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by Julian Spivey
30. "Letter to Madeline" by Ian Noe
Ian Noe’s debut Between the Country was truly one of the shining moments of 2019 in country and Americana music and shows a singer-songwriter already in firm command of his pen. There are some story songs on this album like “Letter to Madeline,” about a bank robber being tracked down by a posse and trying to get a letter out to his beloved before being captured or killed, that sound timeless, as if they could’ve been written and recorded many decades ago by legends like Woody Guthrie or Bob Dylan – yes, I’m that impressed by Noe’s debut work.
29. "The Wheels of Laredo" by Tanya Tucker/The Highwaymen
We were blessed this year with not one, but two terrific takes on “The Wheels of Laredo,” written by the threesome of Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth, a track rich in imagery of the Southwestern border of Texas and Mexico and a relationship that’s kept apart due to that border and immigration laws. Both performances of the song are incredibly whether you prefer Tanya Tucker’s gritty vocal from her comeback While I’m Living or Carlile’s soaring vocal that ends The Highwomen album
28. "Stones" by Bruce Springsteen
From the very start of listening to Bruce Springsteen’s most recent release Western Stars the track “Stones” felt like the most Springsteen-esque song on that terrific album to me, even if it does begin with a swell of strings that’s inspired, like much of the album, by the great Glen Campbell/Jimmy Webb collaborations of the late ‘60s. It’s not Springsteen-esque in that it’s an epic story song or a heartland rocker, but just the only thing from the album that may have appeared on a previous album of his – perhaps his 1987 breakup album Tunnel of Love – as it’s a dive into the end of a relationship filled with lies.
27. "Some Nights" by George Strait
At 67, George Strait is still as smooth as ever and he proves that with his signature, flawless vocals on “Some Nights” from his 2019 release Honky Tonk Time Machine. The ballad about trying to move on from a heartbreak is rather simple, but so are many of Strait’s biggest and best hits, and this feels like one that’s squarely in his wheelhouse and would’ve been one of his 60-something No. 1 hits had it been released 15 years ago. For the life of me I can’t understand why this hasn’t been released as a single yet (if mainstream country radio would even play it), instead the pandering “The Weight of the Badge” was released.
26. "Mr. Lonely" by Midland
Midland’s “Mr. Lonely” has the swagger of George Strait’s 1984 hit “The Fireman” (it’s truly like the son of that song) mixed with anything ever performed by Dwight Yoakam. In fact, this could’ve easily been a Yoakam hit at some point in the ‘90s in my mind. The song is about a guy who is known as the “rebound guy,” the one you can always go to for a good time when your hearts been broken and you’re looking for a fast way to get over it. Midland has found a way to some of the traditional country song back into the mainstream and many of us are here for that.
25. "Last Night in Denver" by The Lowdown Drifters
One of the most kickass songs of 2019 is easily “Last Night in Denver” by The Lowdown Drifters, which takes on the massive divide between hugely popular touring musicians and the kind who take a van from city to city and have to set up the stage on their own. I love the tongue in cheekiness of “Last Night in Denver” where the band takes on mainstream country music with lines like: “If I say ‘hell yeah’ will y’all sing along” and “if I lose some weight and wear tight T-shirts, will y’all stop by my table and buy up my merch.” The real heart of American music is the guys doing it the hard way on the road and this song and this band gets that.
24. "Times Like These" by Hayes Carll
Hayes Carll has never been afraid to say what’s on his mind in song and one of the best examples of this is his rocker “Times Like These,” the second track off his most recent album What It Is. “Times Like These” takes on the political landscape of the United States today with the divide between people that’s simply widening with each passing day and our President’s social media habits, “in times like these do I really need a billionaire/just takin’ all my time tryin’ to tell me I was treated unfair.” The narrator’s had it with all that crap and just wants to do his job, love his girl and help us a neighbor. The world would likely be a better place if we all focused on that.
23. "Little Bird" by Shane Smith & the Saints
I hadn’t spent much time with Shane Smith & the Saints prior to their recent release Hail Mary, but the song “Little Bird” absolutely blew me away from the first time I heard it. It’s a beautifully sung ballad of losing the perfect someone who you know you’ll never have another chance of finding someone like them ever again. “Little Bird” feels epic with its delicate vocal mixed with this beautiful swell of crying fiddle and electric guitar at its finish.
22. "If She Ever Leaves Me" by The Highwomen
Jason Isbell didn’t really set out to write a gay country love song, until he thought it would sound great coming from the mouth of gay country and Americana singer Brandi Carlile. He told Taste of Country: “It occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, Brandi Carlile would sing this song, and it could be a gay country song. So then we wrote it from that perspective.” Throughout the history of country music there certainly hasn’t been a lot of songs about openly gay relationships, so “If She Ever Leaves Me” instantly sky-rockets to the top – but even if there had been a ton – it still would have shot to the top of the list with Isbell’s songwriting and Carlile’s devastating vocals.
21. "The Dead Don't Die" by Sturgill Simpson
Sturgill Simpson released his fourth studio album in 2019, the amped-up rock of Sound & Fury, but the best song he released this year was a theme song for director Jim Jarmush’s little seen zombie flick “The Dead Don’t Die.” Simpson’s song, which shares its name with the film, harkens back to his earlier traditional country music sound that made many of us fall in love with his music to begin with. “The Dead Don’t Die,” a tear-in-you-beer ballad, features one of my favorite lyrics of the year with: “after life is over/the after life goes on.”
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May 2025
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