Country Got Good: Music from "Nashville"

I'm not traditionally a country music fan. I guiltily indulge in the occasional Taylor Swift (who doesn't? BE HONEST!), but it's never been my genre. I only started washing "Nashville" because Mrs. Tami Taylor herself (that's "Friday Night Lights" Connie Britton to you) was starring opposite an evil upstart played by Hayden Panettiere. The show is currently in it's second season and story-wise not really anything to write home about. Don't get me wrong, most of the acting is great and there are far worse things out there, but they have really botched some storylines - namely the Rayna/Deacon/Maddie stuff - and the entire flow seems to depend far too much on standard soap opera tropes than is really necessary.

What has almost always succeeded is the music. That's what I stuck around for. In the first season the great T-Bone Burnett was the music producer and he found such amazing songs to include in the show, stuff that felt more accessible to the non-country fan, mainly because it was good country that had roots in soul, folk and blues. Also because every actor on the show sings their own material and some of these actors are ridiculous talented singers. Hayden Panettiere was a big surprise, but the real singing stars are previous unknowns like Claire Bowen, Sam Palladio, and the young Stella sisters, Lennon and Maisie.

Here are some of my favorite songs (songs I fervently wish I could pull off at karaoke):

*"If I Didn't Know Better" - by Clare Bowen and Sam Palladio: From the pilot, the song that started all the buzz.




*"Ho Hey" - Lennon and Maisie Stella: The best version of this song.




*"Nothing in this World Will Ever Break My Heart Again" - Hayden Panettiere: Gah. So good.




*"A Life That's Good" - Lennon and Maisie Stella: I think I could actually do this, there just wouldn't be any harmonizing cause I suck at harmonies.




*"No One Will Ever Love You" - Connie Britton and Charles Esten: In truth, Britton's voice is one of the weakest, but Esten's voice really complements hers and they have great musical chemistry.




*"Be My Girl" - Sam Palladio, Jonathan Jackson and Chaley Rose: There isn't a complete version out there anywhere and it's driving me nuts. I need this downloaded NOW.




*"Fade into You" - Clare Bowen and Sam Palladio: Here they are actually singing live at the Grand Ole Opry so there's proof they can actually sing. I apologize for Clare Bowen's horrible dress. Although it's very in character.




Truthfully I could post just about everything. Some other favorites include "Stronger Than Me" by Connie Britton, "Everytime I Fall in Love" by Clare Bowen, "Consider Me" by Hayden Panettiere, "What If I Was Willing" by Chris Carmack, "When the Right One Comes Along" by Clare Bowen and Sam Palladio, "Wrong Song" by Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere, and "One Works Better" by Clare Bowen and Sam Palladio.