The musical buffet here at Stainless Steel Droppings accommodates all my tastes. The full bodied flavor of the operatic arias of Sarah Brightman. The lyrical richness of Tori Amos. The instrumental music of the newest Pride and Prejudice feeds my soul. Every song on the Evanescence debut album is like rock candy. 80’s music is my dessert, my drug. Disaffected chick music is ice cream at midnight; the sound of Def Leppard is sugary sweet and takes me back to my adolescence. Swing, Big Band, bluegrass, gospel, classical, celtic…its all good. And once in awhile I need the southern fried, grits and cornbread goodness of country music.

Yes, despite all the talk on the Droppings concerning sci-fi and fantasy literature and art, I do have a past rooted in the sands of the country. Although never a true “country boy” I grew up in rural Nebraska, had grandparents who tilled the land, I watched the real Dukes of Hazzard in its initial run…heck I even square danced during my early teenage years. And despite all my attempts to thwart it, living in Oklahoma for 11 years cultivated a liberal use of the term “you-all”. Thankfully that has mostly passed with time away from Sooner land but nothing has diminshed my enjoyment of country music. As much as I am a fan of the musical foodstuffs from back in my day, Alabama and John Anderson being particular favorites, I really enjoy the flavor of the new country. Thus I invite you to pull up a chair to sample some of the music that has most recently aroused my appetite. And before you say to yourself, “oh no, here is another of Carl’s meaningless diatribes” and turn the page remember that this is, after all, a blog, thus rendering all my posts meaningless…and any way, you might find something you actually enjoy.

Though not new to the country music scene the band Little Big Town is new to me. I first heard their talented harmonies while watching CMT’s Top 20 Countdown last week. Little Big Town is the nicely balanced quartet of Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Roads, Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook. From their website: During its six-year existence, country group Little Big Town has been battered by a series of professional and personal setbacks that would have destroyed most bands. But the four members have clung to one another, unshakable in their belief that they have something special to offer. Indeed they do. The band is unique in its make-up in the fact that all four members handle lead vocals with equal capability, and that other than the addition of a drummer most songs are accompanied solely by the guitar playing of Phillip and Jimi.

Their debut release with Equity music, The Road to Here, has launched them into the forefront of the country music scene. The first single off the album is one of my new favorites, Boondocks. It is an unapologetic, foot stomping, melodious anthem to pride in one’s roots, played in the southern rock tradition of songs like Sweet Home Alabama. It is a great introductory track as it showcases all four members’ terrific voices and advertises the harmony that makes them such a wonderful band. Boondocks, with its guitar and banjo riffs, dares you to sit quietly in your seat and not sing along or tap your feet. Their most recent hit Bring It On Home is a slower tune that once again pulls you in with the melliflous vocal blending of this foursome. It is also a wonderfully romantic song that makes you want to hug your loved ones close. You can hear samples of their music at their site but I recommend going to the CMT site and listening to Boondocks and Bring It On Home while watching the videos. Of all the sites you can watch videos on CMT has the most clear, best streaming videos.

LeAnn Rimes has been a household name since her debut at the age of 13. Now 22, recently married, and settled in Nashville for the first time in her life the music on her latest album This Woman has the heart and twang of true country music. The music as well as the videos for the songs Nothin’ Bout Love Makes Sense and Somethings Gotta Give are both fun and infectious romantic songs. Mary and I enjoy seeing how artists interpret their songs in the video format and these two are very entertaining. Her other chart making release from this album (thus far), Probably Wouldn’t Be This Way is a beautiful but sad song with an equally stunning video that tells the tale of recovery after love lost. These videos can all be watched at the CMT site as well.

The next dish on the country music table is….Jon Bon Jovi?

That’s right, 80’s hair band aficionados, Jon Bon Jovi’s song Who Says You Can’t Go Home is currently riding the rock charts in a Bon Jovi only version but the much better version is the one on the country charts in which Jon teams with Sugarland front woman Jennifer Nettles. Like all Bon Jovi’s songs this has that bubble gum rock feel but this version, with the country guitar twang and Jennifer Nettles amazing vocals, becomes another toe-tapping ditty. Jon and Jennifer’s voices blend together very nicely and as the song goes on Jennifer’s vocals get more and more powerful. She really has a beautiful voice. On Bon Jovi’s CMT video page the second video down is the country version. Both videos have a really nice message to go along with the song.

And this segues nicely into my final course for the day (and all the non-country fans who have stayed with me thus far out of respect, or pity, say “Yee-haw!!!”) is the band Sugarland.

Sugarland’s trio all had separate careers that were steady but not at the level of success that they wanted. When Jennifer Nettles, Kristen Hall, and Kristian Bush got together they created something that literally made them an overnight sensation. Within 4 months of getting together they were doing their first gig and the crowd response was so great that they decided to get serious about things, made an album, and have been enjoying great success. Their music is described as “rootsy and lyrically sophisticated, but still catchy and accessible” to which I would agree. Their first hit, Something More, is an upbeat, guitar driven ode to getting the most out of life. Watching the video is fun only to see what an odd combination they are.

Well, that’s all folks! The buffet line is closed, dessert has been served, its time to sit back, relax, and enjoy some good music. If however you still feel a might peckish the CMT site has many, many morsels to treat the eyes and ears. Sara Evans, a beautiful mother of three, has a number of great songs and equally great videos to go with them: Suds in the Bucket, A Real Fine Place to Start, Perfect, Born to Fly, I Could Not Ask For More…all good. If you are an American Idol fan you can watch last year’s champ Carrie Underwood in her award winning video for Jesus, Take The Wheel as well as others. Another favorite is Trace Adkins. His video for the song Rough and Ready is especially fun and features one of the scariest looking dogs I have ever seen.

Happy Humpday everyone. Hope you survived today’s down-home cookin’. This post is dedicated to Jules and the Percolations clan. Our families share a similar passion for sitting at the computer and listening to the many and varied tunes to be found on Real Rhapsody. This diatribe started life as a simple email to Jules because I wanted her to check out the Boondocks song and then grew into today’s post.

If you were very astute you noticed that I highlighted the words ‘video’ and ‘videos’ to take you directly to each artists’ video page.