If you haven’t yet checked out CMT’s “Crossroads” series, which puts a country and rock artist on stage together to trade songs and co-exist in a mutual admiration society, this might be a good week to tune in.

The latest installment – Taylor Swift meshing styles with Def Leppard – premiered last Friday, but will air many times this week (http://www.cmt.com/shows/dyn/cmt_crossroads/series_showtimes.jhtml).

Once you get past Joe Elliott’s horrible makeup and the fact that Swift looks as if she hasn’t eaten since the last time Def Leppard hit the Top 40, it’s one of the best eps of the series.

Swift’s girlish voice is a sweet contrast to Elliott’s grit, and with the help of the other Lep guys on those trademark harmonies, “Hysteria” sounds fresh enough that someone should release it as a bonus track online.

In between songs, the band sits around with Swift and they discuss how the pairing occurred – most amusingly, the 18-year-old Swift tells the guys that she’s been listening to them since she was “really little” because her mom “was a super freak fan” and later they talk about her schoolgirl crush, Drew, who inspired her breakthrough hit, “Teardrops on My Guitar.”

While Swift’s enthusiasm automatically infuses the Leppard songs with a new giddiness, the band delves into her work with obvious interest (during “Teardrops,” the camera catches Lep bassist Rick Savage sitting in the background, mouthing some of the words).

Of course, a song like “Picture to Burn” could very easily sway from country to rock with a few changes in guitar sound – a notion that isn’t lost on a band whose own music was molded by Mutt Lange, the guy behind Shania Twain’s arena-sized sound.

Swift also deftly handles much of “When Love and Hate Collide” – nicely accented by a string section – as if she had been singing it for decades.

Obviously, the point of the series is to grab the interest of an audience that might not usually tune into CMT (do you think many Maroon 5 or Joss Stone fans regularly stop on the channel?) – but it also reinforces the attitude that all music is universal.

And really, when you hear “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” it isn’t that much of a leap to Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like a Woman.”

This has to be one of the worst “Crossroads” I have ever seen. Taylor Swift butchered Def Leppard’s songs. The poor girl has zero talent. And is Def Lep really considered relevant in today’s music? Why on earth would they put those two together?

I thought this was a great episode- CMT’s programmer Brian Phillips deserves a lot of credit for developing the show, and using his Top 40 radio background to pair up legendary acts like Def Lep with rising stars like Taylor.  At first, it was disconcerting seeing Joe singing the lyrics written by a then 15 or 16 year old girl, but the whole band seemed to feed off of Swift’s energy.  The boys in the band were great- while giving her credit, “How do you sell 3M records in 2008?“ they also seemed like big brothers giving her advice that she seemed to take to heart, both personally and professionally.
I just wish I could get my hands on the Maroon 5/Sara Evans episode.  Missed that one…

Post Your Comments: