#jon randall

Hello Stranger by Emmylou Harris & The Nash Ramblers on Austin City Limits, 1993

Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, & Jon Randall - The Marfa Tapes Country music is a genre of music that gives people one of two emotions when hearing its name and when it rears its head -- hatred or love. Some people really love it, and some people really hate it. You know what I mean, people say they “listen to everything but country.” Bonus points if they put rap / hip-hop, but the idea is the same -- people seem to brag about how they don’t like county music, and in some respects, I get it. A lot of the modern country music that you hear on the radio is very pop-friendly, generic, boring, and even incorporates a lot of hip-hop instrumentation, along with tons of tired cliches that have been tired for the past decade. Ever since Florida Georgia Line got big with “Cruise” in 2012, country music was never the same, for better or worse. I look at that in a good way, especially in retrospect, because that led to a resurgence of more “raw” styled country and folk music. Guys and gals like Tyler Childers, Colter Wall, Ian Noe, Adeem The Artist, Kacey Musgraves (she’s part of the “establishment,” too, but she always went against the grain), and many more are part of this movement that bring something new to the table, whether it’s a sense of storytelling, perspectives, ideas, or sounds. One artist in the genre that’s been a staple for the last 20 years is someone you could include in that crop of current artists that still bring something unique and interesting to the table that also break away from the cliches and the sounds that are popular. That artist is Miranda Lambert, who has been around since the early 00s, but didn’t release her label debut until 2005. She got big in 2007 with her third album, and second major label album, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which showcased her prowess for stellar vocals, a kickass attitude that doesn’t take any shit from anyone (especially men), and songs that were written very strongly. She rose up the ranks in the scene, ultimately becoming one of the most important singers and songwriters of the genre, but one that doesn’t get enough credit. She is mainly known, too, for her marriage and eventual divorce from Blake Shelton, who you may know from making bad country music is exactly what people hate about it (or love, depending on what kind of country music you like). She released the ambitious double album, The Weight Of These Wings, back in 2016 and that served as an album to chronicle and talk about her divorce. I listened to that when it came out, because I was wanting to get more into country music, and that was a good decision. The Weight Of These Wings is a very ambitious and long album, but it was also very rewarding. Fast forward four years, and she released Wildcard, which came out right before the pandemic, unfortunately, so she never got to tour that album. I’ve listened to it in retrospect, and I really enjoy it, despite how long, ambitious, and messy it is in spots, thanks to its sound being all over the place and its tone not being set in stone. What I wanted to talk about, and this is a long way of getting to it, because I wanted a lot of background, since this is a weird album to talk about on its own, is The Marfa Tapes from 2021, featuring Lambert, Jon Randall, and Jack Ingram, who are two other songwriters from Nashville that she’s worked with. She worked with them a lot on her follow-up, 2022′s Palomino, which is a very good album. What is this album exactly? It’s not a studio album, per se, but it’s a collection of songs that the three of them wrote semi-live. This album is an acoustic, lo-fi, and sort of “live” album, because it features single takes of recording. You hear a little bit of studio banter, some background noise, and a few mistakes they make, but it works, where the album is meant to be very loose and easygoing. Personally, I love this record, and I’ve been very apprehensive to check out a lot of mainstream country, because it just hasn’t done anything for me, but this album is very different, so peoples’ mileage with it depends on how much they like Miranda Lambert and what they like from her. This is a very acoustic, lo-fi, and somewhat quiet album, because it just features a single acoustic guitar and the three musicians’ voices. That’s it. This album is bare bones, but it’s great. The harmonies are utterly gorgeous, the songwriting is very strong, and the production is very warm, inviting, and it makes you feel like you’re right there. This record is also a lot of fun, because for every emotional song, such as “Amazing Grace (West Texas),” “Ghost,” or “Breaking A Heart,” it features some very fun moments in the form of “Homegrown Tomatoes,” “Geraldene,” and “Two-Step Down To Texas,” which are all very bouncy and catchy. This album showcases a lot of very strong performances from Lambert especially, because her vocals are so good here. What works, though, are its lyrics and overall mood. I love a lot of the lyrics on this record, such as “Ghost,” “In His Arms,” “Tequila Does,” and “Homegrown Tomatoes.” Sometimes having fun can be all you need, and that song paints a great picture of just having a good time. This album features songs that were on Wildcard, including “Tequila Does,” as well as songs that were eventually on Palomino, albeit re-recorded with a fuller sound, including “In His Arms,” “Waxahachie,” and “Geraldene.” An acoustic version of “Tin Man” also appears from The Weight Of These Wings, which makes the song even more emotional and hardhitting. Overall, this album is fantastic, especially if you want something very personal, laidback, lo-fi, and warm. It’s a very warm sounding album in all the best ways. I absolutely love this record. I do admit that when Randall and Ingram, it’s not quite as good, but I do enjoy their songs, nonetheless, and I like that this isn’t just Miranda Lambert and two other musicians, so it feels more of a collaborative effort, but their voices aren’t quite as good as hers. I’d check this out, though, especially if you want to hear a very authentic and story-driven country album that’s none of that mainstream bullshit that you hear all the time. I’ve been playing it nonstop for the last few weeks, and I won’t be stopping anytime soon, I keep having a blast with it.

The 64th GRAMMY Awards will broadcast live from the STAPLES Center on CBS and Paramount+ on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022

Is bein' heartbroken or breakin' a heart

📷: miranda lambert

Song: Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall - Ghost Mp3 Download Album: The Marfa Tapes Artists: Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall, Stream Link: Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall - Ghost Mp3 Download

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