Tuesday, November 12, 2002
last week's cma awards were interesting, but not enthralling.
part of that was the problem of the 900-pound monkey lurking over the proceedings, the song premiered at last year's show: alan jackson's "where were you (when the world stopped turning)." everyone knew he'd clean up because of that song, and clean up he did, taking home five trophies, a one-night haul equalled only twice before (by vince gill and willie nelson). "where were you" is a solid if unimpressive song which so perfectly crystallized the mood of a nation post-9/11, it became part of the zeitgeist. the worst that can be said about jackson is that he's a master at writing "everyman" songs - and that's not so bad, is it? he's country to the core, never gone pop, never really compromised (except for those damned mercury commercials), and is, I think, entirely sincere. plus, he sang (with george strait) "murder on music row," one of the greatest country records of the last decade.
the other part of the problem was the occasionally uneasy mix of what chet flippo calls red and blue music (purple goes everywhere). following alison krauss + union station's performance with rascal flatts?! the flatts, btw, took home the horizon award, which scares me - I certainly hope they're not the future of country. but there were quite a few fine performances, from everyone from keith urban to dolly parton (backed by a 40+-piece choir for a give-me-chills take on "hello god"). unfortunately, shania twain's wasn't one of them; she opened the show by riding through the audience on a motorcycle, before taking the stage for "I'm gonna getcha good!" - which she sang to a chiefly prerecorded track. c'mon, shania! you're making your long-awaited return to performance in north america after three years away, and this is all you can muster? sigh. in many ways, the highlight was seeing george jones walk onto the stage, singing the chorus to "he stopped loving her today," the greatest country song of all time. sure, he was off-tempo. but you know what? he's george jones, and he's the greatest country singer ever, and you're not, so shut up.
vince gill, who hosted for his 11th year, also gave a gem of a performance, a horn-driven lil' rockabilly/blues cut from his forthcoming album. interesting that vince seems to inch further away from country with each album, but yet comes back year after year to host the cmas. he makes for an inoffensive, if sometimes surprisingly funny, host.
the winners, you ask? mostly on the money. dixie chicks took vocal group, which seemed odd since they just released their new album a couple of months ago (watch them sweep the noms next year, along with shania and faith and tim, all nearly unrepresented this year). brooks and dunn win vocal duo in their sleep. female vocalist went to martina mcbride, who is a vocalist in the truest sense of the word, and gave a bravura perf of her new single "concrete angel." the hilarious brad paisley clip for "I'm gonna miss her" deservedly took the video trophy, and refreshingly, willie (and lee ann womack) carted home vocal event for the sterling "mendocino country line." pretty much everything else was taken home by action jackson.
tell you what, though: the cmas, more than any other awards show I know, are about the music. they crammed nearly 30 performances into three hours. that's awfully refreshing (just try to say that about the grammys with a straight face. c'mon). and dolly got to induct wacky ol' porter wagoner into the hall of fame. what more could you want, really?
part of that was the problem of the 900-pound monkey lurking over the proceedings, the song premiered at last year's show: alan jackson's "where were you (when the world stopped turning)." everyone knew he'd clean up because of that song, and clean up he did, taking home five trophies, a one-night haul equalled only twice before (by vince gill and willie nelson). "where were you" is a solid if unimpressive song which so perfectly crystallized the mood of a nation post-9/11, it became part of the zeitgeist. the worst that can be said about jackson is that he's a master at writing "everyman" songs - and that's not so bad, is it? he's country to the core, never gone pop, never really compromised (except for those damned mercury commercials), and is, I think, entirely sincere. plus, he sang (with george strait) "murder on music row," one of the greatest country records of the last decade.
the other part of the problem was the occasionally uneasy mix of what chet flippo calls red and blue music (purple goes everywhere). following alison krauss + union station's performance with rascal flatts?! the flatts, btw, took home the horizon award, which scares me - I certainly hope they're not the future of country. but there were quite a few fine performances, from everyone from keith urban to dolly parton (backed by a 40+-piece choir for a give-me-chills take on "hello god"). unfortunately, shania twain's wasn't one of them; she opened the show by riding through the audience on a motorcycle, before taking the stage for "I'm gonna getcha good!" - which she sang to a chiefly prerecorded track. c'mon, shania! you're making your long-awaited return to performance in north america after three years away, and this is all you can muster? sigh. in many ways, the highlight was seeing george jones walk onto the stage, singing the chorus to "he stopped loving her today," the greatest country song of all time. sure, he was off-tempo. but you know what? he's george jones, and he's the greatest country singer ever, and you're not, so shut up.
vince gill, who hosted for his 11th year, also gave a gem of a performance, a horn-driven lil' rockabilly/blues cut from his forthcoming album. interesting that vince seems to inch further away from country with each album, but yet comes back year after year to host the cmas. he makes for an inoffensive, if sometimes surprisingly funny, host.
the winners, you ask? mostly on the money. dixie chicks took vocal group, which seemed odd since they just released their new album a couple of months ago (watch them sweep the noms next year, along with shania and faith and tim, all nearly unrepresented this year). brooks and dunn win vocal duo in their sleep. female vocalist went to martina mcbride, who is a vocalist in the truest sense of the word, and gave a bravura perf of her new single "concrete angel." the hilarious brad paisley clip for "I'm gonna miss her" deservedly took the video trophy, and refreshingly, willie (and lee ann womack) carted home vocal event for the sterling "mendocino country line." pretty much everything else was taken home by action jackson.
tell you what, though: the cmas, more than any other awards show I know, are about the music. they crammed nearly 30 performances into three hours. that's awfully refreshing (just try to say that about the grammys with a straight face. c'mon). and dolly got to induct wacky ol' porter wagoner into the hall of fame. what more could you want, really?
# posted by Thomas : 10:46 AM
