This week, CMT’s Weekly Roundup of new hits features a smattering of vibes and styles sure to please all country music enthusiasts.
Click here to take a listen to the following tunes.
Alison Krauss and Robert Plant – “Somebody Was Watching Over Me”
Heavy rocking country vibes via the fuzzy reverb of a lead guitar highlight the second single released from Raise the Roof, the second collaborative studio album by British singer-songwriter Robert Plant and American bluegrass-country singer Alison Krauss. The T-Bone Burnett-produced cover of the 25-year old Brenda Burns-written track made famous by Maria Muldaur is one of the album’s many highlights. This album follows 2007’s Raising Sand, which won all six Grammy Awards for which it was nominated (including “Album” and “Record Of The Year”).
Walker Hayes – “AA”
Walker Hayes diverges from his recent trap-pop fascination for “AA,” which features a much more blues-driven inspiration. However, the lyrics describing kids needing shoes and wives needing a new pair of jeans continue with the relatable, blue-collar lyricism that made “Fancy Like” a hit. If wanting to refer to Hayes as a one-hit-wonder, this ballad is pop-aimed and composed well enough to make you think again. When the chips are down, we’re all, in so many ways, “trying to stay out of AA.”
Kacey Musgraves – “Fix You”
For those longing for a return to 2015-era Kacey Musgraves singing guitar-heavy, yearning ballads, her just-released cover of Coldplay’s 2005-released single “Fix You” is an excellent holdover. The track was released in conjunction with a new Chipotle campaign aimed at “supporting programs like seed grants, scholarships, and long term contracts, [to help] the next generation of farmers overcome modern day barriers to make it possible for them to succeed.”
Willie Jones – “Slow Cookin’”
Willie Jones rides a sample of Hank Williams’ iconic 1951 Billboard Hot Country Songs chart hit “Hey Good Lookin’” to create yet another party-starting dance-floor filler of a country-trap anthem. Maintaining the hot energy of Summer 2021’s “Down By The Riverside” with a Thanksgiving-ready winner from his just-released “two-piece combo” EP-style release continues to establish a unique standard for the Shreveport, LA-native. As well, it’s worth checking out “Soul Food,” the “B-side” from the new release, too.
Alan Jackson – “Racing The Dark”
In conjunction with the release of his daughter Mattie Jackson Selectman’s first book, Lemons On Friday, Alan Jackson has released “Racing The Dark,” a poignant ballad written by Mattie herself. Jackson noted via a press release that “One day [Mattie] came to me with this piece of paper and said, ’I wrote this song…the lyrics,’ and asked me to put it to music. So, I wrote the melody for it, and it turned out to be a very sweet song.” On TODAY with Hoda and Jenna, Mattie continued that she wrote the song “one day coming up on the two-year anniversary of [her deceased husband] Ben’s [passing].” The singer’s daughter continued to share that recording the song felt like a healing gift for their “family as a whole.”