and set about introducing it to the country's college kids. Four decades later, the members of OCMS fit the profile of those early revivalists, yet if anything they have tapped deeper into the primal elements of an American art form. As demonstrated on their debut, they have assimilated not just the sound--banjos, harmonicas, acoustic guitar and bass--but more importantly the haunting spirit of music that was made to keep hard times at bay. How else to explain their ability to take a well-worn chestnut like "CC Rider" and infuse it with an energy that reveals once again why it is a classic? Not content to live completely in the past, they wrote "Big Time in the Jungle," which, though it is about Vietnam, could easily be transposed to 2004's de...  (less)

Dallas, TX, in the early ‘90s. Their early singles and 1994 indie debut disc, Hitchhike To Rhome led to a trio of critically acclaimed and crowd-pleasing albums for Elektra, beginning with 1997’s stellar Too Far To Care and running through 2001’s Satellite Rides.  (less)

songwriter Bobby Braddock, also contains quite a few harder-hitting, meatier tunes. "Old Red," for instance, is a twangy and resolutely down-home prison tale that Shelton imbues with growling tongue-in-cheek humor. "Same Old Song" is a subtle but soulful Braddock-penned putdown of the current state of country music, to which Shelton brings all the passion and conviction the song deserves. On the socially conscious "Problems at Home" (which Blake cowrote with Billy Montana and Don Ellis), the young singer laments far weightier issues, like school shootings and the destruction of the Amazon rain forests, with similar fervency. On these songs and others, the twenty-something neo-honk-tonker shows just the kind of musical vis...  (less)

before those terms existed. Each decade, he's been captured onstage, beginning with 1980's Live Shots and 1990's Live at Liberty Lunch , making 2000 the right time for number three. These muscular performances, recorded at Austin's famous roots-music club, show Ely's dauntless energy undiminished by time. Roaring performances of "Me and Billy the Kid," "Everybody Got Hammered," "All Just to Get to You," and his ebullient, gender-bent satire "Nacho Mama" make these old favorites seem new and fresh. Jimmie Dale Gilmore's "Dallas" revisits Ely's days in the Flatlanders with Gilmore and Butch Hancock, and his comparable good taste extends to his masterful interpretations of Tom Russell's cockfight epic "Gallo del Cielo" and Robert Earl...  (less)

unsuccessful results. "I Don't Have to Be Me (‘Til Monday)," an Everyman's exuberant celebration of calling in sick at work, scored at radio, and there's plenty more here, including the love ballad "Lay Your Heart Next to Mine," that could follow. But Azar's more interesting songs (some cowritten with producer Rafe Van Hoy) go the pared-down, Todd Snider route. "Damn the Money," for instance, a rockin' little shuffle about that elusive green stuff, could show up in a discussion in No Depression , as could "The Underdog." Azar isn't going to win awards for his serviceable vocals, but he may turn heads with the title track, which starts out as a likeable blue-collar lament and turns into a modern-day "Wreck of the Old '97." If that's not a bridge between mus...  (less)

- so much so that frequent listeners consider them "regulars." They were featured performers in Robert Altman's 2006 major motion picture based on the show. A Prairie Home Companion has been such an important part of their musical career, it is fitting that the Williams' first true retrospective is a collection of live performances on the show. Culled from their on-air appearances over decades, RADIO SONGS includes original favorites and cover songs by some of their songwriting heroes, including The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, Charlie Poole and Lefty Frizzell. Digging deep into their personal catalog, they include songs dating back to 1977 ("Restless One") to tunes never recorded, like the often requested "50,000 Names," which was origina...  (less)

Larry The Cable Guy s Old-Time Radio Show Christmastime in Larryland. Joined by country stars Trace Adkins, Cowboy Troy and T.G. Sheppard, Larry indulges in a fantasy about having his own Christmas radio special.  (less)

Made Some of the Best Downhome Country Music of the 1940s - and the Best of it is Included on this CD. Merle Travis' Amplified Guitar is a Highlight of Many of the Tracks, with Some of his Solos Proving Hot Enough to Be Considered a Prototype for the Following Decade's Rockabilly. As Well as the Jones/Travis 'duets', "Steppin' Out Kind" also features Many Cuts which Highlight Jones' Clawhammer Banjo Style - Including the First Version of his Massive Hit 'old Rattler'. Also Included Are Some Rare Duets with Grandpa's King Labelmates the Delmore Brothers and Cowboy Copas, None of which have Ever Been Reissued in 'directly from the Acetates' Sound Before Now.  (less)

two days in New Mexico, just four years before Travis's death. Travis coproduced the sessions, and the results, if never equal to his classic Capitol sides from the '40s and '50s, are still well worth hearing. At 62 years old, Travis could still pick with agility and grace, and his electric and acoustic runs show the joy he must have felt revisiting his classics with friends Herb Remington, Johnny Gimble, and Curly Hollingsworth (among others) along for the ride. No fancy overdubs, no overproduction, just stone country music. Absenting any other overview of the Kentuckian's best songs, this set suffices and charms in its own right. --Roy Kasten  (less)

such as Uncle Dave Macon, Sam McGee, and Dr. Humphrey Bate. They formed the foundation for the Grand Ole Opry's early years and, as evidenced here, they hark back to a less commercial time in country music--when virtuosity and free-spirited playing meant more than gloss and record sales. Macon's banjo technique is well documented, but his handful of tracks here steal the show: "Railroadin' & Gamblin,'" "I'm Goin' Away in the Morn," and "Oh Baby, You Done Me Wrong" (where McGee lends some banjo-guitar accompaniment that sounds downright calypso). A meditative fiddle solo by another uncle, Uncle Bunt Stephens, is mesmerizing for its stark beauty. Meanwhile, the driving violin and harmonica leads of Dr. Humphrey Bate & His Possum Hun...  (less)

wealth of talent in one town? Blame it on the Grand Ole Opry. Cashing in on the early-20th-century passion for "traditional" American music, the radio show featured a motley bunch of personalities who only had one thing in common: they could play the hell out of their fiddles, guitars, harmonicas, or banjos. Listening to Deford Bailey play "Ice Water Blues" and "Alcoholic Blues" on his harmonica, you realize that old-time music isn't as much a sound or genre (Bailey freely mixes elements of the blues with white string-band styles) as a state of mind--stripped-down musicians playing their hearts out. Uncle Jimmy Thompson's fiddle style is just as lyrical and intense as Bailey's harp blowing; it's another highlight here (especially his narration on "Uncle Jimmy's Favorite F...  (less)

show clearly on his first kids recording. By the Light of the Moon is most surely a country recording, but it has all the driving rhythmic energy of an elegantly mastered rock album. The drums sound fat and still crisp, the guitars bright. Daniels's voice, especially during the interludes where he speaks about the music, reveals a timeworn huskiness that will charm kids looking for a cowboy to sing to them. The songs emphasize the old, with "John Henry" and "I'm an Old Cowhand" standing out. The latter includes Daniels playing short fiddle solos that cut a nice, fresh path through the tune. A sonically splashy session indeed, By the Light of the Moon has enough old-timey vibrance to merit a spot in any roots-oriented kids collection. --And...  (less)