A few weeks back UK Country Artist Gary Quinn made a beautiful cover for us of Charlie Worsham’s song, ‘How I Learned To Pray’. Now Gary is back on EP, this time giving us his Essential Playlist. There’s a lot of country music in there, which is to be expected, it’s from a range of artists with a variety of styles within that particular genre. So, enjoy!
Garth Brooks – ‘The Dance’
This was one of the first tracks on Garth’s ‘No Fences’ album that really grabbed me. The lyrics really spoke to me and the melody is great.
Kris Kristofferson – ‘Help Me Make It Through The Night’
My father got me into Kris’s music when I was growing up. I didn’t really understand what he was singing about but just new I loved his story telling vocal and the melodies again were really striking, even to a younger ear. He’s my all-time favourite songwriter and this is my favourite to play acoustically.
The Eagles – ‘Desperado’
This has jumped back into my top 10 since the passing of Glen Frey. I never got to see The Eagles and now never will. I picked up a ‘Best Of The Eagles’ CD when I was younger and ‘Desperado’ stood out as a wonderful cowboy song. The imagery is amazing in this masterpiece.
Brad Paisley – ‘Online’
I love this because I wish I had written it! Brad has to be my second all-time favourite writer because he incorporates humour into his work too. This song was right on the money at the right time. Real fun to play live too!
Keith Urban – ‘Days Go By’
I’d listened to Garth and Kris for years before ever branching out into new artists. Brad Paisley came along and got me thinking about other artists. When I heard ‘Days Go By’ it blew me away as it was edgier (at the time) and I loved that. It’s always been one of my favourite KU songs.
Charlie Worsham – ‘How I Learned To Pray’
I’ve been listening to Charlie Worsham for 2 years now. The ‘Rubberband’ album is immense. A rela mixture of Keith Urban and Brad Paisley for me. I’ve always been more drawn to the songs that tell heart touching stories, and this is right up there. I’ve seen him live twice now and he sounds and plays just like you hear on the record!
Gary Nichols – ‘I Can’t Love You Anymore’
Gary’s delivery is probably what sells this song the most but lyrically it was a real eye opener for me on how to write a great song. If you can lead the listener down on path and then with one little shift in lyric have them thinking WOW then you’ve managed to write a great song in my opinion. This song does just that. It’s something I now try to do a lot in my own writing.
Joe Diffie – ‘Prop Me Up Beside The Jukebox’
This song is just all about fun! Diffie was always competing against Garth Brooks in the 1990’s but an incredible artist.
Kip Moore – ‘Hey Pretty Girl’
This is a very recent top 10 addition. I was due to see him in Manchester earlier this year so I checked up on some more of his work. I saw an acoustic version of this song online and it blew me away. Superb lyrics.
Hal Ketchum – ‘In Front Of The Alamo’
This is a perfect example of using the topic imagery to deliver the lyrical content. It’s an absolutely brilliant way to depict a person making a stand against something they don’t want anymore. Well worth checking out as it’s wonderfully delivered by Hal Ketchum and LeAnn Rimes.
Check out Gary Quinn’s cover of Charlie Worsham’s, ‘How I Learned To Pray’. Gary will be touring with Luke & Mel in September – see here for further details.
