Ray Stevens › Nashville / Boogity Boogity

Originally released by Barnaby in 1973, Nashville was a smash country album that easily broke into the Billboard Top 50 Country Albums. Songs on this album include the title track as well as other great originals including "Golden Age" and "You've Got the Music Inside."

Boogity Boogity was another smash hit album for Stevens. Originally released by Barnaby in 1974, this album broke into the Billboard Top 10 Country Albums. It also features the Billboard #1 Pop Song "The Streak," which also went to #3 on the Billboard Country Song chart!

Something that gets lost amidst the sea of comedy records and greatest-hits reissues of Ray Stevens' work is his catalog of country music that is immediately accessible and well-crafted. Originally issued on the Barnaby imprint in 1973 and '74, Nashville finds Stevens tackling country music with as much zest as he has for novelty and shtick songs. Those looking for the humorous side of Stevens' routine should definitely look elsewhere; this is a straightforward, well-produced session of country and AM pop that rarely, if ever, travels in that territory, and when it does it's for a cynical or snide remark towards a scorned lover. It's interesting to speculate what would have happened if Stevens had continued down this path, trading in songs like "Osama Yo Mama" for "Nashville." Where Nashville presents the serious side of Stevens, fans can relax with the return of his witty side on Boogity Boogity (which includes his chart-topping single "The Streak"), as he trades in the somber songwriting material for his quirkier, more satirical side. ~ Rob Theakston

Genre:

• Country & Bluegrass

Labels:

• Collectables Records

Music Categories:

• Country

Product Groupings:

• Collectables Records - Audio CDs