Tuesday, August 10, 2010

What kind of country, again?

How anyone could write this about Rascal Flatts with a straight face is completely beyond me:

The two-hour set featured an eight-piece band and showcased the group's musical diversity, with songs new and old, from From Southern rock (“Bob That Head”) to traditional country (“Mayberry”) to soulful ballads (“Feels Like Today”).
I remember hearing those first two songs, and at no point did I think the first one "had a really cool Southern rock vibe to it!" Neither did I think the second one "had a refreshingly traditional country sound to it compared to pretty much all the other bubble-gum pop crap they've been foisting on us for the last ten years." I might have bitched at the time if they were trying to ape the Allman Brothers or Lynyrd Skynyrd, but now I think that actually might have been an improvement. (Fun fact: Skynyrd did a fine cover of Merle Haggard's "Honky Tonk Night Time Man." Also, Haggard's "I Take A Lot Of Pride In What I Am" was played as Ronnie Van Zant was laid to rest.)

And "Mayberry" was supposed to be a traditional country song? Really? I honestly never would have guessed. I wouldn't think Rascal Flatts could do a real country song if the band members' lives depended on it. But maybe that's just me...

(h/t Country California)