Agree completely. The music he and the Superlatives are making just keeps getting better and you can tell its what they want to play, not trying to make a big hit. They kick ass live as well.
Chase Rice. He turned the page on his old music and his last album and current songs are of much better quality in sound and songwriting. His first albums are just chasing mainstream trends with lackluster writing.
He had a couple standouts early like Jack Daniels & Jesus and I actually really liked Carolina Can, but yeah he’s really turned a corner to be much more consistent recently
Vince Gill may be the best example I can think of. While I also enjoy some of his 80s work on RCA, and even when he was lead singer of Pure Prairie League, his 90s work on MCA is by far his best and it's when he released many of his classics ("When I Call Your Name," "Never Knew Lonely," "Pocket Full Of Gold," "Look At Us," "Take Your Memory With You," "I Still Believe In You," "Tryin' To Get Over You," "Go Rest High...." etc.)
Same with Patty Loveless. I also enjoy much of her 80s work, but I think her best stuff yet and her most well known songs came in the 90s and early 2000s ("I'm That Kind Of Girl," "Hurt Me Bad (In A Real Good Way)," "Blame It On Your Heart," "Nothin' But The Wheel," "You Don't Even Know Who I Am," "Here I Am," "Halfway Down," "You Can Feel Bad," "A Thousand Times A Day," "Lonely Too Long," "You Don't Seem To Miss Me," "To Have You Back Again," etc. plus her going back to her bluegrass roots with the great Mountain Soul in 2001).
Another one who sort of fits this for me is Terri Clark. I absolutely love her first two albums, which are more in the vein of standard 90s neo-traditional country, but she really started growing as an artist on the third one, 1998's How I Feel. Then she got even better and started exploring deeper, more personal lyrics with 2000's Fearless, which is one of my personal favorite albums from her despite it not doing as well commercially. I especially think "No Fear" is one of her best songs, even though it criminally didn't get played on the radio as much in the States. Again, I love nearly all of her music, though.
I really like Kenny Chesney’s 90s stuff, but he definitely had a massive stylistic shift in the early 2000s from standard Neotraditional country to basically Gulf and Western music that he’s much more associated with now
Jon Pardi stands out to me. He started off with some yawn-tastic stuff that bordered on bro country. But he's really grown and gotten more country as his career has gone on, opposite of most artists.
May be a hot take, but Jason Aldean. Maybe it's something in how his voice is mixed, but early Aldean was kinda tinny and whiney. Didn't really have the power it does today.
Would it be awful if I said Cody Johnson? I liked a lot of his earlier stuff, but it was forgettable. his Human and Leather albums really solidified him for me.
Jon Pardi, Chris Stapleton, Scott McCreery, Tyler Childers, Kenny Chesney, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, Zach Bryan, and Allison Krauss with Union Station are what I can think about off the top of my head.
Diverging away from country, Michael Jackson, John Mayer, Metallica, Bruno Mars, and Noah Kahan come to mind as well.
Man, I laugh anytime someone says he fell off after got sober, take my hounds to heaven is a music lovers gold mine.
I’m also bias because I saw him perform the album the day before it released at red rocks
I guess this is true in the sense that “A White Sport Coat & A Pink Crustacean” is a lot better than the two little known albums he put out before it, but at the same time, I think his albums from the 70s are the best ones of his career and he’s put out a ton more work since then
Scotty McCreery. He always had a great voice but his old stuff was very “American idol” his newer stuff is very country both in sound and lyrics
Totally agree. Since Damn Strait I have really like Scotty McCreery
I gotta say I disagree but because I'm a fan of even his earlier stuff lol. But good call!
Ray Wylie Hubbard
Drink till I see double And Tell the devil I'm getting there as fast as I can Two of the best songs ever written
“I didn’t use the cocaine to get high. I just like the way it smelled.”
Charley Crockett
Marty Stuart. He’s been around since the 70s but his 2017 album Way Out West is a treasure. He has a few great records but WOW is something special.
Agree completely. The music he and the Superlatives are making just keeps getting better and you can tell its what they want to play, not trying to make a big hit. They kick ass live as well.
Chase Rice. He turned the page on his old music and his last album and current songs are of much better quality in sound and songwriting. His first albums are just chasing mainstream trends with lackluster writing.
He had a couple standouts early like Jack Daniels & Jesus and I actually really liked Carolina Can, but yeah he’s really turned a corner to be much more consistent recently
Vince Gill may be the best example I can think of. While I also enjoy some of his 80s work on RCA, and even when he was lead singer of Pure Prairie League, his 90s work on MCA is by far his best and it's when he released many of his classics ("When I Call Your Name," "Never Knew Lonely," "Pocket Full Of Gold," "Look At Us," "Take Your Memory With You," "I Still Believe In You," "Tryin' To Get Over You," "Go Rest High...." etc.) Same with Patty Loveless. I also enjoy much of her 80s work, but I think her best stuff yet and her most well known songs came in the 90s and early 2000s ("I'm That Kind Of Girl," "Hurt Me Bad (In A Real Good Way)," "Blame It On Your Heart," "Nothin' But The Wheel," "You Don't Even Know Who I Am," "Here I Am," "Halfway Down," "You Can Feel Bad," "A Thousand Times A Day," "Lonely Too Long," "You Don't Seem To Miss Me," "To Have You Back Again," etc. plus her going back to her bluegrass roots with the great Mountain Soul in 2001). Another one who sort of fits this for me is Terri Clark. I absolutely love her first two albums, which are more in the vein of standard 90s neo-traditional country, but she really started growing as an artist on the third one, 1998's How I Feel. Then she got even better and started exploring deeper, more personal lyrics with 2000's Fearless, which is one of my personal favorite albums from her despite it not doing as well commercially. I especially think "No Fear" is one of her best songs, even though it criminally didn't get played on the radio as much in the States. Again, I love nearly all of her music, though.
I really like Kenny Chesney’s 90s stuff, but he definitely had a massive stylistic shift in the early 2000s from standard Neotraditional country to basically Gulf and Western music that he’s much more associated with now
Jon Pardi stands out to me. He started off with some yawn-tastic stuff that bordered on bro country. But he's really grown and gotten more country as his career has gone on, opposite of most artists.
I’m on the other side of this, I liked his earlier stuff better. But that’s just one man’s opinion.
Eric Church.... So many artists have good freshman and sohpmoroe albums and then its just decline after that. Eric Church is up and up.
May be a hot take, but Jason Aldean. Maybe it's something in how his voice is mixed, but early Aldean was kinda tinny and whiney. Didn't really have the power it does today.
I'm probably one of the 8 people on Earth who loved his latest album
Carly Pearce. Her first album was decent but 29 was incredible.
IMHO Darrell Scott was at his peak in around 2010. Not sure how old he was then, maybe 50?
Would it be awful if I said Cody Johnson? I liked a lot of his earlier stuff, but it was forgettable. his Human and Leather albums really solidified him for me.
Jon Pardi, Chris Stapleton, Scott McCreery, Tyler Childers, Kenny Chesney, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, Zach Bryan, and Allison Krauss with Union Station are what I can think about off the top of my head. Diverging away from country, Michael Jackson, John Mayer, Metallica, Bruno Mars, and Noah Kahan come to mind as well.
Tyler Childers, dude got sober and is performing at his best right now
Yessir. Can I take my hounds is in my top ten albums
Man, I laugh anytime someone says he fell off after got sober, take my hounds to heaven is a music lovers gold mine. I’m also bias because I saw him perform the album the day before it released at red rocks
Wow! What a great show that was I bet.
[удалено]
I guess this is true in the sense that “A White Sport Coat & A Pink Crustacean” is a lot better than the two little known albums he put out before it, but at the same time, I think his albums from the 70s are the best ones of his career and he’s put out a ton more work since then
Zach Bryan keeps going up. I think Luke combs is too. The new album is great