Eric Church Doesn't Think Country Music Should Sound Like It Did in 1974.

I hate it when people dismiss today's country music as "not being what it used to be". That's crazy. Nothing is what it used to be. So I'm giving huge props to ERIC CHURCH for addressing that very issue and hitting the nail on the head. It happened during an interview with AOL.com. They were talking about Eric's song "Country Music Jesus" which is on his new album "Chief". He was asked if the song's underlying message is about "saving" country music. Eric answered, quote, "That song is tongue-in-cheek. There was a particular critic who was lumping me in with a new generation, a new breed, and they didn't like where the music was heading.
"(The critic suggested) we need to harken back to JOHNNY CASH, WAYLON JENNINGS to make that kind of music. It bothered me because though I revere Cash and Waylon, I don't think we make the same music they did. "They made different music than HANK WILLIAMS made. Even at a later time, guys like GARTH BROOKS came along and made different music. They changed the genre. It's my job to pick up the flag and take it somewhere it hadn't been. "So, this song was a little bit tongue-in-cheek of my disagreeing with his inference that we had to make music sound like it was 1974. The evolution of music is good. You pay homage to who got you there, and then you take it somewhere else."