The Boys Are Back, Indeed!

For the past few weeks that I have been doing this blog, I have tried to resist the urge to write about one of the topics that I usually do---the music business. I figure that between NEW MUSIC WEEKLY, Music News Nashville, Limewire, and all the other music publications I write for, I get plenty of chances to delve into my thoughts on the music that I hear. I like getting to write about different things going on in life besides what seems to be the obvious.

With that being said, this is one of those weeks that the subject matter is a little bit hard to come by, and one of the things that has inspired me the most has been....music. You would think that eighteen years of being in the business, and being a fan for more years than that, the thrill of the mail delivery each day would begin to be a little less. It hasn't. People that I have worked with over the years, even my wife, have poked fun at the fact that I take the mail run each day seriously. I have to admit.....I do. There's something about the thrill of getting manila envelopes stuffed with CD's from record companies that I just love. There's a thrill about hearing something brand new for the first time...especially if it's good. A lot of times, it might be a new act. I still remember the first time I heard acts like Lee Ann Womack and Brad Paisley....and brand new acts like Due West and Bulls Gap, both of whom I think have the potential to be huge.

Sometimes, it's a legendary act that brings out the fire in me. I love hearing when an older act steps out of their comfort zone a bit. It may not be their most commercially successful recording, but hearing someone like Kenny Rogers and a song like "The Last Ten Years," latter-day recordings by Loretta Lynn and Johnny Cash, or some of the more recent recordings by Dolly, there's something refreshing about an act who is still out there creating new art for fans to enjoy.

That leads me to this week's reason to be excited about the music business---The Oak Ridge Boys. I have just heard their new album entitled THE BOYS ARE BACK, and I must admit that to call it an artistic statement is something of an understatement. It's also one that comes from a little bit left of center. Dave Cobb, who has done an awesome job as Shooter Jennings' producer, guided the project...which features some of the group's biggest musical risks in years. The Oak Ridge Boys recording a song from Shooter? Check. Neil Young? Check. The White Stripes? Check again! In fact, the group's version of "Seven Nation Army" is one of the best things they have ever dome. Songs from such revered writers as Jamey Johnson, Paul Kennerly, and Dallas Frazier also are included on the disc.

Of interest to fans will be the title track, written by Shooter Jennings, which is a tribute to the history and legacy of the group from their beginnings with Wally Fowler back in the 1940s. Shooter proves himself to be a great student of history on this track, which has that unmistakable four-part harmony that could only come from the "Mighty Oaks." As an aside, I will say that not making Shooter Jennings a star in his own right is one of the biggest sins that Music City has committed as of late....But this is about the Oaks, right?

The album comes out May 19, which is a week from this Tuesday, and I urge each of you to pick up a copy. You will be glad you did. I will be writing more about this album in my usual forums, but I wanted to let you know that it's one of those albums that both entertain and inspire you....at the same time. If you want to hear some of the album, tune in to Kix 96.7 this Thursday from 1-3, as I will be interviewing Richard Sterban of the Oaks...and we'll be talking more about it then....but I just had to let you know....The Boys Are Back.....in a big way!