Music Reviews
June 2009 42 TrucKers News In OverdrIve AAron Tippin Not only is South Carolina native Aaron Tippin a hit country singer, he's also an accomplished bodybuilder and pilot and a collector of old trucks and heavy machin-ery. So it's rather easy for Tippin to cut a record that pays homage to the heroes of the highway. Tippin, 50, also co-produced . This album of country classics was created for the American trucking professional and the people who care about them. I've had my heart set on doing this album for a long time, the singer says. Now, with the current eco-nomic state, I'm reminded of the unsung heroes of the road, that legion of devot-ed Americans, some 4 mil-lion strong, who make their living in the trucking in-dustry and hammer down, day after day. And I want-ed to make this record for them. Road favorites on include East Bound and Down, Girl on a Billboard, Roll On and Six Days on the Road. Tippin also co-wrote two new songs on the 14-track CD, Drivin' Fool and Drill Here, Drill Now. He always loved ev-erything about the truck-ing industry. It's part of my chemical makeup, I guess, he says. I love the way the trucks look, the shine, the mechanics, the ride, roar and the ruckus you feel when you pass a monster convoy or experience hundreds of tough-looking rigs rolling into a trucking convention or NA-SCAR race. I can appreciate the tireless and ongoing mammoth effort that goes into moving America... I'm humbled to thank my friends in the trucking business by singing my favorite road songs for them as we all roll on down the road. Grade: A+ The BesT Of TrIck POny Trick pony Trick Pony reached the Top 15, scored more first-week sales than any new country group in SoundScan his-tory, then went gold and was Country Top 40 for a year after its 2001 self-titled debut release. The hits from that album included Pour Me, On a Night Like This and the Grammy-nominated Just What I Do. Those songs are packaged on this new best-of re-lease from Warner Bros. Records, which put out two total albums for the trio. After a 2005 release on Asylum-Curb, lead singer Heidi Newfield exited for a solo career, and Trick Pony's ride ended. Grade: C-The BesT Of Merle haggard Merle HAggArd In five decades on the country charts, Merle Hag-gard has released more than 100 chart singles, many of which rose to the Top 10 or even No. 1. The Bakersfield, Calif., na-tive was a Capitol Records moneymaker for more than a decade, and the songs that did well for him during that time are included on this hits collection. The 10-track hit parade begins with Okie From Muskogee, segues to Carolyn, The Fightin' Side of Me, and contains many other Hag favorites besides, including Sing Me Back Home. Grade: A sOn Of a Preacher Man JoHn ricH John Rich, half of the multi-platinum duo Big & Rich, makes his second major-label solo cut with . An artist, award-winning song-writer and producer in his own right, the Texas-born Rich picks up a solo career he began in the late 1990s after singing in Lonestar and before teaming up with Big Kenny. This project has fewer gimmicky songs than his duo work. You'll find the mature Shuttin' Detroit Down and the favorite Trucker Man. Grade: B+ Truckin' Tribute music reviews Jon rAwl 2006winner TaylorHicksisgoingcountry withhislatestsingle, Seven MileBreakdown. Itwas scheduledtoshiptocountry radiolastmonth. Alsoapparentlygonecoun-try(ormaybeit'sthevoters gonecrazy)areDefLeppard andRobertPlant,formerlead singerofLedZeppelin.The rockershavebeennomi-natedforrespectiveworksin CMT'scountrymusicvideo awardsshowthismonth. AerosmithandZZTopareset forathree-monthsummer tourstartingthismonth.Now that'saclassicrockdream team. souNd BiTes