Growing up in flyover country in the 70′s George Jones represented what I hated so much about country music, particularly with his wife at the time, Tammy Wynette. Both had huge careers as solo artists, and then just got bigger when they started performing together. It was about this time Nashville was figuring out how to package and (over) produce hits to start to work their way more into mainstream America. Add all those factors together and it was slick and smooth and nothing that appealed to a teenager.

Of course, that was also before Twitter and camera phones and Betty Ford. It turns out George had his demons just like everyone else, and unfortunately for him, the wherewithal to follow those demons to the end of the earth. It wasn’t long before he became No-Show Jones and moved on to his 4th wife, who eventually dragged him out of the hole. I matured in the meantime and came to understand the singing and songwriting talent Jones had when he could focus. After he got sober he continued to write and perform and become an inspiration to a generation of artists that produce a huge amount of the music I so love today. So George, tonight I’ll raise a glass of pop in your honor and be thankful for your talent.
-Shawn Underwood

George Jones left the world last Friday. If you need a soundtrack for his farewell, the man himself provided some of the best weeping, tears in your beer songs that you will ever hear. ‘She Thinks I Still Care,’ ‘The Grand Tour,’ ‘Walk Through This World With Me,’ ‘Tender Years’ and ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today’ are just a handful of his countless hits (seriously, countless). Though he didn’t catch on with the younger punk rock crowd as much as the ‘outlaw’ country singers like Willie, Waylon, and Johnny, George Jones would have been every bit as deserving of that designation. He did enough booze, coke, divorces, and pills to kill three men (or half of a Keith Richards). But he also had that voice, a voice both ethereal and emotive that managed to straddle the line between Ray Charles and Hank Williams. Jones, whatever his failings may have been, used that angelic gift prolifically for more than 50 years. While he may not have won the title greatest country singer, he may just have been the best. Here are some of my favorites.
-Eli Petersen

Look. It only took me eleven words to drop in my Exile On Main Street reference. Sorry Kurt Marschke, you ain’t never out running that one. The Deadstring Brothers front man and sole surviving member has had his music compared to the golden era of the glimmer twins for so long he probably thinks “Moves Like Jagger” was written to torture him into some deranged state of pyschosis where he is forced to indefinitely re-record Black and Blue for eternity.

But hey, it can’t be all bad having your music compared to one of the greatest rock and roll records ever made? Right? Except of course for the most obvious downside, how are you ever going to live up to THAT? The band has given it their best shot and recorded a serious string of good to great albums in the process (their sophomore album, Starving Winter Report, is still the highlight for me), but things went south after 2010′s Sao Paulo. The band kind of fell apart and Marschke toured as a solo act for awhile, but I guess the itch for the band never left because here we are three years later with a new Deadstring Brothers record.

Cannery Row is different though. Record after the mini-hiatus and more importantly a move to Nashville, Cannery Row is not the same Deadstring Brothers in dramatic ways. It’s still roots rock and Marscke’s vocals still lend themselves to Jagger comparisons, but this record sounds more like the Parsons-Richards record that Gram and Keith would have recorded had the former not overdosed on heroin and the latter hadn’t tried to do the same for the better part of the 70’s. Leadoff track “California Whistle” opens with a sweeping pedal steel and sounds like an outtake from GP or Grievous Angel. In fact California rock seems to be a new theme with Eagles-esque tracks like “Oh Me Oh My” and “Lucille’s Honky Tonk”. The harmonica that opens “The Mansion” sounds like Neil Young dropped in for some session work.

The record feels different because it exudes an organic warmth that seemed to be missing from past efforts. Whereas in the past the Deadstring Brothers records seemed layered and produced, Cannery Row feels unhurried and natural, almost like the record was recorded in somebody’s living room. B-3 organ, piano, pedal steel and harmonica filter in and out of the mix as Marschke delivers some of his more tender sounding vocals in his discography. “Cannery Row” in particular is notable for its country-soul delivery. Makes you wish the late great Levon Helm were around to cover that one.

Marschke doesn’t leave the Stones fan hanging though. “Long Lonely Ride” rips off “Dead Flowers” as Marshke sneaks the line “they say I sound like the Stones/ so I gave ‘em this song” into the last verse. Other songs flirt with the Stones association, but none more so than that one. It’s almost if Marschke had to tip his hat to the critics before moving forward on a path that’s no longer pre-ordained. The late-night party records of the past are in his rear-view mirror. Cannery Road is more of a morning after record.

It pairs better with a cup of coffee and a sunrise than it does with PBR and the neon lights.

Courtesy of our friends at Bloodshot Records,

Writing this review is difficult for me, and not because my feelings about the album are ambiguous. I almost uniformly adore the record. The difficulty arises in attempting to write about the record. Because, despite my adoration of The Stand-In, I can’t really put my finger on the reason why. Every thought comes across as either a) generic or b) like I don’t actually like Caitlin Rose. This is my problem.

The truth is that I do think Rose has improved by leaps and bounds (suggesting she was somehow inferior before?) and that this record squarely address the question of what a ‘country’ or ‘americana’ record ‘should’ sound like. Both of these are ridiculous subjects to write about. I liked Rose’s debut, 2010’s Own Side Now. I featured it as one of my favorite records on that year’s best of list. “Shanghai Cigarettes” is still a favorite song for shuffles and playlists. As for abstract discussions of ‘country’ and ‘alt. country’, check my past posts and reviews and you can find that subject droned on about both poorly and often. This album deserves better. So let’s see if I can get past my reductive tendencies and give this record a worthy review.

Opening with big guitar chords worthy of a Tom Petty classic, Rose makes it clear from the get go that this isn’t going to be a quaint, acoustic singer-songwriter record. In fact, despite the frequent flourishes of steel guitars, The Stand-In rarely feels like a country record. Rose’s full length debut three years ago hinted at an indie rock sensibility, but The Stand-In doesn’t hint at anything. Genre classifications are merely the broad brushes that Rose used to sling paint at the walls. Most of the songs seem to have guitars, bass, and drums, so maybe we can just call it rock and roll? “Waitin’” is an R&B lyric delivered in a punk rock snarl. The more traditional ‘country’ songs like “Pink Champagne” and “Dallas” have a Memphis-soul vibe to them. Stand-out track “When I’m Gone” begs for a Bettye LaVette re-interpretation that god-willing is only a couple years away.

Thinking, I’ve been thinking
About leaving this old town behind
I’ll beg and borrow, to leave tomorrow
Find no more sorrow, and just say goodbye

Come on, you can sleep when I’m gone
I was lying when I said there’s plenty of time
Don’t need your alibi baby
Cause I’m always running
From the scene of the crime

Rose is always at her best when delivering catty one liners between biting guitar lines, as she channels her inner Petty and her guitarist channels their inner Mike Campbell (“Silver Springs”, “Menagerie). “Only a Clown” is perhaps the best example of this to date. Co-written with The Jayhawks Gary Louris, the song bounds forward with a musical optimism that is buoyed by a chorus of “put your record on, let the band play a song/ all about love and believing”. Though the chorus belies the song’s angsty roots, you can’t help but sing along. And maybe that is why I can’t quite put my finger on Rose, because nothing makes quite as much sense as ‘I just can’t help but sing along.’

Everyone came, lanterns lit the way
And they all brought a bottle of wine
Guess you could say
That I came alone, and I thank you
For being so kind

Put your record on, let the band play the song
All about love and believing
Good for you, ‘cause if that’s true
Then it’s only a clown, that’s leaving

At the end of the night
All the ice has melted down
You’re picking up after everyone
Remember I came and went
And that no one says goodbye to a clown
They only laugh when he’s gone

And for your pleasure, here is a free download courtesy of our friends at ATO Records.

Audio Download: Caitlin Rose, “I Was Cruel”

We only intend to do these for ‘big’ records where we (and hopefully most Americana fans) have some context for discussing the record at issue.

Alternate names considered for this feature included the following:

Ruminations on the Transcendental Possibilities of Melodic Explorations

Three Jacka***s Talk About Records

Heavy Drinkin’, Easy Listenin’

Libya: What Should Have Happened

Sex on the Beach: How Country Music in the Age of Cultural Reproduction Creates a Temporal Vortex Allowing an Escape from out 21st century Existential Dilemma

Note: The last two were Todd and Kyle’s respectively.

ELI: All 15th Anniversary re-mastered, re-released, deluxe albums with demos, bonus tracks, and live bootleg from the era is essentially asking for that album to be reviewed from a historical perspective, right? So how do you guys feel about Too Far to Care and the Old 97’s a decade and a half removed from their major label debut?

KYLE: I’ve always loved Too Far To Care—it’s still my favorite Old 97’s record. It hits the sweet spot between their loud and loose country-punk careenings that their earlier records are known for and the more polished, power-pop oriented material that starts to show up on Fight Songs and Satellite Rides.

Thinking about it historically, though, I’m not sure the album has crystallized its canonical status as much as it just stands up as a good, sturdy rock record, much like the group still seems like a good, sturdy rock band. Rhett seems destined to continue writing a handful of great songs along with tunes that are just pretty good, with his sly humor and pop classicism simultaneously being part of the group’s appeal and (perhaps) one of the things which limits the level of fame and prestige they are going to get.

What’s perhaps more interesting (now that I’m thinking about it) is that Too Far To Care came out the same year as Whiskeytown’s Strangers Almanac and, if you were to look at the two in isolation and try to predict whether Rhett Miller or Ryan Adams would be more successful 15 years out, I think you would probably lean towards Rhett. Funny how things work out.

TODD: I was late to the Old 97’s party and didn’t come along until Satellite Rides, then went back and got Fight Songs, so Too Far To Care was never really on my radar. Going back and listening now, the album still sounds fresh (in an alt-country sense) but not groundbreaking or anything. I’m sure it was a big deal for the band and the alt-movement at the time though.

Kyle, the Adams/Miller comparison is quite interesting as Ryan apparently tried to get Rhett to have a feud in the press around that time. A Stones/ Beatles thing, that Rhett thought was stupid. (I’m currently reading Losering, A Story of Whiskeytown.)

ELI: Todd, you’re gonna have to let me borrow that when you’re done. I agree with both of you though.

It is fun to look at the 1997-2000 resurgence of alt. country music and try to place the significance of Too Far to Care. The obvious comparison is of course the emergence of Whiskeytown as the young guns coming on the scene (just as Lucinda Williams and Steve Earle were having late career renaissances and Son Volt and Wilco emerging from the ashes of Uncle Tupelo). However, I’d like to propose a slightly different thesis.

I think Too Far to Care is an outlier. While Tweedy, Farrar, Williams, and Earle were still loading on acoustic guitars and pedal steel flourishes, the Old 97’s were already flirting with bouncy 60’s era rock. I’m not saying that Wilco, Steve Earle, and the rest didn’t play rock and roll—because they did—, but they were still locked in country rock mode. The same can be said for Whiskeytown, which critics often accused of co-opting other alt. country sounds. Jeff Tweedy famously took a crack at Ryan Adams saying that “he [Adams] can have my old band’s sound.”

From this perspective, Too Far to Care is more ramshackle garage pop than another Gram Parsons interpretation. The record kicks off with “Time Bomb” and “Barrier Reef”, two songs that exist almost entirely on quick staccato guitar riffs. Rhett doesn’t pen classic country songs either. Whereas nearly all the artists I mentioned above have had numerous covers done of their work, you don’t see a love of Rhett Miller covers (“Question” being the exception that proves the rule and even that didn’t come out until Satellite Rides). I think this is in large part due to Miller’s tendency towards word play and playing with syntax rather than writing a straight ahead “Guitar Town” type of song.

I realize my whole argument falls apart pretty quickly, especially since songs like “W.X. Teardrops” and “Big Brown Eyes” are pretty ‘alt. country’. But I do think there is an argument to me made for Too Far to Care being somehow different.

KYLE: They have always kept a pretty garage rock approach in comparison to many of their contemporaries (you don’t see Rhett or Murray with an acoustic guitar too often, unless they are playing solo), but they are also in some ways the most traditional of the group as well, since they haven’t really incorporated any newer or more avant-garde influences into their approach, and they’ve always (with the possible exception of Satellite Rides) kept the twang alive in some form.

…and I’m supposed to be asking a question. Since we started off thinking about TFTC historically, let’s try to place it vis-à-vis The Grand Theater volumes that presumably represents the band better circa 2013. Personally I think the craft and arrangements are actually a bit more nuanced and thought –out, but that the songs and energy aren’t quite what they were.

TODD: I’ve always thought of the Old 97’s as pop-alt-country if there is such a thing. So Eli, I see where you’re coming from. They didn’t seem to take themselves as seriously as Whiskeytown, Uncle Tupelo, etc. It was fun/bouncy music even in heartache. Maybe Too Far To Care was a little early and didn’t get grouped with Smile or Summerteeth. In a production sense I can see similarities, but I think the Old 97’s aren’t near as depressing as Wilco or the Jayhawks.

Kyle, as far as where the Old 97’s are today as opposed to their earlier stuff, I don’t see much growth or change. They’re still kicking away with the pop-alt-country and don’t seem to have progressed very much beyond Satellite Rides. And I also think Miller has held some of his better songs for his solo releases.

ELI: I do see some evolution in sound, but the band’s later era-stuff (since Satellite Rides) actually sounds like they are trying to get back to their roots with a more unhinged alt. country sound as opposed to the pop perfection of Fight Songs and Satellite Rides. I think that the Grand Theatre albums could be interpreted as an attempt to filter their Too Far to Care sound through a Fight Songs-Satellite Rides style production, which I like. I don’t think they will ever make another record that matches up to their heyday (Too Far to Care-Fight Songs-Satellite Rides), but that is just the way things go (at least they aren’t doling out the boring stuff that Wilco has foisted upon us in the last decade or so).

Todd, I like your reference to Miller’s solo stuff, which has been pretty solid over the last couple years. I particularly enjoyed last year’s The Dreamer. It causes me to wonder what the last decade of Old 97’s records would have sounded like if Miller hadn’t been concurrently making solo records.

KYLE: I don’t appreciate your dig at Wilco, sir. Don’t appreciate it at all.

I also kind of think my question sets up a devolving music critic debate about what sort of “expectations” we have of a band—they should change some, but not too much, and only in particular ways. Not my favorite argument.

TODD: Bands should do whatever the hell they want and let the masses sort it out. I like Fight Songs/Satellite Rides, but can’t get through the Grand Theatre stuff as it bores me. But, who am I to judge? Anyway, I think it is my turn for a question. Who is your pick to win the National League East this year?

ELI: It’s really too bad the Rangers aren’t in the NL East, because that would dovetail nicely with the Old 97’s being such a Texas band. I’ll take the Nationals to repeat. Strasburg is gonna be healthy right? How is Atlanta looking?

KYLE: Go Gamecocks!

(That’s the extent of my baseball knowledge.)

TODD: I’ll say the Braves just to make it interesting. Because if you’re still reading this, you may want something interesting.

Todd Mathis writes for Twangville and fronts the alt. rock-country band American Gun (check their stuff out here). He also does occasional solo records that are pretty badass in their own right. In the early 2000s, Todd was the rhythm guitarist for the American/Brit-rock band Boxing Day, who were briefly signed to a major label. They got screwed by the label and Todd started writing country songs. Todd is responsible for introducing me to such mind blowing artists as Lucero, Cory Branan, Todd Snider, Chris Knight, and Townes Van Zandt.

Kyle Petersen is the music editor for arts magazine Jasper, freelance writer for alternative weekly The Free-Times, and a college radio DJ on WUSC-FM 90.5 in Columbia, SC. He’s also a PhD candidate at the University of South Carolina with a focus of southern literature. He’s pretty much single handedly responsible for what I listen to today, having introduced me to Wilco, the Drive-By Truckers, Whiskeytown, and Ryan Adams when we were in high school.

As for myself, I don’t have quite the resumes Kyle and Todd do, so let’s pretend I’m too humble to toot my own horn. I like my beer craft and my music loud.

Just who is Frank Turner?

This is the question that confronts the audience on a retrospective like Last Minutes and Lost Evenings. As applied here, it is not really an in your face question, because as retrospectives go this one isn’t exactly ambitious. Accompanied by a live DVD and intended more as a cliff notes way for new fans to delve into Turner’s back catalog, Last Minutes and Lost Evenings nevertheless can’t help but ask ‘who is Frank Turner.’

As it turns out, I don’t have much of an answer. This is surprising, because for the last two years Frank Turner has been my bible and my companion. I caught him live at the end of 2010 and became a fan. I received my pre-order of England Keep My Bones and became a disciple. I didn’t just buy the record. I joined the cult.

Turner writes all kinds of songs, anthems, emotional ballads, folk songs, and more often that not some amalgam of all three. He has the same heart-on-the-sleeve ethos as Ben Nichols and the same ability to write a rise-to-arms chorus as Craig Finn. But despite being obvious kindred spirits, neither the Hold Steady nor Lucero really work as musical comparison.

This may be because Turner is English and quintessentially so. In the same way that Nichols embodies Memphis and Finn will forever be identified with the Twin Cities (despite THS’s formation and residence in Brooklyn), it is difficult to separate Turner’s identity from his homeland. This is most obvious on 2011’s England Keep My Bones, where songs like “Rivers”, “English Curse”, and “Wessex Boy” pretty straightforwardly reference Turner’s homeland and the influence of classic English folk themes. However, none of these songs appear on Last Minutes and Lost Evenings. This is likely intentional.

Turner’s music may always set in England, but the real narrative is a personal one. Songs like “Photosynthesis”, “I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous”, “I Still Believe”, and “Try This At Home” literally converse with the listener and still allow Turner to crystallize his own guiding principles and vent his own insecurities. This songwriting method is really Turner’s trademark and likely what garners him an audience the size of which can fill Wembley Stadium (see the companion live DVD).

However, there is another side to Turner’s songwriting that can be easy to miss on first listen. Songs like “The Real Damage” and “The Ballad of Me and All My Friends” lack the optimism of Turner’s more rock n’ roll work (they also mark the only two songs in existence to un-obsequiously reference cell phones). These songs face a grim reality. The former is a morning after ballad that refuses even a hint of wistfulness. The latter is ruminates on the dead end nature of life (particularly as a folk artist playing dingy bars in West London), but does feature an excellent closing manifesto

None of this is going anywhere –
Pretty soon we’ll all be old,
And no one left alive will really care
About our glory days, when we sold our souls.

But if you’re all about the destination, then take a fucking flight.
We’re going nowhere slowly, but we’re seeing all the sights.
And we’re definitely going to hell,
But we’ll have all the best stories to tell.

Yes, I’m definitely going to hell,
But I’ll have all the best stories to tell.

So, just who is Frank Turner? He was educated at Eton, where he played punk rock and spit on Prince William. He later fronted an acclaimed hard-core band, the Million Dead. Then he became a folk rock hero, sold out Wembley Stadium, and moved onwards to world domination (the last part is just a guess). The rest is just “four four time”, “cheap, cheap rhymes”, and a “sound all [his] own.”

P.S. The live DVD that accompanies Last Minutes and Lost Evenings is the full length concert from Turner’s sell out show at Wembley. It features Turner’s backing band the Sleeping Souls, amazing guest backing vocals from Emily Barker and the Red Clay Halo, and a guest performance with Billy Bragg singing Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A Changin’”. However, my favorite moment is when Turner drags his mom on stage to guest on harmonica. Like most Live DVDs, it will likely only be enjoyed by fans, but the sound quality is excellent and the performances top notch. All of which means that if you are a fan, it is pretty much required viewing.

For more information on the cult that surrounds Frank Turner, check out the excellent fan site Dear Frank Turner.

2. Cory Branan- Mutt
It took Mr. Branan six full years to release this follow-up to his sophomore record 12 Songs. I won’t say it justified the wait, but damn if this generation’s best songwriter didn’t produce. Fans of Mr. Branan have been following his songwriting through live shows and bootlegs, so it wasn’t really a ‘new’ set of songs as much as it was about which songs would be recorded. Songs like “Survivor Blues”, “Badman”, “The Corner”, “Karen’s Song”, “Darken My Door”, “Yesterday”, and “Freefall” have been around for, in some cases, years and years. Still the recorded versions managed to live up to expectations and I actually quite enjoyed some of the new(er) tracks, especially “Lil’ Heartbreaker” and “Hold Me Down”. In the end, I was just hopelessly ravenous for a new Branan studio record.

3. Japandroids- Celebration Rock
This record is just so goddamn fun. Fans of anthemic rock and roll rejoice, the Japandroids put together these 8 tracks of pure unadulterated joy and provided 2012 with a sense of youthful abandon and optimism that indie rock desperately needed.

4. Dwight Yoakam- 3 Pears
The rules never seem to apply to Dwight Yoakam. This legendary figure of rock, country, and popular music released yet another classic album, his first set of originals in 7 years. I’ll even forgive him “Waterfalls”. There are a couple classic cuts on this one including “Take Hold of My Hand”, “Nothing But Love”, and “It’s Never Alright”.

5. Joe Pug- The Great Despiser
If Cory Branan isn’t the songwriter of our generation, then Joe Pug is. He seems to increase the mastery of his craft with every album. The title track is killer, as is the closing cover “Deep Dark Wells”.

6. Alabama Shakes- Boys and Girls
I reviewed the Shakes EP when the band were still youthful upstarts opening up for the Drive-By Truckers. It was like discovering manna in the desert. By the time Boys and Girls came out this year, expectations were astronomically high. The band met them. Here’s to Brittany Howard and company, bringing soul music back to the masses (or at least hardened music critics).

7. Andrew Combs- Worried Man
This kid is building a slow buzz, but his mature and soulful country-rock songs make me think the buzz won’t be fading anytime soon. I’ve loved this record all year, especially the gorgeous “Please, Please, Please”.

8. Bettye LaVette- Thankful N’ Thoughtful
Though perhaps not quite as stunning as her career comeback records, I’ve Got My Own Hell to Raise and The Scene of the Crime, this record was cut in the same vein, both musically and song choice wise. On the whole, this set is much preferable to her take on the British song book with 2010’s Interpretations. Key Tracks: “Crazy”, “I’m Not the One”, and “Dirty Old Town”.

9. American Aquarium- Burn. Flickr. Die.
I’ve been following this Raleigh, NC band since seeing them live in the summer of 2007. This is easily their best record. With a sound that recalls a southern Bruce Sprinsteen and lyrics that split the difference between the Drive-By Truckers and Lucero, it’s easy to see how this band gains fans one gig at a time.

10. Shovels & Rope- O’ Be Joyful
It is so much fun to see this band from my hometown achieve some success. Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent finally gave in and made their guitar, drums, and boot-stomping duo show a permanent arrangement. Along with their trusty pooch Townes, they toured the country and wowed audiences while opening up for the likes of Jason Isbell, Hayes Carll, and the Lumineers. In between tour dates, they record this record (literally, they recorded much of the record in their tour van and various hotel rooms). Enjoy.

11. The Gaslight Anthem- Handwritten
A powerful record from an important band, but side two gets a little boring.

12. Lucero- Women and Work
I love it, but the songs are not quite as memorable as Lucero’s best. Though still my favorite band, this one didn’t blow me away.

13. Neil Young- Psychedelic Pill
Neil. Young. And. Crazy. Horse. Their best record since Ragged Glory.

14. Chris Knight- Little Victories
Another solid record from the Slaughtersville, KY native (I can’t help writing the name of Knight’s home town every time I mention him). The sound is electric and ragged and drew me in immediately. The songs are solid to great, highlighted by “Nothing On Me”.

15. Rhett Miller- The Dreamer
My favorite Rhett solo record since The Instigator.

16. Joey Kneiser- Moonlight For the Graveyard Heart
Usually I don’t include EPs on this list, but that is a stupid rule. Joey Kneiser’s second home-recorded solo record is full of bruised brilliance.

17. Fiona Apple- The Idler…..(the rest of the title is too long to remember)
This is as bare bones a Fiona Apple record as I can imagine her making. A haunting, personal statement, even casual Apple fans should check this record out.

18. The Mastersons- Birds Fly South
A really cool record from this husband and wife duo, Birds Fly South has a very Jayhawks-ey sound and some excellent songs. Check out “The Other Shoe” and “One Word More”.

19. Justin Townes Earle- NGCTWYFAMN
This should probably appear higher on my list, but what can I do. I liked this record, but only ‘liked’ it. Justin Townes Earle remains one of my favorite artists.

20. Sons of Bill- Sirens
Solid record from this Charlottesville, VA band. Fans of anthemic Americana rock music may find their new favorite band.

21. Old Crow Medicine Show- Carry Me Back
It is great to have OCMS back in the saddle after the disappointing Tennessee Pusher. This record arrived with little fanfare and felt like the most organic record OCMS has put out since hitting the bigtime with their self-titled record. Check out “Levi”.

22. The Wallflowers- Glad All Over
I will always have a soft spot for this band and will defend nearly all of their albums from criticism (warranted or unwarranted). I really liked the evolution of their sound on this one as Jakob Dylan finally shows off that love of the Clash that he is always talking about. “Misfits and Lovers” is vintage Wallflowers.

23. Gary Clark Jr.- Blak and Blu
Austin, TX guitar god shows he’s got more than just chops.

24. John Hiatt- Mystic Pinball
Perhaps not as strong as his last couple of releases, this is still pretty damn strong. Opening track “We’re Alright Now” may be my favorite song of the year.

25. The Lumineers- S/T
Quiet, yet loud, this debut record from The Lumineers bears repeat listening. Try to get past the ubiquitous of “Ho, Hey” and you’ll find some compelling tunes. It will be interesting to see where they go from here.

26. Josh Roberts and the Hinges- Mighty Old Distance and Murky Old Time
Columbia, SC’s very own version of Neil Young and Crazy Horse finds the sweet spot on this set of 8 tunes.

27. Bob Dylan- Tempest
What an excellent record from this unknown songwriter. “Pay In Blood” is a killer.

28. Norah Jones- Little Broken Hearts
Don’t know how this one fell so low on my list, but I’m too lazy to move it up. Norah Jones is perhaps the most under-rated singer songwriter out there. This Danger Mouse produced record simmers with the same intensity of Jones’s best work, yet pulses with a modern sound that makes the record seem urban (which is to say the scene is a city, rather than a beach or countryside).

29. Kathleen Edwards- Voyageur
Bon Iver produces Ms. Edwards 4th album and adds his haunting touch to it. This ended up being a pretty good match, as her voice is just as mystical as his reverb.

30. Bruce Springsteen- Wrecking Ball
The Boss killed it. “Wrecking Ball” is one of my favorite Bruce songs.

and the rest…..
31. Red Collar- Welcome Home
32. Otis Gibbs- Harder Than Hammered Hell
33. Tift Merritt- Traveling Alone
34. Leeroy Stagger- Radiant Land
35. The Whigs- Enjoy the Company
36. Jkutchma & the Five Fifths- Pastoral
37. The Field Report- The Field Report
38. Mumford and Sons- Babel
39. Micah Schnabel- I’m Dead, Serious
40. Patterson Hood- Heat Lightning Rumbles In the Distance
41. Miranda Lambert- Four the Record
42. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes- Here
43. Todd Snider- Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables
44. Wrinkle Neck Mules- Apprentice to the Mules
45. Craig Finn- Clear Heart, Full Eyes
46. Sara Watkins- Sun Midnight Sun
47. Anthony da Costa- Secret Handshake
48. Truckstop Darlin’- Hope and the Heart
49. Caleb Caudle- Tobacco Road
50. Nude Beach- II

Click here for more Twangville Best of 2012 coverage.

OK. I am not afraid to admit that I get emotional. I cry like a girl in movies. (I apologize for any politically incorrect sexism. None was intended.) Music can have the same effect on me. Jason Isbell is one of the few musicians who has stopped me in my tracks and made me cry. It actually happened twice. The first came when I heard “Dress Blues”. The second was when I heard “Alabama Pines” and was reminded of my childhood and teenage years. The album was recorded at Workplay Theater in Birmingham, a place where I have seen many great live shows. The venue was designed with acoustics as the driving principle and it shows on this recording. The raw emotion that embodies Isbell’s live shows is front and center.

The recording focuses on the songwriter side of Isbell. It also showcases the talent of his band, The 400 Unit. The one cover on the recording, “Heart on a String”, is flawless and reminiscent of his upbringing near Muscle Shoals. Many live recordings are uneven, but not in this case. Every song on “Live from Alabama” is a keeper. It is hard to single out one particular song as a highlight. My favorite Isbell song “Outfit”, from his Trucker days, does not disappoint. The two above mentioned songs are as impactful live as in the studio. (i.e. they can still make a sap like me sob.) If there is one stand out, it is the Country and Soul drenched “Cigarettes and Wine”. All in all “Live from Alabama” is sure to end up in many listeners heavy rotations.

Photo By: Suzanne McMahon

We only intend to do these for ‘big’ records where we (and hopefully most Americana fans) have some context for discussing the record at issue.

Alternate names considered for the feature included the following:

Ruminations on the Transcendental Possibilities of Melodic Explorations

Three Jacka***s Talk About Records

Heavy Drinkin’, Easy Listenin’

Libya: What Should Have Happened

Sex on the Beach: How Country Music in the Age of Cultural Reproduction Creates a Temporal Vortex Allowing an Escape from out 21st century Existential Dilemma

Note: The last two were Todd’s and Kyle’s respectively.

If anyone likes any of these better or wants to nominate their own suggestion, comment below or shoot me an email at eli@twangville.com.

ELI: This is my first exposure to the new 4 piece line-up without guitarist Brown Lollar. What do you guys think of the new line-up/sound?

TODD: Kyle and I saw him a little over a year ago in Columbia as a 4-piece. I think it was this new line-up but I can’t be for certain. I’ve always been a fan of Jason’s songwriting and this stuff sounds pretty filled out to me…although another guitar wouldn’t hurt, especially when Jason solos I think it loses a bit of “umph.”

KYLE: That’s one of the first things I noticed listening to this record—while I think the reduced lineup works really well for some of the lighter fare Isbell has been writing lately, the lack of a fuller sound on tunes like “Decoration Day” really seems to take away a lot of the sonic might that really defines a lot of these songs. That being said, I think this might be my favorite version of “Danko/Manuel.”

ELI: Yep. First impressions were that Isbell was noodling a little much (on “Decoration Day”), but some of the songs sound absolutely gorgeous with just the one guitar (“Danko/Manual” and “In A Razor Town”). I also agree with Kyle on the evolution of Isbell’s sound. The DBT stuff will always sound a little less ‘rocking’ without the three guitar line up. However, the more soulful nature of Isbell’s better solo work is highlighted by the more minimal treatment. I even prefer the live versions of “In a Razor Town”, “Heart on A String”, “Cigarettes and Wine”, and “Dress Blues” over their recorded iterations.

TODD: The live “Dress Blues” is cool, but I think I’ll stick with the studio version. That was a powerful song when I first heard it. This record was pretty Trucker-heavy but I guess with only 3 solo records it had to be. And let’s face it, those are some of his best songs. How do you guys think his songwriting has evolved?

KYLE: He’s definitely still writing strong songs today, but I kind of buy the argument that the first six tunes he recorded with DBT (from Decoration Day and The Dirty South) are also still really his best, with the possible exception of “Never Gonna Change,” which was a bit paint-by-numbers even if it did one-up Patterson Hood at his own game. I don’t think this feeling is because of craft or even of subject matter though, but rather that the kind of songwriter Isbell has wanted to be seems to have evolved a bit over time, with an emphasis on genre-hopping and sonic shifts, which has led to writing which just doesn’t have the same sort of impact as his early work. He’s at his best as a songwriter with an acoustic guitar on solo records, and seems to lose a lot of identity when he straps on the electric. Those DBT songs really saw him harnessing all of his talents in a way I don’t think we’ve really seen since. I feel like I’m beating around the bush a bit with those comments, but hopefully that makes sense.

ELI: Damn Kyle, that’s the sort of meandering answer that I usually give. But, I do see your point. I think it’s a constant game us Isbell fans play, asking ourselves rhetorically why every song he writes isn’t “Outfit” or “The Day John Henry Died”. Listening to Here We Rest, I think I finally got over that hurdle and quit the little comparison game. I thought that record sounded well worn and comfortable in a way that the self-titled record never did, which got me to thinking about what I really expected/wanted from a Jason Isbell solo record.

Isbell’s writing with DBT (and I think most people do what Kyle did and just ignore A Blessing and A Curse) was great because he gave us that sense of place and character that made those records great. To make some sort of grand statement about the evolution of Isbell’s songwriting, you have to start form the premise that he doesn’t do that anymore or perhaps has been doing less of it. I just don’t think that premise lives up to any sort of scrutiny.

Sirens of the Ditch was recorded before Isbell left the Truckers and should be considered in that context. It was a side-project of songs that Isbell was recording knowing that his space was limited on a Trucker’s record. That leaves us only two albums for comparison, the self titled record and Here We Rest. While I think the self-titled record is the weaker of the two, it still has songs like “Seven Mile Island”, which I think would have been a DBT classic. Here We Rest has songs like “Alabama Pines”, “We’ve Met”, and “Codeine”, all of which could be described as character studies. So maybe Isbell’s writing hasn’t evolved in the way we are thinking. Maybe it’s not a massive evolution. Maybe these three things are true, 1) Jason Isbell is simply maturing as a writer, 2) he still writes the same number of ‘DBT’ songs, and 3) he also writes a bunch of other kinds of songs.

TODD: Lofty responses indeed gents. I think your 1, 2, 3 response is true Eli. He’s just branching out more and sometimes that can be hard for the listener, and even more so given that we were introduced to Isbell in the context of Decoration Day and Dirty South. And if we’re being honest here, it is always tough on artists when their first recognized work is seen as successful. If the listener liked that, they are always going to be biased and go back to that for comparisons no matter how good/fresh/new the “mature” stuff is.

KYLE: Todd makes a good point about old/new comparisons that we probably should take to heart when it comes to Isbell. I think he opens himself up to it, though, by going so DBT-heavy here on the live album. And even setting that aside, what’s up with this selection of solo songs? One of my little quibbles with Isbell’s solo shows has always been the amount of what is (in my mind) fairly excellent material he passes over for just-okay songs. Do we really need to hear him do “The Blue” or “TVA” instead of, say, “Codeine” or “The Magician”? I hate to be an armchair quarterback, but…well, I guess I’m doing it anyway.

ELI: Hmm. I actually don’t have many quibbles with the track selection. I actually quite like “TVA” and thought “The Blue” was one of the better songs from the self-titled record. I was also happy to have “Goddamn Lonely Love” and “Decoration Day” on there. In fact, I would have supported more DBT stuff on there. Especially with the new line-up, I think presenting the DBT songs in a new context makes sense. It kind of puts the Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit brand on them.

My only real issue is why give us only one thirteen track CD? Why not whole hog and do a 2 CD set that go gives the real feeling of a live show? My guess is that the answer to that question has more to do with vinyl and offering a more digestible record. Come to think of it, I should get this record on vinyl.

TODD: Vinyl smynl. I don’t have the room for it. Let him keep a good band together for 2 or 3 years, then give us the double live album encompassing everything.

KYLE: I think I’d lean a bit more on Todd’s side here. Having seen Isbell a fair amount over the last few years, this definitely sounds like a band still in transition, which (come to think of it) so does Here We Rest. I know he won a lot of praise and awards for that record, but I’m not sure he’s really given us his masterpiece yet. There’s probably a better live record down the road, unless he gets Ryan Adams-itis.

On the other hand, and contrary to my griping earlier, I tend to believe that live albums are documents that can tell a particular story about a band or artist that can’t really be told in the studio. And this record does that admirably I think—it notes the lighter, more diverse approaches Isbell has taken over his solo career, the sonic shifts in the 400 Unit, and the still overwhelming shadow that DBT casts over the whole thing. So whatever else we think of it, its arguably the most honest live document he can give us that establishes where Jason Isbell the artist is, circa 2012.

Photo By: Suzanne McMahon

Every once in awhile a voice comes along that is stunning in its capacity to evoke the spirit of Americana. Andrew Combs is one of those voices. Equal parts Gram Parsons, Richard Manual (The Band), and John Hiatt, Combs exists in the gothic American sweet spot somewhere in the midst of country, soul, and rock n’ roll. It’s one thing to have talent, but what makes Combs debut album Worried Man special beyond the ordinary is its maturity. You really aren’t supposed to be this good on your debut. Here are my 5 Likes/Dislikes for Worried Man.

1. DISLIKE- Why on earth didn’t Mr. Combs sleep out on Emmylou Harris’s door step until she agreed to duet with him on “Please, Please, Please”? On several songs Combs conjures up the ghost of the immortal Gram Parsons. None of these songs are more elegant than “Please, Please, Please”, which, at least in my mind, begs for Mrs. Harris’s gorgeous background vocals. Don’t get me wrong, this song is still stunning, but I always want what I can’t have.

2. LIKE- Combs lives up to expectations. In 2010, Combs released an EP entitled Tennessee Time that was easily one of my favorite records of that year. Between the title track, “Too Stoned to Cry”, and a cover of “Dark End of the Street”, I was hooked. I played the record so much that I figured the full length would cause at least some let down (a similar thing happened when the Alabama Shakes full length came out after their impeccable 4 song EP debut). Instead, we get a debut record on par with Chris Knight’s 1998 self titled debut.

3. LIKE- Combs diversifies his sound. The Tennessee Time EP kept things in a more folky-soulful vein. It was gorgeous, but the sound was unlikely to hold up over a full length. No worries, Worried Man has variety in spades. From the bluesy thump of “Big Bad Love” to the 70′s folk rock of “Runnin’ You Out of My Mind”, Combs keeps things consistently interesting. Furthermore, Combs’ backing band, who are ridiculously good in a kind of obscene manner, channel the spirit of perhaps the greatest American(a) band, The Band. Particularly on “Take It From Me” and “Why Oh Why”, the band finds the ebullient raucousness of Levon and the Hawks at their finest.

4. LIKE- The inclusion of the standout “Too Stoned to Cry”. Combs could have included the entire Tennessee Time EP and I wouldn’t have held it against him. Instead, he opted for the inclusion of only a single song. Who wouldn’t want the opportunity to sing lines like “whiskey and wine and pills for the pain/ fast easy women and a little cocaine/ I’m walking the line between hell-bent and high/ I ain’t happy, just too stoned to cry” as much as possible.

5. LIKE- RIYL, old Stax 45s, the Sun sessions, spilling whiskey on sticky floors