Following in the footsteps of the popular, "Now That's What I Call Music" compilations, last year saw the first volume in a set now dedicated to country music. This year's recently released, "Now That's What I Call Country, Volume 2" collects 20 hits from the past year, some of them outright chart-toppers and others scoring high enough to matter.
Of course, high chart placement doesn’t mean a thing unless the music is good, and the music sounds uniformly good on this collection, though some songs stand out more than others. Any album containing Taylor Swift’s “Love Story,” from her second album, and “Fearless” has something going for it, as this is one of the best songs of the past year, country or otherwise.
The 19-year-old Swift is a stunning, precocious talent, and “Love Story,” for which Swift bears sole songwriting credit, is a stunning, beautiful song and tells the story of two star-crossed lovers (as in Romeo and Juliet) who appear to beat the odds. It’s possible, though, that the happy ending exists only in the girl’s imagination. Whatever it is, it’s beautiful.
There aren’t many number one country hits with a reggae beat, but Kenny Chesney manages this and also brings a smile to your face with “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven,” on which Chesney pronounces: “Everybody wants to go heaven/Get their wings and fly around/Everybody wants to go to heaven/But nobody wants to go now.”
It sure is good to see Alan Jackson here, a time-honored singer who’s never forgotten country music’s traditions, but suave and savvy enough to make it on today’s country charts, which tend to favor a pop-inclined, crossover sound. His number one hit, “Country Boy,” wrapped in fiddle and steel guitar, is an in-your-face reminder that Jackson knows his roots.
Darius Rucker is here too; the former lead singer for pop/rock band Hootie and the Blowfish. Rucker appears to have carved out a successful career in country music. His touching ballad, the number one “It Won’t Be Like This for Long”—about a father watching his daughter grow, helpless to hold back the hands of time—is one of the album’s best songs.
Certainly a most welcome artist on this collection is Jamey Johnson, whose ballad, the moving “In Color,” represents a strong return to country’s traditions. There’s nothing crossover about the hard-edged album it came from, either. “That Lonesome Song” was one of the best albums of 2008 in any genre and it owes a debt to Hank Williams, George Jones, and Waylon Jennings.
In fact, there’s a song on that album called “Between Jennings and Jones,” where Johnson says his albums—as well as his sound—can be found. It’s truly gratifying that “In Color” was named “Song of the Year” this past April at the Academy of Country Music Awards show, which spurred “That Lonesome Song” to gold record status.
There’s something for everyone on “Now That’s What I Call Country, Volume 2.” Some of the other artists include the indomitable George Strait; the group Rascal Flatts; Miranda Lambert, whose “Gunpowder & Lead” is one of the most harrowing songs in country music ever; Trace Adkins; and Josh Turner. Oh, and by the way, “Volume 1” was excellent, too.
David Gonzales writes on music and lives and works in the San Francisco bay area.
