YOUNG GUNS
"I started this damn country band cos punk rock was too hard too play."
(Whiskeytown, Faithless Street).
The previous parts of this series have offered a roughly chronological, but highly subjective, guide to country music. This final part brings the overview up to date, after a fashion, concentrating on the alternative country scene of the 90s-00s. Again I would recommend reading the previous posts and 'No Stetson Required' first. The same caveats apply as before - this is just one route down the lost highway...
10) Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne (1993)
Although they are often credited as the founding fathers of the 'alt country' scene it's easier to see Uncle Tupelo as part of a lineage or circle passing through Hank and Gram - unfortunately this particular circle couldn't remain unbroken... Like a lot of the best bands Tupelo had a creative tension at their heart, between co-vocalists and songwriters Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy. I'm oversimplifying but you could say that Farrar was more of country purist whereas the rockier elements tended to come from Tweedy. Anondyne was their final album and is probably their most consistent (certainly their most accessible and least schizophrenic).
Uncle Tupelo's final gig. St Louis, 1994.
Farrar took bass player Mike Heirdorn with him and went on to form Son Volt, while Tweedy formed Wilco with the remainder of the band and has gone on to great success. It's a shame, in a way, that Farrar has become something of a forgotten man - Son Volt's debut 'Trace' (1996) is brilliant, as good as Tupelo, but sadly he's never recorded an album as strong since.
10) Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne (1993)
Although they are often credited as the founding fathers of the 'alt country' scene it's easier to see Uncle Tupelo as part of a lineage or circle passing through Hank and Gram - unfortunately this particular circle couldn't remain unbroken... Like a lot of the best bands Tupelo had a creative tension at their heart, between co-vocalists and songwriters Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy. I'm oversimplifying but you could say that Farrar was more of country purist whereas the rockier elements tended to come from Tweedy. Anondyne was their final album and is probably their most consistent (certainly their most accessible and least schizophrenic).
Farrar took bass player Mike Heirdorn with him and went on to form Son Volt, while Tweedy formed Wilco with the remainder of the band and has gone on to great success. It's a shame, in a way, that Farrar has become something of a forgotten man - Son Volt's debut 'Trace' (1996) is brilliant, as good as Tupelo, but sadly he's never recorded an album as strong since.
11) Jayhawks - Tomorrow The Green Grass (1994)
Modern-day country-rock at its finest, with co-vocalists Mark Olson and Gary Louris coming on like a latter day Everly Brothers (including the fraternal feuding). Also features Texas' Sharleen Spiteri, whose band's geographically misleading name presumably confused the boys (for there can be no other reason for her presence on this record).
12) Wilco - Being There (1996)
Their second album is a virtual compendium of all that is good and great in American music. A 'Blonde on Blonde' for the slacker generation.
13) The Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers - The Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers (1997)
Former Jayhawk Mark Olson goes it alone with a little help from his missus, Victoria Williams. While the 'hawks veered off into a more power-poppy territory, Marky boy opts for a downhome, DIY approach on a beautifully simple album which sounds like it was recorded on his porch in the Joshua Tree with only tumbleweeds and crickets for an audience.
Former Jayhawk Mark Olson goes it alone with a little help from his missus, Victoria Williams. While the 'hawks veered off into a more power-poppy territory, Marky boy opts for a downhome, DIY approach on a beautifully simple album which sounds like it was recorded on his porch in the Joshua Tree with only tumbleweeds and crickets for an audience.
14) Richard Buckner - Devotion and Doubt (1997)
His is probably the most obscure name on this list, but I'd probably take 'Devotion and Doubt' as my Desert Island Disc over any album in this guide (I'd probably also forfeit the Bible and Shakespeare's complete works if I could I lay my hands on Buckner's 'The Hill' and 'Dents & Shells' before the ship sinks).
'Devotion and Doubt' is an album of longing, of late nights and dawns.
Buckner's voice is like no other. There is a nod to the tradition, a hint perhaps of Townes Van Zant, and maybe George Jones on the higher notes and vibrato. But, to me, he is unique. His voice is effortless and singing seems as natural as breathing to him.
I'm not alone in this hero-worship but Buckner remains very much a cult hero, which begs the question, 'Why - if he's so good?' To which I don't have a good answer. Is the voice a little too country for mainstream tastes? His lyrics might best be described as enigmatic or elliptical, to the impatient they're perhaps impenetrable, stream-of-consciousness even.
There have been moments of near-commercial success. By the time of 'Devotion & Doubt' (his second album) he was signed to a major label and was backed (on this album, at least) by Calexico, who themselves were on the verge of a breakthrough. The follow-up album, 'Since' was more polished, and featured more notable guest musicians such as Tortoise's John McEntire and Dave Schramm from Yo La Tengo. But commercial success still eluded him. I guess it didn't help by making the next album, 'The Hill', one 35 minute song, setting Edgar Lee Master's Spoon River poems to music. Still, I bloody love that album.
I had to wait over 15 years before I got the chance to see Buckner live, last December at the wonderful St Pancras Old Church in London. It was spellbinding.
One of the many highlights was an unaccompanied version of 'Fater', from 'Devotion & Doubt'. You could have heard the metaphorical pin drop.
His is probably the most obscure name on this list, but I'd probably take 'Devotion and Doubt' as my Desert Island Disc over any album in this guide (I'd probably also forfeit the Bible and Shakespeare's complete works if I could I lay my hands on Buckner's 'The Hill' and 'Dents & Shells' before the ship sinks).
'Devotion and Doubt' is an album of longing, of late nights and dawns.
Buckner's voice is like no other. There is a nod to the tradition, a hint perhaps of Townes Van Zant, and maybe George Jones on the higher notes and vibrato. But, to me, he is unique. His voice is effortless and singing seems as natural as breathing to him.
I'm not alone in this hero-worship but Buckner remains very much a cult hero, which begs the question, 'Why - if he's so good?' To which I don't have a good answer. Is the voice a little too country for mainstream tastes? His lyrics might best be described as enigmatic or elliptical, to the impatient they're perhaps impenetrable, stream-of-consciousness even.
There have been moments of near-commercial success. By the time of 'Devotion & Doubt' (his second album) he was signed to a major label and was backed (on this album, at least) by Calexico, who themselves were on the verge of a breakthrough. The follow-up album, 'Since' was more polished, and featured more notable guest musicians such as Tortoise's John McEntire and Dave Schramm from Yo La Tengo. But commercial success still eluded him. I guess it didn't help by making the next album, 'The Hill', one 35 minute song, setting Edgar Lee Master's Spoon River poems to music. Still, I bloody love that album.
I had to wait over 15 years before I got the chance to see Buckner live, last December at the wonderful St Pancras Old Church in London. It was spellbinding.
One of the many highlights was an unaccompanied version of 'Fater', from 'Devotion & Doubt'. You could have heard the metaphorical pin drop.
Nashville country-soul collective of varying members, but always fronted by the falsetto-favouring Kurt Wagner. Difficult to categorize but almost certainly the best band ever to be named after a children's glove puppet.
16) Bonnie Prince Billy - I See A Darkness (1999)
Whether recording in his current guise or under the various nom-de plumes of Palace (Palace Brothers, Palace Music), Will Oldham has recorded some of alt-country's strangest, most beguiling music. Here he presents us with such joyful tunes as 'Black' , 'Death To Everyone', 'Another Day Full of Dread' in an Appalachian howl (think Neil Young at his most wracked) that was dismissed by one critic as 'bad singing on purpose'.
17) Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cold Roses (2005)
Not to be confused with the acne-scarred Canadian, the ex-Whiskeytown frontman made something of name for himself as a sort of a prolific, post-modern Gram Parsons and the poster-boy of the alt-country scene. Interestingly Whiskeytown's second album 'Stranger's Almanac' contained a song called 'Everything I Do', although, criminally, it didn't spend 16 weeks at number one...
Most fans will point to his solo debut 'Heartbreaker' or the more polished follow-up 'Gold' as favourites but for me 'Cold Roses' gets the nod. As one of three studio albums he released in 2005, 'Cold Roses' sometimes is unfairly overlooked. The fact that this is co-credited to The Cardinals is significant, this is a band effort and a warmer more coherent album than anything else in his catalogue.
18) Micah P Hinson & The Red Empire Orchestra (2008)
While some might argue whether Hinson's idioysncratic music is strictly 'country', he certainly has the credentials, having endured jail, addiction and bankruptcy before he'd barely turned 20. Perhaps, understandably there's an undercurrent of self-loathing and despair to his music.
By the time of this album Micah had met and married his wife Ashley, who appears on his album covers and at most of his shows. One might be forgiven for detecting a sense of redemption in the music from this point...
http://www.outlineonline.co.uk/music/interviews/interview-with-micah-p-hinson
His live shows have always been somewhere between shambolic and spellbinding and I'm pleased to report his spirit and sense of humour remain undimmed. Even when playing in my local record store.
19) Josh T. Pearson - Last of The Country Gentlemen (2011)
Josh T.Pearson first came up on my radar as a member of Lift To Experience in 2001. But swiftly disappeared off it. In truth, I found them a little noisy for my tastes and was rather put off by bass player Josh 'Bear' Browning's unfortunate resemblance to Mungo Jerry's Ray Dorset.
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My loss as they sound pretty good to my ears now. Anyway, a decade after their only release, guitarist/vocalist Josh T. Pearson releases a solo album. It's not for the faint of heart. 7 tracks, four of which are over 10 minutes long, all of which are are played at a funereal pace by just Josh and his guitar. The reviews on a certain internet retailer's website are mixed, to say the least. The word 'dirge' is mentioned a few times. Many people complain of really wanting to like the album but being unable to find 'a way in.'
Well, for me, 'the way in' was seeing him live. Both times I've seen him perform it's been in crowded, tiny venues and he was captivating. There's no stagecraft. There's a stillness and intensity to his performance. It's almost intimidating. You are compelled to listen and then, slowly, the song's reveal their beauty.
Plus he has the most amazing beard.
20) My Darling Clementine - The Reconciliation (2013 )
There's nothing 'alt' about My Darling Clementine. Michael Weston King and Lou Dagleish are a husband and wife team who hark back to the golden age of country music. The age when men were hard-drinking and wore polyester suits and women complained about their men. In song. In big blonde wigs.
But look, and, more importantly, listen below the surface and you'll see this is no mere pastiche.
Despite setting themselves up as a modern-day George Jones & Tammy Wynette I sometimes wonder whether the image detracts a little from their superb songcraft. I can honestly say both MDC albums (their debut 'How Do You Plead?' was released in 2011) are better than any of the George & Tammy albums I've heard. And I write that as someone who owns a lot of George Jones LPs.
And so we come to the end of this meander down the lost highway and it seems somehow appropriate to come back to (almost) the very beginning.
May be the circle be unbroken. And may your hat always be of the ten gallon variety.
