The Cactus Brothers "Cactus Brothers" (Liberty, 1993)
An odd sort of orphaned almost-alt album from the commercial side of the tracks... Initially this feels irritatingly prefab, a fake-o, domesticated roots rock bar-band, with a decidely Nashville sound... But some of the touches that seem like mere affectations, including a liberal dose of bluegrassy acoustic licks, finally start to feel a little more sincere by album's end. If you like the Tractors, the V-Roys or bands like that, you might want to track this down as well, though for my money, this is a bit too controlled and tame.

The Cactus Brothers "24 Hours, Seven Days A Week" (Demon, 1998)
Oh, jeepers...! Is that what 24/7 means...?? I finally figured it out... Thanks, guys!

Chris Cagle "Play It Loud" (Capitol, 2001)
(Produced by Robert Wright & Chris Cagle)
Recycling old Southern rock motifs (such as the fiddle/electric guitar combination we all know and love from back in the day...) Cagle and his producers neuter the style and bend it into a soft pop formula, just a coupla steps short of a Michael Bolton album... He makes the most of a thin voice, and delivers his wordy romantic ballads with a fair amount of skill... If you can get past the too, too-perfect, studio-pruned drums, the rolling, drippy piano riffs and swooping power chords, then he can hold your attention. But honestly, this is all a bit much. It's not really music, it's just "product," and it's way overdone.

Chris Cagle "Chris Cagle" (Capitol, 2003)
(Produced by Robert Wright & Chris Cagle)
Hmmm. I mean: YUCK...!!! Super-overproduced, popped-out, rock-flavored & coldly calculated commercial Top Ten corn; country music for people who don't really like country music. Totally bogus, but it sold pretty well, though. Go figure.

Chris Cagle "Anywhere But Here" (Capitol, 2005)

Chris Cagle "My Life's Been A Country Song" (Capitol, 2008)

Shawn Camp - see artist discography

Craig Campbell "Craig Campbell" (Bigger Picture, 2011)

Glen Campbell -- see artist discography

Stacy Dean Campbell "Lonesome Wins Again" (Columbia, 1992)
A thoroughly likeable, inoffensive soft-honkytonk outing that seems closely modeled on Rodney Crowell's best work, both vocally and in terms of the acoustic-based arrangements. The big difference is in the calibre of songwriting; most of these songs are pretty fluffy and aimless. They sound nice, though. This is my kinda Nashville muzak.

Stacy Dean Campbell "Hurt City" (Columbia, 1995)
(Produced by Blake Chancey & Wally Wilson)
Another fine, fun, brightly produced poppy-tonk set, with a nice, thumping backbeat and plenty o' twang. He also still sounds a lot like Rodney... but Rodney when he sang at his honkytonk best, which is pretty darn good. Uniformly strong material with good delivery, including a cover of "Pop A Top," a great version of Steve Earle's "Sometimes She Forgets," and even a few songs that have an Everly Brothers vibe to 'em. It's a nice sound, which of course hardly made a dent in the charts. This album also includes the crunchy-guitared chunka-chunka hillbilly rock of "Honey I Do," Campbell's last chart entry, which weighed in at an undistinguished #61, and doomed him to an also-ran status... But this is definitely a case where commercial failure has to be forgotten in favor of artistic success: Campbell's career may have tanked out, but those of us fortunate enough to find a copy of this disc floating around will be pleased to find several strong performances on it, and other, lighter tracks that still sound nice. Not a classic, but definitely worth checking out.

Stacy Dean Campbell "Ashes Of Old Love" (Warner, 1999)

George Canyon "George Canyon" (Blue Leaf Music, 2004)
This appears to be a collection of his early stuff...

George Canyon "One Good Friend" (Universal South, 2004)
(Produced by Tim DuBois & Steve Mandile)
Mining much the same territory as hat act dudes like Clint Black, George Strait and Tracy Lawrence, Canadian newcomer George Canyon is a gruff-voiced neotradder who isn't in the slightest little bit afraid to record super-formulaic material. Mostly, it pays off real well. Despite some of its by-the-numbers aspects, his album has a vigorous feel, and several songs you just gotta love, like the dopey "Working On A Ten," which revisits the whole rating-gals-on-a-one-to-ten-scale thing, and the religiously themed "Unfinished," in which a guy's life flashes before him in a moment of danger, and after taking stock of his own shortcomings, he decides to do better and make himself a better man. It's unashamedly, unselfconsciously corny material, and that's one of the reasons it works so well... The other reason is that the production is relatively restrained -- oh, sure, it's factory made and totally Nashville, but it still has some grit to it, and the propulsive approach Canyon and his band use plows along and pulls us with it. A couple of songs towards the end are only so-so, but mostly this is a commercial country album you can listen to from start to finish, without having to skip tracks or hit fast forward. Hope he can keep it up, because this is one of the decade's most promising commercial country debuts.

George Canyon "Home For Christmas" (Universal South, 2005)

George Canyon "Somebody Wrote Love" (Universal, 2006)

George Canyon "Classics" (2007)
Canyon sings country standards -- "He Stopped Loving Her Today," "Okie From Muskogee," "Ring Of Fire..." Stuff like that.

George Canyon "What I Do" (2008)

Mary Chapin Carpenter -- see artist discography

Jeff Carson "Jeff Carson" (Curb, 1995)

Jeff Carson "Butterfly Kisses" (Curb, 1997)

Jeff Carson "Real Life" (Curb, 2001)
Sort of a latter-day Dan Seals, Oklahoman Jeff Carson sticks pretty strictly to inspirational, slow-tempo weepers, with plenty of tinkly piano work and sweeping, egregious key changes. I guess if you go for the sappier end of the modern stuff, this disc is a pretty good option, although you gotta admit this guy doesn't have the world's greatest voice. Several songs provided by writers in the Trace Adkins axis -- notably Trey Bruce and Max D. Barnes (who produced half the tracks on the album) -- but Carson often seems ill at ease with more uptempo material, so the disc has kind of a lopsided feel to it. Not my cup of tea, but I can see the appeal.

Anita Carter - see artist discography

Carlene Carter - see artist discography

Carter's Chord "Carter's Chord" (Universal-Show Dog, 2008)

Carter's Chord "Christmas" (EP) (Universal-Show Dog, 2010)

Carter's Chord "Wild Together" (EP) (Universal-Show Dog, 2011)
(Produced by Toby Keith & Mark Wright)
You might be disappointed if you thought this three-gal vocal group's name was an homage to the Carter Family... Unless of course, you were talking about Carlene Carter, 'cuz like Carlene in her younger years, this rough-cut trio want to make sure you know that they aren't just a bunch of harmless little "good girls." Indeed, on songs like "We Ain't Makin' Love," they go out of their way to underscore their carnality and downright raunchy horniness. Forget about the scented candles, baby, it's time to burn a hole in the rug!! To balance things out they close this 6-song EP with "Love A Little Bigger," a socially-conscious Christian country-pop song that urges everyone to be more thoughtful and thankful in life. (Of course, it's still a little self-absorbed: they start out by worrying about strangers who are starving, but instead of deciding to volunteer at a soup kitchen, they resolve to call their moms on the weekend. Well, every little bit helps, I guess...) Proteges of label head Toby Keith, these gals are a bit too overproduced for my tastes, but I'm sure old Toby knows what he's doing when it comes to making hits... So keep your eyes peeled.

Deana Carter "Did I Shave My Legs For This?" (Capitol, 1996)
The debut album of singer-songwriter Deana Carter, daughter of legendary Nashville session guitarist Fred Carter... This is a pretty strong effort, at its best, a spunky summation of the upbeat rock orientation of the mid-1990s "young country" scene. She dips into the same corny turf as other Nashvillers on the slow stuff, but she's still a cut above, in my opinion, and definitely worth checking out.

Deana Carter "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" (Capitol, 1998)
In the it's-all-up-for-grabs stylistic shift of pre-Millennial Nashville, it was hard to tell if Deana Carter's brash, depth-ridden braininess would work or not... She certainly provided a strong voice to field-test introspective songs by the likes of up-and-coming songwriters such as Matraca Berg and Leslie Satcher, but in the long run her track record seems mixed. Some tunes, like the tinkly ballad, "People Miss Planes," seem like standard enough fare, although others, like her loopy, Little Feat-inspired cover of Norma Tanenga's novelty oldie, "Brand New Key," or the soft soul of "Never Comin' Down" stand out like Humvees in a corn field. Mostly it doesn't work for me, but I'm pleasantly surprised by the songs that do draw me in, and though ultimately Carter's appeal turned out to be fairly limited, her brand of Nashville genre-bending seems much more intelligent and nuanced than most of her misguided contemporaries. Worth checking out, though it has its clunky moments.

Deana Carter "Father Christmas" (Rounder, 2001)
A remarkably understated acoustic Christmas album... Usually when Top 40 country stars do a holiday record, they tend to blast away at the songs -- I guess it's a chance for them to wail away on a different type of material? -- but Carter prefers to croon, and the results are low-key and kind of nice. Backing her up on acoustic guitar is her father, '50s session picker, Fred Carter... As an interesting family-oriented bonus, the disc also includes an interview she conducted (as a little kid) about his old days in Nashville. Worth checking out, if you're in a holiday mood. (For other Christmas records, see my Hillbilly Holiday section.)

Deana Carter "The Story Of My Life" (Vanguard, 2005)
(Produced by Deana Carter)
I like Deana Carter, and I was happy for her last year when her I'm Just A Girl album got her back into the top country charts... Still, Carter's relationship with Nashville is always a little tenuous, since she likes to tilt towards a bright pop-rock sound that Music City tastemakers don't seem to appreciate, and this time around she's indulged that pop sweet-tooth to its fullest. Even I have to confess I was left a bit adrift by the brash twanglessness of this album's opener, "The Girl You Left Me For," which sounds just like the perky, sugary pop of teen singers such as Britney Spears, Hillary Duff and Lindsey Lohan. Carter wrote and produced this entire album, and its overt pop leanings couldn't be more purposeful... Still, one can't help but wonder if she hasn't simply squandered her newfound capital as a credible Nashville chart artist in a questionable pursuit of a less-charitable Pop god. In the past, I thought her balancing of pop and country was somewhat admirable and at times effective -- she seems to have a fresher take on rock music than many of the by-the-numbers Music Row songsmiths who tend to make everything sound like a bad soul ballad -- but she might have gone a little overboard on this one. Still, if you like the sound of contemporary Pop music, but wish it had deeper, more mature lyrics, this album might be an eye opener...

Deana Carter "The Chain" (Vanguard, 2007)
Initially, Deana Carter made a career out of skating on the fine line between commercial country and rootsier Americana material, showing her savvy command of Nashville's modern sensibilities while letting fans know she had some real country roots. Then, on 2003's I'm Just A Girl, she went outright pop, throwing a lot of people for a loop, and continued on her poppy path for the follow-up, The Story Of My Life. Here, Carter takes some of the pressure off, not only by recording an album of cover tunes and classics, but also by bringing in a host of guest vocalists, including many of the original artists. It's an interesting set, not always what I'd like, but consistently engaging and intelligent, and Carter (thankfully) remains restrained and contained throughout, resisting the urge to showboat that often sinks similar projects. Highlights include a sober collaboration with Jessi Colter on "I'm Not Lisa," and a stunning, spooky reworking of "He Thinks I Still Care," with the ever-great George Jones summoning up one of the more striking performances of recent years. A duet with Kris Kristofferson, on his "Help Me Make It Through The Night," is also pretty solid, and Dolly Parton sails through her oldie-goldie "Love Is Like A Butterfly." There are a couple of misfires: it's nice to hear John Anderson's growly voice again, but "Swingin'" was never one of his best songs, and two musical dynasties prove tad shaky: Paul Simon's son, Harper, sounds just okay on "The Boxer," while Shooter Jennings demonstrates once again why he's really got to stop milking his dad's legacy: he just ain't got the mojo. Carter may be drawn to children of famous folks because she is one herself -- the concept behind this album is that it's a set of songs with artists that her dad, veteran session guitarist Fred Carter, worked with during his career. It's a nice idea, and these are great songs, although the handful of tunes where Deana sings by herself -- such as Neil Young's "Old Man," Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay," The Band's "The Weight" -- are some of the more affecting and mysterious tracks on the album. This one's worth checking out -- she offers interesting perspectives on these old songs, and also seems to be returning to her roots, if only for a little while.

Lionel Cartwright "Lionel Cartwright" (MCA, 1989)

Lionel Cartwright "I Watched It On The Radio" (MCA, 1990)

Lionel Cartwright "Chasin' The Sun" (MCA, 1991)
A dimly remembered cult favorite, songwriter Lionel Cartwright racked up a few notable hits in the early 'Nineties, but he folded up the tent fairly early on, and it's easy to see why. He's barely an adequate singer, though given the right setting, he does bring it home on a tune or two. "What Kind Of Fool," a minor hit, is a very effective heartsong; the album's closing number, "Leap Of Faith," was Cartwright's crowning glory, a #1 hit that starts out awkwardly, but builds up to a pleasantly poppy crescendo. Most of his songs sound clumsy, though -- he really is an artist best suited to a modest best-of set, or to some ala carte song sampling.

Lionel Cartwright "Miles & Years" (1999)

Lionel Cartwright "Signature Series, v.1" (Intuitive, 2005)
A 5-song EP that recaps some career highlights...

Johnny Cash - see artist discography

Rosanne Cash - see artist discography

Tommy Cash - see artist discography

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Hick Music Index

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