alt country recommendations

DanGouge · #1 10-13-2002, 04:26 PM

I had never heard much alt country (aside from that one Wilco semi-hit). And then I listened to a compilation of Uncle Tupelo the other day. Wow, great music, any other tips for the genre?

cb56 · #2 10-13-2002, 04:41 PM

This will keep you busy.

http://www.insurgentcountry.com/

Some people consider Willie Nelson and Junior Brown to be Alt Country. For others it's the Uncle Tupelo spin offs. (Wilco / Son Volt) Some Alt Country artists have called it " music that doesn't sell"

Also check out

www.bloodshotrecords.com

for more artists. I'm a big fan of Steve Earle. Is he Alt Country or folk..... who knows?

JMX · #3 10-14-2002, 09:15 AM

I think Calexico belongs to that genre too.

dancehallclasher · #4 10-14-2002, 12:36 PM

get wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, it is a must. also there's a great band called My Morning Jacket which should be what you're looking for.

Boplicity · #5 10-14-2002, 01:23 PM

I'm not 100% sure what exactly fits into alt country, but when I think of it, I think of fringe "country groups" like Cowboy Junkies, Lambchop, Blue Mountain, Whiskeytown, The Jayhawks, and maybe even Bone Pony. Also what about Hank Williams III's work? I don't remember the exact name of his band, but it blends the traditional country twang of his father and grandfather with harder Kid Rockesgue stylings.

Alt country seems to me like a fertile area for experimentation. I loved a song way back in the early or mid-nineties "Cotton Eyed Joe" that was a blugrass/folk/square dance/techno dance hybrid that really caught my fancy. I'd like to see country/metal and more country/techno. I'd even be curious to hear country jazz, if that isn't an oxymoron.

LiquidMidnight · #6 10-14-2002, 04:31 PM

I'm not really sure on the exact definition of "alt country" but here are some bands that you would probaly really dig.

Calobo
Blue Dogs
Project NIM
Big Sky
Push
Pat Mcgee Band
Reckless Kelly

I seriously don't know if they are what you would call "Alt Country", but they have a lot of Country/Bluegrass influence. A lot of it reminds me of a more "Jammy" version of John Mellencamp.

LiquidMidnight · #7 10-14-2002, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Boplicity
I'd even be curious to hear country jazz, if that isn't an oxymoron.

Actually, I personally can hear a lot of jazz influence in older Country. You can definatley hear it in some of the stuff by Bob Willis and the Texas Playboys. There definatley was lot of jazz influence in Chet Atkins playing (RIP

). And let's not forget a lot of the Texas Swing groups like Asleep at the Wheel, which is basically Big Band with a honky tonk flavor.

Boplicity · #8 10-14-2002, 07:30 PM

I had completely forgotten about Texas Swing. I was thinking more of a Miles Davis/Coltrane/etc. kind of jazz, but swing does definitely qualify as a jazz style. Strangely enough, I like many of the older big band swing groups, but I don't like Texas Swing.

jerry · #9 10-15-2002, 08:37 PM

I really love Wilco and Foxtrot Hotel is one of my favorites albums of the year........and Ryan Adams Gold and Demolition are just great songwriting!

Matthew West · #10 10-17-2002, 09:22 AM

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, while an amazing record, is not a good example of the alt-country thing. They really quit doing that before they made Summerteeth. Try some of these:

Uncle Tupelo -No Depression, Anodyne, Still Feel Gone
Wilco - AM, Being There
Son Volt - Trace, Wide Swing Tremolo
Early Day Miners - Let Us Garlands Bring
16 Horsepower - Folklore
Whiskeytown - pretty much anything they did
Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker
Steve Earle -anything from the last five years or so
Drive By Truckers - Pizza Deliverance, Southern Rock Opera
Slobberbone - Everything You Thought Was Right Was Wrong Today

Matthew West · #11 10-17-2002, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SMASH

Whoa! Good call. I'm a huge 16HP fan. Never heard of this album though. Must be new? If so, I'll be off to the record store soon. Thanks !!

Came out in August I believe. Best thing they've ever done. Incredibly dark and stripped down.

Boplicity · #12 10-17-2002, 02:37 PM

Mathew West mentioned Ryan Adams. Seems the alt country star was a "bad boy" in Nashville recently. He resents, maybe rightfully so, being confused with Bryan Adams. During a recent concert at Nashville's historic and hallowed Ryman Auditorium, Ryan Adams became irate when someone in the audience shouted out a request for one of Bryan Adams best known songs, the theme from Robin Hood.

Incensed with what Ryan considered to be a major insult, he stopped his concert, ordered that the house lights be turned on, demanded to know who made the request, then threw $30 at the perpetrator (the price of a ticket to the show) and ordered him out of the auditorium.

In the lobby, a concert organizer or auditorium manager (I forget which) apologized profusely to the ejected concert-goer and allowed him to quietly return to the auditorium, evidently unknown to Ryan Adams. He was also allowed to keep the $30 Ryan Adams had thrown at him. I presume there were no further incidents and no more requests for Bryan Adams' songs.

Matthew West · #13 10-17-2002, 03:03 PM

I think that happens to him on a nightly basis. After a while, I imagine pretty much anyone would reach their breaking point.

jerry · #14 10-17-2002, 03:29 PM

Good call on the 16HP album......I also think it's one of the years best.......I also really love the new Steve Earl album.

WildBill · #15 10-17-2002, 03:40 PM

My friend (she plays piano) was upset that noone wanted a pianist in their band and I would jam with her every now and then. And then I bought Ryan Adams' "Gold" album and fell in love with his songs and now were starting our own band.

Max · #16 10-18-2002, 10:59 AM

You have to include in this genre the Old 97s. Some people have tried to dismiss them as a chick band which is just wrong. Too Far to Care is a blast. Satellite Rides is more of a happy rock album but is nevertheless excellent.

I agree that Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is one of the best albums this year, although I think they have evolved from "alt country" since Summerteeth.

I can't recommend Too Far to Care by the Old 97's enough.

LiquidMidnight · #17 10-18-2002, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Boplicity
Seems the alt country star was a "bad boy" in Nashville recently.

Good, Nashville NEEDS another outlaw movement. I think most old school Country fans can agree on that.

Ryan Adams really does need to shave though.

Farley · #18 10-18-2002, 12:48 PM

Dwight Yokam

MarkMcCombs · #19 10-18-2002, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Farley
Dwight Yokam

amen to that. Add also, The Derailers, almost any of their work, and Tift Merritt. I consider the Derailers more "old school country", whereas as alt-country I think is more country/rock in a nice blend. If you like the Telecaster sound, the Derailers are IT!

Tender Prey · #20 10-19-2002, 10:54 PM

There is a band from Chicago (I think) called "The Blacks". Their 2nd album "Just like home" is pretty cool. They're a little differant. Kind of spooky in a way. Gina Black was written up in BP a while back. Uncle Tupelo's Anthology is a great cd. I got a disc from the magazine UNCUT that was called "sounds of the new west vol3" that had some really cool stuff on it.
I've just started listening to this type of music in the last year or so. I've had a lifelong hatred of most country music (especially this new pop-cuntry thing). I've listened to Kelly Willis since her first album just because I liked her voice. I really like the Jayhawks, Wilco, and Son Volt but those have all been mentioned here. I've wanted to do a kind of dark, twisted country/blues type of thing for a long time, but no one else seemed interested in pursuing it with me.