I have consciously avoided all the ancestors of Alternative Country such as Neil Young, Gram Parsons and The Flying Burrito Brothers. I have also chosen to include into the compilation only artists whose music I have followed and feel quite familiar with to write about it; obviously there is tons of great stuff out there. Hopefully this list will urge you to discover it.
1. The Gun Club - Idiot Waltz (1993)
The late Jeffrey Lee Pierce was the founder, leader and songwriter of The Gun Club, a great band who was sadly ignored at its time. They were a significant part of the 80's US alternative scene. Two of their albums were produced by Blondie's Chris Stein and Cocteau Twins' Robin Guthrie; they toured with Siouxsie and the Banshees and Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds (guitarist Kid Congo Powers was a founding member of The Gun Club before joining The Bad Seeds). Still, they never reached the popularity of their peers.
Jeffrey Lee Pierce was a true bluesman down to his heart, but he enriched the blues idiom with raw punk energy, rockabilly rhythms and even country touches. The best testament of Gun Club's sound remains their now-classic debut Fire of Love (supposedly recorded within two days), best exemplified in titles such as "She's Like Heroin to Me", "Ghost on the Highway", and "Sex Beat". I preferred to include in the compilation the haunting country-tinged ballad "Idiot Waltz" from their swansong Lucky Jim, where Pierce sounds more devastated and resigned than ever: gone is the sexual lust and full force of their debut, now replaced with Pierce singing "Turn on the headlights for the Idiot Waltz, turn on the lights, watch us fall", or the line "Your body don't get me off no more, it takes a lot of smack to do that", openly pointing at his addiction.
Pierce sadly passed away at 38 from post-surgery brain hemorrhage, after a stroke caused by a blood clot sent him to coma, but his music legacy remains intact.
2. Tarnation - Halfway to Madness (1995)
Paula Frazer is one of my favourite female singers. She is the founder, leader and songwriter of Tarnation, a band who is the primary reason I started to search more about Alternative Country. She was singing traditional American music from an early age, namely religious hymns and gospels, in the process training and stretching her vocal cords. Her exquisite voice is as light as a feather, but incredibly emotive; her range is truly impressive and when she employs her otherwordly yodelling it sounds like nothing else in indie music.
Tarnation's short career contains only two albums, Gentle Creatures and Mirador, released during the 90's in the famous 4AD label. Their music was aptly described by Mojo magazine as "Judy Garland romanticism in a world inhabited by Reservoir Dogs."
I honestly could not decide which song to include in this compilation, but finally I opted for "Halfway to Madness" from Gentle Creatures, a touchstone album for Alternative Country. Its songs are full of dark, romantic imagery, an ever-present lurking atmosphere of despair and sorrow, and with the aching lap-steel guitar in a prominent role. But it's Frazer's vocals that will haunt you forever: in "Halfway to Madness", her yodelling comes in to close each chorus and finally the song (a pattern Tarnation often employ).
The opening trio of "Game of Broken Hearts", "Halfway to Madness" and "The Well" sets the tone perfectly from the start: "There's nothing you give that's not dangerous or cold. Is that there is to a game of broken hearts?" , or "When I met you halfway to a place we call madness, with a rock in my heart, I sank in despair" or "So long, good-bye, to that great moaning sky and I'll cast my heart down the well". Frazer obviously has issues of the heart.
Mirador released two years later featured lots of surf, heavily-reverbed guitar clearly influenced from spaghetti Western soundtracks, thereby expanding their sound and making it more electric - although one has to listen this album in order to understand what "electric" means in Tarnation's case.This album contains the undisputed highlight of their career (and their most famous song) "Your Thoughts and Mine", with its Mexican Mariachi horns, a Spanish guitar solo, a great chorus and a powerful crescendo for finale with -again- Frazer's unforgettable yodelling on top.
I didn't miss the chance to see her solo performance -just her and her acoustic guitar- in Athens' small Rodeo Club in 2009: there, a total of around 150 people were not only obviously enchanted by her unique, amazing voice, but also from Paula Frazer herself, such a calm, down-to-earth, slightly shy but so lovely person.
3. Grant Lee Buffalo - Fuzzy (1993)
This 90's L.A band had a moderate hit in indie world with this song from their debut. In Grant Lee Phillips they had a great frontman and songwriter and their live performances gave them an edge over other country-and-folk influenced bands at the time. Their sound was centered around Phillips's twelve-string electric-acoustic guitar and his powerful, resonant voice. The chorus of "Fuzzy" remains one of the best moments of 90's music, still as original and impressive as the first time you heard it. You have to listen to the live version of the song though to fully appreciate its power: Phillips sings no words, just the song's main melodic line in a spectacular falsetto, while at the same time his guitar plays the same riff with a heavily distorted sound in a high octave; no difference to the album's version here. But it's Paul Kimble's bass that totally blows your mind, as it turns into a monster with the use of a distortion pedal. This is an explosion similar -and dare I say equal- to the chorus of Radiohead's "Creep", no less. Grant Lee Buffalo never reached that early peak again, but "Fuzzy" remains unforgettable.
4. The Walkabouts - Long Time Here (1993)
These guys from Seattle have a long career behind them. They were almost completely ignored in their country where their albums couldn't even get released, but on the contrary so loved across the Atlantic that somewhere in the mid-90's they were even in regular airplay in MTV Europe (remember "The Light Will Stay On"). However, they never reached the commercial success levels of the famous Seattle grunge bands, primarily because their sound was never in- or out-of date: Walkabouts' music covers a vast area of what is loosely called "Americana", as they play a mix of alternative rock, country and folk.
Walkabouts' principal songwriter Chris Eckman shared vocal duties with his partner Carla Torgerson (apparently they were met when both were working in a salmon canning factory in Alaska!), usually alternating the main vocals song after song in their albums. Interestingly, their voices couldn't be further apart: Eckman's is low, darker, unrefined, "like pouring honey over gravel" as Melody Maker wrote in its review of Setting the Woods on Fire in 1994; Carla's voice is lighter, folky, much more melodic.
Within two years in 1993 and 1994, The Walkabouts released their masterpieces: New West Motel, the covers album Satisfied Mind and Setting the Woods on Fire.
New West Motel is the album where the band's dichotomy is best showcased. One one hand you get grungey rock anthems with the Neil-Young-ish gritty overdriven guitar tone which Chris Eckman prefers, such as "Sundowner" with its catchy fiddle riff, "Sweet Revenge", and their classic single "Jack Candy". On the other hand, you get plaintive folk/country ballads enriched with piano, accordion or mandolin, such as "Wondertown", and my choice for this compilation "Long Time Here", with Carla Torgerson's yearning lead vocal: "But your hell is hotter than the typical thirst and in Vegas the ice is not cheap".
Unfortunately I never saw The Walkabouts live, even though they came many times in Greece as they were always popular here; however, I did saw Chris and Carla (their acoustic side-project) in a tiny Athens cafe-bar called "Hartes" around ten years ago, where they played a mindblowing ten-minute version of Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer".
5. Richmond Fontaine - Western Skyline (2002)
The Portland-based alternative country band is the first on the list that is still active. Their frontman Villy Vlautin is an acclaimed fiction writer, a fact explaining the often narrative style and vivid imagery of their songs: their album The Fitzgerald for example was written after Vlautin stayed for two weeks in the Fitzgerald Casino Hotel in Reno (he was actually born and lived in Reno until his mid-twenties before moving to Portland). Vlautin's heroes are drunks, gamblers, murderers, a fascinating tableau of characters remindful of writers such as Charles Bukowski and Raymond Carver. No wonder then that Vlautin cites as his principal music influences Tom Waits and Bruce Springsteen, whose songwriting has also being compared to fiction writing.
"Western Skyline" is the closing song on Richmond Fontaine's 2002 album Winnemucca and is the first song of theirs I heard. In an interview on the "Comes with a Smile" website Vlautin said for the song:
"I wrote that song for my uncle Bill. He died in a hunting accident in 1968. He was 18. He fell on his gun and it went off. His friend held him in his arms until he died. I used to fish the Truckee river all the time, and where I'd go was right by where he died. And every time I'd be there he'd appear in my mind. For years. He was supposedly a great kid. I was named after him, he was my godfather. I used to sit there and think about the poor kid who had to hold him. What would you say to your dying friend, how would you say it? So I'd go around and around
about it, and in the end I felt I'd tell him a drunkard's dream. That where he was going there was a golden light, that there were women who were gentle and kind, and everything had a nice light to it, and we'd be walking downtown having a good time."
The song's tragic storyline is hidden behind a deceptively beautiful melody while the pedal steel guitar punctuates the longing and desolation in Vlautin's voice. This is one of the undiscovered gems of Alternative Country.
6. Mazzy Star - Fade Into You (1993)
Undoubtedly this is the most famous song on the compilation. It has soundtracked scenes in CSI, House M.D., The O.C, Alias and other series; it was recently included in Pitchfork's Top 20 Songs of the 90's; even more prestigiously, it was included in John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty for the celebration of the millenium in 2000. My guess is Mazzy Star hadn't planned it this way since it has eclipsed everything they attempted ever since; but it didn't do them any harm either.
The song's defining characteristics are easy to spot. There's simplicity: just a three chord variation and a steady country-waltz rhythm repeating throughout the song; there are the strategically placed small details in the arrangement: the piano embellishments, the slide guitar riff and the tambourine; but in the end Mazzy Star's appeal always comes down to Hope Sandoval's uniquely coloured voice. No wonder she always has been in-demand for various collaborations: since 1994 her vocals have adorned -and actually define- songs by The Chemical Brothers, Air, and Death In Vegas among others. I will just pinpoint three of Hope Sandoval's performances: The Jesus and Mary Chain's "Sometimes Always", a wonderful duet with Jim Reid (Sandoval was also dating William Reid at the time); the freak-folk gem "Angels' Share" from Vetiver's 2004 debut; and her most recent guest appearance, the lead vocal on Massive Attack's "Paradise Circus", the definite highlight of their latest album Heligoland.
In "Fade Into You", Hope Sandoval is constantly slightly off-key or at least appears to be: it's as if she doesn't care to sing technically perfect, she is resigned. Her sexy, seductive low croon is also misleading; the song has been described as a love ballad, but the lyrics are actually quite hard to decipher: "I look to you and I see nothing, I look to you to see the truth", or "Some kind of night into your darkness colors your eyes with what's not there".
It was tempting to not choose "Fade Into You" for the compilation, merely for the sake of controversy; just to avoid taking the soft option. Other choices could be "Rhymes of an Hour", which soundtracked the saucy scene in Bernardo Bertolucci's film Stealing Beauty where Liv Tyler has sex for the first time; or Mazzy Star's great cover of Green On Red's "Hair and Skin". It's just that sometimes the easy option happens to be the best too.
7. Lambchop - Soaky in the Pooper (1994)
This group from Nashville is a collective of musicians, with singer and songwriter Kurt Wagner its de facto leader and only permanent member. The band once counted 17 musicians as members. Lambchop started as an alternative country band but they have incorporated many other music styles ever since, with the classic 70's soul being a major influence, as evidenced in their 2000 masterpiece Nixon. Their first two albums though are the ones to listen to for sheer country pleasure. "Soaky in the Pooper" is from their debut I Hope You're Sitting Down. The song is funnily titled, but Wagner actually narrates a fatal drug overdose taking place in a bathroom. All of Lambchop's eclectic attributes are present: acoustic guitar arpeggios, gentle strings and brass arrangements a la Tindersticks, and Wagner's instantly recognizable mumbled baritone (Tindersticks' Stuart Staples -again- is a close reference).
Lambchop are still active and continue to record new albums; after 15 years it's fairly safe to say their prime is long gone, but their stamp in US indie scene has been secured.
8. Sixteen Horsepower - Haw (1995)
Sixteen Horsepower will be forever revered by everyone who dared to delve into their fascinating soundworld: a distinctive mixture of blues, country, rock, and Appalachian folk. Their leader was David Eugene Edwards, a man of strong religious beliefs; his grandfather was a preacher who used to take young David with him in his travels within Colorado, visiting and spending time in small desolate towns. This experience obviously shaped Edwards' personality, as he he told in an interview in pennyblackmusic.co.uk. Edwards grew up to be a devoted Christian; however, as it is very often the case with artists, he was also struggling with the cosmic aspects of his life and how these can come to terms with religion. No wonder then his lyrics deal with religion, faith and redemption.
Their debut album Sackcloth 'n' Ashes (a biblical term) is one of the masterpieces of the last twenty years waiting to be discovered. In this album, Edwards fully captured his music vision. Each song is performed by three instruments only: bass and drums, played by the band's rhythm section; and the lead instrument, alternating in each song between banjo, bandoneon and lap steel guitar, all played by Edwards. The results are stunning. The album is a Gothic monolith, with Edwards' theatrical performance and lyrical imagery resembling Nick Cave. Almost all songs are written in minor key; this is definitely not a pop album, we're talking heavy, serious stuff here. Joy Division were another big influence on Sixteen Horsepower - look out for their great cover of "Day of the Lords".
Sackcloth 'n' Ashes is full of highlights. Ι could easily include in this compilation "Black Soul Choir" with its skipping beat and the jangly banjo riff, or the devastating "Harm's Way".
"Haw" manages to have about seven or eight minor and no major chords; an impressive feat. It features Edwards' excellent lap steel guitar work and his typical theatrical storytelling (listen how he sings "lady" in the line "roll over little lady" in 1:52, or how he stretches "bleed" in the next line "you're gonna bleed to get away").
Open wide your eyes and ears and convert yourselves to Sixteen Horsepower's majesty.
9. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Loom of the Land (1992)
Cave is no stranger to country and his appearance in the compilation should not look strange. Testaments to this are aplenty: Johnny Cash and Hank Williams were among his heroes; his 1985 album The Firstborn Is Dead is considered one of the early landmarks of Alternative Country; and, as a final seal of approval, "Loom of the Land" was covered by The Walkabouts in their great covers-only album Satisfied Mind.
I consider the album Henry's Dream to be Nick Cave's stronger effort. That means I hail it as an absolute masterpiece. Unjustly, it's seldom mentioned amongst his best. Even himself has supposedly expressed his dissatisfaction with the albums production (i.e. not raw enough). But a more beautiful song than "Loom of the Land" I doubt he has ever written.
The song apears to be a love story. A poetic lyric introduces us to a picturesque romantic scene: "It was the dirty end of winter along the loom of the land, when I walked with sweet Sally hand upon hand". Still, my sense is the unfolding story is darker than it appears; there is a strangely sinister feeling lurking underneath the chorus lyric "keep your little hand upon my shoulder, now go to sleep". Truthful my suspicion or not, Cave finally unleashed his ultimate statement on that field four years later, the death-fixated but funny-as-hell too Murder Ballads.
10. Cowboy Junkies- Misguided Angel (1988)
The secret in the intimacy, warmth and beauty suffusing the Canadians' classic album The Trinity Session lies in the story behind its recording. The practically unknown-at-the-time band gathered into the Church of the Holy Trinity of their hometown Toronto, placed a single microphone in the middle, pressed the record button on a DAT recorder, and recorded the album straight to tape within an one-night session, with no overdubs or fills.
The Trinity Session is clearly an album where the recording environment has defined the final result (Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral also springs to mind). The natural reverb and ambience of the church fills up every song; the drums are mostly played with brushes, as if not to disturb the serene atmosphere throughout; the guitars are strummed lazily; and the songs move to a funereal pace. Sometimes they do not seem to move at all: they just stay still. And on top of it all, there are Margo Timmins' soft, leisured, wonderful vocals. She does not possess a technically gifted voice, but she manages to colour each song with an unpretentious beauty. Her diction is her primary asset: though she almost whispers most of the time, every sung word is clear, every line cuts through the mix.
In the album's opening song, "Mining for Gold", Timmins provides a wonderful a cappella performance of a traditional country ballad. In "Misguided Angel" the arrangement is sparse, the song is almost bare: a guitar plays the basic chords, an accordion here or a harmonica there adds some touches, and Timmins' soothing voice covers everything like a warm, well-used blanket.
The band along with its own compositions chose to include in the album a significant number of covers of songs by some of their favourite artists, including Hank Williams's all-time classic country standard "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", and, most notably, The Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane", which became their most famous song. Cowboy Junkies created with The Trinity Session a timeless album of country and blues Americana. As Pitchfork wrote, it still sounds great in the dark.
11. Calexico - Across the Wire (2003)
Named after the Californian bordertown (itself a portmanteau of the words California and Mexico), it was obvious this band would borrow heavily from two different musical traditions: the Mexican-Latin sounds such as mariachi, as well as the American country and folk music. They have also delved into classic jazz, even post-rock. Consequently, this duet has the most diverse sound of all the artists of the compilation. Feast of Wire is probably their best album, where they collect successfully all their eclectic influences into various well-crafted songs and finally serve a unified undistinguished package, the Calexico sound.
"Across the Wire" is a good example of their approach, mixing mariachi horns with straight-from-the desert lap steel guitar, the Mexican with the American. It also makes a nice upbeat closure for the compilation.
