I've never been that much of a country music fan. But when I have to choose, I much prefer the old-fashioned, authentic (in my opinion) country-western stuff over this watered-down soft rock that they call "young country" or whatever these days.
Of course, there are those who like or even love country music in all its phases, from every era, and it's those people who will most appreciate Time-Life's 10-disc DVD set, CMA AWARD LIVE: GREATEST MOMENTS 1968-2015.
As the title suggests, it covers the genre from the old days up until recent years and includes many of the acts deemed worthy of various awards by the Country Music Association.
Fortunately (for me, anyway, since I hate award shows), all the fat has been trimmed from these ceremonies, save for a few assorted presentations for "Entertainer of the Year" and such, and even then, the acceptance speeches are short and sweet. Closing credits for each show are also included.
The rest of the collection consists of music, music, music. Only a few performances are chosen from each award show, and I assume these are the cream of the crop. So if you wanted to, you could just play these discs in the background like you would a country music sampler.
The first thing we see on Disc 1 is black-and-white video footage of hosts Roy Rogers and Dale Evans standing at the podium on the stage of the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, and that's when I knew I would enjoy this part of the collection the most.
The acts featured during the earlier shows covered here include "Tennessee" Ernie Ford ("Sixteen Tons"), Bobby Goldsboro, Johnny Cash, Tammy Wynette ("D-I-V-O-R-C-E"), Glen Campbell, Merle Haggard ("Okie From Muskogee"), Marty Robbins, Jerry Reed, Lynn "Rose Garden" Anderson, Charley Pride, Earl Scruggs, Tanya Tucker, Jeanne Pruett, Jeannie C. Riley ("Harper Valley PTA"), and Loretta Lynn.
I may not like all of them (Goldsboro especially gets on my nerves), but this is the kind of country I can appreciate. These live performances are produced simply and the songs are sometimes truncated, but there's a quality to them which I find most pleasing of all the different eras of country music.
The set gradually moves into the 80s and 90s with the "outlaw" country stylings of the Highwaymen (Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, and Willie Nelson), along with the Judds, Randy Travis, George Strait, Alan Jackson, John Denver, Patty Loveless, Clint Black, Vince Gill, Travis Tritt, and Trisha Yearwood.
The closest thing to old-school, and my favorite moment, is Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty singing "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man." The farthest thing from it, perhaps, is Alabama performing "Deep River Woman" with guest vocalist Lionel Richie.
The final discs in the set consist of my least-favorite brand of pseudo-country (again, my own opinion) in all its glitzy glory, complete with way more elaborate stage presentations. It's a good indication of the state of country music in the 2000s.
This includes some familiar acts and some I've never even heard of: Taylor Swift, Little Big Town, Eric Church, Florida Georgia Line, Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley, Sam Hunt, Chris Stapleton, Little Big Town, Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, and Alison Kraus. (Justin Timberlake makes an appearance as well.)
The best part for me is a tribute to George Jones by Alan Jackson and George Strait ("He Stopped Loving Her Today"). The rest of this new stuff pretty much leaves me cold--I think it sounds like warmed-over soft rock with a twang.
But if you're into both old and new country, then there's no reason why you shouldn't enjoy CMA AWARDS LIVE: GREATEST MOMENTS 1968-2015. It's a straightforward, no-frills (except for a wealth of bonus interviews, an illustrated booklet, and an entire extras disc) collection of live country music performances that pretty well cover the spectrum of what this musical genre has to offer.
Buy it from Time-Life (also comes in 3-disc and 18-disc collections)
(This review contains material from our previous review of the 3-disc set.)
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