Eagles - see artist discography

Steve Earle - see artist discography

Mundo Earwood "Mundo Earwood" (Excelsior Records, 1981) (LP)
Mundo Earwood was a Texas-based singer who barely managed to crack the Top 20 in the late 1970s, but bounced around from label to label with only middling success before this disc -- which was pretty much his swan song -- came out.

Sheena Easton "Singles Collection" (Capitol Records, 1993)
I am forced here to mention Scotland's Sheena Easton because her duet with Kenny Rogers, "We've Got Tonight" -- one of the most horrible songs ever recorded -- went to #1 on the Country charts in 1983. Other than that one aural abomination, this highlands lassie ain't much of a country phenomenon.

Clint Eastwood "Rawhide's Clint Eastwood Sings Cowboy Favorites" (Cameo/Collector's Choice, 1963) (LP)
Are yuh feeling lucky, punk? Well... are ya? If so, you might take a gamble on this novelty reissue of a full-length album (plus bonus tracks) that young Clint Eastwood recorded in 1963, when he was cast as cowpoke Rowdy Yates, on the TV show Rawhide. The repertoire is mainly old cowboy ballads, though the music is orchestrated pop, in keeping with the times. I wouldn't say Eastwood was the most arresting singer, and the arrangements are pretty placid, but you can hear his personality come out a little bit here and there... A cute old curio.

Connie Eaton - see artist discography

Skip Eaton "Free And Easy" (Tomorrow's Stars Records, 1991)
This was, think, the lone solo album from Skip Eaton, who was in the duo Skip & Linda, along with singer Linda Davis, later a solo artist of the 1990s.

John Eddie "Who The Hell Is John Eddie?" (Lost Highway Records, 2003)
Although some of his roots-rockin' tunes are a little too slick and (would-be) commercial for me, this still-under-the radar John Haitt-like songwriter has some good tunes, stuff that'll draw you in, no matter how indier-than-thou you are. Some of these songs (including some of the fun ones) are clearly alt-y bait, like "Sh*thole Bar" and "F**king Forty," and while they're fun the first time around, they outstay their welcome on repeat listens. Other songs, like "Lowlife" and "Play Some Skynyrd" are pretty durable. It's not all novelty material, either: there are some serious songs on here as well, though they tend to be really downcast and a little overproduced. Worth checking out, though!

Eden's Edge "Eden's Edge" (EP) (Big Machine Records, 2011)
An impressive debut -- even if it is just an EP -- by this talented trio. Lead singer Hannah Blaylock has a beautiful voice, not just technically strong, but expressive as well. Blaylock reminds me a bit of the Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines: it sounds like there's someone at home in there, not just another country-pop singer going through the motions. Their repertoire is good, too... be nice to see what they do on a full-length album. This EP closes with a beautiful a capella gospel number, "Christ Alone," which shows the group's potential for branching out into the Christian music field, if things don't take off in Nashville.

Eden's Edge "Eden's Edge" (Full length) (Big Machine Records, 2012)

Meredith Edwards "Reach" (Mercury Nashville, 2001)
(Produced by Richard Marx, Robin Wiley & Keith Stegall)
Bland, generic, Britney Spears-ish pop half-heartedly masquerading as Nashville 'mersh... The teenaged Edwards was apparently a protege of Lance Bass, of the pop band 'NSync, and this record shows how the apple doesn't fall far from the tree... Other than a little bit of tacked-on pedal steel, there isn't much that's "country" about this album... Nor is there much that's interesting. Edwards is a pretty weak singer -- she could do alright on one of those TV talent shows, but her clunky phrasing sinks her every time. Apparently the Nashville establishment agreed: despite the studio work of producers Keith Stegall, et al, this disc went nowhere on the charts. Good thing, too.

Stoney Edwards - see artist discography

Katrina Elam "Katrina Elam" (Universal South Records, 2004)
(Produced by Tony Brown & Jimmie Lee Sloas)
At the tender age of sixteen, Oklahoman Katrina Elam got her entry into Nashville as a published songwriter, and here on her full-length debut, the 22-year old wrote or co-wrote all but two of the songs; pretty impressive for a newcomer. I can't say I care much for her vocals -- too much soul-ish swooping and sexy cooing -- but she sure does have the current Nashville rock-pop formula down pat, complete with the bombastic, swelling orchestrations and wave after wave of electric guitars... I'm not into it, but it has the feel of something over-the-top enough that it might just go over really, really big. I'm sure Elam will go places, soon enough. (Postscript: I wrote that review when Elam was new on the scene... Turns out Music City politics mucked up her career as a performer... She's been very successful as a songwriter, but a second album, Turn It Up was shelved by her label, and she was dropped a couple of years later. Geez. Harsh.)

Katrina Elam "Turn Me Up" (Universal South Records, 2007)

Brett Eldredge "Bring You Back" (Atlantic Records, 2013)

The Eli Young Band "Eli Young Band" (Carnival Records, 2002)
The opening tracks on this debut record -- "I'm In Love" and "When We Were Innocent" -- have plenty of roadhouse twang, and show why this band is considered an alt-country/red dirt outfit... Guitarist/singers Mike Eli and James Young grind away with energy and drive, and earnest bar-band intensity. But right away, they start to change course, and you hear hints of the Journey/Tommy Tutone/Dave Matthews rock-isms to come. If you want to check out the Eli Young Band's "country" roots, this is the album to shoot for... But if you're a twangfan, don't get your hopes up too high.

The Eli Young Band "Level" (Universal South Records, 2005)
Although they have a home in the Country charts and a reputation on the jam-band circuit, the Eli Young Band seem pretty solidly soft-rock/pop to me, with more than a whiff of Dave Matthews, John Cougar Mellencamp and Journey in the mix. Lots of anthemic tunes tailormade for waving lighters around in smoke-filled stadiums, peppered lightly with Panhandle/rural references, but basically not all that twangy and -- if you ask me -- not all that country. I don't get it. I mean, sure, whatever floats one's boat, but this just seems like bland, prefab rock to me, with a retro feel that hearkens back to the '80s and early '90s, which I guess now qualifies as "classic" rock sound, for what it's worth. Nothing on here that I'd ever need to go back to.

The Eli Young Band "Live At The Jolly Fox" (Carnival Records, 2006)
Do people really go for these guys? Guess so: you can hear plenty of 'em cheering and whooping and singing along on this concert album. The live experience make 'em seem even more Dave Matthews-y, which isn't high praise in my book. Mostly, it's WTF? for me, hearing fans sing along to the facile philosophizing on songs like "That's The Way," and also the way al the songs start to sound the same. Not a big bag of tricks here, but I guess that's not the point. This is one of those bands I'm probably better off not saying anything about, because it will only irritate their fans, and no one else really cares. I know I don't.

The Eli Young Band "Jet Black And Jealous" (Republic Records, 2008)

The Eli Young Band "Life At Best" (Republic Records, 2011)

Alecia Elliott "I'm Diggin' It" (MCA Records, 2000)
(Produced by Tony Brown & Jeff Teague)
An inoffensive, but insubstantial mix of modern teen-pop and glossy contemporary country. Elliott doesn't have a great voice, and her penchant for untwangy, mid-tempo power ballads only serves to underline her shortcomings. The songs mostly seem like wordy, B-list material, with a few exceptions, such as Matraca Berg's "Some People Fall, Some People Fly," which has a strong thematic hook, and the bluesy title track, which allows Elliott to explore her superficial similarities to the young Tanya Tucker. Her mild snarl is undercut, though, by her nice-girl image, particularly on abstinence anthems such as her self-penned "You Wanna What?," which has the album's most vigorous guitar work, but is lyrically a little over-obvious and speaks to a limited audience. Overall, she strikes me as an artist who has potential, but still is pretty callow and too young to really bring much emotional resonance to her songs. Similarly, her phrasing needs time to grow, she seems pretty limited, and in particular she seems unable to transcend the confines of the stock country-pop arrangements that surround her. Here on her debut, Elliott doesn't even qualify as a second-stringer, but I'd still be interested to hear what she does a few years down the line...

Darryl & Don Ellis "No Sir" (Epic Records, 1992)
(Produced by James Stroud)
These brothers seem to have been pushed mainly as pretty boys -- jutting jaws, long, curly hair, dewy eyes, etc. -- tailormade for CMT videos, I'm sure. Unfortunately, they couldn't sing very well, and the arrangements behind them seem pretty flaccid and lax. It's not hard to understand why: if I were one of the studio players booked for these sessions, I wouldn't knock myself out, either. Why bother? (I mean, not to sound too harsh, or anything, but these guys were definitely no Everly Brothers... )

Darryl & Don Ellis "Day In The Sun" (Epic Records, 1993)
(Produced by Doug Johnson & Ed Seay)

Elmo & Patsy "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" (Epic Records, 1982)
Okay, so they didn't actually have huge success on the Country charts, but who of us who were alive in the 'Eighties hasn't heard "Grandma Got Run Over" a time or two before? Apparently, the 1983 single was a different version than the one on this album... This is one weird Christmas record; Jack Morgan and Misty Morgan would be proud. (For more country Christmas music, check out my Hillbilly Holiday section.)

Scotty Emerick "The Coast Is Clear" (Dreamworks Records, 2003)
The debut album from a Nashville songwriter most closely associated with Toby Keith, having penned several of Keith's #1 hits, as well as numerous other songs over several chart-topping albums. Apparently, they had a falling out: Emerick was signed to Keith's semi-indie Show Dog label, but never got a full album out, just a couple of singles.

Scotty Emerick "Love Me Like My Dog" (2007)

Emerson Drive - see artist discography

Ralph Emery & Shotgun Red "Christmas With Ralph & Red" (RCA Records, 1991)
Radio DJ and television host Ralph Emery was one of the most influential figures in the 1960s and '70s country landscape, building careers and boosting artists as a key cog in the Nashville machinery. He recorded a few singles himself, though only one, 1961's "Hello Fool," (an answer song to "Hello Walls") generated any real action. This holiday record features Emery along with his television "co-host," the puppet known as Shotgun Red, in a series of Christmas duets... perhaps more of a keepsake album than a fireside singalong. The Shotgun Red puppet was later featured on a revival of the Hee Haw TV show... But you can hear him here in his full glory with his buddy Ralph... A romance for the ages. (PS - for more country Christmas music, check out my Hillbilly Holiday section.)

Emilio - see artist discography

Buddy Emmons - see artist discography

Ty England "Ty England" (RCA Records, 1995)

Ty England "Two Ways To Fall" (RCA Records, 1996)

Tyler England "Highways & Dance Halls" (Capitol Records, 1999)

Ty England "Alive And Well And Livin' The Dream" (Triple T Records, 2007)

Robin English "Hello Me" (Global Row Records, 2004)
'Way back in 2001, Ms. English had an flash-in-the-pan hit single, "Girl In Love", which hit #10 on the charts and then apparently she parted ways with her label at the time (Columbia), reemerging a few years later with this indie album, which she has since re-jiggered a couple of times to try and hit the right formula... Not sure what the whole story is, but folks who like rootsier-than-usual mainstream twang might want to check her out...

Robin English "Robin English" (Aspirion Records, 2006)
Five of the songs on here originally appeared on 2004's Hello Me, including the song that seems to be her anthem, "Cotton Field Girl." In turn, all of the tracks on this album are reprised on the indie-again Velvet-Covered Brick album, below. There's some nice stuff, but be careful not to get the same material over and over again if you liked what you heard the first time around. Anyhoo, either version of this album would probably be fine.

Robin English "Velvet-Covered Brick" (2007)
An intriguing mixed bag. This disc opens with a bluesy, rootsy number called "Cotton Field Girl" that has a swampy feel worthy of old, classic Tony Joe White. After that, she leaps into some perky, generic pop-country fluff, and then into a few anguished ballads. She gets back to twang with a cheeky spoof of Willie and Waylon, "Mamas Don't Let Your Cowboys Grow Up To Be Babies," and closes with an aggressively popped-up radio remix of "Cotton Field Girl." There's an interesting mix of roots and Nashville savvy here, hinting at a Lee Ann Womack-like approach... Worth checking out if you go for both mainstream and indie-ish material.

Ethel & The Shameless Hussies "Born To Burn" (MCA Records, 1988)
(Produced by Jimmy Bowen)
Rollicking, rowdy country novelty songs, often expressing a female viewpoint... Lead singer Kacey Jones went on to make a career out of this sort of thing, carving out a comedy niche that's kept her going for years.

Evangeline "Evangeline" (MCA Records, 1992)
An all-gal band from Louisiana, with a somewhat simplistic musical sound, tending towards perky, upbeat material with group harmonies, or slower songs with individual bandmembers taking lead on different songs. One has a voice kind of like Linda Ronstadt; another has a bluesier approach, and delivers a clunky cover of Jesse Winchester's "Rumba Man." Odder still is an almost-liturgical rendition of the roots reggae oldie, "Rivers Of Babylon." Some songs have a cajun flavor to 'em, but mostly this is fairly bland, commercially-oriented material that never really found an audience.

Evangeline "French Quarter Moon" (MCA Records, 1993)
An exceedingly dreary album; includes their lone chart single, the cajun-flavored "Let's Go Spend Your Money Honey," an uptempo tune that's okay, but underwhelming. The rest of the record is pretty terrible... Some of it has a slightly alt-y, Lucinda Williams-ish feel, but the production is so generic it's hard to connect with any of it.

Sara Evans - see artist discography

Leon Everette - see artist discography

The Everly Brothers - see artist discography

EWB "We Could Go On Forever" (Paid Records, 1981) (LP)
The trio of Jerrell Elliott, Richard Wesley, Gerald Bennett... The album's title cut barely scraped into the Top 100...

Skip Ewing - see artist discography

Exile "Greatest Hits" (Epic Records, 1986)
(Produced by Buddy Killen)
Well, yes, they actually are the same band who had a huge pop hit in 1978 with "Kiss You All Over," a synth-heavy, whispered ditty that had kind of a mysterious, creepy air about it... Well, then they went country and landed a slew of #1 hits in the early '80s, none of which are particularly interesting, looking back at it now. Ostensibly, they were a vocal harmony band, along the lines of Alabama or the Bellamy Brothers, except that the harmonies don't really provide much contrast to lead singer J.P. Pennington's throaty vocals. It's radio friendly, but insubstantial. The farther they went along, the more willing they were to indulge in tacky pop modernizations, and on songs like "Hang On To Your Heart" or the reggae-tinged "I Could Get Used To You," discerning country fans will find themselves suffering immensely. This is a handy 10-song look back at their biggest hits, but it's not a record that I, personally, ever need to revisit.

Exile "Exile" (Epic Records, 1983)

Exile "Kentucky Hearts" (Epic Records, 1984)

Exile "Hang On To Your Heart" (Epic Records, 1985)

Exile "Shelter From The Night" (Epic Records, 1987)

Exile "Still Standing" (Arista Records, 1990)

Exile "Justice" (Arista Records, 1991)

Exile "Latest & Greatest" (Intersound, 1995)

Exile "Exile/Hang On To Your Heart" (Collectables Records, 1999)

Exile "Kentucky Hearts/Shelter From The Night" (Collectables Records, 1999)

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Hick Music Index

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