of a hulking piece of steel: this is music built for distance, not speed. Appropriately, not much on Freight Train moves all that fast -- there is a bit of a skipping gait to the title track -- and nothing hits that hard; it all rolls along comfortably, never pushing at the edges of Jackson's comfort zone. More than ever, the singer sounds like part of the old guard, willfully ignoring anything modern or rocking, preferring to sing swaying ballads and pay tribute to Vern Gosdin via a cover of "Till the End." As relaxed as this is, Jackson isn't necessarily coasting -- he wrote the lion's share of the 12 songs here, choosing his four covers wisely -- but his touch is so relaxed it sometimes it feels as if he is. Certainly, there's a fair share of charm to Jackson's cozy confidence, but Freight Train doesn't offer a sustained romantic mood along the lines of 2006's understated gem Like Red on a Rose. Instead, it's the sound of a major star gently easing away from the spotlight, deciding that he's so comfortable in his old clothes that there's no reason to try something new. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Liner Note Author: Judy Forde-Blair. Recording information: The Castle, Franklin, TN; The Sound Station, Nashville, TN; Wedgewood Sound, Nashville, TN. Photographers: Russ Harrington; Timothy Monnig. Personnel: Brent Mason (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Bruce Watkins (acoustic guitar, banjo); Greenwood Hart (acoustic guitar); Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Stuart Duncan (mandolin, fiddle); Andy Leftwich (fiddle); Gary Prim (piano, Hammond b-3 organ, Wurlitzer organ); Hargus "Pig" Robbins (piano, Wurlitzer organ); Eddie Bayers (drums); Ryles Vincent, Rhonda Vincent, John Wesley (background vocals). Audio Mixer: John Kelton.

Under the Influence/Drive buy CD music Blake Shelton's sixth album (not including compilations), Red River Blue features production by the in-demand, award-winning Scott Hendricks. It is preceded by smash single "Honey Bee," which reached number one on the Billboard and Mediabase country single charts within seven weeks, and has logged a million digital downloads; it holds the record for the fastest-selling digital single to be certified gold by the R.I.A.A. by a country male. It's his fourth straight number one single and his ninth overall. In fact, given that Shelton had less than half an album completed when the single was released, he and his team were given two weeks to complete the album after it hit number one. The energy is evident throughout the 11-song set. Recording information: Arrowhead Studios; Blackbird Studios; FabMusic; Ocean Way Nashville; Odds On Recording, Henderson, NV; Omni Sound Studios; Riverview Back Porch; Starstruck Studios; Superphonic; Warner Studios. Photographer: Andrew Southam. Personnel: Ilya Toshinsky, Bryan Sutton (acoustic guitar); Paul Jenkins, Troy Lancaster, Tom Bukovac, Adam Shoenfeld, Brent Mason (electric guitar); Aubrey Haynie (mandolin, fiddle); Carole Rabinowitz, Elizabeth Lamb, Eberhard Ramm, Conni Ellisor, Pamela Sixfin (strings); Gordon Mote (piano, Hammond b-3 organ, programming); Tim Akers (piano, Hammond b-3 organ); Chris McHugh, Greg Morrow (drums, percussion); Eric Darken (percussion); Jessi Alexander, Martina McBride, Miranda Lambert, Wes Hightower, Perry Coleman (background vocals). Audio Mixer: Justin Niebank.

Under the Influence/Drive songs George Strait co-wrote seven of the eleven songs (sharing credits with Dean Dillon, Bobby Boyd, and his son, Bubba Strait) on Here for a Good Time, his 39th studio album, which was co-produced by Strait and Tony Brown and recorded at Jimmy Buffett's Shrimpboat Sound Studio in Key West, Florida. Recording information: Backstage, Sound Stage Studios, Nashville, TN; Shrimpboat Sound Studio, Key West, FL. Photographers: Terry Calonge; Vanessa Gavalya; Kelley Fromme-May. Personnel: George Strait (background vocals); Ilya Toshinsky, Steve Gibson , Brent Mason (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Stuart Duncan (mandolin, fiddle); Matt Rollings (piano, Hammond b-3 organ, Wurlitzer organ); Steve Nathan (piano, Hammond b-3 organ, synthesizer); Glenn Worf (upright bass); Eddie Bayers (drums); Faith Hill, Chris Stapleton, Tom Flora, Wes Hightower, Marty Slayton (background vocals). Audio Mixer: Chuck Ainlay.