Help me make an 80's country music mix CD.

March 2, 2006 6:09 AM

Help me make ND¢'s 80's-ish Country-ish Mix Volume II.

My SO and I have a dark sordid history involving mix CD's. I make them for her, she says, "I don't like any of these bands. Why didn't you make a CD with songs I like. I don't want this." I then throw the CD out the window while driving down the highway (we have heat).

However, the other day she says, "I really like your 80's-ish Country-ish mix CD, why don't you make another one of those?" I got very excited, because in my ten year history of making mixes for the fairer sex, I have never gotten a request before. The only problem is that the inspiration well has run dry. I got (almost) nothing! That is where you come in.

Here is the track list for ND¢'s 80's-ish Country-ish Mix Volume I, which I made for the Mefi Music Exchange, but which I also put on my SO's ipod:

1. Fishin' in the Dark - The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
2. All the Gold in California - The Gatlin Brothers
3. Feed Jake - Billy Dean
4. Let Me Be There - Olivia Newton John
5. Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses - Kathy Mattea
6. Lay You Down - Conway Twitty
7. Baby I'm Burning - Dolly Parton
8. I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink - Merle Haggard
9. Third Rate Romance - Sammy Kershaw
10. Lonely Women Make Good Lovers - Steve Warner
11. Heavens Just a Sin Away - The Kendalls
12. Silver Wings - Merle Haggard
13. I Believe in Love - Don Williams

The object is really poppy late 70's to early 90's 'country' music. No oldtime, no bluegrass, and no music that is even remotely socially acceptable to listen to: Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Steve Earle. Cheesy, radio-friendly county-pop is the order of the day, with the added requirement that is has to be mind-blowingly great. The only possible track I have so far is "Lesson in Leaving" by Dottie West. I obviously haven't been listening to 94.3 the country legends enough. So, what do ya got Metafilter? My relationship hangs in the balance.

posted by ND¢ to media & arts (29 comments total)

islands in the stream
posted by cosmicbandito at 6:25 AM on March 2, 2006

Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris - "Sweet Spot"
from the album Western Wall
posted by carsonb at 6:25 AM on March 2, 2006

On preview, those are great suggestions, thank you. I was definitely planning on including some Kenny Rogers, and that is an awesome song, but I was leaning towards "Love Will Turn You Around". I forgot that there was another track I was considering.

Not that I think anyone will care, but I thought that I should mention, in the interest of full disclosure that I have mentioned my first 80's-ish Country-ish mix twice before, and mentioned 94.3 the country legends yesterday (#5). I have no commercial interest in either, I am just really proud of my mix CD, and really enjoy that radion station.

So, thanks for those tracks, and please keep them coming.
posted by ND¢ at 6:31 AM on March 2, 2006

dang, that was from 1999. still a good song.
posted by carsonb at 6:32 AM on March 2, 2006

- "Jolene" by Dolly Parton. Best song evah.

- "My Dear Companion" from the first Trio album (Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton & Emmylou Harris)

Doesn't fit the time frame but is still pretty excellent: "How Much I've Lied" by Gram Parsons.
posted by pazazygeek at 6:35 AM on March 2, 2006

Gram Parsons is socially acceptable to listen to, and therefore does not qualify. I agree that "Jolene" is possibly the greatest song ever, but I think that it is too universally recognized as great to qualify for this mix. I will check out "My Dear Companion" though, thanks.
posted by ND¢ at 6:39 AM on March 2, 2006

Harper Valley PTA- Jeannie C. Riley
posted by kimdog at 7:13 AM on March 2, 2006

Tracy Byrd's "Drinking Bone" and Miranda Lambert's "Kerosene" are both from the '00s but are so good as to inspire lunacy.
posted by maxreax at 7:57 AM on March 2, 2006

I'm a cowboy;
on a steel horse I ride;
and I'm wanted;
dead or alive

-Sir Jon von Jovi

There are stars;
in the Southern sky;
Southward as you go.
There is moonlight;
and moss in the trees;
down the Seven Bridges Road.

-Eagles
posted by Pollomacho at 8:08 AM on March 2, 2006

One word: Convoy
posted by Pollomacho at 8:57 AM on March 2, 2006

"Queen of Hearts" by Juice Newton, and perhaps "Angel of the Morning" (both 1981)
"Heartache Tonight" and "The Long Run" by Eagles (both 1979)
posted by CrunchyFrog at 9:24 AM on March 2, 2006

Also, "I Love a Rainy Night" by Eddie Rabbit,
and "You and I" by Eddie Rabbit & Crystal Gayle
(both early 80's)
posted by CrunchyFrog at 9:28 AM on March 2, 2006

Juice Newton and Eddie Rabbit suggestions are excellent. Both are definite possibilities. There is also their duet: "Baby I'ma Want You". Great. However, not to be hatin', but much like the dude: I hate the fucking eagles. Thanks anyway.
posted by ND¢ at 9:32 AM on March 2, 2006

Dan Fogelberg (maybe too folksy?) - Leader of the Band, Part of the Plan, Same Old Lang Syne

Oak Ridge Boys - Elvira (fun to sing along with)
posted by SuperSquirrel at 9:38 AM on March 2, 2006

"Love's Been A Little Bit Hard On Me" is the obvious Juice Newton choice, though. 1982, I think.
posted by pazazygeek at 9:39 AM on March 2, 2006

Grab anything off of Alabama's first greatest hits record.
posted by Heminator at 9:50 AM on March 2, 2006

Stevie Wonder's I Aint Gonna Stand for It
Kenny Rogers' The Gambler
John Anderson's Swingin'
posted by turbodog at 9:57 AM on March 2, 2006

9 to 5, Dolly Parton
The Devil Went Down to Georgia, Charlie Daniels Band
Behind Closed Doors, Charlie Rich
Don't it Make My Brown Eyes Blue, Crystal Gayle
Let Your Love Flow, Bellamy Brothers
Driving My Life Away, Eddie Rabbitt
(If Loving You is Wrong) I Don't Want to be Right, Barbara Mandrell
Blue Bayou, Linda Ronstadt
Delta Dawn, Helen Reddy
Smoky Mountain Rain, Ronnie Milsap
Lookin' For Love, Johnny Lee
posted by initapplette at 9:58 AM on March 2, 2006

I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool - Barbara Mandrell and George Jones
Seven Year Ache - Roseanne Cash
Elvira - The Oak Ridge Boys
posted by MsMolly at 10:27 AM on March 2, 2006

I hate the fucking eagles.

i think I missed this part in your qualifications above:

has to be mind-blowingly great

I was more focused on the cheesy-pop aspects.

In that case I stick by Convoy and would like to add East Bound and Down, Family Tradition and Kiss an Angel Good Morning.
posted by Pollomacho at 10:35 AM on March 2, 2006

How about putting these into an iMix on iTunes? I'd buy it.
posted by Brian James at 10:45 AM on March 2, 2006

Forever in Blue Jeans - Neil Diamond
Anything from Heart Like a Wheel - Linda Ronstadt
Harvest Moon - Bedlam
Secret Love - Freddy Fender
posted by squirrel at 10:49 AM on March 2, 2006

no music that is even remotely socially acceptable to listen to

Piss up a Rope - Ween (12 Golden Country Greats)
posted by ny_scotsman at 1:36 PM on March 2, 2006

I'm Gonna Hire a Wino to Decorate Our Home- David Frizzell
Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind) Loretta Lynn
Here You Come Again - Dolly Parton
Blue Bayou - Linda Ronstadt
Every which way but loose - Eddie Rabbitt
Here's a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares) - Travis Tritt
Dixieland Delight - Alabama
All my exes live in Texas - George Strait
Who's Cheatin' Who - Charly McClain

Sorry if I didn't get the time frame just right, I'm horrible at remembering exactly when things came out.
posted by madajb at 2:24 PM on March 2, 2006

"Loving Her Was Easier" by Kris Kristofferson is a lovely little country-pop confection (though maybe it verges on socially acceptable?)
posted by gompa at 3:48 PM on March 2, 2006

Definately Alabama (loved Mountain Music when I was little - painfully cheesy and still I can't deny I love it). And I can't not sing along to "Love in the First Degree".
Sylvia - "Nobody"
Randy Travis - lots to choose from. "Forever and Ever, Amen" and "Deeper Than the Holler" could be the same song, or "Too Gone, For Too Long". I suppose it depends on the message you might want to send to your SO.
Roseanne Cash - "7 Year Ache"
I had made a cd that would have helped with suggestions, and now I'd like to listen to, and I can't find it! I'd love to hear your finished playlist.
posted by Iamtherealme at 9:16 PM on March 2, 2006

Oops... I wasn't quite done yet.
Eddie Rabbit - "Driving My Life Away"
Usually I let it go post too soon, but this is a very fun song.
posted by Iamtherealme at 9:20 PM on March 2, 2006

Okay, I don't know if anyone will read this, but whenever I contribute to one of these 'help me make a mix CD' threads, I always check back later to see if the person who posed the question comes back and lists what songs they decided to go with. Today is Sunday 3/5/06 at about 10:00 in the morning, and I am going up to Chapel Hill, NC to see Wilco tonight, and I want to listen to the mix a couple of times on the way up there (to make sure it is ready to present as a token of love to my SO), so I am trying to finalize it by noon. I think I have the songs picked out, but I am trying to decide on the order to put them in.

My last mix, I kind of tried to tell a story with the order of the songs (lame, I know). It is essentially:

Boy falls in love with girl (Fishin' in the Dark). Boy follows his dream of being a musician, but fails (All the Gold in California, Feed Jake). Girl Consoles Boy (Let Me Be There). Boy gets a normal job (Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses). Boy and girl have a long happy marriage (Lay You Down, Baby I'm Burning). The relationship goes bad, and the boy and girl turn to alcohol and infidelity (I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink, Third Rate Romance, Lonely Women Make Good Lovers, Heavens Just a Sin Away). Girl leaves boy (Silver Wings). Boy is sad, but he still believes in love (I Believe in Love).

If possible, I would like this mix to tell a story as well. Here are the songs I have picked out, in no particular order:

Mountain Music - Alabama
Don't it Make Your Brown Eyes Blue - Crystal Gayle
Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me - Juice Newton
Seven Year Ache - Rosanne Cash
I Love a Rainy Night - Eddie Rabbitt
Love Will Turn You Around - Kenny Rogers
Old Hippy - Bellamy Brothers
Why Have You Left the One You Left Me For? - Crystal Gayle
A Lesson in Leaving - Dottie West
My Baby is American Made - Oak Ridge Boys
Why Not Me? - The Judds
Love is on a Roll - Don Williams
Seven Spanish Angels - Ray Charles and Willie Nelson (kind of breaks my rule of nobody socially acceptable, but I heard it again yesterday, and was blown away)

It looks like I am breaking one of the cardinal rules of mixes again by putting two songs by the same artist on the same mix, but I gotta go with what I think are the best songs in the world at the moment, and these are them.

So, if you have any suggestions for what order to put these in so that they (1) flow really well and (2) tell a story, (or if you have the perfect song to add to bring the mix together, or make a story make sense) and can contribute them in the next hour and fifty minutes, then I will take them into consideration. If not (which, let's face it, there won't be any), then I will post again around noon with the 'final' line-up.
posted by ND¢ at 7:17 AM on March 5, 2006

Okay, I obviously did not have time to post the final track list before I left for the Wilco show (it was very good), but I have time now, so here is the final track list and order for ND¢'s 80's-ish Country-ish Mix Volume II:

1. Mountain Music - Alabama
2. I Love a Rainy Night - Eddie Rabbitt
3. Why'd You Come in Here Looking Like That? - Dolly Parton
4. Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me - Juice Newton
5. Why Have You Left the One You Left Me For? - Crystal Gayle
6. My Baby is American Made - Oak Ridge Boys
7. Love Will Turn You Around - Kenny Rogers
8. Why Not Me? - The Judds
9. Seven Year Ache - Rosanne Cash
10. A Lesson in Leaving - Dottie West
11. Love is on a Roll - Don Williams
12. Seven Spanish Angels - Ray Charles and Willie Nelson

Okay, here is the story. A young lady is thinking about how much she likes driving around and listening to music (Mountain Music, I Love a Rainy Night). She stops at her favorite bar, when an ex-lover comes in (Why'd You Come in Here Looking Like That?). She thinks about their failed relationship (Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me). However, her ex-lover woos her, and they hook up (Why Have You Left the One You Left Me For?). He falls back in love with her (My Baby is American Made, Love Will Turn You Around). She doesn't know that he has fallen back in love with her, and asks herself why he doesn't love her (Why Not Me?). She remembers how he was cheating on her when they were together (Seven Year Ache), and how when he left, she wished that someone would hurt him the way he hurt her (A Lesson in Leaving), but he tells her that he does love her, and they live happily ever after (Love is on a Roll)... until they die in a gunfight in Mexico (Seven Spanish Angels).

So, obviously I am a little crazy, but mostly harmless. Secondly, thanks to everyone that contributed. I really appreciate the help.
posted by ND¢ at 11:56 AM on March 6, 2006