The Three Prettiest Country Songs of '02-'03

[John Feeney]

One by one I noticed how very pretty each of these songs was, and thought they warranted a post. In my opinion they are the three prettiest country songs of the last couple of years, each in its own way. I list them alphabetically, by artist last name, as you really can't rank this sort of thing precisely:

1) Dixie Chicks - "A Home" on HOME.

This song is beautiful in how its melody weaves through the sharps and flats (I think). Not only does it feature the great Dixie Chicks harmonies we all love (well, I do anyway), but the basic melody is just so damned pretty in a meloncholy way. Isn't that the way of so many really pretty songs?

This song is, of course, from one of the two best country albums of '02, the other being Alan Jackson's DRIVE. Can't go wrong here.

BTW, I almost could have picked for this entry their cover of the Stevie Nix song "Landslide." It's mighty fine and undeniably pretty too. But since "A Home" is less familiar it got the nod.

2) Joe Nichols - "That Would be Her" on MAN WITH A MEMORY.

This song is in some ways the epitome of Nichols' MAN WITH A MEMORY album. It's just chock full of killer note combinations. Pair that with its soft and beautiful visual images, and you've got one awfully pretty country song.

This CD was one of the best debut albums of '02. Well, actually it wasn't Nichols' debut album. But his first album was so different, mostly because he was younger and had a very different voice, that this might as well have been his debut. Yet, I have one caution about this CD. It's crammed with extremely sweet tunes which are remarkably catchy. They are, in fact, so sweet that they might seem a little sugary, and you may get a bit sick of them after a while. That was my experience. I still like the album. It's good, no question. I just don't listen to it too often anymore. [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

3) George Strait - "Tell Me Something Bad About Tulsa" on HONKYTONKVILLE. (no samples on CD Universe for some reason)

God bless alphabetical order. It saved the best for last. This is probably my vote for prettiest country song of '02-'03 and maybe a few years before that. George has been one of the most consistent country singers of the last 20 years or so. But with that many albums he's had a few that weren't exactly standouts. Fortunately, his last one is not among them. It's well worth buying for any country fan, containing 12 songs ranging from decent to excellent, none being better than "Tell Me Something Bad About Tulsa." Without question, it's a classic, more purely pretty than than almost any other country song of recent vintage.

While I'm at it, other stand-out tracks on the album include "Look Who's Back From Town" and "Cowboys Like Us."

Well, in my opinion, those are three of the prettiest country songs of recent years. Other nominations are more than welcome. I can always use another CD.

p.s. Yes, Rick, I'll be posting positively about the Gleason CD pretty soon.