Few of this year’s blockbuster country music releases have sucked up more oxygen in our little corner of the world than Waylon Jennings’ Songbird. Without question, this album deserves all the praise and spins/streams/downloads it received and will in the months and years to come.

But at what cost?

While I touched on this topic in my Coffee with Country Cutler segment this weekend, it is worth revisiting. How much longer will our obsession with authenticity — especially for those who no longer can evolve as artists — obscure the opportunity for genuine advancement in our genre?

This will become a more pressing question if the team behind Songbird decides to release more albums to market from the cache of unreleased songs that Shooter Jennings discovered while going through his family’s belongings.

The double-edged sword of this kind of release, by definition, cuts both ways. It forces the Waylon sound into the mainstream, but it also takes up a lot of space in the process. There are so many incredible stars making music today who were clearly influenced by the incredible existing catalog of Jennings. Songbird is a welcome addition to that discography and will likely hit new listeners due to the push happening across the space.

As an observer of our corner of the music industry, I worry that we will place our hopes in reviving or saving or whatever-ing country music by producing more lost-to-history songs by the greats, rather than developing and bringing new talent to the forefront.

I wrote all of this while listening to Songbird.

Ok, fine. I’m a bit of a fan boy for Leigh. But can you find a better representation of traditional, classic mid-century country music than Brenne Leigh? Her songwriting is untouchable — and it’s important to note that she works with those making more contemporary-sounding music, too. Leigh’s songwriting rivals anyone in the space. The production and slide work from Kevin Skrla delivers a master class in respecting tradition in a modern context. Just give her the Grammy already.

A bit more pop than most of the selections this week, Faith’s Cherry Valley comes in hot. This album could be part of the meme of “This Could Heal Me” if “me” were Country Radio™.

The Austin-based musician delivers a complex and diverse album built for the honky tonk and perhaps the soundtrack of a modern Western movie. Whitaker’s take on today’s music is just to create the kind of music he wants to hear in the world. Honestly, the instrumental numbers on the record really do a lot for me. A fan can easily enjoy the music passively or listen deeply— both experiences left me happy with my choice to stream this album again.

I have been waiting for this album since the first single, and it was worth the wait. Acuff does his family name proud by delivering a complete storyline about today’s American experience — in a tasteful, honest and powerful manner. Acuff’s album could have fallen victim to modern release fatigue, with so many of the songs already out for listeners to consider outside the context of the full record. However, the order of the songs and how they tell a complete story gives even the most played of his songs new life. Take the 33 minutes to listen to the entire thing.

When I think of the music Nashville wants to make — you know, the stuff not created on Music Row by committee and focus group — I think of this. Blum’s album is complete and interesting. The duets at the end of the album are great, and the lyrics hit back. Check out “Coumberland Banks” and get a load of these lines:

I like this one, too.