Close as We Can Get/Nine 'Til Midnight
Artist: Robin & Linda Williams

The two albums that Robin & Linda Williams recorded in the mid-'80s for Flying Fish were eventually combined onto a single cassette or compact disc. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide Read More

Here's to Country Music
Artist: Don Walser

Don Walser's Here's To Country Music runs contrary to most of the albums by contemporary country music artists, eschewing rock 'n' roll antics and pop polish for genuine country music. Honky-tonk, western swing, cowboy yodeling and other traditional country music styles get their due on songs like "Sugar Moon," "Oakie Boogie," "Polka Dot Blues,"... Read More

Live in Texas
Artist: Lyle Lovett
Community Score: 8.00

In a way, Lyle Lovett has operated on two different levels since the beginning of his career. For many listeners, including critics, he's an exceptionally talented songwriter, revealing himself as the equal to such inspirations as Randy Newman. However, unlike most singer/songwriters, he's an entertainer, putting on one hell of a show every time... Read More

Raise a Ruckus
Artist: Bill Kirchen

As guitarist/singer/songwriter for Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen during the '70s, Bill Kirchen turned out many a classic riff, the most famous of which was "Hot Rod Lincoln," the old Tex Ritter song, updated and rocked up by Kirchen's guitar. With Raise a Ruckus, Kirchen brings his rockabilly guitar to center stage with a 14-song... Read More

Lost Herd
Artist: Ian Tyson
Community Score: 10.00

Ian Tyson's Lost Herd paints nine musical portraits of life in the West. Recorded in Toronto, Calgary and Nashville with those cities' finest musicians, the album captures the loneliness of the plains, long days of summer, and dreams of the Canadian landscape. Songs like "La Primera" and "Brahmas & Mustangs" represent true cowboy culture, while... Read More

Mile Marker
Artist: Ana Egge
The Man from God Knows Where
Artist: Tom Russell
Community Score: 9.00

Tom Russell had been releasing great records for about 25 years by the time he issued this album, but he outdoes himself here. Eight years in the making, The Man from God Knows Where is a song cycle inspired by America's pioneers and, particularly, Russell's own immigrant ancestors; but it probably comes at least as much from the artist's... Read More

Wrapped
Artist: Bruce Robison
Community Score: 8.00

On this album, Bruce Robison proves himself to be one of Austin's outstanding up-and-coming country songwriters. He seems equally comfortable writing about his youth in small-town Texas and mature adult relationships. In "My Brother and Me," Robison describes his Grandpa Charlie and sings, "Nobody like him in all my kin until my brother and me."... Read More

Cowboy Nation
Artist: Chris Wall

Cowboy Nation remains Chris Wall's most poignant record, an honest and heartfelt song cycle capturing the gradual erosion of the western lifestyle and its accompanying mythos. Produced by the legendary Lloyd Maines, the album is tough but tender, its most reflective moments tempered by Wall's cynical wit -- its centerpiece, "I Feel Like Hank... Read More

More Miles Than Money: Live 1994-1996
Artist: Alejandro Escovedo

If this disc is representative of Escovedo's live performance, he puts on one hell of a low-key show. Culled from gigs over a two year period, these renditions of his solo canon are so spare, so harrowing, you can hear the rattling of bones. The result ranks along side Frank Sinatra's In the Wee Small Hours and Tom Waits' Closing Time as one of... Read More

Live
Artist: Asylum Street Spankers

Live captures the wackiness and musical acumen of the Asylum Street Spankers equally well. Their humor -- which can make the music sound near-parodic -- may frustrate some purists, but their talent for folk-blues, string band music and jump blues may win them over yet. There's a bit more energy and flair on Live than their studio albums, which... Read More

Portrait of an American Original
Artist: Rudy Cipolla
Philibuster
Artist: Phil Leadbetter

Philibuster, the debut solo album from resonator guitar master Phil Leadbetter, serves as an excellent vehicle to show the skill that he has developed over his long career. Leadbetter leads a crew of some of bluegrass' most renowned musicians, including two members from J.D Crowe and the New South, the award-winning group that Leadbetter has had... Read More