are real-world tales of a rambling drifter and fighter with a bum pickin' hand (broken on a drunken dare) and broken teeth (shot out during a run-in with the law). The cover illustration by R. Crumb and the photos enclosed within hardly hint at Poole's being one of country music's earliest outlaws--rather, they portray him as a coiffed businessman-cum-banjo. It is in the three discs and the 35-page booklet that we begin to see a true picture of Charlie Poole. Though he didn't write the songs, he sang his rough-and-tumble life in the ones he chose: "Can I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight Mister?," "Husband and Wife Were Angry One Night," and "I'm the Man That Rode the Mule 'Round the World." These are songs of a simple and stubborn man in tryi...  (less)

Earle, Schuyler Fisk, Phylis Geller, Tom T. Hall, Jason And The Scorchers, Diana Jones, The Klezmatics, Celeste Krenz, Kathy Mattea, Natalie Merchant, Willie Nelson, John Prine, John Prine and Bonnie Raitt, Public Outcry, Jean Ritchie, Gillian Welch and Jason Wilber.  (less)

affair he shared for Country & Western music. It vastly expanded his pop demographic and made countless new country converts by giving these 24 songs a soul-steeped urban dimension.  (less)

Santaolalla, Warren Zevon, Leo Kottke, Kim Carnes, The Bellamy Brothers, Mac Davis, and Cat Power. "North Country - Music From The Motion Picture" also features Tell Ol' Bill, a new track from Bob Dylan only found on this incredible collection of songs.  (less)

Town Hall and Tomorrow The Green Grass) and numerous U.S. tours, Olson parted company in 1995, leaving Louris to carry on with a revolving lineup of bandmates, releasing the critically acclaimed albums Sound Of Lies, Smile and Rainy Day Music. But that wasn't to signal the end of Olson and Louris' partnership. The duo reunited for three songs on Olson's 2007 solo album The Salvation Blues, and they decided to continue working together under their own names. An album, Ready For The Flood, was released by New West this past January. With Olson and Louris currently on the road performing both new songs and classic Jayhawks tracks, the time is right to release the Jayhawks' first-ever compilation. Music From The North Country: The Jayhawks A...  (less)

debuted in '67. Simultaneously the most political and funniest of all the Northern California bands, the Fish's yippie-hippie philosophy was reflected in songs like "Superbird" (about Lyndon Johnson), "Flying High" (about getting you-know-what), and the bluesy free love saga, "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine." That they could periodically wax serious as well (the wide-angled instrumental "Section Forty Three" and the moody "Bass Strings") only added more bite to their satiric pungency. --Billy Altman  (less)

Town Hall and Tomorrow The Green Grass) and numerous U.S. tours, Olson parted company in 1995, leaving Louris to carry on with a revolving lineup of bandmates, releasing the critically acclaimed albums Sound Of Lies, Smile and Rainy Day Music. But that wasn't to signal the end of Olson and Louris' partnership. The duo reunited for three songs on Olson's 2007 solo album The Salvation Blues, and they decided to continue working together under their own names. An album, Ready For The Flood, was released by New West this past January. With Olson and Louris currently on the road performing both new songs and classic Jayhawks tracks, the time is right to release the Jayhawks' first-ever compilation. Music From The North Country: The Jayhawk...  (less)