A Reggae band in Country Music?

[twangcaster1]

I kind of think this is wrong. Sortof like having a "too close" relation ship with a goat. I was able to sit down last night and watch the most recent CMA awards for the first time(I had it recorded). When I saw Kenny Chesney performing with a reggae band behind him I was both appalled and unsurprised at the same time. Where is country music going nowadays?

[Eric Karonen]

Originally Posted by twangcaster1

I kind of think this is wrong. Sortof like having a "too close" relation ship with a goat. I was able to sit down last night and watch the most recent CMA awards for the first time(I had it recorded). When I saw Kenny Chesney performing with a reggae band behind him I was both appalled and unsurprised at the same time. Where is country music going nowadays?

Where was it going 20 years ago!

[twangcaster1]

Good point. Country music has certainly had it's ups and downs, but it seems like Kenny has helped it reach an all time low with the whole reggae thing.

[Eric Karonen]

Originally Posted by twangcaster1

Good point. Country music has certainly had it's ups and downs, but it seems like Kenny has helped it reach an all time low with the whole reggae thing.

If Dread Zeppelin can do it, anyone can!

[graphs]

I don't know who this guy is you're talking about but I'm curious what it is that is so bad about a reggae band playing country. Like, what specifically about it makes it an all-time low for country music?

Willie Nelson did it and it seemed to go over fine.

[elmerbumpkin]

I-Tex was an old band from the Austin area. I remember seeing them at an Aquafest in maybe 88 or 89 and thinking it sounded great. Country Reggae for sure.

[twangcaster1]

Well, the problem is this: They weren't a reggae band playing country. They were a reggae band playing reggae at the COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS! They did a BOB MARLEY cover tune!

[jazztele]

compared to some of the stuff that passes for modern "country," i'd say kenny's pretty harmless. boring, and he should probably pay royalties to jimmy buffett, but harmless.

the CMA's aren't the place to hear classic country. most modern country sounds like classic rock with a fiddle.

[graphs]

Oh no! A Bob Marley cover! Man, that guys songs suck.

I'm just going to assume that you are a country music purist and not read anymore into this.

[twangcaster1]

I am a purist, in some ways. Though, I do appreciate artistic freedom and variety in expression. But at the same time, I like to embrace heritage, tradition, and legacy. You kind of through all that out the back door when you do something that is totally out of context.

[superchicken_VI]

I loved it. I'd rather hear them than some tone-deaf tart with a fake rack, bottle-blonde and copious amounts of autotune.

I thought it was one of the best performances of the night. I don't care what genre it's supposed to be--too much labeling out there anyway.

[Telarkaster]

Originally Posted by twangcaster1

I am a purist, in some ways. Though, I do appreciate artistic freedom and variety in expression. But at the same time, I like to embrace heritage, tradition, and legacy. You kind of through all that out the back door when you do something that is totally out of context.

Chet Atkins threw a lot of heritage, tradition and legacy when he got rid of the fiddle in country music when he was a producer. He was hated, but he helped revive a dying genre and created a new sound.

On the other hand, a country music show should in theory showcase country music, so I see your point. However I like reggae and would have liked to have seen that performance. Not sure how I would have felt if it was a hip-hop song...

Your best point is that Chesney came out and did a Bob Marley cover. I would have liked to hear a reggae version of Folsom Prison, or a country version of Legalize It, or better yet an original with a mix of country and reggae, that would have been cool.

[Throttleneck]

Are you hatin' on Willie Nelson too?

Willie's Reggae album Countryman

On the other hand, he does have the ganja connection.

[Dave Hopping]

Howard and David Bellamy-"Reggae Cowboy".Been playing it for years.

[emu!]

Originally Posted by superchicken_VI

I'd rather hear them than some tone-deaf tart with a fake rack, bottle-blonde and copious amounts of autotune.

Same here. But if she had a "too close" relationship with a goat, I might change my mind.

[chucksmi]

Uh, guys - that little raggae band was "The Wailers". I think I would have played with them too. I have to think that when the Wailers do it, its not technically a cover song!

[superchicken_VI]

Originally Posted by chucksmi

Uh, guys - that little raggae band was "The Wailers". I think I would have played with them too. I have to think that when the Wailers do it, its not technically a cover song!

What, just 'cause they did the original, you wanna give 'em a pass??

I loved it. I thought it was one of the best performances of the night.

[Tim73]

I was going to mention both Willie Nelson & the Bellamy Brothers (who co-incidentally I have playing in the background as I type).

[OutlawSteph1975]

This is a Desert Rose Band song with Jorgenson on lead vocals, that never got released.. I think it's cute. They actually had a few songs in the setlist that were new in '86 but never made the first album.. not exactly as "reggae country" as John's.

http://www.savefile.com/files/1912954

[cowboytwang]

A Reggae band in Country Music?
I kind of think this is wrong. Sortof like having a "too close" relation ship with a goat. I was able to sit down last night and watch the most recent CMA awards for the first time(I had it recorded). When I saw Kenny Chesney performing with a reggae band behind him I was both appalled and unsurprised at the same time. Where is country music going nowadays?

I'm sure there were some folks that asked the same thing in 1929 when Jimmie Rodgers (the father of Country Music & fist inductee into the Hall Of Fame), played/and recorded with a Hawaiian Band.
He even recorded a Hawaiian song , “Everybody Does It in Hawaii”, with a full on Hawaiian Band including a Hawaiian Steel Guitar-- SHOCKING. We all know what that lead to -- steel guitars in country music-- Appalling !!

The worst part about Jimmie was that just a few months before the "Hawaiian Band" incident, he had the nerve to record with a full on jazz band that included Louis Armstrong on trumpet. That lead to folks like Bob Wills having full on big band horn sections just 10 years later-- Appalling!

I could list hundreds of other incident of country music crossed with other music forms, but it would take for ever since it's been going on since the genre started. In fact it's what makes Country Music.

If we didn't have groups mixing other sounds and styles in then we would all be playing banjo and fiddle tunes from the 1800's.. What? Those songs were from Irish bands-- Appalling!!

[OutlawSteph1975]

Originally Posted by cowboytwang

That lead to folks like Bob Wills having full on big band horn sections just 10 years later-- Appalling!

Last night I was listening to a cd with just country songs from 1947, and you've got everything from banjos on the bluegrass songs to clarinet solos in western swing. How neat is that?

[Ben Harmless]

To me it's all roots music, and there ain't nothin' wrong in my book with mixing the roots around - in fact, I think it's about as exciting as it gets for my tastes. But then, I'm the guy who claims that punk (the real stuff - not the MTV stuff) is the new folk.

So long as nobody's telling anyone that they can't play old-fashioned country music anymore, I don't see a problem.

Besides, if people are tuning into the Country Music Awards to see traditional music, they're looking in the wrong place.

[Telarkaster]

Originally Posted by chucksmi

Uh, guys - that little raggae band was "The Wailers". I think I would have played with them too. I have to think that when the Wailers do it, its not technically a cover song!

The Wailers?! Now I really regret not seeing it!

You're right Chuck, they can play whatever they want!