Oooh, Western swing! I like Asleep At the Wheel, and of course Bob Wills. But you can’t go wrong with Johnny Cash or Patsy Cline. Or Brian Setzer, with the big band or the Stray Cats. Or Reverend Horton Heat or Chris Isaak. Or even the spaghetti western film scores of Ennio Morricone. I’ve been into all of this stuff lately, and I’m dying to get a Fender Telecaster so I can start twanging out rockabilly and surf and alt-country and swing and lounge and punk and all combinations thereof.
The country music radio station in Miami recently posted a billboard with a big sexy picture of Shania Twain, proclaiming “More Twain, Less Twang!” And I shook my head sadly, as most people who claim to be into “country music” listen to watered-down banal pop disguised in stupid big hats. And Hank Williams I would be as alien to these mainstream country listeners as Hank III would be, I bet.
First, give a listen to KEXP on Wednesday through Friday evenings between 6:00 and 9:00 Pacific time. Wednesday is roots music, Thursday is country, and Friday is rockabilly. (And in case you’re curious, Monday is African music and Tuesday is world music).
And some other artists you might want to consider (in no particular order):
Alejandro Escovedo
Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter
Laura Veirs
Fred Eaglesmith
The Picketts (and Christy McWilson’s solo work)
The Walkabouts (specifically, their “Satisfied Mind” album. Their other stuff is great but isn’t country.)
Danny Barnes
The Derailers
Hot Club of Cowtown
Steve Earle
Deke Dickerson and the Ecco-Phonics
The Damnations
Kelly Hogan
Bobby Bare Jr.
Kasey Chambers
BR549
Wayne Hancock
Kelly Willis
Johnny Dowd
Gerald Collier
Bill Frisell (he’s a fabulous jazz guitarist, but he went through a “roots” phase that you might find interesting)
Don’t forget about the Waco Brothers. Also, various members of the Mekons (Jon Langford, Sally Timms, Rico Bell) have put out some reasonably killer solo work in this style.
The alt-country “movement” is the third wave. There were the Flying Burrito Brothers, Michael Nesmith (he did country with the Monkees, too), Rick Nelson, Doug Sahm, etc in the late '60s and early '70s. Then Wall of Voodoo, Meat Puppets, X, the Blasters (and a million others) in the '80s, and now the current crop.
Have enjoyed The Blasters and those earlier guys you mentioned, Electrically.
Also there were New Riders of the Purple Sage. The Grateful Dead, in their countrified phase, made two gorgeous albums: Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty.
This is one of my favorite genres…
**The Be Good Tanyas
Nanci Griffith
Lucinda Williams
Josh Rouse
Lou Ford
Carrie Newcomer
Jesse Malin
Jim White
Steve Earle
The Thorns
** …and so much more…I’d say that this genre is far from dead.
Check out altcountrytab.com which not only gives chords for some of these artists but also gig reviews, album reviews, forum discussions and more.
While we’re plugging alt.country stations, the alltime best, IMHO, is KPIG of Freedom, California, which drew a worldwide audience online until the FCC caved to the ad agencies and required netcast stations to pay royalties for national ads used in the netcast. Now they are only available through Real Audio at eight bucks a month.
However, many of the the KPIG staffers previously worked at the legendary KFAT (Giroy, California “The Garlic Capitol of the World”) and on Shoutcast one can find tapes of KFAT (1977-1983) with a chance to listen to a lovely eclectic mix of first wave alt. country with judicious blends of folk, blues, gospel and, yes, Hawaiian music. Must be heard to be appreciated.
Listening to “The Range” KHYI after finally figuring out how (the site doesn’t have a get help page, but I downloaded WMP for my Mac and now I’m able to connect). Great stuff.
My Mac has a radio station thing with a station called Boot Liquor (http://somafm.com/bootliquor/). I don’t think you need a Mac, but you do need either iTunes or the Windows equivelent from apple.com.
Being that there are many Asleep at the Wheel fans here, you folks probably already know this – but for the uninitiated, their CD Ride with Bob is a tribute to Bob Wills and feature performances by a whole passel of country music greats, including a rendition of “Roly Poly” by the Dixie Chicks, which leads me to…
If you can find it, get your hands on their first two CDs, Thank Heavens for Dale Evans and Little Ol’ Cowgirl. These were made before Natalie Maines replaced Robin Lynn Macy and Laura Lynch. Very much bluegrass influenced. IIRC, changing their stylistic direction was at least partially responsible for these departures.
Did someone say bluegrass? How can you not listen to Flagg & Scruggs, or Bill Monroe?
Another name: Bill Kirchen, formerly of Commander Cody. His live rendition of “Hot Rod Lincoln” is 8 minutes of pure genius, ripping through the music of everyone from Chuck Berry to The Sex Pistols to, uh, Billie Jean King.
And, last (for now anyhow) but not least: Robert Earl Keen.
The best concert I’ve seen this year–Lucinda Williams with the Jayhawks in Raleigh. Even Lucinda said toward the end of the show that they were technically her support act, but it was really a double bill. Both kicked ass–I had actually forgotten how great the Jayhawks were.
Between that and the Uncle Tupelo re-releases, this year has renewed my faith in alt-country.
If you’re going to bring in bluegrass then you have to mention Nickel Creek and Chris Thile’s solo work, especially Not All Who Wander Are Lost.
Bloodshot Records has been mentioned a couple of times and I thought I’d make it three. Get their catalog. Buy any album from it and you’ll be satisifed. That’s how I discovered Alejandro Escovedo (tip of the hat to Hunter Hawk). Great stuff.
I may have overlooked it, but be sure to pick up the latest from The Flatlanders.
Neko Case - Furnace Room Lullaby Split Lip Rayfield - Never Make It Home The Meat Purveyors - More Songs About Buildings And Cows Carolyn Mark & Her Roommates - Terrible Hostess Meat Puppets - Up On The Sun Jason & The Scorchers - Wildfires and Misfires Johnny Dowd - The Pawnbroker’s Wife David P. Smith - Hurtin’ Dance Party The Buttless Chaps - Death Scenes I II III The Sadies - Tremendous Efforts Jim White - The Mysterious Story of How I Shouted Wrong-Eyed Jesus The Blasters - American Music 20 Miles - I’m A Lucky Guy The Supersuckers - Must Have Been High The Handsome Family - Through The Trees Bughouse Five - Dark Days Passing The Asylum Street Spankers - Spanker Madness The Silver Hearts - No Place