This page is part of an opinionated overview of "alt.country" music, with record reviews by me, Joe Sixpack... Naturally, it's a work in progress, and quite incomplete, so your comments and suggestions are welcome.
Kasey Chambers "The Captain" (Asylum-Nashville, 1999)
I'm sure that when this record came out, Ms. Chambers must have tired of people comparing her (vocally) to Iris DeMent and Lucinda Williams... In retrospect, hearing her later, smoothed-out rock-pop efforts, you kinda have to admit she was actively courting for such simplistic comparisons. Anyway, here's the deal with this album: it sounds nice. The arrangements are clean, simple, well performed singer-songwriter country, played with a full band that sounds like it knows what its doing. Chambers has a good voice, and clear powerful delivery, and she gets the vibe right. Where it falls short is in the songcrafting -- or rather, in the overabundance of it. These songs sound nice, but I find it hard to get a fix on what any of them are actually about... The verses are thick and meandering, the choruses are too self-consciously intellectual and wordy; Chambers lacks, perhaps, the common touch or a feel for the "simplicity" that makes a good country song great. Later, on Barricades and Brick Walls, Chambers aggressively edged into Lilith Fair-ish pop terrain, clearly trolling for a little soundtrack action on pop-ridden teen TV shows like Dawson's Creek or Gilmore Girls, and that's where she finally lost me. Taken by itself, though, this first album is consistently engaging -- a bit calculated and contrived, but nice to listen to. Plus, it ain't bad "Americana" for an Aussie!
Kasey Chambers "Barricades And Brickwalls" (Warner, 2002)
Alt.country with a tinge of Lilith Fair singer-songwriter poetics and profundity. This album has some nice songs on it, although her vocal range -- a mix of Lucinda Williams-ish growling and Rosie Flores chirps -- doesn't hold up over the course of an entire album. Paul Kelly, Buddy Miller and the mighty Lucinda all drop in for guest spots. It's okay, though a little slick and predictable.
Kasey Chambers "Wayward Angel" (Warner, 2004)
Kasey Chambers "Carnival" (Warner, 2006)
Marshall Chapman "Me, I'm Feelin' Free" (Epic, 1977)
Marshall Chapman "Jaded Virgin" (Epic, 1978)
Marshall Chapman "Marshall" (Epic, 1979)
Marshall Chapman "Take It On Home" (Rounder, 1982)
Marshall Chapman "Dirty Linen" (Tall Girl, 1987)
Marshall Chapman "Inside Job" (Tall Girl, 1991)
Marshall Chapman "It's About Time" (Margaritaville, 1995)
Marshall Chapman "Love Slave" (Island/Tall Girl, 1996)
I have to confess that Marshall Chapman is one of those artists I always glossed over without ever really checking out... For some reason I had her mixed up in my mind with, I dunno, some male New Waver or another, and later, when I realized she was a gal, had some image of her as a vinyl-clad Cindy Bullens type. Then I read an article in the Oxford Monthly that described her as a sort of proto-Lucinda Williams and thought, hmmm... Maybe I should look into this... This is a later album of hers, but it has some really intriguing stuff on it, such as the semi-autobiographical Southern odyssey, "Leaving Loachapoka," the steamy "Love Slave," and the somewhat blunt, but passionately felt gun control ballad, "Guns R Us." The album lapses into what, for lack of a better term, I guess fits under the "adult rock" category, with sort of a ambling intellect that places her a bit in Sam Phillips's general vicinity (although the music is much more stripped down. An interesting roots music foremother, worth checking into (even if I found this disc to be a little underwhelming...)
Marshall Chapman "Goodbye Little Rock'n'Roller" (Tall Girl, 2003)
This 13-song retrospective disc is a companion to Chapman's autobiographical memoir of the same name... The early tracks, which date back to the 1970s are really impressive for their audacity and balls-out (boobs-out?) rawness, particularly "Rode Hard And Put Out Wet," which was written after a nightlong bender, and "Running Out On The Night," which is one of the more sexually forthright rock songs this side of Marianne Faithfull's "Why'd Ya Do It." The lighter acoustic number "Texas Is Everywhere" derides the mainstream commercialization of the "outlaw" country scene, and other songs such as "Betty's Being Bad," The Perfect Partner" and the title track delve into feminine identity, while the closing tracks get a bit spiritually inclined (reflecting Chapman's clean-and-sober maturity...) All in all, this is an intellectually impressive set which revels a penetrating, restless personality and while her stripped-down roots-rock musical approach may meander a bit, Chapman is definitely worth checking out.
Marshall Chapman "Mellowicious" (Tall Girl, 2006)
Dave Childers & The Modern Don Juans "Jailhouse Religion" (Little King, 2006)
Gritty, earnest, energetic, blues'n'billy-tinged barband rock, from the Blasters/Dave Alvin side of the street. Packed with original material, this is a nice addition to the genre... Pretty good, if you like the style!
Chuck Wagon & The Wheels "The Best And/Or Worst Of Chuck Wagon & The Wheels" (Wagon Tracks, 2006)
Alright... finally!! Some of the original CW&TW "hits," digitally encoded and out on CD at last... This for-fans-only CDR collects obnoxious oldies such as "You Shot The TV (But You Were Aiming At Me)," "My Girl Passed Out In Her Food," "You Only Say You Love Me When You're Drunk" and that enduring classic, "Disco Sucks," an anti-disco anthem from 1979 that still speaks truth to power. These are all songs I grew up with (thanks, KFAT!) and still like to play on the radio from time to time... CW&TW were a great regional band based in Tucson, AZ (and still do a few gigs from time to time, or so I'm told... ) I'm not sure how you can get ahold of this disc, but if I find out any contact info, I'll letcha know... Anyway, it's fun stuff, definitely worth tracking down! Includes a handful of fun, funny bonus tracks drawn from the band's countless live shows... Thanks, Chuck!
Guy Clark - see artist discography
Neil Cleary "Numbers Add Up" (Diesel Only, 2004)
Another mellow, brainy East Coast power-popper who's slowed down a bit and delved into the country vibe... A Vermonter now living in Brooklyn, Cleary crafts low-key, unpretentious, slice-of-life songs that have a lulling, inviting effect. This is a nice, listenable record, laced with a lazy, pleasant, plausible pedal steel... The songs don't blow you away, but they aren't bombastic and over the top, either. Pretty nice, actually... worth checking out!
Slaid Cleaves "Promise" (Broken White, 1990)
Late 1980s recordings....
Slaid Cleaves "For The Brave And The Free" (Broken White, 1993)
Slaid Cleaves "Life's Other Side" (Broken White Records, 1993)
This set of early works, songs from 1989-93, is heavily rooted in the coffeehouse folk scene tradition. For the most part, the songs are pretty mannered and derivative and, if truth be told, not that distinctive. Part of it is the thin-sounding arrangements -- mostly strummy-twangy acoustic guitar and maybe a tambourine or two -- and in such a sparse setting, Cleaves' voice sounds plaintive and thin. The lyrics are often overly clever and self-consciously clever; many feel like writing exercises, attempts to capture the magic of singer-songwriters gone before, with whiffs of Dylan, Loudon Wainwright III and others coming to the fore, and socially themed songs like The Gun Song," "Justice" and "Live Free" seem particularly strained. He also dabbles a bit in country and blues, but again, the songs don't really resonate. Fans will definitely want to check this out -- it's always fun to check out an artist's juvenilia, but it's not really that meaty of an album.
Slaid Cleaves "No Angel Knows" (Rounder-Philo, 1997)
Slaid Cleaves "Broke Down" (Rounder-Philo, 2000)
This guy was born to have an pedal steel back him up...! Indiebilly producer Gurf Morlix plays guitar and lends a full, smooth sound to this fine album, performed at a slow, lazy pace with a laid-back band. Some of Cleaves' best vocal work and most compact compositions to date. There's still a measured, craftsmanlike aspect to his writing, but he's also learned how to frame a chorus well, and most of these songs are quite seductive and memorable, particularly the hook-laden title track and the languid "Horseshoe Lounge." His continued inclination towards penning old-fashioned topical folk tunes (like the John Henry-ish "Breakfast In Hell") is admirable for the nod towards tradition, but I have to admit my attention starts to wander. This disc is about 50-50 for me, but all things considered, that ain't bad!
Slaid Cleaves "Holiday Sampler (EP)" (Rounder-Philo, 1990)
Slaid Cleaves "Wishbones" (Rounder-Philo, 2004)
A well-crafted, emotionally resonant set of modern-day earnest folk music... Cleaves settles into a Woody Guthrie-ish mode, concentrating his fire on longer story-songs about immigrant workers, doomed horse jockeys and others bit by the hard-luck bug. As a rule, I'm not terribly drawn to coffeehouse folk tunes like this, but as the genre goes, this is one dang fine record. Credit is due in part to the fine backing band, which includes Austin scenemaker Gurf Morlix, who once again produces and plays guitar, and a sharp rhythm section that never flags or hits a false note. Pretty good stuff... definitely worth checking out!
Slaid Cleaves "Unsung" (Rounder, 2006)
Finding himself at the top of the heap in the contemporary American folk scene, the melodically gifted Slaid Cleaves decided to spread the wealth and record an album entirely made up of other people's compositions, focussing mainly on small-fry songwriters who few people have heard of. It's funny how "folk" music, once the domain of traditional material has so closely followed pop/rock into the era of the singer-songwriter, so that a project like this stands out as such an anomaly. Regardless, this is a swell record, maybe not as magical or cohesive as Cleaves' last two records (which featured his own original material), but it's still a great collection of songs, each brought to life with his passionate, intimate vocal style and keen vocal phrasing. Various off-the-radar Austinites get a lion's share of the playtime here, and it's pretty cool of Cleaves to shine a light on their work... If you like contemporary folk music (or are a Slaid cleaves fan), you'll definitely want to check this one out.
Clothesline Revival "Of My Native Land" (Paleo Music, 2002)
An unusual roots album that blends old-timey themes (and even some remixed archival recordings from the Library of Congress, such as the original Leadbelly vocals on "Cow Cow Yicky Yicky Yea...") with oddball, modernized sonic backgrounds. Arrangers Conrad Praetzel and Robert Powell use a few electronic "beats," although many tunes seem more ambient or even world music-ish. It's certainly a novel approach to the material, reverential yet strikingly innovative. The opening tracks, particularly those featuring vocals by Bay Area honkytonker Tom Armstrong, are pretty cool, though the second half of the album seems to meander and lose focus. Still, this album opens up some really interesting possibilities for a new approach to this old-fashioned American music.
Clothesline Revival "Long Gone" (Paleo Music, 2005)
Praetzel and Powell refine their formula, adding electronic-ambient layering over old folk and blues field recordings. This could easily be a hippie-folkie cultural trainwreck, but it's not... it's actually pretty engaging and intelligently constructed. Familiar old folk/blues/gospel themes like "Shortening Bread" and "Strange Things Happening" float to the fore, while the newfangled production techniques don't call too much attention to themselves. This could easily be a hippie-folkie cultural trainwreck, but it's not... it's actually pretty engaging as well as intelligently and reverentially constructed. More consistent and solid than the first album, with some intriguing aural surprises... It's not for everyone, sure, but it may be worth checking out!
The Clumsy Lovers "After The Flood" (Nettwerk, 2004)
An aggressively upbeat mix of Celtic folk, bluegrass and spazzy, They Might Be Giants-ish indie dorkpop... It's a little too gimmicky and punchily bright for me, but I could certainly see the appeal. Fans of Ben Folds or Camper Van Beethoven might also like this.... I think this is actually the fifth album by this Vancouver-based ensemble.
Alt.Country Albums - More Letter "C"
Hick Music Index
