Zack: What is there to say about this album that can’t also be said about a vacuum cleaner: it droned a lot and drove my dog crazy. I bet you were expecting me to go somewhere else with that. It plays like the stereotype that any non-country fan (myself included) would expect a country album to sound like. Every song seems to sound like yadda ya -yadda ya - ya ya - yadda ya. I’m told that all those yadda’s were actually words, but I remain unconvinced. Tragic Songs of Life isn’t without redemption, however. For one thing, it’s so old that its stereotypicalness was actually the basis for all future stereotypical country albums! That’s something…I guess.
Favorite Tracks: Katie Dear; In the Pines; Take the News to Mother
Favorite Tracks: Katie Dear; In the Pines; Take the News to Mother
Emily: As I sat down to listen to this album, I mentioned to my dad that I was listening to country music today. His response: “Why do you need to listen to the whole album? It all sounds the same!” Twelve Tragic Songs of Life later, I tend to agree with him. What makes the Louvin Brothers a cut above the rest of the country music that sounds like them, however, is that they were first. They pioneered the traditional, twang-ish sound that we now stereotype as country music. It was totally new to me, but instantly familiar. Case in point: the song In the Pines. It’s a traditional song, but I hadn’t heard of it. As soon as it started playing, though, it sounded completely familiar. It took me a second to realize why: on Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged album, they play a very similar song called Where Did You Sleep Last Night? A quick Wikipedia search commenced, and it turns out they’re the same song. Just goes to show how this whole list is connected, not to mention the history of popular music – no matter how different ‘90s grunge and ‘50s country may seem. Favorite Tracks: In the Pines; Knoxville Girl; Kentucky
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