Welcome to the Album Nerds podcast with your
hosts, Don and Dude. Let's get ready to record
rumble. Man, I'm good at that. The Album Nerds
podcast. Dude, I got Don with me. Donnie Boy,
how's it going? You ready for yet another record
rumble? Yes. Finally getting some women in the
ring. Why is that appealing? No, no particular
reason just because we haven't. Yeah, that's
true. It is time to have some female artists
featured. So yeah, it should be fun. This is
the Elbner's podcast. We love albums, the album
format, talking about them, pretending that they're
boxing each other somehow. We have a great show
for you today. As stated, it's another slugfest
in our record rumble series where two albums
enter the ring going head to head. track to track
and toe to toe. As always, Don's going to be
asking us a deep question. Then we're going to
have some shout outs to some other albums and
album related items we're digging. We'll spin
that legendary wheel of album Gettin to learn
the topic of our next record rumble. But for
now, let's get it on. So two country music powerhouses
are going head to head, each bringing her own
unique style to the ring. One offers a heartfelt
stripped down take on her classic songs, while
the other delivers fresh energy with bold modern
sounds. Tradition meets innovation, promising
an exciting country battle that is sure to go
the distance. Yeah, I mean, I feel like this
is more of an exhibition match, you know, showing
respect to each other. So let's get to those
ring introductions. Choose your fighter. In this
corner hailing from the heart of Oklahoma packing
powerhouse vocals and boasting more hits than
the jukebox at your local saloon She's got Grammy
winning producer dangerous Dave Cobb in her corner
and is serving up stripped down toe -tapping
versions of her legendary classics There's no
rhinestones here. Just pure country gold get
ready for a rootin tootin apron wearing not that
fancy demonstration of championship country Let's
hear it for the reigning champ of heartfelt honky
tonk Reba McIntyre's not that fancy So Reba McIntyre
was born in McAllister, Oklahoma in 1955. This
is actually her 32nd album. Crap. This is an
odd one. It's a companion piece to her recent
memoir called Not That Fancy, Simple Lessons
on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your
Boots. And basically, it's stripped down acoustic
versions of many of her biggest hits. There's
actually only one new song on this. And of course,
it's produced by the legendary now, Dave Cobb.
My favorite. Did you read the book? Are there
any good recipes in there or anything? Did you
do your research or not? I did not read the...
I don't have time to read the... That's embarrassing.
Yep. Yep. So supposedly she had solicited suggestions
from fans on social media about what tracks to
include. So again, this features some of the
biggest songs in her catalog. So this was released
in October of 2023. Who's she going up against?
Choose your fighter! And in this corner, fresh
off a run of chart toppers, major awards, and
a trail of sold -out shows, she's the new face
of country with a voice full of grit, fire, and
mixing hunky -talk, southern rock, and soul.
This album doesn't just ride the storm, it is
the storm. Please welcome to the ring the future
queen of country and her genre -bending knockout,
Lainey Wilson, Whirlwind! Yeah, you know what
time we burn all of our energy on those Those
intros and then the rest of the show. We just
have no fire. Yeah, I'm out of breath. So Laney
Danae Wilson Danae Can't help it. Thanks, Forrest.
She was born a country singer. A dream come true.
She was a country singer. Born in Baskin, Louisiana.
She began writing songs at the age of nine, performing
at county fairs by her teens, moved to Nashville
in 2011, lived in a camper trailer behind a recording
studio while pursuing gigs and honing her songwriting.
So she paid her dues. Wilson quickly became known
not only for her retro cool fashion, and bold
persona, but her authenticity, mix of humor,
heartbreak, and honky tonk wisdom. The album
itself, Whirlwind, released August 23, 2024.
It was her fourth studio album produced by Jay
Joyce, much like on Bell Bottom Country, the
album before. And you know, it's her typical
kind of mix of country rock, Western soul, acoustic
balladry. I think she has some freedoms that
artists like Reba didn't have in the 80s and
90s, where she can... play around with different
genres and not kind of stuck, you know, like
all the kind of rules are used to be debuted
at number one on the country charts did pretty
well for solidified her role as a leading voice
for women in country music. Okay. So I think
it's time that we stopped with the yapping and
get to the slapping round one opening cuts, the
opening track of a great album should immediately
capture attention set the tone. for everything
that's to come and draw listeners into a unique
listening experience. So Don, I want you to start
us off with an opening salvo from Reba. All right.
Well, the first song on Not That Fancy is called
The Fear of Being Alone. So that's a stripped
down take on her 1996 hit, which appeared on
the album What If It's You. It was written by
Walt Aldridge and Bruce Miller. So the lyrics
tell the story of two wounded souls exploring
a new relationship with the narrator warning
against confusing loneliness for them. That is
a common problem. It is. Yeah. So, you know,
this version is particularly well done. I think
her vocals sound great and there's just like
I mean, the whole album is this way. I mean,
her vocals really are prominent and the instrumentation
is minimal and acoustic, a little bit of background
harmonies. It's amazing how good her voice is.
Like, I think even better than in her early days
because it has a little road wear on it. It's
just a tiny bit of grit. It's just not quite
as clean. And I think it sounds even cooler than
it did. Yeah. Overall, I think this presentation
of her music is more appealing to me personally.
I would love a whole album of new songs in this
style from her. I think it's a wise choice for
an opening punch on a retrospective album. It's
got a good theme, the lyrics are clear, and the
message has stayed the same since the original.
It just feels a little more rooted in reality
than the original version. Yeah. And it's catchy
as hell. Well, how does Laney Wilson start the
whirlwind? Fancy. Get it? There's a Reba reference
for you. All right. So the opening track on whirlwind
is Keep Up with Jones. Why don't we do that?
Now, in country music, you can't go wrong with
a good reference to a legend. It's sort of one
of the things baked in. If you want to knock
it out of the park, you got to reference either
a country legend or a John Mellencamp. It's in
the rules. And this one, of course, is referring
to George Jones. And then playing with that,
keeping up with the Jones's thing. But in this
case, it's keeping up with binge drinking. Well,
and I wonder if there's something about like
living up to the country star. That too. Yeah,
I think it's not just about drinking. It's also
about going out on stage, feeling great. And
then the next morning you feel like shit. You
know, I think there's there's a lot. There's
a lot to unpack here, which is part of what makes
it her songs, even though on the surface, they
seem like your typical radio country stuff. You
know, there's a lot of thought that goes into
the lyrics and the way these songs are built.
Love the references to white lightning and the
possum, which I never really thought about. And
I read up on it just to be sure, but it's because
he kind of looks like, you know, possum George
Jones, you know, with the little eyes and yeah.
But yeah, it sets the tone for the album. Clever
wordplay. What'd you think? about this one. Yeah.
I mean, I've recently begun a love affair with
George Jones. So yeah, she's speaking to me where
I live, I guess. No, and yeah, I mean, I think
this is her at her best. I think that the wordplay
is fun and it just has an energy and I guess
kind of an authentic country feel. So yeah, really,
really good start to the album. All right, well
that's round one down and as with any fictional
sporting event It's not too long before you hear
from the sponsor. Let's hear from our friends
over at the six picks music club Hey there, I'm
Dave and I host six picks music club with my
two buddies Jeff Rowe and Russ We talk about
six songs on a playlist that meet a theme to
a topic that we've already decided on just real
quick Do you meet themes do you meet them? Okay,
no, I don't know I guess that what's the rest?
Can I get a ruling on the verbal phrase meet
the theme Jeff? I don't know. I'm not fluent
in the spoken word people just don't say meet
the theme They say fit a theme and every week
we talk about six songs that fit a theme Alright,
okay fit a theme guys. We're gonna have to rerecord
this Okay, and Dave don't forget it's six picks
music club not your dark web pod sex picks booty
grub Not sure what booty grub is, but I'll be
sure to tune in and find out Hey maker on to
round two the haymakers in this round will select
standout cuts from each of the albums trying
to Establish dominance early in the bout done.
What's Reba bring into the ring? Well, here's
a song called how blue Man, she sounds great.
Yeah, she really does. It just has a great old
timey feel, you know, that particular song, but
a lot of the album does. So How Blue originally
appeared on an album called My Kind of Country
from 1984. It was actually her third country
number one. It was written by John Maffet. The
lyrics explore heartbreak and longing, using
blue as a metaphor for deep emotional pain. So
this one kind of cemented, I guess, her place
in what they called the new traditionalist movement.
Yeah. I guess in the in the 80s. Like Randy Travis
and the Judds and stuff like that. Yeah, which
is kind of funny because I kind of see Laney
Wilson as being sort of a traditionalist in the,
you know, in the modern country world. Yeah.
So even I mean, the original had kind of a traditional
country sound with like fiddle and steel guitar.
This kind of has it, but it's even more stripped
down. I was really happy that the fiddle remained.
I don't think it would have sounded right without
it. I tried to find the originals first and then
listen to the new ones. But the vocals are just
they're golden. The arrangement never leaves
second gear, but I think that's OK. for what
the song is talking about. The whole blue thing,
if it got too much fun, it takes away from the
feeling. Yeah, I think you're right. It kind
of reminds me, remember we listened to that trio
album, the Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, yeah,
and Dolly. This song in particular feels like
it belongs on that album. Yeah, same era too,
yeah. Yep, yeah, that's true. All right. Well,
that's that's Reba's big punch. What's Lainey
got? Well, I don't know if this is the big punch
and this is where I struggled because this comes
down to my personal taste. I think Country's
Cool Again probably would have been the choice
here because it was a huge radio hit and performed
at CMA award shows and whatever. But I'm going
with Counting Chickens. Alright, so this is a
country ballad that playfully captures the excitement
and vulnerability of envisioning a future with
someone special using Counting Chickens Before
Their Hatch, which is a very sort of farm -like
reference to make, an old -fashioned term. You
know, it opens up with Wilson acknowledging that
her partner hasn't proposed yet. So it sets the
tone right away. You know, it's very clear what's
going on. And I think this is just what she does
so well for me and even on Bell Bottom Country,
like Watermelon Moonshine on that album. I just
think these songs... capture the Southern drawl,
the prettiness of her voice, the daydreamy sort
of more vulnerable parts and less of the whiskey
and bar stuff, which I think, you know, Wilson
has done a great job of taking control of that.
Cause that was like a dude thing in country music.
And she's, she's done a great job co -opting
that to some, you know, with great success. And
I think that, you know, the first time I heard
something like that was Gretchen Wilson. I think
no relation. Remember her? Yeah. I do yeah, the
redneck woman song and I think Laney his taking
that to new heights. I, um, but you know, it,
there's some personal dimensions here too. It
references Wilson's real life relationship with
former NFL quarterback Devlin duck Hodges, you
know, at the end of the song, she says, one chicken,
two chickens, three chickens. Oh shoot. I think
that's a duck. I love that too. Yeah. So this
is, this is what I think she, where she shines.
I'd love an album with more of these. So that's
my attempt at a, a haymaker, a haymaker that
is cutesy and. Love you tell me though, so I'm
not sure it'll work. Yeah, you know, she is very
cute with her lyrics, so lots of puns throughout
this album. I don't know why, but sometimes I
think they really work and they're charming and
then other times they become a little too cute
or cringy. But this is one where I think it does
work. I think this is a really well executed
track and it's just charming. I guess that's
like a dark little twist at the end with her
mentioning Duck because I think that relationship
did not. No, they actually are engaged now. Oh,
shoot. Okay, then I guess it's not dark. Sorry.
Now you don't like it as much. I know darkness
and pain is what you feed on. Yes, yes. Well,
yeah, I'm a fan of this particular song. Well,
with Haymakers having been exchanged, it's time
to move on to round three. I don't wanna do it.
All right, round three, opponent cuts. So in
this round, we try to land a critical blow by
spotlighting one of the weaker tracks from our
opponent's albums. So dude, what's Reba's weakness?
Yeah, I mean, this is difficult, right? Because
in this case, the album is full of classics,
just re -workings of them. I'm going with a track
that... Was borderline cringy at the time and
now feels even more so it's called does he love.
Although I still love it because Dolly and Reba
together I mean can't go wrong there and that's
a great collaboration but originally recorded
in nineteen ninety three with Linda Davis. This
song delves into the emotional complexities of
a love triangle, which is pretty gutsy and especially
back in 93. presenting this dialogue between
the wife and her husband's mistress, both questioning
his true affections and some of the lines, you
know, he's with me last night or whatever. It's
like this stripped down rendition is more raw
and intimate, but I think in the original with
the bigger sounds and the more restrained vocals
of that Linda Davis and Dolly is just so sweet
sounding. Yeah. And Dolly's supposed to be the
mistress. seems too nice yeah very melodramatic
though and it feels like a scene from like a
southern soap opera like these two women wearing
the fancy clothes having this throw down over
the you know he loves me more or what is you
know what do you do for him what what were your
thoughts on this one yeah i i agree with you
i mean this is not one of my favorite tracks
on the album you know it is meant to be i think
this very melodramatic piece and I think it loses
some of that. I think it would have been better
as a one -off performance at an award show with
Dolly and Reba or something. Right. Yeah. It
was cringy, I think. This is mean because I love
Dolly Parton, but you know how his people age,
the way they... talk, it's more like, because
it's what they have dentures or something like
that. I just feel like the way she sings now
is very denture -y. Wow. Very well. Let's just
a little, we'll keep doing this podcast and the
day that you sound denture -y then, you know.
I know. I mean, part of it also, I think is There's
more effort sometimes. You can hear more effort
in vocalists as they age, but I think they both
sound great here. Love you, Dolly. I do too.
Yeah, right. Sorry, Dolly. You look great at
the Thanksgiving halftime show. Yeah, yeah. So
I took my swing and not that fancy trying to
weaken your stance. What do you got for me from
Whirlwind? All right. Well, I mentioned before
that there are, you know, sometimes where I feel
like the The puns just become a little too much.
Alright, well here's the track called Bar in
Baton Rouge. So in a bar in Baton Rouge, Lainey
Wilson sings about nursing a broken heart in
a smoky Louisiana bar. Lots of imagery of beer,
cigarettes, and longing for distant places that
capture her pain. I mean, it's not a bad track
by any means, but here's where I start to roll
my eyes a little bit about some of the, like
the silver bulletproof reference to Coors. The
drink about instead of think about. Which reminds
me of a film I saw in seventh grade that was
supposed to be to teach teens not to drink and
it was from the 70s. And it was a terrible film
and there was a song in it. Think about what
you drink about. Yeah. I mean, it sounds better
because it's Lainey Wilson and it's good. But
if this was Luke Bryan or something, I'd be vomiting.
So it's not her best effort here. Although it
has some, it kind of starts slow and moody and
then builds into kind of more of a rocky anthem.
I mean, it's fine. Feels more like typical country
fare. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's probably the most
pedestrian. It feels a bit forced. It doesn't
quite land, you know, it's more of a caricature
for, although I like the sound of it. I like
the twang of it. I like the instruments. I like
the composition, but yeah, there's, I get it.
I mean, it's clever, but it just might be a little
too clever. So we just made our best efforts
to weaken our opponent's albums. Why don't we
drop all of that aggression and answer a question.
Excuse me, I'd like to ask you a few questions.
It's time again for Deep Questions by Don. So
all this country western storytelling, it just
kind of reminds me of westerns, as in films and
TV shows. What are some of your favorite western
films or shows? I mean, a lot comes to mind.
I'm a I'm a fan of the genre, the spaghetti westerns
and and like Tombstone, of course, comes to mind
with the I mean, that's probably my favorite
movie. And that style of Western movie then inspired
a lot that came after it. What was that like
91 or something like that for Tombstone? Kurt
Russell, the late great Val Kilmer. I'm your
huckleberry. I got two guns, one for each of
you. Wow, that's exactly like him. Also the,
uh, I believe it was on FX. I'm not sure. Uh,
justified with Timothy Oliphant. He was, uh,
he was in that HBO show also. What was that?
Deadwood. Deadwood. He was in that as well, but
justified was a more of a modern take on the
Western genre taking place. I can, I think it
was mid 2000, 2010, something like that. But
he's, uh, U S Marshall and his nemesis played
by Walton Goggins, just the tension between the
good guy and the bad guy, the gunsling. I mean,
he's wears a cowboy hat though. I mean, it's,
it's, it's a Western, but it's not definitely
worth checking that show out. Goggins is amazing.
Yeah, I, on the other hand, I've never been really
a big fan of of westerns. I actually I love like
old movies and stuff, but it annoys me when like
Turner classic movies is just full of like westerns.
All right. But there are some that I appreciate.
And actually, I was reminded of some on television.
There's an episode in season one of The Twilight
Zone. It's called Mr. Denton on Doomsday. It's
about this basically just this drunk. who I think
used to be a sharpshooter. But there's a snake
oil salesman guy who gives him a potion. All
of a sudden, he can shoot like crazy or whatever.
And he cleans his life up. And then the message
is that there's just no point to violence. And
it gets pretty deep, like every Twilight Zone
does. And then the Wyatt Earp stuff reminds me
of a Star Trek episode. Season three, Spectre
of the Gun. I used to love those, those Star
Trek episodes where they do a Western or do a
gangster thing. It's because the studio that
they worked for had a set for some other show.
And they're like, well, let's save some money
and make a story around this. Yeah. And sci -fi,
I mean, you can really do everything. So yeah,
so at that point it's the crew have to face like
Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. Well, it's pretty
corny. You clearly hate the Western genre as
the way you found in was through sci -fi. Yeah,
exactly. What's your favorite Western? Let us
know. Hit us up on Instagram or Facebook at Album
Nerds. Back to the action with round four, the
closing cuts. So we'll be focusing on the final
songs of these albums. and they should wrap things
up in a way that feels satisfying, leaves listeners
thinking about the music long after it ends and
maybe even spinning that record another time.
So what does Reba have for us for a closing track?
Well, she saved, I guess it's kind of a title
track or it's not, it's not that much of a title
track. This is Fancy. Fancy was originally written
and recorded by Bobby Gentry in 1969 but Reba
covered it on her 1990 album Rumor Has It and
it's become you know one of her her signature
hits. It's basically a rags to riches story about
a young woman Fancy who was sent by her mother
to make a better life for herself despite in
desperate circumstances, and she overcomes adversity
and achieves independence. Is someone a prostitute
in this? I think her mom is. I was trying to
figure out if Fancy was. Yeah. Yeah, so like
everything on this album, it's kind of just a
more mellow version of the original. The original
is pretty dramatic, if you ever listen to it.
And I think I prefer this version. I think it
maybe just lends itself to the simple storytelling
better. Yeah, and country music has changed too.
I mean, I think during that period, I was the
opposite of a country fan. So that sound, that
style still doesn't ring true to me. This rings
more true. Without the horns and drama, it still
tells a knockout story. So great storytelling
here. Reba's delivery definitely carries it.
And I think that's the point here. Feels smaller
than the original, but that's perfect. But this
Treatment is a little more soulful than the original
and kind of gives me a dusty Springfield vibe.
Sure. I think this one was well cobbed for sure.
All right. How does Lainey leave us? She leaves
us with a whiskey colored crayon. So the narrative
of this song delves into the impact of addiction
on a family through the innocent eyes of a child,
co -written with Josh Care and Wyatt McCubbin,
tells the story of a young boy in kindergarten
who, when asked to draw his family, realizes
he can't depict his father without a whiskey
-colored crayon. Isn't it just brown? I mean,
come on. To a kid. This kid is just freaking,
I don't know. He's an artistic genius. But, you
know, it encapsulates a child's association of
his father with alcohol and the effect of that
on familial relationships. In the story, like
has the teacher contacting the boy's mother,
and then years later, the father who's been sober
for seven years reveals at an AA meeting that
his son's drawing initiated his path to recovery.
And you know, it works. I mean, the song is gentle
and powerful lyrics. Take the stage here and
the storytelling is solid and it would have made
a great Reba song in my opinion. Sure. It bore
the whiskey colored crayon borders on too much
maybe. But the more I listened to it, the more
it worked for me. Don, did you listen to this
on your headphones? Cause I think you would have
gotten a tear if you had, didn't you? Oh yeah.
Any tickle? Sure, yeah. I mean, it's a well -executed,
kind of sappy song. For those who don't know,
when Don listens to emotional songs on headphones,
that's typically what he gets at. I feel like
she had a story she wanted to do, and it's like
she needed some clever pun or something or metaphor
to tell it with. And so just the whiskey -colored
crayon thing Just seems like a bit of a stretch.
I mean, it's fine. I don't really I I hated it
more the first time I listened to it. And then
I kind of warmed up to it. So, I mean, it's fine.
I can't draw my mama without a Cosmo colored.
Yeah, I mean, the question really is, does this
close the album? Well, I think the answer to
that is yes. It's interesting that she chose
to end in kind of a sad way, although I guess
it's a happy story because the dad gets clean
because of the kid. And, you know, that's the
hope that something, you know, when someone is
struggling with addiction, that the people who
love them are probably the ones that say that
one, say or do that thing that makes things click
and they go, I've got to try to stop this. So
I likes it. All right. One more round to go.
In this fifth and final round, we're going to
look at some key metrics that we believe make
up great albums. The digging factor, which is,
is it an enjoyable listening experience? Killer
to filler ratio, strong songs, weak songs. How
does it balance out? All important production.
Rematchability. Do you want to listen again?
And then of course the legacy. Does it influence
music? Does it influence listeners, culture?
How's it stand? All right, Don, bring me them
X -Factors. What do you got? I did end up enjoying
both of these albums, but they're very different.
I mean, one is a celebration of a career and
the other is all original. The Reba is, I mean,
she's overly dramatic and sentimental. I mean,
that's always been her thing. Well, she was an
actress as well. That too, yeah. Very successfully.
Loved her in Tremors. Oh my gosh. Yeah. It's
a good movie. It's stupid, but great. And, you
know, like I said, you know, Lainey ranges from
kind of clever to cringy, but I think most of
the time she she's good. I mean, she should learn
that every song doesn't need a clever pun. You
know, I mean, even Morris, if you got a break
once in a while, and maybe she I think she forces
herself to be accessible. And, you know, I don't
know, I feel like I mean, she's already great.
And there's definitely greatness there. But I
feel like she hasn't. There's still establishment
happening here, putting your stamp on. This album,
I think, is sort of more of the same from the
last album, building on what was on the big hit
album. She'll figure it out. I think there will
be variances. I think there'll be some albums
that are more rock -like, some albums that are
more acoustic. We'll see. Yeah. And of course,
I mean, she deserves credit because she writes,
or at least co -writes, all of her songs, whereas
Reba doesn't. Killer to filler ratio. I don't
know. I mean, I think they're pretty much the
same there. I mean, there's tracks on the Reba
that I don't love. I'm a survivor, just kind
of feels like more overcoming obstacles kind
of stuff. I know, but it is a collection, so
you're going to get some similar themes. Yeah.
I mean, certainly Reba has it easy here because
she can basically curate songs, her best songs
from her catalog, whereas Lainey had to come
up with all of these. More new tracks. I mean,
if it even had four or five brand new songs,
that would have that would have helped for me.
Yeah. I also I was disappointed by the the night
the lights went down in Georgia. Yeah. That song's
just kind of, you know, kind of hammy anyway.
It doesn't matter who does it. Yeah, that's true.
Because originally, Vicki Lawrence had to hit
with that, right? I think so. Yeah. And I mean,
lots of people have done it over the years. You
know, and the Laney has fantastic moments. I
really like the good horses. Yeah, Miranda Lambert.
I like Whirlwind. Devil Don't Go There is good.
Yeah. And then some track like Ringfinger. Appreciate
the crossover appeal and the KT Tunstall vibe
to it. I actually thought it was going to be
a cover for a second. I like the line where I
got the ring. He got the finger. There's some
good lines in it, but didn't land with me. Bar
and Baton Rouge was another one. I love the production.
on Reba, I feel like this is the best Reba can
be. And I mean, Lainey's is fine, too. I mean,
I mean, you can argue maybe it's a bit too shiny
at times, but it's it's fine. Yep. But Lainey
has the bold, rich textured sounds and bigger
and more dynamic. So I kind of give that one
to Lainey for production. I'm not sure which
one I'll listen to more in the future. I'm not
sure. I like this as a gateway to Reba's catalog.
Yes, I agree. And I think this is a good record
to have on when you have company and stuff that's
quiet. But Lainey intrigues me, and I think she's
headed for greatness. So I'm sure I'll be visiting
this again. Legacy, I have a feeling. Even though
this is a celebration of Reba's career, I'm not
sure that people will remember it. I mean, in
fact, there's not even a Wikipedia entry about
this album. Exactly. That's all you need to know
right there. Right. So, I mean, her legacy is
gigantic, but I'm not sure that this album is.
And then, you know, Laney, like I'm hoping the
legacy is that this is the album before the amazing
one. So, yeah. So I think I'm kind of mixed,
you know, in my X factors. How about you? I think
we're really close on all of these. Reba adds
her legacy as a career retrospective with all
these strong songs, strong voice, great sound,
and Laney cements her rise, but it's too new
to be called iconic just yet. Well, what a showdown
it's been between these country queens. Indeed,
more so than I thought. Yeah. So both bring something
unique. One offers heartfelt stripped down storytelling
while the other delivers bold modern country
with a fresh twist. It's time to decide. Which
album takes the crown in this battle of country's
best? Let's send it back to the center of the
ring and hear tonight's results. All right, we
got to dig out our scorecards and figure out
who wins and who loses. All right. Well, round
one, I gave to Reba with the fear of being alone.
Lainey's Lainey took round two and three. Rounds
two and three. Okay. And then I gave Reba round
four. for, uh, for fancy. And then round five,
I had a bunch of draws in there and the whole
thing ended up being a draw. Okay. So, which
means, uh, it's a tie. It's a draw two to two.
Okay. Well, I've got round one, the opening track
going to Laney with keeping up with Jones. I've
got round two going to Laney with counting chickens.
Round three for the body blows, the, uh, trying
to damage each other. Gave that one to Reba.
Who does he love you? I like that better than
bar in Baton Rouge. Round four for the closer
between whiskey colored crayons and fancy. That
was a draw for me. And round five, Laney won
four of the five categories. So that's giving
round five X factors to Laney Wilson. Whirlwind.
Well, we asked you the listeners to weigh in
and share which album you think should take the
crown. Right. Well, with 60 percent of the vote.
The winner is Reba, not that fancy. Okay. So
it came from our, from our listeners. Right.
So that means, so I gave it a draw. Wow. You
went to Laney and the audience gave it to Reba.
So we have a draw. Oh no. Ladies and gentlemen,
we have a draw. A draw. Well, so that says, that
says a lot. Laney is an up and comer. Reba is
a well -established figure in country music.
So I think that says a lot for how far. Laney
has come and how amazing it is that Reba continues
to have one hand on that crown of Queen of the
country. Can you dig it? Can you dig it? So,
we spent the week in the country ring. Did you
have a chance to check out anything else? What
else are you digging? Actually, I was in the
rodeo ring and I did dig some things that I have
here in my saddlebags. Why don't you cry about
it? Saddlebags? So, yeah, I went a little in
a different direction here with the psychedelic
porn crumpets and their album Carpe Diem Moon
Man. It was released on May 15th of 2025. They're
a Perth based psych rock band known for explosive
sound and surreal lyrics. This is our seventh
studio album. Why don't we listen to a little
bit of March on for Pax Ramona. Yeah, so, you
know this reflects on the band's experiences
with touring philosophical musings and a blend
of genres with a Little Primus vibe there as
well. Yeah, I can hear that nice Alright, so
while I was in that rodeo ring and looking through
my my record collection I don't have a ton of
country albums. I have some Johnny Cash and Willie
Nelson and things you'd expect I also have culture
wall and Chris Stapleton and things of that nature
but and Laney Wilson, but I do have More of a
pop country thing that appealed to me back in
2017. Midland, their album On The Rocks, I think
that was their debut. Texas based country trio
known for their rich harmonies and sound that
pays homage to classic country. Kind of a George
Strait Dwight Yoakam vibe. Let's listen to the
big one off of this album, Drinking Problem.
Now that is a drinking song that just nails it.
Yes. I always love this song. They got it right
on that one. But the, you know, make a little
burnout, other great songs on the album. Very
enjoyable. And I'm happy to have it on vinyl.
All right. Well, another kind of recent band
that I just became familiar with, but I've been
around, I guess, a while. A band called Camp,
spelled C -A -A -M -P. They have an album coming
out on June 6 called Copper Changes Color. OK.
We know that from the Statue of Liberty. Indeed.
So it's the fifth studio album by the folk band
formed in Columbus, Ohio by childhood friends
Taylor Meyer and Evan Westfall. Here's a song
called Fairview Feeling. I see you falling asleep.
I mean, it's not bad. It was very sleepy. But
yeah, the album explores themes of personal transformation,
drawing on imagery of weathered copper as a metaphor
for change. All right. And I guess in the other
direction, I'll wake you up. Dexter in the moon
rocks. They have an EP called Happy to Be Here.
They haven't come out with a full album yet.
They're from Abilene, Texas. Call their sound
Western Space Grunge. Ooh, that sounds like something
I might enjoy. Yeah. Well, here's a song called
Ritalin. I'll check that out. At least it's not
about making a perfect kill room and being a
serial killer. But the word, the name Dexter
has been ruined forever. I mean, there was that
there was that cartoon dude, the little kid scientist
and Dexter's lab. Yeah. And then Dexter, the
serial killer, became the Dexter. So maybe these
guys can change that. So what are you digging?
Let us know. Join us on the socials, Facebook,
Instagram, threads and blue sky. You fight great,
but I'm a great fighter. You ready? Well, it's
about that time to bring forth the rhythm and
the rhyme or it's time on the show when I'm reminded
of the words of the great Queen Reba McIntyre
She said to succeed in life. You need three things
To succeed in life you need three things A wishbone,
a backbone, and a funnybone. Amen. Indeed. With
that in mind, let's bring out the wheel of albumgeddon
and see what types of albums will be in our next
record rumble. When the Fab Four went solo, the
magic didn't stop. It just took new forms. In
the next record rumble, it's a Beatle battle.
a head -to -head clash of solo albums from former
Beatles showcasing their individual voices, visions,
and post -band brilliance. So two former Beatles
will face off with presumably their best albums.
I wonder which two we'll lean towards, Don? That's
a thinker. Not a stinker. Which Lennon and McCartney
albums should face off? What else are you listening
to? Email us at podcast at album nerds dot com
or follow us on Instagram and other social media
at album nerds and make sure you vote on our
next record rumble. And the best way to support
the show is to share it. Please subscribe, rate
and review on your favorite podcast app. Thank
you so much for joining us once again on the
Album Yards Podcast. We'll catch you next time
with perhaps the biggest record rumble of them
all, a battle of the Beatles. See you next time.
Espresso martini, colored crayon. Espresso martini.
That's a little too advanced. We can stick with
whiskey. Y 'all come back now, you hear?