Rock Band goes whole hog into country music

Although Harmonix still hasn't added a Deliverance-style "Dueling Banjos" to the Rock Band catalog, it has been padding out the rhythm game's selection of music from the American heartland with a variety of country hits from the likes of Brooks & Dunn and the Dixie Chicks. That selection is about...

Although Harmonix still hasn't added a Deliverance-style "Dueling Banjos" to the Rock Band catalog, it has been padding out the rhythm game's selection of music from the American heartland with a variety of country hits from the likes of Brooks & Dunn and the Dixie Chicks. That selection is about to get wider now that Harmonix, MTV Games, and Electronic Arts announced today the Rock Band Country Track Pack, a $29.99 retail collection of songs set for release on the Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 2 on July 21.

The stand-alone product will include 21 songs featuring a mix of country ditties already available from the PS3 and Xbox 360 editions' online stores, as well as a handful of songs that will be exclusive to the track pack for a limited time. Harmonix revealed the first 13 songs to be on the pack, featuring new cuts from Alan Jackson, Shania Twain, and Rascal Flatts, as well as Kenny Rogers' seminal hit, "The Gambler."

Those who purchase the Xbox 360 or PS3 editions of the Country Track Pack will be able to download the included songs to their hard drives, making them playable like any standard downloadable content in Rock Band and Rock Band 2. A partial list of included songs follows.

Artist--Song (* indicates a song already available for download)
Alan Jackson--"Good Time"
*Brooks & Dunn--"Hillbilly Deluxe"
*Dierks Bentley--"Free & Easy (Down the Road I Go)"
*Dixie Chicks--"Sin Wagon"
*Drive-By Truckers--"3 Dimes Down"
Jason Aldean--"She's Country"
Kenny Chesney--"She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy"
Kenny Rogers--"The Gambler"
*Lucinda Williams--"Can't Let Go"
Martina McBride--"This One's for the Girls"
Rascal Flatts--"Me and My Gang"
Shania Twain--"Any Man of Mine"
*Steve Earle--"Satellite Radio"

80 Comments

  • thelilfart

    Posted Sep 7, 2009 8:56 pm PT

    what the hell? no CCR!?!?

  • jsnowbordr47

    Posted Jul 21, 2009 11:45 pm PT

    Just picked this up today, so much fun. I'm all for them making a standalone country music game. Just as long as they make an fiddle controller, that's all that's missing from this track pack right now.

  • Jrouyu

    Posted Jul 19, 2009 10:45 pm PT

    For all you uncultured city kids in your basements out there id like to say that 1. it was Country music’s pioneers who started your rock movement 2. just because you listen to some good wholesome family music don’t make you a hillbilly nor a redneck. I am a hillbilly i listen to everything from Filipina folk to that new heavy stuff. And I play ALL video games i can get to boot! so cram your rock 'N' roll t-shirt in your blood mouth before i have to get Bessie out of my cabinet

  • kc303

    Posted Jun 28, 2009 10:42 am PT

    What kind of losers say country music is horrible? It is completely ignorant to say something like that. Music is music. I enjoy classic rock like ACDC and Def Leppard but I also can listen to the new stuff, all the way up the crazy Devil Wears Prada type of **** it may not be for me. But friends listen to it and I can enjoy it. All of it has a message and if you hate a entire genre because of a couple of songs/people your a moron, and to the more aggresive people saying country is for the old, or hillbillies I'd really like to meet you in real life. I bet your some geeky losers who have never ventured out of their own house. Get a life stupid. Country has a underlying message behind it; about god, hardwork, faith, family, and having fun. Grow up dip****s before I put my country boot up your asses.

  • beymod

    Posted Jun 6, 2009 5:47 am PT

    thanks.....
    http://www.beymod.com.tr

  • Fingertrap

    Posted May 29, 2009 7:00 pm PT

    Don't worry guys. Iron Maiden is coming...June 9th

  • dr_taffin

    Posted May 17, 2009 12:46 pm PT

    Why do they consistently pick the worst, most mainstream (in the sense of lowest common denominator) country songs imaginable?

    I'm not a country fan, but I know there are plenty of good songs out there. I don't see a single one on this list, aside from The Gambler.

  • necronaux

    Posted May 15, 2009 9:20 am PT

    Booo!!! Why call it Rock Band, then? If they're gonna release all these crappy songs, just call it Country-somethingorother. You know it's comin' Country Hero! And a banjo perepheral. And to counter the DJ Hero turntable, you'll have Tamborine Hero, a Washboard Hero, and a Jug Hero. Howabout one for the Simpson sisters and Britney... it can be called Lip-Sync Hero.

  • zyxomma100

    Posted May 14, 2009 6:02 am PT

    Generic_Dude said it best. These songs are crap. Modern country isn't much more than mislabeled redneck pop. Get some decent country and I might buy it.

  • vuxnut

    Posted May 13, 2009 9:35 pm PT

    this is a lame idea. AND we still don't have any MINISTRY! WTF

  • StJimmy15

    Posted May 13, 2009 8:02 pm PT

    @ pimpsquad I'm sure you're meeting lots of women while downloading EVERY song on rock band and then proceeding to dance around to it...

  • StJimmy15

    Posted May 13, 2009 8:00 pm PT

    @ nhlhero89 LMFAO so true bro

  • StJimmy15

    Posted May 13, 2009 7:58 pm PT

    @ hamm_man haha ok, country rock maybe. So they're selling this blasphemous pack for 30 bucks huh? Theyll make like 90 bucks.. what we need is more, um, rock... Yet to see Green Day, would like to see some older Avenged Sevenfold, and My Chemical Romance. Get on it Harmonix.

  • hamm_man

    Posted May 13, 2009 7:44 pm PT

    yeah cause rock didnt get its roots from country in any way....

  • Wolfie600

    Posted May 13, 2009 7:43 pm PT

    Fail. /thread

  • otanikun

    Posted May 13, 2009 7:19 pm PT

    Thought the name was " Rock Band" not " Country Band"
    Just throwing that out there.

  • abeard424

    Posted May 13, 2009 6:26 pm PT

    why not just a damn DLC pack. these track packs are so dumb

  • nhlhero89

    Posted May 13, 2009 5:40 pm PT

    *Rock Band Song Idea Meeting Conversation*
    Idiot Member: "Lets make a new track pack that will entertain the masses and pull us out of this economic slump."
    Genius Member: "You mean a track pack that contains a variety of good music like iron maiden, black sabbath, the rolling stones, red hot chili peppers, tool, and jimmi hendrix?"
    Idiot: "No, no that would make the game too enjoyable and we dont want to leave all of our redneck consumers behind because we have so many of them. We need to make a country music track pack that will make people want to marry their sister."
    Genius: "F*** my life."

  • GrimGravy

    Posted May 13, 2009 4:02 pm PT

    WTF......

  • skullboy950

    Posted May 13, 2009 3:46 pm PT

    Alright that's enough already!

  • Jedilink109

    Posted May 13, 2009 1:45 pm PT

    You gotta know when to hold em. My uncle worked with Kenny Rogers on The Gambler actually. He has gold records on his wall of that album.

  • DeathByControl

    Posted May 13, 2009 1:30 pm PT

    *tosses hand grenade at article*

  • tacoeater831

    Posted May 13, 2009 1:29 pm PT

    I will admit that i am not a huge fan of country music, but if this is a track pack, that means the songs will end up in the store as normal DLC eventually. Because me and my gang by rascal flatts is kickass, soon as that hits the rockband store for the wii im getting it.

  • 96windsor

    Posted May 13, 2009 11:31 am PT

    "She thinks my tractor's sexy"
    That's why I don't listen to country music. I'll pass on this one.

  • SLjimbolian

    Posted May 13, 2009 11:00 am PT

    See guys? This is the right way to incorporate new content to Rock Band/Guitar Hero -- none of this spinoff rubbish we all "have" to buy.

  • BattleSword1

    Posted May 13, 2009 10:54 am PT

    Goddammit.

  • formerroadie

    Posted May 13, 2009 9:37 am PT

    barf. country sucks

  • AceJakk

    Posted May 13, 2009 9:35 am PT

    To everyone who says country sucks: when did you become so joyless?

    I would never consider myself a "fan" of country music, but on occasion country music has the same ability to "speak" to an audience just as well any other genre.

    If it weren't for the initial influence of country you wouldn't have rock. Sorry to tell you "As I lay Bullet for my dying mastadon" crowd.

  • pimpsquad

    Posted May 13, 2009 9:30 am PT

    I've downloaded every song available for Rock Band and my favorite one is "Random". I enjoy all types of music from country, to rap, to rock and to jazz. The way I see it, the more types of music that I can dance and have fun to, then that's all the more women I can hook up with.

  • ghistos

    Posted May 13, 2009 8:29 am PT

    For all of you who say that Country is not Rock. What do you say about Heavy, Progressive music, emo, speed metal....

    The thing is, for me and all my friday night Rock Band friends, it's soooooo appreciated to have all kind of music. Different chords to play on bass, guitar and drum are always appreciated.

    Satellite Radio is very hard to play, same for Sin Wagon and in the same time very entertaining. Same for Lucinda Williams.

    Sorry for all of you, but for me, this is a very goooood news.

  • wiifan001

    Posted May 13, 2009 8:20 am PT

    Death before disc- err...country.

  • dallask

    Posted May 13, 2009 8:18 am PT

    I love the idea of genre specific big downloads. I think they need to have discs you can actually buy in stores that are nothing but a certain type of music (country, Christian Rock, Pop, even Hip-Hop etc) that way you can go buy it if you want it and aren't limited to DLC that you may or may not like. You may not agree with what's available for DLC, but there are definitely people out there that will enjoy it. Example, I always say when there's some hard core metal available for download: "who likes this crap?" but there's always someone who does, so I say expand the genres and make everyone happy. It doesn't always have to be Rock and Metal.

  • uniqueprototype

    Posted May 13, 2009 7:11 am PT

    It's suppose to be ROCK band not COUNTRY band.

  • AnthonyZ

    Posted May 13, 2009 6:59 am PT

    It's too bad they don't spend time bringing more good rock songs to rock band, rather than country music.

  • jcloverboy

    Posted May 13, 2009 6:51 am PT

    The Gambler for me.

    Add a little Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash and I'll download two more songs when release.

  • Rottenwood

    Posted May 13, 2009 6:32 am PT

    We need 'The Gambler' as a single. My buddies would spend hours just playing that one song over and over.

  • Miicrox

    Posted May 13, 2009 4:53 am PT

    Even though I hate country, pretty cool

  • Nephilim83

    Posted May 13, 2009 4:33 am PT

    Never really cared for these music games.... Now, I have a better reason. lol

  • kavadias1981

    Posted May 13, 2009 2:58 am PT

    Blimey, I never expected Rock Band to become so popular. Good for the developers.

  • jsnowbordr47

    Posted May 13, 2009 2:09 am PT

    Looks like I'm gonna have to put off buying Battlestations: Pacific and get Rock Band 2 instead. I've been waiting for a country music video game, and it looks like this is as close as we'll get. I wanna see what the other songs are. We need some Luke Bryan and more Brad Paisley.

    Now if they could just make a controller that simulates the fiddle, then we'd be golden.

  • thrashmaster

    Posted May 13, 2009 1:53 am PT

    I think it's great to see all types of music come to the game. I am not a Country fan personally but certainly do like some of the songs that have come out to DL. Why would anyone complain about this? If you don't want it then don't download it.

  • Rubarack

    Posted May 13, 2009 12:55 am PT

    "It's called Rock Band for a reason"

    Yes, so that when people see it in the shops they'll realise it's part of the same brand, and not some cheap rip off, thereby increasing sales. However it will have the "Country pack" subtitle so no-one is confused about the kind of music

  • DJMemo

    Posted May 13, 2009 12:32 am PT

    Country music? Not exactly my most beloved genre, but it's good to see it show up.
    People are saying this is ROCK Band..
    well, I feel like Rock music right now refers to music that rocks as an adjective. Like, anything that's fun and stuff ya know?
    I heard they're adding more hip-hop based music, and funk, etc. I think that these, along with country, add to the games large catalog, and only make it better.

  • blackace

    Posted May 12, 2009 11:51 pm PT

    I thought it was called ROCK Band for a reason. Why are they releasing Country crap on it? I doubt they will sell many of these, but we'll see.

  • Weddum

    Posted May 12, 2009 11:09 pm PT

    Hooray. Now I can fall asleep standing up.

  • DarthEthong467

    Posted May 12, 2009 10:17 pm PT

    I love the fact that they're getting some country music on Rock Band, but they're still having the same problem that they are with the rest of the genres... put out the GOOD songs for DLC!!!

    And to anyone who thinks country music isn't modern, apparently you've been listening to "classic country". Besides, country music and rock n' roll have the same origins. Johnny Cash played alongside Elvis Presley and was just as big of a star!

    I'm not saying country is the best, but people sure do put it down for no reason.

  • Ojie_Bobaloke

    Posted May 12, 2009 10:14 pm PT

    In my experience, the country songs are always the most fun to play. While I enjoy heavy metal and hard rock as much as the next headbanging loser with a plastic guitar, country songs are without a doubt way more fun to actually play on Rock Band and Guitar Hero than any 12 minute ultra-complex guitar solo in another song.

    All in all, this is DLC. There's plenty of music from other genres on the actual games. This is just one group's chance to add some cultural depth to their library of Rock Band songs.

  • Vimanesba

    Posted May 12, 2009 9:20 pm PT

    ummmmm what is this? I don't remember buying Country Band 2....

  • punkpunker

    Posted May 12, 2009 8:42 pm PT

    err..why country music? you can't make any hard rock DLC or something other then that??

  • ItsEvolution

    Posted May 12, 2009 8:19 pm PT

    Rock Band DLC has been pretty terrible this year, with a few exceptions. Way too much country and alt. pop garbage this year. Where's the freaking Hard Rock and METAL, already?? Wouldn't it be easier to license songs from underground bands that Shania Twain?? I've gone from playing RB2 daily to only Thursdays when a decent song comes out.

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