A Country Playlist With Music I Can Actually Dig

(Paul says:)
OK, I know what you're thinking. You don't like country music, and that's fine if you want to have a closed mind about it. But most of the classic rockers from the '80s have "Gone Country" to find the melodies in the music, and some of this music does - actually - rock.

While I've been preachy about the state of classic rock in the past, it really has just moved to country radio in large measure. Contemporary country is a hybrid of classic rock and traditional country with smatterings of blues and jazz thrown in by the high-caliber studio musicians that play it. (The story of the music is not the pretty faces of the stars; it's the bands that back them up. I know from experience; I played a bunch of these songs in country bands, and country is challenging in its own ways, primarily because you can't bury your mistakes in a wall of distortion.)

Even if you don't think you like country, I hope you'll at least give this list a try and - who knows? - maybe you'll find something you'll like.

P