I'm starting this here, because I think it will get more play here than in country. In honor of Twangfest, which starts here in St. Louis this weekend, a simple question: what are your favorite alt-country/americana albums? No dates, no limitations. If you want to include "pure" country (Hank, Johnny, etc), you can. If you want to include bands on the fringes of alt-country, feel free. Have at it and twang on!

I forgot to give you my list..duh.

1. Uncle Tupelo: Anodyne. I could have picked any of the four UT records. I love the songs and the mellow vibe of this one, but I would be happy with any of the others.

2. The Jayhawks: Hollywood Town Hall. A great record, tip to tail. I think my favorite Jayhawks record is "Smile", but this is a close second, and far more alt-country.

3. Scud Mountain Boys: Massachusetts. Worth it if only for "Grudgef**k."

4. Grant Lee Buffalo: Mighty Joe Moon. Grant Lee Philips might be the best rock songwriter post-Westerberg. He and Mark Eitzel.

5. Whiskeytown: Stranger's Almanac. Ryan Adams playa-haters can shoot barbs at this one, but the depth of songwriting and the texture of this album is unreal.

6. Bottle Rockets: The Brooklyn Side. Another band where I could have picked a few records. The great heartland rock n' roll songwriter.

7. Gear Daddies: Billy's Live Bait. "The Zamboni Song" is a Minnesota classic. This record was lost in the crowd of other great bands coming out of Mpls in the 80's and 90's.

8. Lambchop: Nixon. A great record by a band that churns out nothing but great records.

9. Wilco: Being There. The beginning of the Wilco turn from alt-country stars to stars, period. An ambitious and deep record.

10. Josh Rouse: Dressed Up Like Nebraska. A quiet storm of an alt-country record. Low key songs, sung low-key, with big emotional impact.

1. Byrds - "Sweetheart of the Rodeo"
2. Gram Parsons - "Grevious Angel"
3. Wilco - "Being There"
4. Ryan Adams - "Heartbreaker"
5. Uncle Tupelo - March 16-20, 1992

I have a friend who says he read that Grant Lee Buffalo was called "sagebrush Doors", so I guess that made them "really alt-country." They were definitely one of my favorite bands of the last 10 or so years. As far as Americana goes, I think that Grant-Lee Phillips' last album, "Virginia Creeper," definitely qualifies. The last two by My Morning Jacket and Drive-by Truckers belong here and maybe Kings of Leon's debut. I would go into Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt and Wilco, but since that's where "alt-country" got its name, I'll let that speak for itself. Later, gators.

Phil Alvin _Un"Sung" Stories_ (1986)
I cannot say enough good things about this album. Really. Ask anybody. Once I get started I just won't shut up about 1) how wonderful I think this album is and 2) how frustrated I am that it has never been reissued on CD so that I can insist everybody I know buy a copy. Stylistically, it really stands on its own, somewhere in left field, but its joyous take on vintage music is very much at the heart of what I think has made alt-country such a vital movement in music.

John Hiatt _Bring The Family_ (1987)
Along with the aforementioned _Un"Sung" Stories_, a permanent fixture on my list of favorite albums of the 80s. Hiatt always draws deeply from some of the best that American music has to offer and this time around he's backed by one of the great line-ups in history, Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe, and Jim Keltner. One of these days we'll get around to talking about favorite songs by theme and "Have A Little Faith In Me" will be way up on my list of great love songs.

k.d. lang _Angel With a Lariat_ (1987)
I feel it's a bit overlooked these days, but then this album came out it felt so damn original. At a time when I really wasn't listening to a lot of country music, it made me haul out a lot of old records and rediscover some old friends.

The Gear Daddies _Billy's Live Bait_ (1990)
I'm so glad you listed this one, PE. My brother was living in Minneapolis when it came out and you're right, they were completely lost in a flood of great bands coming out of the Twin Cities at that time. If my brother hadn't played it for me, it would have gotten past me and that would have been just sad.

Iris DeMent _Infamous Angel_ (1992)
For the life of me, I cannot figure out why Iris DeMent doesn't record more often. When this album came out, I figured she had a career in front of her to rival Emmylou Harris or Nanci Griffith. She tours all the time, but her recorded output is tiny, which makes this album all the more precious to me. The Carter Family would have sounded great singing "Let the Mystery Be."

Lucinda Williams _Sweet Old World_ (1992)
It's not her best, but it's my favorite. Any song about suicide is bound to be a downer, even if it's written and performed as well as the title track, but it's the rare meditation on a sad subject that give such simple and poignant reasons to carry on through the hard times. "Looking for some truth, dancing with no shoes," indeed.

Alejandro Escovedo _Thirteen Years_ (1994)
Four years later, my brother is living in Dallas and he sends me a local radio station sampler featuring a track from Alejandro Escovedo, which led to ten years of great listening. Similar to Wilco's _Being There_, this was the album where Escovedo begins to explore the sort of extended instrumental lineup that made his live shows from the mid-90s so memorable for me and his lyrical gifts only get better and better.

Wilco _A.M._ (1995)
Mark's right that Uncle Tupelo/Son Volt/Wilco largely speak for themselves, but I have to include A.M. if only for the fact that when Uncle Tupelo broke up, it was a sad, sad day for me. _A.M._ to a large part and Sun Volt's _Trace_ in no small part made it better (and better, and better).

Lyle Lovett _The Road to Ensenada_ (1996)
My list ends in 1996 only in the interest of getting some work done today. I love pretty much all of Lyle Lovett's catalog, but this was such a great return to his breakthrough _Pontiac_. Sort of a promise fulfilled to me. It spends more time in my CD player than anything else he's ever done.

Now Playing: "Dry Your Eyes" The Streets _A Grand Don't Come For Free_ (Warner)

Kasey Chambers - The Captain

Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels On A Gravel Road

Jayhawks - Hollywood Town Hall, Rainy Day Music

Steve Earle - Guitar Town, Transcendental Blues

Emmylou Harris - Red Dirt Girl

O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack

If Alison Krauss qualifies as Americana, I'd list "Now That I've Found You - A Collection"

I really have to get some Iris Dement. She sounds fantastic.

quote:

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Originally posted by mark f:
I have a friend who says he read that Grant Lee Buffalo was called "sagebrush Doors", so I guess that made them "really alt-country." They were definitely one of my favorite bands of the last 10 or so years. As far as Americana goes, I think that Grant-Lee Phillips' last album, "Virginia Creeper," definitely qualifies. The last two by My Morning Jacket and Drive-by Truckers belong here and maybe Kings of Leon's debut. I would go into Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt and Wilco, but since that's where "alt-country" got its name, I'll let that speak for itself. Later, gators.

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I had the argument "is Grant Lee Buffalo alt-country" with some friends once, and while they don't sound like the sterotypical alt-country groups, they certainly have all the aspects of what I'd call "americana." I've never heard the "sagebrush doors" comment...I like that one a lot!

I'd certainly put "Virginia Creeper" (and, for that matter "Ladies Love Oracle") on the list, as well.

I know it was a little easy to put Tupelo and Wilco on my list (I didn't put Son Volt on, but "Trace" and "Wide Swing Tremelo" are both contenders), but the songs still do it for me. The Long Ryders, who I loved in the day, don't sound as good to me now. Tupelo does.

quote:

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Originally posted by LinnTate:
Alejandro Escovedo _Thirteen Years_ (1994)
Four years later, my brother is living in Dallas and he sends me a local radio station sampler featuring a track from Alejandro Escovedo, which led to ten years of great listening. Similar to Wilco's _Being There_, this was the album where Escovedo begins to explore the sort of extended instrumental lineup that made his live shows from the mid-90s so memorable for me and his lyrical gifts only get better and better.

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Nice choice. I'm really fond of Alejandro's live record, and particularly his live show. I saw him at an outdoor festival show, in a tent, in Atlanta, and he blew me away. The covers were such reinventions, they sounded like new songs. I saw Wilco play in that same tent, for the Summerteeth record, the next afternoon. It was the first time I had seen Wilco playing with the crazy synth elements that made Summerteeth and YHF such great records. That festival, Music Midtown, used to book good bands. Now it's just radio crap.

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Originally posted by philosopherEric:
I had the argument "is Grant Lee Buffalo alt-country" with some friends once, and while they don't sound like the sterotypical alt-country groups, they certainly have all the aspects of what I'd call "americana." I've never heard the "sagebrush doors" comment...I like that one a lot!

I'd certainly put "Virginia Creeper" (and, for that matter "Ladies Love Oracle") on the list, as well.

I know it was a little easy to put Tupelo and Wilco on my list (I didn't put Son Volt on, but "Trace" and "Wide Swing Tremelo" are both contenders), but the songs still do it for me. The Long Ryders, who I loved in the day, don't sound as good to me now. Tupelo does

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First off, I have to admit that I never considered GLB alt-country, but if that gets someone to listen to them, amen. "Ladies Love Oracle" is the best solo Phillips so far.
Secondly, don't dis the Long Ryders. I have all their albums on vinyl and I saw them live; just because they might not be as cool as they once were is not a reflection on them. Later, Gator.

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Originally posted by mark f:
Secondly, don't dis the Long Ryders. I have all their albums on vinyl and I saw them live; just because they might not be as cool as they once were is not a reflection on them. Later, Gator.

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I wasn't aiming to dis the Long Ryders at all. In some ways they actually have more cache than Tupelo, because they were doing it first. I just don't think a lot of the songs hold up as well, all these years later. I listened to a few of the records recently, and I didn't like them as much as I thought I did. But they've still got some gems..."Gunslinger Man", "Harriet Tubman's Gonna Carry Me Home", "Looking for Lewis and Clark."

Apparently, the Ryders are touring in Europe. I'd certainly go to see them if they blew through the STL. Everyone I know who saw them thought they were great...

Not a huge fan of the genre, but if I had to pick two, I'd probably go with:

Neko Case - "The Virginian" (1997)
Ian Matthews - "Valley Hi" (1973)


.

quote:

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Originally posted by philosopherEric:
Nice choice. I'm really fond of Alejandro's live record, and particularly his live show. I saw him at an outdoor festival show, in a tent, in Atlanta, and he blew me away. The covers were such reinventions, they sounded like new songs.

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There is a new live album available exclusively on the Web, PE. It's not quite so good as _More Miles Than Money_, but worth having. I have yet to hear any recording that captures how good he is live. I'll post a review of the new live disc if I can ever wrestle it away from my wife.

My favorite live show with Escovedo would have been a stop at Off Broadway (are they still open on the South Side?) around '95. He split his sets between electric and acoustic (fiddle, cello, upright bass) and both line-ups were, well, electric.

He really love his covers, too. They started to become a bigger part of the live shows over the past decade. Friends of mine who have come to his music from the alt-country side don't always realize the degree to which he is influenced by glam (and punk) and are usually pleasantly surprised. The last tour I saw featured a great cover of "All The Young Dudes," and his recorded cover of "Irene Wilde" would be on my list of favorite all-time covers elsewhere were it not for the fact that I'm pretty ignorant of the Ian Hunter original.

Now Playing: NPR's "All Things Considered"

LinnTate,
You seem to basically know everything of what you speak, but since I don't remember anyone mentioning them here, you are aware of A. Escovedo's contribution to the Rave-ups, aren't you? I'll shut up since I know you've got it covered. Later, Supergator.

I'm going to take the bait, Mark, and ask: what did Alejandro do with the Rave Ups? I love the Rave Ups and was unaware of the connection...

You've got me on that one. I was so busy noticing the Lakers get destroyed by the Pistons, I completely blew that one. I loved the Rave-ups, but The R-band I meant to mention was Rank and File. That's what happens when you get too old but don't quite have Alzheimer's. You remember things but they start to "slide" a little bit to something that sounds similar. After Rank and File, A. Escovedo then went on to True Believers. I have all three bands on vinyl but that's no excuse for the faux pas.

I was only able to stop by here a few times this week as I was in Chicago watching my Cardinals stomp the Cubs, then watching the Cubs return the favor.

You had me scratching my head over the Rave-Ups reference as well. I'm sure a playoffs addled brain is the answer rather than your advancing years.

For as much a fan as I am of Escovedo's, I've only sampled True Believers and really haven't listened to Rank & File at all. Of course the fact that the latter has been out-of-print for ages probably isn't helping matters.

All that being said, how was Rank & File?

Now Playing: "Fightin For It All" Mindy Smith (Vanguard) <- an appropriate addition to the discussion. My friend Scott introduced me this album this week. This is my first full listen, but I think she's going to be somebody to watch on the Alt-Country/Americana scene.

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Originally posted by LinnTate:

All that being said, how was Rank & File?

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Well, LT, Alejandro was only in the band the first album (1982). That album, "Sundown", is definitely the best and Alejandro was essentially the cow-punk's guitarist god (accent on cow, not punk.) He took off and Jeff Ross took over on guitar for the other two albums, and although I remember liking them, the group members' hair all got longer and so did their attitude. I'm going to listen to all three ASAP. The other two are "Long Gone Dead"(1984) and "Rank and File" (1987).

The other thing I really remember about the first album is the way the Kinman brothers sang off each other, one had a high voice and the other was deep. The picture of Alejandro on the back of "Sundown" does show a person who seems to enjoy being alive and being able to do what he does.

I'm not sure what Rank and File stuff is still in print, but I'm pretty sure that Rhino Handmade had a collection of the Slash recordings available at some point. I've listened to a little, but I like Alejandro's solo work better than the True Believers and Buick McKaine...

Thanks for the feedback, mark and PE. I think Escovedo's short tenure and relatively modest contribution to Rank & File is one of the reasons I've not sought them out more aggressively, though I'd really like to lay my hands on the Rhino Handmade collection now that you've filled me in a bit further, mark.

In general, friends of mine who have listened to True Believers and Buick McKaine are lukewarm, so I haven't really gone out of my way to track them down either, though the Buick McKaine album is back in print, so I think I'm going to have to check it out as well.

I am not, however, ambivelent about the Honeydogs, PE. I've been listening to _10,000 Years_ this past week on your recommendation and liking it a lot. Thanks for keeping that one from getting past me.

Another recommendation that came my way this week is Wendy Smith's excellent debut on Vanguard, _One Moment More_. It reminds me a great deal of Shawn Colvin's early albums, which probably deserve a place in this discussion as well.

Now Playing: "Summer Kids Go" Moonbabies _The Orange Billboard_ (Parasol)

This fits here better than anywhere...good news for alt-country fans...

> > A Mark Olson/Gary Louris acoustic tour is in the works. More should be known in a day or two whether it is a go. Gary says "this is not a Jayhawks reunion tour, just Mark and Gary having fun and playing some songs we haven't played in years." They might have the drummer from the Creekdippers playing on some dates. The tour would start Feb 18th and end March 12 (in Chicago). It would primarily be the
midwest and east but they may eventually do more dates to get to all who want to see them.