Music » Alt-Country & Americana Music

11 songs about America that echo and update some of the themes heard on early albums by The Band, Bob Dylan, and Neil Young. Enhanced format features exclusive live footage, band photos, and a trailer for the film 'I Am Trying to Break Your Heart'. Slipcase. 2002.

On their sophomore effort, Canada's Cowboy Junkies manage to make a one-day recording session in an old church one of their most satisfying listens. Featuring the sultry voice of Margo Timmins, the precise musicianship of her brothers Peter (on drums) and Michael (on guitar), and bassist Alan Anton, The Trinity Sessions is a spare, evocative, countrified-rock classic. Their inspired reworking of both "Blue Moon" and "Working On A Building" reveal the Timmins family to be talented interpreters and insightful neo-traditionalists. Mixing the ambitious songwriting of Margo and Michael Timmins with subdued covers of Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane" and Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," The Trinity Sessions is an exquisite collection that holds up quite well under repeated listenings. --Mitch Myers

Millenium digipak edition, with original artwork and 8 previously unissued bonus tracks, 'You Got A Reputation', 'Lazy Days', 'Pretty Polly', 'The Christian Life' (rehearsal take #11), 'Life In Prison' (rehearsal take #11), 'You're Still On My Mind' (rehearsal take #43), 'One Hundred Years From Now' (rehearsal take #2) & 'All I Have Is Memories' (instrumental). 2001.

Release Date: 1998-06-30, Audio CD, Island / Mercury

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: EASTMOUNTAINSOUTH
Title: EASTMOUNTAINSOUTH
Street Release Date: 06/17/2003
Domestic
Genre: ROCK/POP

Release Date: 1996-02-27, Audio CD, Fontana Geffen

UK pressing of the second solo album from the American Alt-Roots star (and former Whiskeytown frontman) includes one bonus track: 'Rosalie Come & Go'. Originally released in 2001, Gold was a musical triumph for the young singer/songwriter and received more press attention and critical acclaim than anything he has released, both before and after. 17 tracks. Universal.

When Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar, his former partner in Uncle Tupelo, split up in 1994, the common wisdom was that Tweedy was the melodic and optimistic Paul McCartney of the team, while Farrar was the cathartic and moody John Lennon. That analogy seemed to stand up when Wilco's debut disc A.M. was sweet and tuneful, while the first album by Farrar's Son Volt, Trace, was angst-ridden country-rock. Tweedy transcended his pigeonhole with the diverse, ambitious Being There, but Farrar remains trapped in his on Son Volt's follow-up Straightaways, a more laid-back, understated version of Trace. Farrar does one thing really well, and that is his use of a gravelly baritone and suspended guitar chords to capture the exhaustion and desperation of a man at the end of his rope. Unfortunately, he tends to do it over and over and over again. --Geoffrey Himes

Release Date: 1995-09-19, Audio CD, Warner Bros / Wea

Comprising frontman Jeff Tweedy and other former members of alt.country legend Uncle Tupelo, Wilco was an apple that didn't fall far from the tree. A.M., the band's debut, continues that older group's brand of updated country-rock (emphasis on "rock") and emotionally powerful songwriting. However, many of the best creations here--the driver's-licenseless drunk in "Passenger Side," the bar-band celebration of riverboat gambling on "Casino Queen"--sport an unprecedented sense of humor and are unexpectedly catchy, too. Best of all might be "It's Just That Simple," in which Tweedy turns the mic over to the high and mournful singing of bassist John Stirratt. --David Cantwell