March 4, 2025 • 47 mins
Sometimes (more so in recent years) country albums are so beloved they find appeal not only with country music fans, but also with a larger pop audience. On today’s episode we discuss three albums that were able to make that leap.
- Glen Campbell – Rhinestone Cowboy (1975)
- The Chicks – Home (2002)
- Florida Georgia Line – Dig Your Roots (2016)
Other Diggins
- Tunng – Love You All Over Again (2025)
- Anna B Savage – You and I are Earth (2025)
- The Vapors – Wasp In a Jar (2025)
- Basia Bulet – Basia’s Palace (2025)
- Warlung – The poison Touch (2025)
- Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison (1968)
What do you think of these records? What country crossover albums do you enjoy? Let us know on our website, albumnerds.com or email us, podcast@albumnerds.com.
Does Elton John’s Captain Fantastic and the The Brown Dirt Cowboy belong in the Album Nerds Hall of Fame? Cast your vote on our website, albumnerds.com/#vote.
Listen to more episodes and suggest topics for the Wheel of Musical Discovery on albumnerds.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Bluesky.
Thanks for listening!!!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to the Album Nerds podcast with your hosts Andy, Don, and Dude.
(00:13):
Howdy y'all, it's the Album Nerds podcast.
I'm Dude, I got Andy and Don with me.
We're about to keep it country but also keep it poppy.
How you gentlemen doing today? Andy, what's up?
Yeah, man, I'm just taking my horse through the mall, you know, as I do.
Yes, of course.
Yeah, little country pop. How you doing over there, Don?
Yeah, I'm going to take my brand new Chevy with a lift kit to the mall.
(00:37):
Why are you guys going to the mall is my question.
Isn't that where pop music lives?
I see that's where pop come from.
Maybe.
So this is the Album Nerds podcast.
We love albums and the album format and we have a great show for you today.
We're going to be talking about country crossover successes.
So we'll each be presenting an album that illustrates that in some way, shape or form.
(01:00):
Then Don's going to ask us a deep question.
We have some shout outs to some other albums and album related items or dig in.
And then we're going to spin that wheel of musical discovery to find out what we'll talk about next time.
But this week, it's all about that crossover.
That's what I'm talking about.
Certain country artists have achieved such remarkable success that their impact extends far beyond the confines of the country music charts.
(01:26):
Their songs resonate with diverse audiences finding unexpected popularity on mainstream platforms like Top 40 and adult contemporary radio stations.
Today, each of us will present a country album that achieved significant crossover success.
Yeah, country crossover. That's kind of a what is that, right?
Is it crossing over genres? Are you crossing over charts? Like what's happening here?
(01:48):
So I think what we were sort of talking about was when a country artist gets a song played on traditional pop radio and crosses over to non country fans.
Kind of a fun exploration. Besides your actual picks, what other albums did you guys consider, Andy?
Well, I spent a little time with Dolly Parton.
You lucky man.
(02:09):
I hear she's a lovely lady.
She's very charming. I listened to her 1980 record, 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs, which kind of got that one.
You have that one? It was fun.
It's kind of a tie into her, the hit song 9 to 5 and the movie also called 9 to 5, I believe.
Correct.
Super poppy. She always brings a twinge of country to it, but a very shiny pop on that record there.
(02:37):
How about you, Don? What did you find?
Well, I'm going to mention him again. Keith Urban back in 2002, I think this is when I was still working in radio.
That's why it came to mind. He had a song called You'll Think of Me that was a pretty big crossover hit that appears on his album Golden Road.
Well, we've talked about Keith Urban before, but it's not all that country. Far less twang in his voice than a lot of.
(03:00):
Well, he's Australian.
That is true. He was actually born in New Zealand.
Let's not have this conversation again.
He's Kiwi.
Kiwi country, man.
But he lived in Australia, right?
Yes, he did.
So we're both right. Stop being the corrector.
Keith Urban seems like a big part of your life and household. I feel like you should grow your hair out and get it flat ironed or whatever the hell he does.
(03:24):
Make your wife happy.
Get some tattoos.
I thought of a whole bunch of different stuff. I think I was leaning a little bit to traditional country.
When I looked at Johnny Paychex, Take This Job and Shove It, it's his 17th studio album released in 1977.
It's a blended traditional country and honky tonk centered around working class struggles.
(03:47):
The title track was written by David Ellen Coe and even they made a movie called Take This Job and Shove It.
I mean, this song was very popular across all boundaries.
It just resonated with people for some reason.
As it like saying shove it was still pretty spicy back then, you know, like publicly saying shove it on the radio.
Other notable tracks included Colorado Kool Aid and Georgia in a Jug.
(04:10):
I got to tell you guys, I love this album. It just didn't quite fit what we're looking for today.
Colorado Kool Aid.
Yeah, that's right.
So why don't we get into the albums we really choo choo choo chose.
You choo choo choose me?
(04:33):
All right, from my country crossover selection, we're going with Glen Campbell and his 1975 album Rhinestone Cowboy.
This is the 28th studio album for the country artists from Bilstown, Arkansas.
It's a concept album about a over the hill country star who's uneasy about their success.
I think safe to say it's fairly autobiographical.
(04:56):
But Mr. Campbell, let's jump in here and play the big cut.
This is Rhinestone Cowboy.
That song was written and recorded originally by Larry Weiss the year prior to Mr. Campbell's big hit.
(05:20):
He heard it well in tour in Australia, another Australia tie in on their country episode here.
Thought the song was great and reminded a lot of his life and he immediately went back to California and recorded it and made it a huge hit.
The song just makes me smile for some reason. I'm not sure why.
It's uplifting for sure.
Yeah, I mean, I think it's kind of appealing to people who think rhinestones are cool.
(05:47):
It's a whole lifestyle, you know, bedazzlers. Is that like Liberace?
Yeah, yeah.
I really like that image.
Once you're at the point where you have sparkly beads on your costumes when you're playing a live concert, that's when perhaps you've either made it or gone too far.
That you're no longer the down to earth musician you once were.
(06:08):
Yeah.
And I'm wondering if maybe Elvis was somewhat of an inspiration to that because at that point he was wearing those jumpsuits with all the bedazzled stuff all over him.
A lot of those guys were like even George Jones and Conway Twitty. They all had that jumpsuit with the rhinestones.
Well, I guess the impression I got from listening to the record was it's kind of he's got his foot in these two different worlds.
(06:34):
He's living out in California, but his heart's going to be back in Arkansas.
My clickbait headline for the album is Campbell's Fish Out of Water concept album might taste a bit canned, but it's good.
Like tuna?
Like good. The Campbell soup commercials. Come on, man.
But it's fish out of water, so it's got to be tuna.
(06:56):
Don't read too much into the metaphor there, Don.
Geez.
This is a pretty big ambitious sounding and also I think conceptually record.
It's a concept record for sure.
But also I like some big string arrangements that kind of give it this big sound and a lot of emotion goes into it, I would say.
The beginning of the record, the first four tracks are penned by the producers of the album, which are a production pair by the names of Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter.
(07:24):
I thought they were going to have cool like producer DJ names, but I guess this is too early in the game for that.
This is the 70s, man.
They've done tracks together with a bunch of artists in this period, including like the Four Tops and Dusty Springfield.
I think the beginning of the record is the strongest point in my perspective.
Kind of really leads into Campbell's story and get a real sense of who he is.
(07:45):
There's a couple covers on the album as well, including an unfortunate cover of My Girl.
But there are some interesting songs too as we get into later on the record, including this really beautiful number written by Mike Settle.
This is called I Build a Bridge.
Oh, I build a bridge made of the love so strong that there's no bridge of love.
(08:11):
And stone.
And stone. He's defending it in a manly way.
You've got to have the stone.
Something about it reminds me of that On the Wings of Love song.
Jeffrey Osborne.
I think it's a pretty powerful song.
I think so too.
Andy mentioned that it was written by Mike Settle.
(08:33):
He was actually a member of Kenny Rogers group, the first edition.
I'd say the song kind of reflects sort of the reflective tone of the album.
And it starts out as I sift through the ashes of bridges burned and broken dreams.
You've got that regret and desperation that I think is so typical of country music.
And I think maybe that's what country music does best.
And then of course it's to build a bridge back to your love.
(08:58):
I don't know if we should bring this up, but I believe that there was some alcoholism and some tumultuous stuff with spouses with him.
And maybe some of this is to do with trying to make up for the I'm sorry baby vibe, which kind of sours the song for me a bit.
(09:19):
I know it's a concept album, but I wonder how much of it is meant to be sort of autobiographical.
All right. Well, my clickbait headline for Rhinestone Cowboy is Midlife Crisis Never Sounded So Nice.
So I mean, really, I mean, it's a pretty dark album for the most part.
He's kind of sort of refinding his place in the world, but it just sounds so damn good.
(09:43):
And over the years, I've really become a sucker for these polished 70s pop country records.
They're just so well produced.
And I'm not sure what went wrong in the 80s, because particularly the early 80s, I feel like production maybe goes a little too far.
The slickness of the 70s maybe goes a little too far.
(10:04):
And then we sort of come back a bit in the 90s.
But I do think in terms of production, the 70s is one of my favorite eras.
So Glen Campbell is famously a member of that wrecking crew group,
that group of studio musicians who were on a ton of hits in the 1960s and 70s.
And so when Campbell went out and was recording his own stuff, he used a lot of that wrecking crew.
(10:26):
On this one, he included drummer Ed Green and guitarist Dean Parks.
Campbell is actually considered to be by many kind of like a guitar legend,
because he was a guitarist as part of the wrecking crew.
But it's interesting that he didn't really choose to show it off on his own records.
But I did want to maybe listen for it.
And so I think he only plays acoustic guitar on this record.
(10:48):
And if you do listen closely, it's a little buried in the mix,
but he does kind of have some interesting picking going on and strumming patterns and stuff.
Interesting. Yeah, it's hard to pick up on that.
Yeah, there's so much orchestral swell.
Oh yeah, there really is.
A lot of swelling.
It's a small record.
Swell.
All right, why don't we circle the wagons back here to the beginning of the record,
(11:11):
play the opening cut. This is called Country Boy, You Got Your Feet in LA.
You really are country boy. You got your feet in LA. Put your mind on the game.
You almost could just listen to this song and know the entire album.
Yeah, it's kind of a nice thesis.
Sums it up really nicely. Of course, you're here for the Rhinestone Cowboy.
(11:33):
That's what you're here for, you know, listening to this record for probably in the first place.
It's interesting that Rhinestone Cowboy isn't down to track six on this album, kind of the middle of the album.
I think does it kick off side B or side two?
Yeah, I think it saves side B to some extent.
Perhaps.
It makes that flip worth it back in the day when you had to get up to flip the record.
(11:55):
Yeah, so Country Boy, You Got Your Feet in LA reflects that tension between the rural roots and the urban success, right?
You're putting on your rhinestones or should you be putting on your dirty old boots and, you know, who are you now?
Lyrics are very clear. Small town boy makes it big.
And really in Glen Campbell's case, it wasn't just being a country artist, not just going to Nashville recording albums.
(12:18):
It was being in that wrecking crew, being a part of the Beach Boys for a little while, being part of that of the pop scene, not necessarily country scene.
My clickbait headline to describe Rhinestone Cowboy, the bedazzled anthem that lassoed both the country and pop charts.
So that song and all these songs are very barely country.
(12:42):
But Rhinestone Cowboy itself, instead of it being a scathing, like this, you know, am I selling out type of thing to the people listening?
It was a celebration of the Cowboys are cool, you know.
I like his voice. I mean, he's from like deep Arkansas.
He dials the twang back a little bit, unlike other artists.
(13:05):
Yeah, I would I would say he's more Neil Diamond than Willie Nelson.
Yeah, definitely. Yeah.
But it works, you know, like come back. Interesting.
Like in Comeback, he's coming back to you, the person after he becomes a star.
But is it also it's a career comeback in a way, too.
So I thought that was interesting. I like to count on me.
(13:26):
If you want a 70s string filled ballad, it almost has the sounds of some of that orchestral disco stuff.
It's a it's a nice sound. It's just a confusing album at times.
It is. Yeah, there's a few tracks on here.
I think kind of maybe jump off the rails a little bit, but I would say it ends really well.
I really like The Last Cut, We're Over.
(13:47):
It's really like heartbreaking song about kind of like a point relationship where both people know it's over, but no one's really spoken about it out loud yet.
Yeah, but there are some some moments on here I don't think work quite as well before that.
So, yeah, kind of a mixed bag, but I think, you know, really great representation of that 70s country sound, which is pretty unique in itself.
So if you're looking for a great pop country concept record with some crossover appeal, Ronstone Cowboy is a great choice.
(14:11):
Give it a try. That'd be a very specific thing to be looking for.
Well, if you're making a podcast for crossover success, you've got it covered. But we found it for you.
Before we continue our journey through country crossover successes, why don't we hear from our friends at the Astrovert Podcast.
(14:33):
What's up, folks? It's Jake here from the Astrovert Podcast.
Come join us as we play underplayed and undershare bands from across the United States and the world.
We found local bands from the Midwest, Florida, the UK, New Zealand and far, far beyond.
Some of our recent favorite discoveries include Sprawl, Glitch Kingdom, City of Auburn, Flake, Michigan and so many more.
(14:55):
We feature Rock News, Rock News, as well as discuss our band's journey towards finishing our forthcoming EP.
Our first two singles, Last Call and Tides of Elephants, both out now.
You can find the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Yes, so go check out Astrovert Podcasts for Astrovert and more.
(15:19):
You better get to work on an LP if they want to be featured on the album.
That's right.
My pick for a country crossover album comes from The Chicks, formerly known as the Dixie Chicks, who changed their name in 2020 to simply The Chicks.
The album is called Home, released in August of 2002.
(15:42):
It's the sixth studio album by the group formed in Dallas in 1989.
The lineup for this record was the lead vocalist, Natalie Maynes, Marty Maguire, who plays fiddle and mandolin and violin.
And Emily, it was Robeson at the time.
Now it's like Strayer, you know, she's remarried, plays banjo, dobro and accordion.
(16:04):
They're actually Marty Maguire and Emily Robeson are actually sisters.
Their maiden name is Erwin, but they were actually the founding members of the group and they were kind of on the bluegrass circuit.
Natalie Maynes joined the group before they broke through with their album Wide Open Spaces in 1998 and they adopted sort of a more pop country sound.
So this album kind of saw them return to that those like acoustic and bluegrass roots.
(16:28):
They actually brought in Natalie Maynes' father, who's a pedal steel guitarist, Lloyd Maynes.
Anyway, here's the big hit that crossed over to pop and hot AC radio.
This is Landslide.
(16:49):
I can't believe they stole that from the Smashing Pumpkins.
So Landslide is, of course, a cover of the Fleetwood Mac song from 1975 written by Stevie Nicks.
Apparently, Natalie Maynes was drawn to the song because she was the same age as Nicks when she performed it.
So it features two and three part harmonies and it's got those, you know, that bluegrass instrumentation behind it.
(17:16):
Really gives it a brighter sound than the original Fleetwood Mac track, which is kind of stark.
I'm not sure. I remember originally when I heard this, I'm like, oh, they lost the whole vibe of the Fleetwood Mac song.
But over time, I've really grown to appreciate this version.
All right. Well, my clickbait headline for home is Chicks lay golden Americana egg.
(17:40):
Yeah, Chicks.
Oh, the Chicks.
So this was actually, the band was really exploding at the time, at least in the country world.
I would even say that album Fly that was before this did cross over.
It was pure country, though. They didn't have any mainstream covers like this.
(18:01):
But we both worked at a record store at the time, sold a lot of Fly and this was at an urban record store.
Yeah, that's true. So they were actually in a fight with the record label Sony at the time.
They had a lot of life changes going on. Maynes had a child.
McGuire got married. Robeson became pregnant.
But they ended up recording demos in Maynes living room in Texas, just with traditional acoustic instruments.
(18:26):
And that sort of paved the way for the album.
And I think because it was recorded in Texas, it is a departure from that Nashville center of country.
Anyway, let's hear some more. This is White Trash Wedding.
(18:50):
Now that's no Fleetwood Mac right there.
I think that's what I appreciate about the approach here is dipping the toe into the poppier stuff or the probably intentional crossover hit.
Like, I don't think you do landslide thinking that it's not going to make it on the pop radio or adult contemporary radio.
But this song goes full bluegrass and it works. Like that mix actually works.
(19:16):
This one's fast paced, has this rebellious couple rushing into marriage despite family disapproval.
And it's witty, which they do pretty well. They have tongue firmly in cheek.
In their songs, there's always sort of a humorous swagger, I think, to them at this time.
The song's lively and lighthearted and the vibe helps balance the album's more introspective and emotional elements.
(19:43):
I think that's what they do well here. All of the slower ballads could easily be on pop radio.
They're not super-cuntrified, but then they definitely throw in a lot of banjo and stuff to remind you of who they are at their core.
My clickbait headline to describe the album, The Chicks Home, Where Holler Life Meets Cul-de-Sac Comforts.
(20:07):
So you can picture them in one song, they're drinking moonshine, and the next song, they're sipping on Manhattan.
Watching Sex and the City or something. So yeah, like I said, that straight up bluegrass woven in with the soft rockish ballads just fits well.
Some of the other songs that I enjoyed were A Home, very 80s country vibes on that one, but I think they pulled it off.
(20:32):
Tortured Tangled Hearts is then another balancing bluegrass folk judzy sort of thing.
And Godspeed, Sweet Dreams, great vocals on that one. Very poetic details. Dreamy, I think it's a lullaby, but I think that kind of leans into that.
Life is changing for these women. They're having, you know, not just touring musicians, but also wives and mothers.
(20:54):
They're getting older.
Yeah. They built their life around you, Andy. They essentially have their cake and eat it too.
You don't get that very often in the music industry, and I think that's pretty cool.
You could say they were on top of the world.
Yes, you could.
So here's another track. This is the closing cut, Top of the World.
(21:16):
I'm a little songbird, take her for a ride to the top of the world right now.
This is kind of the epic closing cut, all six minutes of it on the record there written by frequent collaborator of the band, Patty Griffin.
It's a pretty interesting lyrical message on that track. Once I dug into it, I was quite taken with it.
(21:41):
It's kind of written from the perspective of a father who's passed on. He's kind of looking back on his life with his family,
I think particularly his daughter and kind of wishing maybe he had some of those moments back or had done things differently.
It's a pretty powerful track, and it did resonate with me quite a bit.
My clickbait headline for home is, The Chicks Sound Right at Home, this bluegrass infused hitmaker.
(22:03):
As you alluded to and Don as well, this does sound like a nice combination of two different ideas.
You have this very bluegrass kind of background that they bring to the table, which I think is the strongest aspect to this record.
But then there is this kind of more modern ballads that come in pretty well interspersed throughout the record
to break things up and give it that more modern day feel to it. I prefer the more bluegrass cuts,
(22:28):
and honestly I wish that they explored that sound a little bit more and maybe give those instruments a little more room to breathe in the mix.
The songs are all pretty traditionally structured, I would say, in terms of chorus verse, chorus verse kind of thing.
Yeah, but there's some interesting moments on here. There were more than a few tracks that I did enjoy.
Truth number two, I thought was a really kind of cool combination of country sounds and some more modern, almost like a rock sound on that song.
(22:52):
Long Time Gone, I thought the opening cut there was also some really good. I wish there was more of that hoedown vibe, I guess.
But it is a modern day sounding country record, so it's part of it.
What was nice about this record for me is that it is the most country of the albums we are talking about this week.
And it was kind of nice to sink into the country and be able to wave off the pop side of things for a little bit.
(23:20):
I think because of what we were doing, I did find Andy, the bluegrass stuff,
to be more compelling because it was way different than the other things we were listening to for the rest of the week.
So yeah, I think they did a really good job of keeping it real, but also dressing up and going out for a fancy night on the town as well.
(23:42):
Kind of in the bluegrass tradition, there's actually no drums on this record.
That is crazy.
Is there bass anywhere or anything?
There's definitely bass, a lot of stand up bass, I think.
So even the upbeat songs, there might be a little, what do you call the board, washboard that maybe you're something, adding some percussion.
I wish I had known that. Now I've got to listen to this again after.
(24:06):
Yeah, to go listen to the Kepel's guitar and the lack of drums on this record.
Yeah, that means you can play your drums along to it.
I'll add your own.
I just want to mention one other cut, Traveling Soldier.
Really sappy sentimental stuff, which I usually roll my eyes at, but I was walking the dog one day listening to that and I was getting choked up.
(24:27):
Whatever you said talked about the walking the dog.
Yeah, that's when I had my emotional moments.
Your neighbors are like, hey, there's that crying guy.
Cry baby down, he's walking his dog again.
Well, despite its traditional sound, the chick's home appealed to a wide range of listeners you should listen to.
(24:49):
Excuse me, I'd like to ask you a few questions.
It's time for another segment of Deep Questions by Don.
So, you know, this theme had me thinking about, you know, other aspects of art and entertainment that were people crossover.
I was thinking of comedians or comedic actors who end up playing dramatic roles.
(25:13):
Name some comedians who have crossed over to play dramatic roles.
Yeah, sure.
I feel like there's quite a few examples from this.
I was just watching all the Saturday Night Live 50 Festivities over the last couple of weeks here, and a couple people from that show came up.
Adam Sandler.
Did you guys ever see Uncut Gems?
Maybe it was four or five years ago?
I keep meaning to.
I know that it's highly regarded as a dramatic experience.
(25:37):
Yeah, it's a really energetic film and he's great in it.
Like, he's not funny at all, but he's really compelling.
Well, some might say that about him in general.
My dad being one of those.
Back when he was on Saturday Night Live, if my dad happened to walk through the room while I was watching it, if Adam Sandler was like, this Joker, he's not funny.
(25:58):
He had a problem with him.
Very particular sense of humor, for sure.
I guess it wasn't really on Saturday Night Live, but I think it was on Mad TV maybe?
Jim Carrey.
And Living Color.
And Living Color, there we go.
My wife introduced me to Eternal Sunshine and Spotless Mind this Valentine's Day.
He's excellent on that.
That's another movie where there's really not a comedic note anywhere in that, but he sells the drama and the heartbreak, and I believed it.
(26:27):
Yeah, I love that movie.
It is a good one.
It made me cry.
Of course it did.
Were you walking the dog watching it on your phone?
I believe you did.
Yeah, comedic guys like Tom Hanks, who has been a host on Saturday Night Live quite a few times, but had been known for movies like Big and Bachelor Party and stuff like that.
(26:48):
Splash.
Kind of the everyman comedy.
But Philadelphia, when that came out, was like, what?
I mean, Forrest Gump also was supposed to be a dramatic role, and it is, but it isn't.
I love that.
Yeah.
And I think he won an Oscar or something for that, right?
Or he was at least nominated.
Stupid is, stupid does, sir.
And of course, the first one that came to mind for me was Robin Williams' The World According to Garp.
(27:14):
Amazing movie, amazing book.
Got to see that.
What's that about?
It's about a young man named Garp.
He's a writer, and he leads this very unusual life, the way that he was raised and the friends that he has.
It's quirky and funny and very weird.
The book, I would recommend the book because you not only see the story, but you get to read Garp's writing.
(27:36):
So parts of it are his books.
It's interesting.
Cool.
But also, of course, Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting, the list goes on.
I prefer Robin Williams' dramatic movies for the most part to the comedy stuff.
Now I grew up with Mark and Mandy and thinking he was a funny guy.
Now looking back, I prefer the serious acting more than the comedy stuff.
(27:57):
What about you, Don?
Well, I was thinking of, I haven't seen it in a while, but there was a movie called Everything Must Go in 2010 that featured Will Ferrell.
Where he's playing sort of this depressed, divorced guy.
And I thought he pulled that off really well.
But I was actually, I was thinking of Robin Williams.
Did you ever see One Hour Photo?
He's like a stalker, psycho guy.
(28:18):
That reminded me of a Law and Order episode I saw with Martin Short.
Where Martin Short was like just this crazy psycho guy.
Oh my God, he was so scary.
Martin Short.
Yeah.
He doesn't usually do that kind of role.
I think like on Peacock or Paramount Plus or something, there must be all the Law and Order.
I'll have to try and dig that one up.
(28:40):
Yeah. Yeah, look for that one.
It could be SVU.
I'm not sure.
It's one of the Law and Orders.
If he's super creepy, it's probably SVU.
That's so depressing.
All right.
Well, what are some other comedians who crossed over to play dramatic roles?
Let us know on Instagram and Facebook or leave a comment on our website, AlbumNerds.com.
(29:01):
I went somewhere I had never really gone before.
I crossed the Florida Georgia line and dug into their album, Dig Your Roots, from August of 2016, their third studio album.
I was familiar with their existence as bro-country enthusiasts.
Were you the bro-country enthusiast?
(29:22):
I'm not, but they are bro-country enthusiasts as they kind of created the genre.
But they're kind of holla at your boy, like prayer hands, cheesiness that I was not a fan of.
So I figured it was time that I give them a chance to listen to some of their music and talk about crossover success.
They're the poster boys.
Florida Georgia line is Tyler Hubbard from Monroe, Georgia, and Brian Kelly from Ormond Beach, Florida, formed in 2010.
(29:50):
They gained a huge following with songs like Cruise and contributed to that bro-country subgenre.
So why don't we kick it off with a little bit of God, Your Mama and Me featuring the Backstreet Boys.
So romantic country pop ballad, where you can totally picture them wearing white suits and doing moves with the Backstreet Boys.
(30:19):
The countryness of it comes from the slight twang and specifically, I think you hear it from Tyler's vocals on that one.
But God, Your Mama and Me, you know, it's sappy, but it's kind of enjoyable.
I found myself guilty pleasuring throughout many tracks on this album.
You want to rewind that baby?
(30:41):
Guilty pleasuring yourself? Not at all.
I stand by my words.
Yeah, I would be listening and kind of singing along like, hey, you're supposed to think this sucks.
But I kind of like it.
So yeah, it's just an interesting week listening to this record.
My clickbait headline to describe it, bro-country duo digs deep as they can.
(31:02):
Dig Your Roots explores life beyond the tailgate.
So that's about their new formed relationships and marriages and growing up and looking back at the roots of their families.
And you know, you know the story.
It's a common tale.
Why don't we dig into those roots a little bit with this track, Dig Your Roots.
See, I can do bad transitions too.
(31:34):
Hot guitar licks.
Yeah, smokey.
That is the title cut.
I think it's written from the perspective of like a grandfather giving some advice on how to live your life, you know, being true to who you are and where you're from.
Theme of the album for sure.
Big theme of the album.
The other big theme seems to be loving your wife.
(31:55):
Yeah.
I think maybe because of the party anthems before, the party lifestyle, these were songs for their wives to hear when they're saying, seriously, this is my life now.
It did feel a little bit like they're kind of like smoothing things over for maybe some rough patches in the past.
My clickbait headline for Forte Giorgi lines, Dig Your Roots is FGL perfectly captures the feeling of scrolling a recently married couple's Instagram.
(32:24):
Yeah, that's true.
Yeah, they're smashing the cake in each other's faces.
Do they do the portrait where they're all dressed in like white turtlenecks?
Do you guys ever see that?
Of course, right.
All the family lined up all in white.
Backstreet Boys joined them for that portrait.
I mean, this did feel like scrolling social media to me. I got a general idea of who they are and what they're about, but outside of the details, the specifics of what makes them that way, I have no concept, which is fine, whatever.
(32:55):
The album is more about the tree than the roots, I'd say.
Yeah.
But that's okay.
The shiny parts that look nice.
Yeah.
Yeah, I mean, all these songs I think would work really well at like a wedding reception or some celebratory event.
It feels like things that everybody can relate to.
Lyrically, my God, there's some really basic lines in here like, life is a honeymoon, we're going to live it.
(33:18):
Well, that's the Ziggy one, the Ziggy Miley one.
That's the Ziggy Miley track, yeah.
There's a couple of little twinges of reggae or Caribbean sound here.
Seems to be a big focus on like island life or maybe vacations they've taken in the past.
Yeah.
Brian Kelly on, so they broke up a couple of years ago and Brian Kelly, his first solo album was very Jimmy Buffett.
(33:44):
Very enjoyable too, very good album actually.
But one thing I think is very interesting here, now we're talking, these guys were huge, big songs, kind of somewhat shallow lyrics here and there.
Joey Moy was the producer, throughout his career, he amassed nearly 60 number one writing credits, contributing to over 35 albums and 450 songs, including our friends at Nickelback.
(34:08):
Nice.
Which kind of tracks, this is like Nickelback got that big stadium sound and he produced all of the Florida Georgia Lion albums and helped them find that big audience.
So he's the problem.
He's got to dig up that root.
But Morgan Wallen, Hardy, these are two huge artists right now in country music and he's also involved with them.
(34:33):
So I think they were looking for this, they were looking for the, to be big stars and they got there.
I really see the Nickelback parallel now, like the songs are, I think these guys could do Nickelback songs and Nickelback could do these songs.
Yeah, that would work.
All right, so why don't we get a little bit of that island vibe, boy these transitions today.
(34:56):
This one's called Island.
We might as well be on an island, might as well be on the moon, the way you're looking at me baby, can't take my eyes off you.
One of the big criticisms of Florida Georgia Lion and a Bro Country was those click tracks being used, which is very not country.
Interesting.
So Island is written by Ryan Hurd, Matt McGinn and Jordan Schmidt.
(35:20):
I mean, I think it's kind of interesting lyrically.
It's basically two people in a crowded place, but they're so into each other that the rest of the world disappears and it's like they're on an island.
Very nice.
Features Russ Paul on pedal steel guitar, instead of Les Paul, it's Russ Paul.
Well, yeah, have you ever seen the Russ Paul signature steel guitar before?
(35:45):
My clickbait headline for dig your roots is country pop duo chooses wrong lead vocalist.
So this song here Island is Brian Kelly singing and I think this is like the fourth song on the album.
And I remember hearing this track and it like really stood out to me.
I'm like, wow, you know, this is this is kind of nice.
(36:07):
But this guy only gets like three tracks on the album, three or four tracks.
And I think because I mean, overall, I mean, this is just kind of a typical country pop album, which I'm used to.
And it's and it's fine. But I find Tyler Hubbard's voice kind of off putting.
I hate to interrupt you here, but you know, this is a little behind the scenes.
(36:28):
I'm looking at our notes. Please, please say what you wrote.
I just read the notes too. Oh, my God.
I must have softened up since I wrote this.
I wrote I fucking hate Tyler Hubbard's voice and I want to stab him in so many songs.
Wow. That is so much.
(36:49):
Yeah, that's so much further than Don usually goes. Yeah, that was a bit much.
But I think because as I was as I was listening through and I made this revelation that, wow, the other guy's a better singer.
I'm just like, why do they keep putting this guy, you know, in the in the front?
And his voice, I think, is works for really twangy kind of party anthem stuff.
But yeah, I think for the ballads, Brian's voice is it's more pleasant.
(37:12):
It's cleaner. I mean, he really get, you know, getting back to twang.
He really exaggerates the twang. And maybe maybe you have to do that because then otherwise these aren't country songs.
You know, then it's really the only thing that's making them in that ballpark.
Yeah. But despite all that, I mean, it's a you know, it's it's fine.
You know, and I guess I appreciate that they tried to do something a little different on this.
(37:33):
I suppose it's probably a more mature album for them.
So, you know, I'll I'll give them credit for that. Yeah.
You know, some other big hits and highlights were Holy about, again, loving their wives.
Hi, Unloving You, Holy and May We All, which has been stuck in my head all week with Tim McGraw, just a really good country pop song.
(37:54):
I think it's got the right amount of country to to really belong in that world, but enough pop to fit on this record.
A lot of religion on this. But, you know, as like metaphors or whatever.
Yes. Well, I think that, you know, goes to the southern tradition of family and church and all that stuff.
So I think that's part of what they do really well is they weave that stuff in, you know, it's subconscious for the audience.
(38:19):
So it does have a country feel, even though sometimes just like Glen Campbell, it meanders pretty far outside of those lines at times.
Ziggy Marley was a big surprise when Life is a Honeymoon comes on.
Like, are they trying to do reggae? And then I hear Ziggy Marley.
Oh, OK. All right. They got legitimized by having Ziggy on the track.
(38:40):
So, yeah, Smooth was their attempt at kind of touching more of that party vibe.
But most of this album is really not in that vein.
But it was interesting to explore Florida, Georgia line.
And I thought this was the right mix. But I get it now.
I get the appeal of what they were doing. They did it well.
And if you feel like lightly digging at your roots, go check out Florida, Georgia line. Dig your roots.
(39:05):
Can you dig it? Can you dig it? Can you dig it?
We just had some fun digging our roots or Florida, Georgia lines roots.
What else have you been digging this week?
All right. Yeah, I got a couple of things here in my saddlebags.
I'll show you guys.
(39:27):
Nice. Well prepared this time.
First one up is from an act from East London by the name of Tongue, I believe is how you'd say it.
The name of the album is Love You All Over Again.
It's the eighth studio album for the Pagan Folk Tronica act.
That's a new one.
That was almost a spit take just there.
(39:54):
Yeah, it looks ridiculous for that.
That's how they refer to themselves. Pagan Folk Tronica.
This album here is apparently a return to where they started 20 years ago.
Let's play Don't Know Why.
Oh my God.
Is this from Dr. Seuss?
(40:17):
It sounds a little bit like a nursery rhyme.
But you have to picture a guy wearing goat horns or something.
Dancing out of fire or something.
That is nightmare fuel.
I would call it more like chamber pop sort of.
If you guys like that genre. It's pretty catchy though.
It's dark. That's a real sort of like Grimm's fairy tale sort of darkness to it.
(40:41):
Interesting. I like it.
The other one for me is from a more established artist by the name of Anna B Savage.
Also from London. She has a new album out called You and I Are Earth.
It's her third studio album.
It's largely about Ireland where apparently she's been living the last few years.
Let's play track two, Lighthouse.
(41:04):
I like it where vocal style is almost breathy like a woodwind instrument.
That's kind of her strength I would say.
She has a very unique voice, very expressive, very confident.
I think this record is really going to make quite a bit over the last few weeks.
Anna B Savage.
What have you been digging on, Don?
Well, I'm going to shout out again to the New Wave Music podcast because I keep stealing their pics.
(41:27):
They talked to members of The Vapers.
They had famously done that song Turning Japanese back in the early 80s.
So they were an English New Wave band formed in 1978.
So they got back together in 2015 and this is their second album since getting back together.
It's called Wasp in a Jar and here's a song called Hit the Ground Run.
Sounds good.
(41:52):
Yeah, definitely has that kind of post-punk sound.
Then another artist I found, I think it's Baja Bullit or Baja Bullay.
She's a Canadian folk singer.
This is her seventh studio album.
She's kind of known for using that auto harp instrument.
You guys know what that is?
That kind of like triangular string thing that the folkies play.
(42:13):
Her latest album is called Baja's Palace.
Here's a song called My Angel.
Yeah, so some of this album has kind of a more pop vibe,
but there is some more traditional folk-y sounding songs on it.
Cool, sounds catchy.
Yeah. How about you, dude?
Well, I decided to dig my roots and find something that was like New Wave,
(42:38):
a British heavy metal sounding and that's just what I did.
I went with Warlung, a Houston-based band.
This is their fifth studio album called The Poison Touch.
It was released on Valentine's Day this year.
Oh, perfect.
How romantic.
Of course.
It has these atmospheric elements and gritty undertone
(43:00):
with a blend of sonar rock, doom metal, psychedelic influences,
but also very New Wave, a British heavy metal-esque experience
and some kind of ghosty vocals like the band Ghost, not like Casper.
Why don't we check out a little bit of Rat Bastard.
You see what I'm saying about the ghosty sort of vocal style,
(43:22):
which I think works better for me with this kind of music.
Than Ghost.
I got to get lost in the ghost albums sometimes.
But also, I always like to do one pick from my vinyl collection
and listening to all this country music, pop country, for the most part,
I needed to get to the guts of it.
So I listened to a little bit of Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison,
(43:47):
released on May 6, 1968, his first live album recorded during a performance
at the Folsom State Prison in California.
And it's got his mix of country and folk.
So why don't we check out a little bit of Folsom Prison Blues.
It's a little disconcerting hearing the crowd of prisoners cheering
(44:11):
when you talk about shooting a guy, but it is what it is.
It's a classic is what it is.
Yeah, you got to have that one on vinyl.
It doesn't matter if it's high quality, low quality, fresh pressing,
old pressing, just having it.
It's like having a Bible in the house.
Like, it's just got to be there.
All right. Well, what are you digging?
(44:32):
Let us know. Join us on the socials, Facebook, Instagram and threads.
Also on our website, albumnerds.com.
It will be a discovery of extraordinary value.
Well, it's about that time on the show.
I'm reminded of the great American singer and actress, Reba McIntyre.
Nice.
(44:53):
She said, to succeed in life, you need three things.
A wishbone, a backbone.
Of course.
And a funny bone.
That's Reba.
Well said.
All right. With that in mind, let's bring out my friend and yours, Wadbot,
to see what we'll be talking about on next week's episode.
(45:16):
With St. Patrick's Day around the corner, it's time to celebrate Ireland's finest music.
Next time, you will be diving into some top Irish albums based on the Irish Times Top 50 list,
showcasing the heart, soul and unmistakable sound of the Emerald Isle.
Get out your lucky charms, boys.
Top Irish albums.
Top Irish albums.
(45:38):
So we'll be looking at a list according to the Irish Times of the 50 best Irish albums ever.
Should be magically delicious.
God, I'm sorry, Irish people. I started it.
Well, what's your favorite Irish record? What else are you listening to?
Email us at podcast at albumnerds.com.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, threads and bluesky at albumnerds.
(46:00):
And visit albumnerds.com to suggest topics for the show, peruse the Hall of Fame,
and listen to all 280 episodes.
The best way to support the show is to share it.
Please subscribe, rate and review on your favorite podcast app.
Thank you once again for joining us on the Album Nerds podcast.
We'll catch you next time at the end of the rainbow.
We'll find three pots of gold for you.
(46:21):
Three? Wow.
Yeah, each album.
Okay. Fair enough.
Next question, everybody. See you next week.
Here's my Roberta Flack tribute.
The first time ever I saw you.
Why are you doing this?
What is that?
She died.
What?
Yes.
(46:42):
Oh.
Poor one out.
So she heard that potentially from the odds.
Sorry, Roberta.
Brought her to tears.
It's a bummer. And that she died too.
I'll see you in the next year or so.
Welcome to the Album Nerds podcast with your hosts Andy, Don, and Dude.
(00:13):
Howdy y'all, it's the Album Nerds podcast.
I'm Dude, I got Andy and Don with me.
We're about to keep it country but also keep it poppy.
How you gentlemen doing today? Andy, what's up?
Yeah, man, I'm just taking my horse through the mall, you know, as I do.
Yes, of course.
Yeah, little country pop. How you doing over there, Don?
Yeah, I'm going to take my brand new Chevy with a lift kit to the mall.
(00:37):
Why are you guys going to the mall is my question.
Isn't that where pop music lives?
I see that's where pop come from.
Maybe.
So this is the Album Nerds podcast.
We love albums and the album format and we have a great show for you today.
We're going to be talking about country crossover successes.
So we'll each be presenting an album that illustrates that in some way, shape or form.
(01:00):
Then Don's going to ask us a deep question.
We have some shout outs to some other albums and album related items or dig in.
And then we're going to spin that wheel of musical discovery to find out what we'll talk about next time.
But this week, it's all about that crossover.
That's what I'm talking about.
Certain country artists have achieved such remarkable success that their impact extends far beyond the confines of the country music charts.
(01:26):
Their songs resonate with diverse audiences finding unexpected popularity on mainstream platforms like Top 40 and adult contemporary radio stations.
Today, each of us will present a country album that achieved significant crossover success.
Yeah, country crossover. That's kind of a what is that, right?
Is it crossing over genres? Are you crossing over charts? Like what's happening here?
(01:48):
So I think what we were sort of talking about was when a country artist gets a song played on traditional pop radio and crosses over to non country fans.
Kind of a fun exploration. Besides your actual picks, what other albums did you guys consider, Andy?
Well, I spent a little time with Dolly Parton.
You lucky man.
(02:09):
I hear she's a lovely lady.
She's very charming. I listened to her 1980 record, 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs, which kind of got that one.
You have that one? It was fun.
It's kind of a tie into her, the hit song 9 to 5 and the movie also called 9 to 5, I believe.
Correct.
Super poppy. She always brings a twinge of country to it, but a very shiny pop on that record there.
(02:37):
How about you, Don? What did you find?
Well, I'm going to mention him again. Keith Urban back in 2002, I think this is when I was still working in radio.
That's why it came to mind. He had a song called You'll Think of Me that was a pretty big crossover hit that appears on his album Golden Road.
Well, we've talked about Keith Urban before, but it's not all that country. Far less twang in his voice than a lot of.
(03:00):
Well, he's Australian.
That is true. He was actually born in New Zealand.
Let's not have this conversation again.
He's Kiwi.
Kiwi country, man.
But he lived in Australia, right?
Yes, he did.
So we're both right. Stop being the corrector.
Keith Urban seems like a big part of your life and household. I feel like you should grow your hair out and get it flat ironed or whatever the hell he does.
(03:24):
Make your wife happy.
Get some tattoos.
I thought of a whole bunch of different stuff. I think I was leaning a little bit to traditional country.
When I looked at Johnny Paychex, Take This Job and Shove It, it's his 17th studio album released in 1977.
It's a blended traditional country and honky tonk centered around working class struggles.
(03:47):
The title track was written by David Ellen Coe and even they made a movie called Take This Job and Shove It.
I mean, this song was very popular across all boundaries.
It just resonated with people for some reason.
As it like saying shove it was still pretty spicy back then, you know, like publicly saying shove it on the radio.
Other notable tracks included Colorado Kool Aid and Georgia in a Jug.
(04:10):
I got to tell you guys, I love this album. It just didn't quite fit what we're looking for today.
Colorado Kool Aid.
Yeah, that's right.
So why don't we get into the albums we really choo choo choo chose.
You choo choo choose me?
(04:33):
All right, from my country crossover selection, we're going with Glen Campbell and his 1975 album Rhinestone Cowboy.
This is the 28th studio album for the country artists from Bilstown, Arkansas.
It's a concept album about a over the hill country star who's uneasy about their success.
I think safe to say it's fairly autobiographical.
(04:56):
But Mr. Campbell, let's jump in here and play the big cut.
This is Rhinestone Cowboy.
That song was written and recorded originally by Larry Weiss the year prior to Mr. Campbell's big hit.
(05:20):
He heard it well in tour in Australia, another Australia tie in on their country episode here.
Thought the song was great and reminded a lot of his life and he immediately went back to California and recorded it and made it a huge hit.
The song just makes me smile for some reason. I'm not sure why.
It's uplifting for sure.
Yeah, I mean, I think it's kind of appealing to people who think rhinestones are cool.
(05:47):
It's a whole lifestyle, you know, bedazzlers. Is that like Liberace?
Yeah, yeah.
I really like that image.
Once you're at the point where you have sparkly beads on your costumes when you're playing a live concert, that's when perhaps you've either made it or gone too far.
That you're no longer the down to earth musician you once were.
(06:08):
Yeah.
And I'm wondering if maybe Elvis was somewhat of an inspiration to that because at that point he was wearing those jumpsuits with all the bedazzled stuff all over him.
A lot of those guys were like even George Jones and Conway Twitty. They all had that jumpsuit with the rhinestones.
Well, I guess the impression I got from listening to the record was it's kind of he's got his foot in these two different worlds.
(06:34):
He's living out in California, but his heart's going to be back in Arkansas.
My clickbait headline for the album is Campbell's Fish Out of Water concept album might taste a bit canned, but it's good.
Like tuna?
Like good. The Campbell soup commercials. Come on, man.
But it's fish out of water, so it's got to be tuna.
(06:56):
Don't read too much into the metaphor there, Don.
Geez.
This is a pretty big ambitious sounding and also I think conceptually record.
It's a concept record for sure.
But also I like some big string arrangements that kind of give it this big sound and a lot of emotion goes into it, I would say.
The beginning of the record, the first four tracks are penned by the producers of the album, which are a production pair by the names of Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter.
(07:24):
I thought they were going to have cool like producer DJ names, but I guess this is too early in the game for that.
This is the 70s, man.
They've done tracks together with a bunch of artists in this period, including like the Four Tops and Dusty Springfield.
I think the beginning of the record is the strongest point in my perspective.
Kind of really leads into Campbell's story and get a real sense of who he is.
(07:45):
There's a couple covers on the album as well, including an unfortunate cover of My Girl.
But there are some interesting songs too as we get into later on the record, including this really beautiful number written by Mike Settle.
This is called I Build a Bridge.
Oh, I build a bridge made of the love so strong that there's no bridge of love.
(08:11):
And stone.
And stone. He's defending it in a manly way.
You've got to have the stone.
Something about it reminds me of that On the Wings of Love song.
Jeffrey Osborne.
I think it's a pretty powerful song.
I think so too.
Andy mentioned that it was written by Mike Settle.
(08:33):
He was actually a member of Kenny Rogers group, the first edition.
I'd say the song kind of reflects sort of the reflective tone of the album.
And it starts out as I sift through the ashes of bridges burned and broken dreams.
You've got that regret and desperation that I think is so typical of country music.
And I think maybe that's what country music does best.
And then of course it's to build a bridge back to your love.
(08:58):
I don't know if we should bring this up, but I believe that there was some alcoholism and some tumultuous stuff with spouses with him.
And maybe some of this is to do with trying to make up for the I'm sorry baby vibe, which kind of sours the song for me a bit.
(09:19):
I know it's a concept album, but I wonder how much of it is meant to be sort of autobiographical.
All right. Well, my clickbait headline for Rhinestone Cowboy is Midlife Crisis Never Sounded So Nice.
So I mean, really, I mean, it's a pretty dark album for the most part.
He's kind of sort of refinding his place in the world, but it just sounds so damn good.
(09:43):
And over the years, I've really become a sucker for these polished 70s pop country records.
They're just so well produced.
And I'm not sure what went wrong in the 80s, because particularly the early 80s, I feel like production maybe goes a little too far.
The slickness of the 70s maybe goes a little too far.
(10:04):
And then we sort of come back a bit in the 90s.
But I do think in terms of production, the 70s is one of my favorite eras.
So Glen Campbell is famously a member of that wrecking crew group,
that group of studio musicians who were on a ton of hits in the 1960s and 70s.
And so when Campbell went out and was recording his own stuff, he used a lot of that wrecking crew.
(10:26):
On this one, he included drummer Ed Green and guitarist Dean Parks.
Campbell is actually considered to be by many kind of like a guitar legend,
because he was a guitarist as part of the wrecking crew.
But it's interesting that he didn't really choose to show it off on his own records.
But I did want to maybe listen for it.
And so I think he only plays acoustic guitar on this record.
(10:48):
And if you do listen closely, it's a little buried in the mix,
but he does kind of have some interesting picking going on and strumming patterns and stuff.
Interesting. Yeah, it's hard to pick up on that.
Yeah, there's so much orchestral swell.
Oh yeah, there really is.
A lot of swelling.
It's a small record.
Swell.
All right, why don't we circle the wagons back here to the beginning of the record,
(11:11):
play the opening cut. This is called Country Boy, You Got Your Feet in LA.
You really are country boy. You got your feet in LA. Put your mind on the game.
You almost could just listen to this song and know the entire album.
Yeah, it's kind of a nice thesis.
Sums it up really nicely. Of course, you're here for the Rhinestone Cowboy.
(11:33):
That's what you're here for, you know, listening to this record for probably in the first place.
It's interesting that Rhinestone Cowboy isn't down to track six on this album, kind of the middle of the album.
I think does it kick off side B or side two?
Yeah, I think it saves side B to some extent.
Perhaps.
It makes that flip worth it back in the day when you had to get up to flip the record.
(11:55):
Yeah, so Country Boy, You Got Your Feet in LA reflects that tension between the rural roots and the urban success, right?
You're putting on your rhinestones or should you be putting on your dirty old boots and, you know, who are you now?
Lyrics are very clear. Small town boy makes it big.
And really in Glen Campbell's case, it wasn't just being a country artist, not just going to Nashville recording albums.
(12:18):
It was being in that wrecking crew, being a part of the Beach Boys for a little while, being part of that of the pop scene, not necessarily country scene.
My clickbait headline to describe Rhinestone Cowboy, the bedazzled anthem that lassoed both the country and pop charts.
So that song and all these songs are very barely country.
(12:42):
But Rhinestone Cowboy itself, instead of it being a scathing, like this, you know, am I selling out type of thing to the people listening?
It was a celebration of the Cowboys are cool, you know.
I like his voice. I mean, he's from like deep Arkansas.
He dials the twang back a little bit, unlike other artists.
(13:05):
Yeah, I would I would say he's more Neil Diamond than Willie Nelson.
Yeah, definitely. Yeah.
But it works, you know, like come back. Interesting.
Like in Comeback, he's coming back to you, the person after he becomes a star.
But is it also it's a career comeback in a way, too.
So I thought that was interesting. I like to count on me.
(13:26):
If you want a 70s string filled ballad, it almost has the sounds of some of that orchestral disco stuff.
It's a it's a nice sound. It's just a confusing album at times.
It is. Yeah, there's a few tracks on here.
I think kind of maybe jump off the rails a little bit, but I would say it ends really well.
I really like The Last Cut, We're Over.
(13:47):
It's really like heartbreaking song about kind of like a point relationship where both people know it's over, but no one's really spoken about it out loud yet.
Yeah, but there are some some moments on here I don't think work quite as well before that.
So, yeah, kind of a mixed bag, but I think, you know, really great representation of that 70s country sound, which is pretty unique in itself.
So if you're looking for a great pop country concept record with some crossover appeal, Ronstone Cowboy is a great choice.
(14:11):
Give it a try. That'd be a very specific thing to be looking for.
Well, if you're making a podcast for crossover success, you've got it covered. But we found it for you.
Before we continue our journey through country crossover successes, why don't we hear from our friends at the Astrovert Podcast.
(14:33):
What's up, folks? It's Jake here from the Astrovert Podcast.
Come join us as we play underplayed and undershare bands from across the United States and the world.
We found local bands from the Midwest, Florida, the UK, New Zealand and far, far beyond.
Some of our recent favorite discoveries include Sprawl, Glitch Kingdom, City of Auburn, Flake, Michigan and so many more.
(14:55):
We feature Rock News, Rock News, as well as discuss our band's journey towards finishing our forthcoming EP.
Our first two singles, Last Call and Tides of Elephants, both out now.
You can find the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Yes, so go check out Astrovert Podcasts for Astrovert and more.
(15:19):
You better get to work on an LP if they want to be featured on the album.
That's right.
My pick for a country crossover album comes from The Chicks, formerly known as the Dixie Chicks, who changed their name in 2020 to simply The Chicks.
The album is called Home, released in August of 2002.
(15:42):
It's the sixth studio album by the group formed in Dallas in 1989.
The lineup for this record was the lead vocalist, Natalie Maynes, Marty Maguire, who plays fiddle and mandolin and violin.
And Emily, it was Robeson at the time.
Now it's like Strayer, you know, she's remarried, plays banjo, dobro and accordion.
(16:04):
They're actually Marty Maguire and Emily Robeson are actually sisters.
Their maiden name is Erwin, but they were actually the founding members of the group and they were kind of on the bluegrass circuit.
Natalie Maynes joined the group before they broke through with their album Wide Open Spaces in 1998 and they adopted sort of a more pop country sound.
So this album kind of saw them return to that those like acoustic and bluegrass roots.
(16:28):
They actually brought in Natalie Maynes' father, who's a pedal steel guitarist, Lloyd Maynes.
Anyway, here's the big hit that crossed over to pop and hot AC radio.
This is Landslide.
(16:49):
I can't believe they stole that from the Smashing Pumpkins.
So Landslide is, of course, a cover of the Fleetwood Mac song from 1975 written by Stevie Nicks.
Apparently, Natalie Maynes was drawn to the song because she was the same age as Nicks when she performed it.
So it features two and three part harmonies and it's got those, you know, that bluegrass instrumentation behind it.
(17:16):
Really gives it a brighter sound than the original Fleetwood Mac track, which is kind of stark.
I'm not sure. I remember originally when I heard this, I'm like, oh, they lost the whole vibe of the Fleetwood Mac song.
But over time, I've really grown to appreciate this version.
All right. Well, my clickbait headline for home is Chicks lay golden Americana egg.
(17:40):
Yeah, Chicks.
Oh, the Chicks.
So this was actually, the band was really exploding at the time, at least in the country world.
I would even say that album Fly that was before this did cross over.
It was pure country, though. They didn't have any mainstream covers like this.
(18:01):
But we both worked at a record store at the time, sold a lot of Fly and this was at an urban record store.
Yeah, that's true. So they were actually in a fight with the record label Sony at the time.
They had a lot of life changes going on. Maynes had a child.
McGuire got married. Robeson became pregnant.
But they ended up recording demos in Maynes living room in Texas, just with traditional acoustic instruments.
(18:26):
And that sort of paved the way for the album.
And I think because it was recorded in Texas, it is a departure from that Nashville center of country.
Anyway, let's hear some more. This is White Trash Wedding.
(18:50):
Now that's no Fleetwood Mac right there.
I think that's what I appreciate about the approach here is dipping the toe into the poppier stuff or the probably intentional crossover hit.
Like, I don't think you do landslide thinking that it's not going to make it on the pop radio or adult contemporary radio.
But this song goes full bluegrass and it works. Like that mix actually works.
(19:16):
This one's fast paced, has this rebellious couple rushing into marriage despite family disapproval.
And it's witty, which they do pretty well. They have tongue firmly in cheek.
In their songs, there's always sort of a humorous swagger, I think, to them at this time.
The song's lively and lighthearted and the vibe helps balance the album's more introspective and emotional elements.
(19:43):
I think that's what they do well here. All of the slower ballads could easily be on pop radio.
They're not super-cuntrified, but then they definitely throw in a lot of banjo and stuff to remind you of who they are at their core.
My clickbait headline to describe the album, The Chicks Home, Where Holler Life Meets Cul-de-Sac Comforts.
(20:07):
So you can picture them in one song, they're drinking moonshine, and the next song, they're sipping on Manhattan.
Watching Sex and the City or something. So yeah, like I said, that straight up bluegrass woven in with the soft rockish ballads just fits well.
Some of the other songs that I enjoyed were A Home, very 80s country vibes on that one, but I think they pulled it off.
(20:32):
Tortured Tangled Hearts is then another balancing bluegrass folk judzy sort of thing.
And Godspeed, Sweet Dreams, great vocals on that one. Very poetic details. Dreamy, I think it's a lullaby, but I think that kind of leans into that.
Life is changing for these women. They're having, you know, not just touring musicians, but also wives and mothers.
(20:54):
They're getting older.
Yeah. They built their life around you, Andy. They essentially have their cake and eat it too.
You don't get that very often in the music industry, and I think that's pretty cool.
You could say they were on top of the world.
Yes, you could.
So here's another track. This is the closing cut, Top of the World.
(21:16):
I'm a little songbird, take her for a ride to the top of the world right now.
This is kind of the epic closing cut, all six minutes of it on the record there written by frequent collaborator of the band, Patty Griffin.
It's a pretty interesting lyrical message on that track. Once I dug into it, I was quite taken with it.
(21:41):
It's kind of written from the perspective of a father who's passed on. He's kind of looking back on his life with his family,
I think particularly his daughter and kind of wishing maybe he had some of those moments back or had done things differently.
It's a pretty powerful track, and it did resonate with me quite a bit.
My clickbait headline for home is, The Chicks Sound Right at Home, this bluegrass infused hitmaker.
(22:03):
As you alluded to and Don as well, this does sound like a nice combination of two different ideas.
You have this very bluegrass kind of background that they bring to the table, which I think is the strongest aspect to this record.
But then there is this kind of more modern ballads that come in pretty well interspersed throughout the record
to break things up and give it that more modern day feel to it. I prefer the more bluegrass cuts,
(22:28):
and honestly I wish that they explored that sound a little bit more and maybe give those instruments a little more room to breathe in the mix.
The songs are all pretty traditionally structured, I would say, in terms of chorus verse, chorus verse kind of thing.
Yeah, but there's some interesting moments on here. There were more than a few tracks that I did enjoy.
Truth number two, I thought was a really kind of cool combination of country sounds and some more modern, almost like a rock sound on that song.
(22:52):
Long Time Gone, I thought the opening cut there was also some really good. I wish there was more of that hoedown vibe, I guess.
But it is a modern day sounding country record, so it's part of it.
What was nice about this record for me is that it is the most country of the albums we are talking about this week.
And it was kind of nice to sink into the country and be able to wave off the pop side of things for a little bit.
(23:20):
I think because of what we were doing, I did find Andy, the bluegrass stuff,
to be more compelling because it was way different than the other things we were listening to for the rest of the week.
So yeah, I think they did a really good job of keeping it real, but also dressing up and going out for a fancy night on the town as well.
(23:42):
Kind of in the bluegrass tradition, there's actually no drums on this record.
That is crazy.
Is there bass anywhere or anything?
There's definitely bass, a lot of stand up bass, I think.
So even the upbeat songs, there might be a little, what do you call the board, washboard that maybe you're something, adding some percussion.
I wish I had known that. Now I've got to listen to this again after.
(24:06):
Yeah, to go listen to the Kepel's guitar and the lack of drums on this record.
Yeah, that means you can play your drums along to it.
I'll add your own.
I just want to mention one other cut, Traveling Soldier.
Really sappy sentimental stuff, which I usually roll my eyes at, but I was walking the dog one day listening to that and I was getting choked up.
(24:27):
Whatever you said talked about the walking the dog.
Yeah, that's when I had my emotional moments.
Your neighbors are like, hey, there's that crying guy.
Cry baby down, he's walking his dog again.
Well, despite its traditional sound, the chick's home appealed to a wide range of listeners you should listen to.
(24:49):
Excuse me, I'd like to ask you a few questions.
It's time for another segment of Deep Questions by Don.
So, you know, this theme had me thinking about, you know, other aspects of art and entertainment that were people crossover.
I was thinking of comedians or comedic actors who end up playing dramatic roles.
(25:13):
Name some comedians who have crossed over to play dramatic roles.
Yeah, sure.
I feel like there's quite a few examples from this.
I was just watching all the Saturday Night Live 50 Festivities over the last couple of weeks here, and a couple people from that show came up.
Adam Sandler.
Did you guys ever see Uncut Gems?
Maybe it was four or five years ago?
I keep meaning to.
I know that it's highly regarded as a dramatic experience.
(25:37):
Yeah, it's a really energetic film and he's great in it.
Like, he's not funny at all, but he's really compelling.
Well, some might say that about him in general.
My dad being one of those.
Back when he was on Saturday Night Live, if my dad happened to walk through the room while I was watching it, if Adam Sandler was like, this Joker, he's not funny.
(25:58):
He had a problem with him.
Very particular sense of humor, for sure.
I guess it wasn't really on Saturday Night Live, but I think it was on Mad TV maybe?
Jim Carrey.
And Living Color.
And Living Color, there we go.
My wife introduced me to Eternal Sunshine and Spotless Mind this Valentine's Day.
He's excellent on that.
That's another movie where there's really not a comedic note anywhere in that, but he sells the drama and the heartbreak, and I believed it.
(26:27):
Yeah, I love that movie.
It is a good one.
It made me cry.
Of course it did.
Were you walking the dog watching it on your phone?
I believe you did.
Yeah, comedic guys like Tom Hanks, who has been a host on Saturday Night Live quite a few times, but had been known for movies like Big and Bachelor Party and stuff like that.
(26:48):
Splash.
Kind of the everyman comedy.
But Philadelphia, when that came out, was like, what?
I mean, Forrest Gump also was supposed to be a dramatic role, and it is, but it isn't.
I love that.
Yeah.
And I think he won an Oscar or something for that, right?
Or he was at least nominated.
Stupid is, stupid does, sir.
And of course, the first one that came to mind for me was Robin Williams' The World According to Garp.
(27:14):
Amazing movie, amazing book.
Got to see that.
What's that about?
It's about a young man named Garp.
He's a writer, and he leads this very unusual life, the way that he was raised and the friends that he has.
It's quirky and funny and very weird.
The book, I would recommend the book because you not only see the story, but you get to read Garp's writing.
(27:36):
So parts of it are his books.
It's interesting.
Cool.
But also, of course, Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting, the list goes on.
I prefer Robin Williams' dramatic movies for the most part to the comedy stuff.
Now I grew up with Mark and Mandy and thinking he was a funny guy.
Now looking back, I prefer the serious acting more than the comedy stuff.
(27:57):
What about you, Don?
Well, I was thinking of, I haven't seen it in a while, but there was a movie called Everything Must Go in 2010 that featured Will Ferrell.
Where he's playing sort of this depressed, divorced guy.
And I thought he pulled that off really well.
But I was actually, I was thinking of Robin Williams.
Did you ever see One Hour Photo?
He's like a stalker, psycho guy.
(28:18):
That reminded me of a Law and Order episode I saw with Martin Short.
Where Martin Short was like just this crazy psycho guy.
Oh my God, he was so scary.
Martin Short.
Yeah.
He doesn't usually do that kind of role.
I think like on Peacock or Paramount Plus or something, there must be all the Law and Order.
I'll have to try and dig that one up.
(28:40):
Yeah. Yeah, look for that one.
It could be SVU.
I'm not sure.
It's one of the Law and Orders.
If he's super creepy, it's probably SVU.
That's so depressing.
All right.
Well, what are some other comedians who crossed over to play dramatic roles?
Let us know on Instagram and Facebook or leave a comment on our website, AlbumNerds.com.
(29:01):
I went somewhere I had never really gone before.
I crossed the Florida Georgia line and dug into their album, Dig Your Roots, from August of 2016, their third studio album.
I was familiar with their existence as bro-country enthusiasts.
Were you the bro-country enthusiast?
(29:22):
I'm not, but they are bro-country enthusiasts as they kind of created the genre.
But they're kind of holla at your boy, like prayer hands, cheesiness that I was not a fan of.
So I figured it was time that I give them a chance to listen to some of their music and talk about crossover success.
They're the poster boys.
Florida Georgia line is Tyler Hubbard from Monroe, Georgia, and Brian Kelly from Ormond Beach, Florida, formed in 2010.
(29:50):
They gained a huge following with songs like Cruise and contributed to that bro-country subgenre.
So why don't we kick it off with a little bit of God, Your Mama and Me featuring the Backstreet Boys.
So romantic country pop ballad, where you can totally picture them wearing white suits and doing moves with the Backstreet Boys.
(30:19):
The countryness of it comes from the slight twang and specifically, I think you hear it from Tyler's vocals on that one.
But God, Your Mama and Me, you know, it's sappy, but it's kind of enjoyable.
I found myself guilty pleasuring throughout many tracks on this album.
You want to rewind that baby?
(30:41):
Guilty pleasuring yourself? Not at all.
I stand by my words.
Yeah, I would be listening and kind of singing along like, hey, you're supposed to think this sucks.
But I kind of like it.
So yeah, it's just an interesting week listening to this record.
My clickbait headline to describe it, bro-country duo digs deep as they can.
(31:02):
Dig Your Roots explores life beyond the tailgate.
So that's about their new formed relationships and marriages and growing up and looking back at the roots of their families.
And you know, you know the story.
It's a common tale.
Why don't we dig into those roots a little bit with this track, Dig Your Roots.
See, I can do bad transitions too.
(31:34):
Hot guitar licks.
Yeah, smokey.
That is the title cut.
I think it's written from the perspective of like a grandfather giving some advice on how to live your life, you know, being true to who you are and where you're from.
Theme of the album for sure.
Big theme of the album.
The other big theme seems to be loving your wife.
(31:55):
Yeah.
I think maybe because of the party anthems before, the party lifestyle, these were songs for their wives to hear when they're saying, seriously, this is my life now.
It did feel a little bit like they're kind of like smoothing things over for maybe some rough patches in the past.
My clickbait headline for Forte Giorgi lines, Dig Your Roots is FGL perfectly captures the feeling of scrolling a recently married couple's Instagram.
(32:24):
Yeah, that's true.
Yeah, they're smashing the cake in each other's faces.
Do they do the portrait where they're all dressed in like white turtlenecks?
Do you guys ever see that?
Of course, right.
All the family lined up all in white.
Backstreet Boys joined them for that portrait.
I mean, this did feel like scrolling social media to me. I got a general idea of who they are and what they're about, but outside of the details, the specifics of what makes them that way, I have no concept, which is fine, whatever.
(32:55):
The album is more about the tree than the roots, I'd say.
Yeah.
But that's okay.
The shiny parts that look nice.
Yeah.
Yeah, I mean, all these songs I think would work really well at like a wedding reception or some celebratory event.
It feels like things that everybody can relate to.
Lyrically, my God, there's some really basic lines in here like, life is a honeymoon, we're going to live it.
(33:18):
Well, that's the Ziggy one, the Ziggy Miley one.
That's the Ziggy Miley track, yeah.
There's a couple of little twinges of reggae or Caribbean sound here.
Seems to be a big focus on like island life or maybe vacations they've taken in the past.
Yeah.
Brian Kelly on, so they broke up a couple of years ago and Brian Kelly, his first solo album was very Jimmy Buffett.
(33:44):
Very enjoyable too, very good album actually.
But one thing I think is very interesting here, now we're talking, these guys were huge, big songs, kind of somewhat shallow lyrics here and there.
Joey Moy was the producer, throughout his career, he amassed nearly 60 number one writing credits, contributing to over 35 albums and 450 songs, including our friends at Nickelback.
(34:08):
Nice.
Which kind of tracks, this is like Nickelback got that big stadium sound and he produced all of the Florida Georgia Lion albums and helped them find that big audience.
So he's the problem.
He's got to dig up that root.
But Morgan Wallen, Hardy, these are two huge artists right now in country music and he's also involved with them.
(34:33):
So I think they were looking for this, they were looking for the, to be big stars and they got there.
I really see the Nickelback parallel now, like the songs are, I think these guys could do Nickelback songs and Nickelback could do these songs.
Yeah, that would work.
All right, so why don't we get a little bit of that island vibe, boy these transitions today.
(34:56):
This one's called Island.
We might as well be on an island, might as well be on the moon, the way you're looking at me baby, can't take my eyes off you.
One of the big criticisms of Florida Georgia Lion and a Bro Country was those click tracks being used, which is very not country.
Interesting.
So Island is written by Ryan Hurd, Matt McGinn and Jordan Schmidt.
(35:20):
I mean, I think it's kind of interesting lyrically.
It's basically two people in a crowded place, but they're so into each other that the rest of the world disappears and it's like they're on an island.
Very nice.
Features Russ Paul on pedal steel guitar, instead of Les Paul, it's Russ Paul.
Well, yeah, have you ever seen the Russ Paul signature steel guitar before?
(35:45):
My clickbait headline for dig your roots is country pop duo chooses wrong lead vocalist.
So this song here Island is Brian Kelly singing and I think this is like the fourth song on the album.
And I remember hearing this track and it like really stood out to me.
I'm like, wow, you know, this is this is kind of nice.
(36:07):
But this guy only gets like three tracks on the album, three or four tracks.
And I think because I mean, overall, I mean, this is just kind of a typical country pop album, which I'm used to.
And it's and it's fine. But I find Tyler Hubbard's voice kind of off putting.
I hate to interrupt you here, but you know, this is a little behind the scenes.
(36:28):
I'm looking at our notes. Please, please say what you wrote.
I just read the notes too. Oh, my God.
I must have softened up since I wrote this.
I wrote I fucking hate Tyler Hubbard's voice and I want to stab him in so many songs.
Wow. That is so much.
(36:49):
Yeah, that's so much further than Don usually goes. Yeah, that was a bit much.
But I think because as I was as I was listening through and I made this revelation that, wow, the other guy's a better singer.
I'm just like, why do they keep putting this guy, you know, in the in the front?
And his voice, I think, is works for really twangy kind of party anthem stuff.
But yeah, I think for the ballads, Brian's voice is it's more pleasant.
(37:12):
It's cleaner. I mean, he really get, you know, getting back to twang.
He really exaggerates the twang. And maybe maybe you have to do that because then otherwise these aren't country songs.
You know, then it's really the only thing that's making them in that ballpark.
Yeah. But despite all that, I mean, it's a you know, it's it's fine.
You know, and I guess I appreciate that they tried to do something a little different on this.
(37:33):
I suppose it's probably a more mature album for them.
So, you know, I'll I'll give them credit for that. Yeah.
You know, some other big hits and highlights were Holy about, again, loving their wives.
Hi, Unloving You, Holy and May We All, which has been stuck in my head all week with Tim McGraw, just a really good country pop song.
(37:54):
I think it's got the right amount of country to to really belong in that world, but enough pop to fit on this record.
A lot of religion on this. But, you know, as like metaphors or whatever.
Yes. Well, I think that, you know, goes to the southern tradition of family and church and all that stuff.
So I think that's part of what they do really well is they weave that stuff in, you know, it's subconscious for the audience.
(38:19):
So it does have a country feel, even though sometimes just like Glen Campbell, it meanders pretty far outside of those lines at times.
Ziggy Marley was a big surprise when Life is a Honeymoon comes on.
Like, are they trying to do reggae? And then I hear Ziggy Marley.
Oh, OK. All right. They got legitimized by having Ziggy on the track.
(38:40):
So, yeah, Smooth was their attempt at kind of touching more of that party vibe.
But most of this album is really not in that vein.
But it was interesting to explore Florida, Georgia line.
And I thought this was the right mix. But I get it now.
I get the appeal of what they were doing. They did it well.
And if you feel like lightly digging at your roots, go check out Florida, Georgia line. Dig your roots.
(39:05):
Can you dig it? Can you dig it? Can you dig it?
We just had some fun digging our roots or Florida, Georgia lines roots.
What else have you been digging this week?
All right. Yeah, I got a couple of things here in my saddlebags.
I'll show you guys.
(39:27):
Nice. Well prepared this time.
First one up is from an act from East London by the name of Tongue, I believe is how you'd say it.
The name of the album is Love You All Over Again.
It's the eighth studio album for the Pagan Folk Tronica act.
That's a new one.
That was almost a spit take just there.
(39:54):
Yeah, it looks ridiculous for that.
That's how they refer to themselves. Pagan Folk Tronica.
This album here is apparently a return to where they started 20 years ago.
Let's play Don't Know Why.
Oh my God.
Is this from Dr. Seuss?
(40:17):
It sounds a little bit like a nursery rhyme.
But you have to picture a guy wearing goat horns or something.
Dancing out of fire or something.
That is nightmare fuel.
I would call it more like chamber pop sort of.
If you guys like that genre. It's pretty catchy though.
It's dark. That's a real sort of like Grimm's fairy tale sort of darkness to it.
(40:41):
Interesting. I like it.
The other one for me is from a more established artist by the name of Anna B Savage.
Also from London. She has a new album out called You and I Are Earth.
It's her third studio album.
It's largely about Ireland where apparently she's been living the last few years.
Let's play track two, Lighthouse.
(41:04):
I like it where vocal style is almost breathy like a woodwind instrument.
That's kind of her strength I would say.
She has a very unique voice, very expressive, very confident.
I think this record is really going to make quite a bit over the last few weeks.
Anna B Savage.
What have you been digging on, Don?
Well, I'm going to shout out again to the New Wave Music podcast because I keep stealing their pics.
(41:27):
They talked to members of The Vapers.
They had famously done that song Turning Japanese back in the early 80s.
So they were an English New Wave band formed in 1978.
So they got back together in 2015 and this is their second album since getting back together.
It's called Wasp in a Jar and here's a song called Hit the Ground Run.
Sounds good.
(41:52):
Yeah, definitely has that kind of post-punk sound.
Then another artist I found, I think it's Baja Bullit or Baja Bullay.
She's a Canadian folk singer.
This is her seventh studio album.
She's kind of known for using that auto harp instrument.
You guys know what that is?
That kind of like triangular string thing that the folkies play.
(42:13):
Her latest album is called Baja's Palace.
Here's a song called My Angel.
Yeah, so some of this album has kind of a more pop vibe,
but there is some more traditional folk-y sounding songs on it.
Cool, sounds catchy.
Yeah. How about you, dude?
Well, I decided to dig my roots and find something that was like New Wave,
(42:38):
a British heavy metal sounding and that's just what I did.
I went with Warlung, a Houston-based band.
This is their fifth studio album called The Poison Touch.
It was released on Valentine's Day this year.
Oh, perfect.
How romantic.
Of course.
It has these atmospheric elements and gritty undertone
(43:00):
with a blend of sonar rock, doom metal, psychedelic influences,
but also very New Wave, a British heavy metal-esque experience
and some kind of ghosty vocals like the band Ghost, not like Casper.
Why don't we check out a little bit of Rat Bastard.
You see what I'm saying about the ghosty sort of vocal style,
(43:22):
which I think works better for me with this kind of music.
Than Ghost.
I got to get lost in the ghost albums sometimes.
But also, I always like to do one pick from my vinyl collection
and listening to all this country music, pop country, for the most part,
I needed to get to the guts of it.
So I listened to a little bit of Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison,
(43:47):
released on May 6, 1968, his first live album recorded during a performance
at the Folsom State Prison in California.
And it's got his mix of country and folk.
So why don't we check out a little bit of Folsom Prison Blues.
It's a little disconcerting hearing the crowd of prisoners cheering
(44:11):
when you talk about shooting a guy, but it is what it is.
It's a classic is what it is.
Yeah, you got to have that one on vinyl.
It doesn't matter if it's high quality, low quality, fresh pressing,
old pressing, just having it.
It's like having a Bible in the house.
Like, it's just got to be there.
All right. Well, what are you digging?
(44:32):
Let us know. Join us on the socials, Facebook, Instagram and threads.
Also on our website, albumnerds.com.
It will be a discovery of extraordinary value.
Well, it's about that time on the show.
I'm reminded of the great American singer and actress, Reba McIntyre.
Nice.
(44:53):
She said, to succeed in life, you need three things.
A wishbone, a backbone.
Of course.
And a funny bone.
That's Reba.
Well said.
All right. With that in mind, let's bring out my friend and yours, Wadbot,
to see what we'll be talking about on next week's episode.
(45:16):
With St. Patrick's Day around the corner, it's time to celebrate Ireland's finest music.
Next time, you will be diving into some top Irish albums based on the Irish Times Top 50 list,
showcasing the heart, soul and unmistakable sound of the Emerald Isle.
Get out your lucky charms, boys.
Top Irish albums.
Top Irish albums.
(45:38):
So we'll be looking at a list according to the Irish Times of the 50 best Irish albums ever.
Should be magically delicious.
God, I'm sorry, Irish people. I started it.
Well, what's your favorite Irish record? What else are you listening to?
Email us at podcast at albumnerds.com.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, threads and bluesky at albumnerds.
(46:00):
And visit albumnerds.com to suggest topics for the show, peruse the Hall of Fame,
and listen to all 280 episodes.
The best way to support the show is to share it.
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Thank you once again for joining us on the Album Nerds podcast.
We'll catch you next time at the end of the rainbow.
We'll find three pots of gold for you.
(46:21):
Three? Wow.
Yeah, each album.
Okay. Fair enough.
Next question, everybody. See you next week.
Here's my Roberta Flack tribute.
The first time ever I saw you.
Why are you doing this?
What is that?
She died.
What?
Yes.
(46:42):
Oh.
Poor one out.
So she heard that potentially from the odds.
Sorry, Roberta.
Brought her to tears.
It's a bummer. And that she died too.
I'll see you in the next year or so.
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