
Growing up, I listened to a lot of country music, as that was what my dad always listened to. While the band Alabama was my favorite artist at that time, I was always a pretty big fan of Alan Jackson. Opinions seem to vary wildly on the man, but I've always really liked him and his music. The great thing about him is that he's always stuck to his roots and it's worked extremely well for him. Although Jackson's sort of fallen out of the country music spotlight, his following is still quite strong. His cover of "Summertime Blues" years ago is still my favorite version ever of that song.
In 2013, Alan Jackson released two albums, one being the second volume of his gospel series "Precious Memories," and the other being a Bluegrass album simply entitled "The Bluegrass Album." Now, while I have nothing against bluegrass, I've never been a fan of big name country stars trying out bluegrass. I do love me some banjos, though. This album is essentially Alan Jackson with banjos, which is really awesome. Ordinarily, this is not something I'd listen to, but I'm a big fan of this album. The new bluegrass-inspired version of one of his older hit songs, "Let's Get Back to Me and You," is in my opinion BETTER than the original.
There were two music videos produced to promote "The Bluegrass Album." They were "Blacktop" and "Blue Mountain Ridge Song." Both were Jackson-penned tracks. "Blue Mountain Ridge Song" which stars Alan Jackson's middle child, Ali. It's a sad one, just to warn you.
The critics weren't been terribly nice to this album, but I like it all the way through, honestly. "Ain't Got Trouble Now," "Blue Side of Heaven," "Blacktop" and the aforementioned new version of "Me and You" are my favorite tracks on the record. I love it when artists just go ahead and make the music they want. Jackson wrote eight songs for the record, as well. It's a must for any fan of bluegrass, for sure, and any fans of the legendary Alan Jackson. It was definitely one of my favorite albums of 2013 - a year in which a lot didn't do much for me.
Photo credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bluegrass_Album_(Alan_Jackson_album) - Fair use
In 2013, Alan Jackson released two albums, one being the second volume of his gospel series "Precious Memories," and the other being a Bluegrass album simply entitled "The Bluegrass Album." Now, while I have nothing against bluegrass, I've never been a fan of big name country stars trying out bluegrass. I do love me some banjos, though. This album is essentially Alan Jackson with banjos, which is really awesome. Ordinarily, this is not something I'd listen to, but I'm a big fan of this album. The new bluegrass-inspired version of one of his older hit songs, "Let's Get Back to Me and You," is in my opinion BETTER than the original.
There were two music videos produced to promote "The Bluegrass Album." They were "Blacktop" and "Blue Mountain Ridge Song." Both were Jackson-penned tracks. "Blue Mountain Ridge Song" which stars Alan Jackson's middle child, Ali. It's a sad one, just to warn you.
The critics weren't been terribly nice to this album, but I like it all the way through, honestly. "Ain't Got Trouble Now," "Blue Side of Heaven," "Blacktop" and the aforementioned new version of "Me and You" are my favorite tracks on the record. I love it when artists just go ahead and make the music they want. Jackson wrote eight songs for the record, as well. It's a must for any fan of bluegrass, for sure, and any fans of the legendary Alan Jackson. It was definitely one of my favorite albums of 2013 - a year in which a lot didn't do much for me.
Photo credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bluegrass_Album_(Alan_Jackson_album) - Fair use