Music

NU Sampler Vol. I

Nashville Underground was formed in 1999 to showcase the uniquely multi-talented hit songwriters who call Nashville home. While their songs have been among the most popular of our time, their incredible talents as singers, players, and producers have remained Nashville`s best-kept secret...until now. The NU Sampler Series features these artists` original versions of some of the world`s favorite songs that show the true depth of their artistry.

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Track Listing

  1. 1. Chuck Jones: YOUR LOVE AMAZES MEListen
  2. 2. Chuck Jones: INEXPRESSIBLEListen
  3. 3. Stephony Smith: IT`S YOUR LOVEListen
  4. 4. Stephony Smith: A THOUSAND YEARS IN PEACEListen
  5. 5. Gary Burr: FOR LOVEListen
  6. 6. Gary Burr: WHAT MATTERED MOSTListen
  7. 7. Victoria Shaw: WHY DIDN`T YOU TELL MEListen
  8. 8. Victoria Shaw: THE RIVERListen
  9. 9. Chuck Cannon: IT ALL COMES DOWN TO LOVEListen
  10. 10. Chuck Cannon: I LOVE THE WAY YOU LOVE MEListen
  11. 11. Pam Rose: I`LL STILL BE LOVING YOUListen
  12. 12. Pam Rose: I KNEW YOU WHENListen

Reviews

  • PureMusic.com Review
    THE NASHVILLE UNDERGROUND SAMPLER SERIES
    Check this out, great idea. Great and hit songs done by the writers, all of whom are excellent musicians. Lovers of song and certainly songwriters owe it to themselves to be looking into this. I meet many people today who are aficionados of "essential" music, songs done without a lot of production, preferably by the writers. Certainly this speaks to their values as well.

    But consider this, too, that many of these great songs have been put through the Nashville machine. Along the way that includes compression, pitch correction, orchestration, and a host of other factors, a lot of the original intent and spirit of the song is sometimes lost. On the other hand, sometimes the end product is so staggering, it`s hard to pick the elements apart and understand how it got there. (I always had that experience listening to the incredible #1 for Ty Herndon, "What Mattered Most." But listening to this pretty version by writer Gary Burr, it`s more bare and understandable, somehow.)

    Now, I`m not saying that I`m gonna run out and get the personal CDs of all these writers. (Though some of them I will.) But these two samplers tell an amazing story. They put the listener much closer to the room and the day these great songs were conceived than the hit records do. When the melodies and the lyrics are laid bare by the people who sat down with a guitar and pulled them out of the ether, it`s a whole different experience of the song. Though many or all of these writers have their own CDs, none are major recording artists. But they`re all hit songwriters. In Nashville, this is a more normal thing. But to the rest of the world, it`s a rare look behind the scenes.

    It`s also common to hear in Nashville that the hit single didn`t "beat" the demo, that the original recording of the song pitched to the artist or producer was the best one, not the one that got on the radio. Don`t know if that`s true here, but there are some fantastic or otherwise illuminating versions of amazing songs. (Hugh Prestwood singing "The Song Remembers When" always kills me.)

    This is a really cool series. Check it out on the Listen page, and buy it here. • Frank Goodman

    puremusic.com review page | puremusic home

  • THE NASHVILLE UNDERGROUND SURFACES...A Songwriter's Spotlight
    THE NASHVILLE UNDERGROUND SURFACES...A Songwriter's Spotlight
    from The New Jersey Country Music Scene / Kelly Salonica
    What better way to experience the true feeling and purpose of a song than to hear it performed by its creator: the songwriter. Founded in 1999 by recording artist Lan White and husband, songwriter Chuck Cannon (former President of the Nashville Songwriter's Association International), the Nashville Underground record label showcases the exceptionally multi-talented, professional songwriters who call Nashville home. The label has released two sampler CDs that will be part of a series intended to honor the music of some of the industry's finest songwriters.

    Both sampler projects feature a group of songwriters, each performing the original version of one of their best-known hits, as well as one of their more personal songs, thereby displaying the depth of their artistry. Here exists the opportunity for songwriters to enjoy unrestrained artistic expression while taking advantage of the power of their collective resources. From the songwriter's standpoint, there's no one breathing down your neck telling you what you can and can not write, or what will and will not sell. Ask anyone who's been to Nashville's famed Bluebird Cafe' to hear any of these songwriters perform and they'll give you the inside scoop-A songwriter will do an incredible song and then inform the audience that, for reasons involving A&R and/or marketing executive decisions, you'll never hear this on the radio or on record. Well, because of the Nashville Underground, those songs now have a vehicle in which to surface and finally fit into a niche that is theirs and theirs alone.

    For White and Cannon, Nashville Underground is all about doing what's best for those who record on their projects. What a lot of people don't realize is that most songwriters didn't head to Nashville just to write songs. There is an artist part of the songwriter that longs to be heard. The Nashville Underground is expanding on the premise that songwriters are artists in their own right. Their artistry is a world unto itself and they want to turn the listeners on to that. The label's intention is to educate people to the importance of songwriters, which is especially crucial as the industry struggles to cope with copyright issues such as internet song swapping. At Nashville Underground, artists/songwriters own their masters and receive top-dollar royalty rates as writers and publishers. Their ultimate goal is to create a Nashville Underground brand along the lines of Windham Hill.

    The general purchasing public, for the most part, is not aware of the songwriting culture in Nashville. Songwriters don't receive anywhere near the recognition they deserve. Nine times out of ten, it's the recording artist's name (not the songwriter's) that is the most common link to a hit song title. They recorded it so, on radio, the artist's name is the one you hear, and the artist is the one who receives the fanfare when he or she performs it on stage. It becomes inherent for an audience to assume that the artist and songwriter are one in the same. Now, with the increasing popularity of songwriting circles and the birth of the Nashville Underground, an awareness of their importance has moved songwriters up in the ranks of recognition. After all, without "the song" there is no hit. In the past year, many recording artists have begun to express a great respect for "the song" and don't hesitate to mention the songwriter when touring or accepting an award. You may or may not know them by name, but once you read on it will soon become clear-These songwriters are the vibrant threads that weave the intricate tapestry that is a fundamental part of the music industry.

    Sampler Series Volume I features the talents of six songwriters you will come to recognize by their successes. Chuck Jones performs the humbling "Your Love Amazes Me," a number one hit for John Berry; adding her own very personal touch, Stephony Smith performs "It's Your Love," an award winning duet for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill; a hit for Ty Herndon, "What Mattered Most" is sensitively done to perfection by Gary Burr; Victoria Shaw performs "The River," co-written with Garth Brooks and a number one hit for Brooks; Chuck Cannon performs "I Love The Way You Love Me," made famous by John Michael Montgomery, and Pam Rose performs "I'll Still Be Loving You," a hit that will forever be Restless Heart's trademark song. A companion book developed in conjunction with the album featuring stories about the songs and their origins is also available.

    Sampler Series Volume II showcases another group of equally impressive songwriters. A number one hit for Trisha Yearwood, "The Song Remembers When" is performed by the master of imagery and Long Island resident Hugh Prestwood; Steven Allen Davis performs a heartbreaking and yet somehow hopeful "Highway Highway"; Marcus Hummon performs a piano/vocal version of Dixie Chicks hit, "Cowboy Take Me Away," co-written with Marty Seidel of the Dixie Chicks; Shenandoah hit "Church On Cumberland Road" is done by Bob DiPiero; Gary Nickolson performs "The Trouble With The Truth," recorded by Patty Loveless, and Billy Dean performs an acoustic version of his own hit, "Somewhere In My Broken Heart."

    The Nashville Underground's women's collection will be the focus of the third Sampler Series, currently in the works. Two of the singer/songwriters that will be featured are Tia Sillers performing "I Hope You Dance" (Lee Ann Womack) and Angela Kaset singing "Something In Red" (Lori Morgan).

    For the songwriters, the Nashville Underground label represents the chance to showcase their own, often unique, versions of music and lyrics. For listeners it's a way to experience the heart and soul of the music they've come to love. These two CDs are a pure expression of songwriting genius that luminously fill the senses and bring to light the beauty that music truly is deep down in its core.

    The sampler CDs are available through the label's website:

    www.nashville-underground.com

    OR BY MAIL AT:
    Nashville Underground Record Collective, P.O. Box 120086, Nashville, TN 37212.

    themole@artistsunderground.com