CD-Charts Position 11
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Heartbreaker

CD-Charts > Music > Alt.Country
by: Ryan Adams

Release Date October 31, 2000
This is sort of mental peace offering to myself. I do dislike Ryan Adams new album Cardinology with a vengeance but that must not distract from what a brilliant catalogue of work he has built up over time. Indeed when Adams released "Heartbreaker" I thought this is it. What I mean is that the are times in rock musice when great albums are released which define the direction of music. They are instant classics and last the test of time. Dylan's great trilogy Bringing it back Home, Highway 61 and Blonde on Blonde remains unsurpassed. More than that there is something timeless and enduring about them a factor which so few artists capture. Think of Joni Mitchell's "Blue", Neil Young's "On the Beach" and "Tonight's the Night", Beach Boys "Pet Sounds". ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 12
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Provisions

CD-Charts > Music > Alt.Country
by: Giant Sand

Release Date September 01, 2008
We are so lucky at the moment with bands like Calexico, Fleet Foxes, Lambchop and Willard Grant Conspiracy all releasing amazing alt. albums, but you can now add Giant Sand to that list as they are back with `proVISIONS' surely the best record of their career to date. With 13 songs it glides effortlessly along broadening the horizons of the genre with unusual panache and grace. For me the only criticism I have is that the first half of the album is slightly weaker than the second despite collaborations with Isobel Campbell, Neko and Papa M but that said it is still breathtaking if not a bit too traditional. Then comes the P J Harvey cover `Desperate kingdom of love' a track that couldn't fit a band better and from this point on the music ascends until ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 13
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Heartaches and Highways - The Very Best of Emmylou Harris

CD-Charts > Music > Alt.Country
by: Emmylou Harris

Release Date July 18, 2005
I always had a problem with Country as a youngster, growing up as I did in a working class English town and hooked on Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Sabbath. Though I could listen to Johnny Cash, some of the female country stars of the time (Tammy Wynette etc) really grated on me.

I bought this collection on a whim while working out in California a couple of years ago. This was the first time I really listened to her as a recording artist in her own right, though I was familiar with her work with Gram Parsons and her excellent backing vocals on Dylan's Desire.

I must say that this album blew me away. Her voice is totally exquisite and it is little wonder that her talents been in such demand over the years. Though The Grateful Dead ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 14
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Anchors and Anvils

CD-Charts > Music > Alt.Country
by: Amy LaVere

Release Date July 07, 2008
Amongst her influences Amy LaVere lists Willie Nelson, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen. If you can imagine the three of them merged into one - not an easy call I agree - that would be Amy LaVere.

First off, her vocal tone is stunning: all the girly sexiness of Marilyn Monroe singing 'Happy Birthday, Mr President', plus there's something French and smouldering going on. There's a characteristic vibrato on long notes that's really attractive.

She plays an upright bass (rather larger than she is!) and it's a really good look. She's extremely easy on the eye, in a fragile sort of way, which won't hurt her career, but means that watching a DVD is a bit more rewarding than listening to a CD. Still that never hurt Alison Goldfrapp!

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CD-Charts Position 15
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Love Is Hell

CD-Charts > Music > Alt.Country
by: Ryan Adams

Release Date May 03, 2004
What the hell is the amazon reviewer listening to - Avalanche aimless? Absolute tosh and nonsense. Great song. The Oasis cover? Redundant. Always skip past it. The rest? absolute bloody genius. Record companies? God bless the internet.

CD-Charts Position 16
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Gold

CD-Charts > Music > Alt.Country
by: Ryan Adams

Release Date February 05, 2001
This is the first Ryan album I bought and now I have all of his stuff it's still one of my favourites. He's unquestionably (to me) one of the most talented singers/songwriters there has ever been, and how other less deserving artists continuously receive more attention and sales remains beyond me, but the sensible people know who's best!

Gold is Ryan's most accessible album, in the sense that the songs are catchy (and most of them are radio-playable), but that doesn't mean they are any less intelligent than any of his other material. He sings thought-provoking, challenging lyrics which always repay careful listening.

Highlights for me include New York, New York, Answering Bell, Rescue Blues, Wild Flowers, Firecracker... let's face it, they're ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 17
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Car Wheels On A Gravel Road

CD-Charts > Music > Alt.Country
by: Lucinda Williams

Release Date December 15, 2000
I'm new to this genre and I have got into Miranda Lambert and Gretchen Wilson and although I don't buy his political persuasion, Toby Keith.
I bought West and wasn't impressed but Car Wheels is something else. Maybe because I'm new to this brand of music I'm suckered but I really think that this is such a stand out CD that it merits huge praise. I've heard that it was a perfectionist effort - hence the Pet Sounds analogy - and if so it works. Right in Time and Joy -two very different pices are addictive. Maybe this is a one-off in which case play it to death.

CD-Charts Position 18
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Copperhead Road

CD-Charts > Music > Alt.Country
by: Steve Earle

Release Date March 20, 1999
Steve Earle music is best described as country-rock. The skull and cross bones that form the cover of Copperhead Road album warn of what is to come, a heavy mix of potent music shot through with the reflections of an wild young man who is older than his years. Inserts show a relaxed Earle, fag in mouth, black shades and dressed in denim.

A strong start with 'Copperhead Road' on which you can apparently 'smell the whisky burnin'; 'The Devil's Right Hand' refers to a pistol and though the song has a strange lyrical resonace it isn't until 'Johnny Come Lately' (on which the Pogues play) when the album begins to rock..

'Johnny Come Lately' tells the story of a soldier off to Vietnam who hopes to return to his girl in London and take her home to the USA. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 19
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Brighter Than Creation's Dark

CD-Charts > Music > Alt.Country
by: Drive By Truckers

Release Date January 21, 2008
Sometimes the popular opinion is just correct. Jason Isbell's departure from DBT means the band has lost one-third of its quality. Shonna Tucker, for all her fine musicianly qualities, just doesn't fill his very large shoes (especially live - Isbell had a lot of stage presence; Shonna really doesn't). The first DBT album since Isbell's departure is, therefore, about two-thirds as good as The Dirty South, and about one-third longer than it needed to be. I haven't been so disappointed in a band's new album since some time in the Stone Age. There are a couple of top tracks here (Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife comes to mind, and so does The Man I Shot), but the extra depth that Isbell used to provide is sadly sadly lacking. I still love DBT, and I hope they'll regroup around ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 20
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It's Not Big It's Large: +DVD

CD-Charts > Music > Alt.Country
by: Lyle Lovett

Release Date October 27, 2008
The album opens with Lester Young's 'Tickle Toe' giving the lie to the claim that it's large rather than big: this is big band music, though with steel guitar, twin lead guitars and fiddles, this is a big band for the 21st century. Perhaps intended to emphasise that this is a band record rather than a solo act, the track, while pleasant enough, is not typical of the rest of the album, rather undermining that message. 'I will rise up / Ain't no more cane' follows, and sets out the band's stall in more typical fashion - Lovett's distinctive voice, country slide guitar, West Coast rock lead guitars and drums, big band brass and gospel soul back up singers. 'All downhill' deploys Lovett's laconic humour "Joe Ely and I sit next to that John Hiatt, We park next to Guy Clark" "I've been up ... Read More: