In the strictest sense, Steve Earle isn't a country artist, he's a roots rocker. Earle emerged in the mid-'80s, after Bruce Springsteen had popularized populist rock & roll and Dwight Yoakam had kick-started the neo-traditionalist movement in country music. At first, Earle appeared to be more toward the rock side than country. He played... [+] Read More

In the strictest sense, Steve Earle isn't a country artist, he's a roots rocker. Earle emerged in the mid-'80s, after Bruce Springsteen had popularized populist rock & roll and Dwight Yoakam had kick-started the neo-traditionalist movement in country music. At first, Earle appeared to be more toward the rock side than country. He played stripped-down neo-rockabilly that occasionally verged on outlaw country. His unwillingness to conform to the rules of Nashville or to rock & roll meant that he never broke through into the mainstream. Instead, he cultivated a dedicated cult following, drawing from both the country and rock audiences. Toward the early '90s, his career was thrown off track by personal problems and substance abuse, but in the mid-'90s he re-emerged stronger and healthier, producing two of his most critically acclaimed albums ever.

Born in Fort Monroe, VA, but raised near San Antonio, TX, Earle is the son of an air-traffic controller. At the age of 11, he received his first guitar and, by the time he was 13, had become proficient enough to win a talent contest at his school. Though he showed a talent for music, he was a wild child, often getting in trouble with local authorities. Furthermore, his rebellious, long-haired appearance and anti-Vietnam War stance was scorned by local country fans. After completing the eighth grade, Earle dropped out school and, at the age of 16, left home with his uncle Nick Fain, and began traveling across the state. Eventually, he settled in Houston at the age of 18, where he married his first wife, Sandie, and began working odd jobs. While he was in Houston, he met singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt, who would become Earle's foremost role model and inspiration. A year later, Earle moved to Nashville.

While he was in Nashville, Earle worked blue-collar jobs during the day; during the night, he wrote songs and played bass in Guy Clark's backing band, appearing on a cut on Clark's 1975 album Old No. 1. Steve stayed in Nashville for several years, making connections within the industry and eventually landing a job as a staff writer for the publisher Sunbury Dunbar. After staying in Nashville for a few years, he grew tired of the city and returned back to Texas. There he assembled a backing band called the Dukes and began playing local clubs. A year later, he returned to Nashville, where he married his second wife, Cynthia. The marriage was short-lived and he quickly married Carol, who gave birth to Earle's first child, a son named Justin Townes Earle. Carol helped straighten Earle out, at least temporarily; for a while, he cut back on substances and concentrated on music.

Publishers Roy Dea and Pat Clark signed Earle as a songwriter in the early '80s. Dea and Clark brought "When You Fall in Love" to Johnny Lee, who took the song to number 14 on the country charts in 1982; shortly before the success of "When You Fall in Love," Carl Perkins cut Steve's "Mustang Wine," and Zella Lehr recorded two of his songs. With his reputation as a songwriter growing, Earle wanted to become a recording artist in his own right. Dea and Clark had recently formed an independent record label called LSI and the pair signed Earle.

Earle's first release was an EP called Pink & Black in 1982. The record featured a formative version of the Dukes and earned good reviews. One writer, John Lomax, sent the EP to Epic Records, which was impressed enough by the record to sign Earle in 1983. Shortly, before the signing of the contract, Lomax became Earle's manager. Although the prospect of being signed to a major label seemed promising, relationships between Epic and Earle quickly soured. After releasing the Pink & Black track "Nothin' But You" as a single, Epic sat on the song, refusing to promote the record; instead, they concentrated on their new signing. Earle entered the studio and cut an album of neo-rockabilly songs that the label was reluctant to send to radio and, therefore, they refused to release the record. Epic suggested Earle re-enter the studio with a new, more commercially oriented producer, Emory Gordy, Jr. The pair cut four more songs which were released as two singles, but the records failed.

With his recording career going nowhere, Earle lost his publishing contract with Dea and Carter. He moved over to Silverline Goldline, where he met Tony Brown, a producer at MCA Records. At the end of 1984, Epic dropped Earle from their roster. In early 1985, Brown persuaded MCA to sign Earle, and Lomax was fired as his manager. In 1986, Earle's debut album, Guitar Town, was released. Upon its appearance, Earle was grouped into the new traditionalist movement begun by Dwight Yoakam and Randy Travis, but he also gained the attention of rock critics and fans who saw similarities between Earle's populist sentiments and the heartland rock of Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp. Guitar Town became a hit, with its title track becoming a Top Ten single in the summer of 1986 and "Goodbye's All We've Got Left" reaching the Top Ten in early 1987. Following the album's success, Epic quickly assembled a compilation of previously unreleased Earle tracks, entitling it Early Tracks and releasing it in early 1987. Later that year, he released his second album, Exit 0, which bore a shared credit for his backing band the Dukes, which signalled the more rock-oriented direction on the album. Like the debut, Exit 0 was critically acclaimed and sold well, even if it didn't match the levels of the debut.

Though his career was taking off, Earle's personal life was becoming a wreck. He had divorced his third wife, married a fourth named Lou, whom he quickly divorced, and then he married a sixth wife named Teresa Ensenat, who worked for MCA. He was also delving deeper and deeper into drug and alcohol abuse. With his third album, 1988's Copperhead Road, Earle's rock & roll flirtations came to the forefront and country radio responded in kind; none of the songs from the album charted or received much airplay. However, album rock radio embraced him, sending the album's title track into the album rock Top Ten, which helped make the album his highest charting effort, peaking at number 56. Not only had Copperhead Road been accepted by AOR, but it established him as a star in Europe; the duet with the Irish punk-folk group the Pogues on Copperhead Road signalled he had an affection for the area. In the late '80s, Earle frequently toured England and Europe and even produced the alternative rock band the Bible.

Earle's acceptance by the rock community didn't please the country establishment in Nashville. Although it seemed for a time that Earle wouldn't need Nashville anymore, his newfound success quickly began to collapse. Uni, a division of MCA Records, had released Copperhead Road instead of MCA proper, and just before the album went gold, Uni went bankrupt, taking Copperhead Road along with it. Meanwhile, Earle's addictions and fondness for breaking rules began spinning out of control. On New Years' Eve, he was arrested in Dallas for assaulting a security guard at his own concert; he was charged with aggravated assault, fined 500 dollars, and given a year's unsupervised probation. Sandie, his first wife, sued for more alimony and he was served with a paternity suit by a woman in Tennessee. The title of his 1990 album, The Hard Way, reflected his problems, as did the record's tough, dark sound. Though the record was critically acclaimed and spawned a minor AOR hit with "The Other Kind," it received no support from the country market and quickly fell off the charts.

The commercial failure of The Hard Way was just the beginning of a round of serious setbacks for Earle. Later in 1990, he recorded an album of material that MCA refused to release. Instead, the label decided to release the live album Shut Up and Die Like an Aviator in 1991. At the end of the year, MCA decided not to renew Earle's record contract. For the next several years, Earle was severely addicted to cocaine and heroin and had several run-ins with the law. In 1994, he was arrested in Nashville for possession of heroin and was sentenced to a year in jail. He served in a rehab center instead of jail. This time, the treatment worked.

Late in 1994, he was released from the rehab center and he began working again. In 1995, he signed to Winter Harvest and released the acoustic Train a Comin', his first studio album in five years. Train a Comin' received terrific reviews and strong sales, despite Earle's claim that the label botched the album's song sequence. The attention led to a new record contract with Warner Bros., who released I Feel Alright in early 1996, again to strong reviews and respectable sales. Earle had returned from the brink and re-established himself as a vital artist. In the process, he won back the country audience he had abandoned in the late '80s. The Mountain, a bluegrass record cut with the Del McCoury Band, followed in 1999, and a year later Earle returned with Transcendental Blues.

While Earle had long displayed a strong political streak (particularly in his opposition to the death penalty), his leftist views took center stage on his 2002 album Jerusalem. Written and recorded in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Jerusalem dealt openly with Earle's divided feelings about America's "war on terror" and the West's ignorance of the Islamic faith, and included a song about John Walker Lindh, a young American who was discovered to be fighting with Taliban forces, called "John Walker's Blues." Earle's refusal to condemn Lindh in his lyrics quickly made the song (and the album) a political hot potato, but Earle embraced the controversy and became a frequent guest on news and editorial broadcasts, defending his work and clarifying his views on terrorism, patriotism, and the role of popular artists in a time of crisis. Earle's tour in support of Jerusalem was documented in the 2003 concert film and live album Just an American Boy, and in the summer of 2004, as the American occupation of Iraq dragged on and an upcoming presidential election loomed in the minds of many, Earle released The Revolution Starts...Now, an album of songs informed by the war in Iraq and the abuses of the George W. Bush administration. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide [-] Hide

As a member of the groundbreaking Flatlanders, singer/songwriter Butch Hancock helped kick-start the progressive country movement of the '70s. As a solo artist, Hancock recorded a series of country-folk albums for his own independent Rainlight label, which showcased his literate wordplay, quirky humor, and dry, Dylan-esque vocal delivery. Going... [+] Read More

As a member of the groundbreaking Flatlanders, singer/songwriter Butch Hancock helped kick-start the progressive country movement of the '70s. As a solo artist, Hancock recorded a series of country-folk albums for his own independent Rainlight label, which showcased his literate wordplay, quirky humor, and dry, Dylan-esque vocal delivery. Going the independent route certainly cost Hancock some name recognition and wider exposure, but he did earn a devoted cult following, especially in his native Texas.

Hancock was born in the west Texas town of Lubbock in 1945 and grew up on a farm, writing his first songs while driving his father's tractor. In high school, he started playing music with friends Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Joe Ely, fellow long-haired intellectuals who shared a distaste for commercial country. Hancock entered architectural school after graduation, but eventually left to return to his family's farm in Lubbock. He reconnected with Gilmore and Ely, and in 1970 the three formed a band called the Flatlanders. In 1972, they traveled to Nashville for a recording session with Plantation Records, a low-budget offshoot of the past-its-prime Sun label. When their first single flopped, their lone album, Jimmie Dale & the Flatlanders, was barely released in extremely limited quantities in 1973, and the group members gradually went their separate ways. However, when Ely became an acclaimed solo artist in the late '70s, he drew heavily from Gilmore and Hancock's songwriting catalogs, bringing Hancock classics like "West Texas Waltz," "If I Were a Bluebird" (both covered by Emmylou Harris), "She Never Spoke Spanish to Me" (covered by the Texas Tornados), and "Boxcars" to a wider audience.

Ely's recordings helped spark interest in Hancock, but Hancock returned to music on his own terms, moving to the progressive country hotbed of Austin and starting up his own Rainlight label. In 1978, he issued his first album, West Texas Waltzes and Dust-Blown Tractor Tunes, a spare, simple collection that spotlighted his impressive lyrical abilities. The double album The Wind's Dominion followed a year later, and experimented with a broader musical palette and fuller arrangements. Released in 1980, Diamond Hill featured a full backing band, and 1981's Firewater was an informal live set; both continued to build his cult reputation on the Texas roots music scene. Hancock subsequently took a break from recording for several years, pursuing his interests in photography and video, and returned in 1985 with Yella Rose With Marce Lacoutre; Split & Slide followed in 1986.

During another break from recording, Jimmie Dale Gilmore decided to return to his solo career, and thanks to the Flatlanders' burgeoning legend, his versions of several Hancock compositions once again renewed interest in the songwriter. In 1989, the bluegrass-oriented Sugar Hill label issued Own & Own, a compilation of highlights from Hancock's early albums. Meanwhile, Hancock and Gilmore toured Australia together, which resulted in the live duo album Two Roads; Hancock also issued Cause of the Cactus on his own label in 1991. Another compilation for Sugar Hill came in 1993, this one called Own the Way Over Here, and the following year, Hancock contributed songs to Chippy, a musical theater piece about a Texas prostitute co-written by Ely. In 1995 his first-ever non-compilation studio project for an outside label was released, the acclaimed Sugar Hill set Eats Away the Night, which was hailed as one of his most fully realized recordings. In the years that followed, Hancock re-released many of his old albums on CD, and also issued the new Rainlight set You Coulda Walked Around the World in 1999. He toured with the reunited Flatlanders in 2000, after which he moved from Austin to the small desert town of Terlingua; there he worked as a white-water rafting guide and returned to architecture, designing, and building his own home. In 2002, the Flatlanders issued the well-received reunion album Now Again. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Lyle Lovett was one of the most distinctive and original singer/songwriters to emerge during the '80s. Though he was initially labeled as a country singer, the tag never quite fit him. Lovett had more in common with '70s singer/songwriters like Guy Clark, Jesse Winchester, Randy Newman, and Townes Van Zandt, combining a talent for incisive,... [+] Read More

Lyle Lovett was one of the most distinctive and original singer/songwriters to emerge during the '80s. Though he was initially labeled as a country singer, the tag never quite fit him. Lovett had more in common with '70s singer/songwriters like Guy Clark, Jesse Winchester, Randy Newman, and Townes Van Zandt, combining a talent for incisive, witty lyrical detail with an eclectic array of music, ranging from country and folk to big-band swing and traditional pop. Lovett's literate, multi-layered songs stood out among the formulaic Nashville hit singles of the late '80s as well as the new traditionalists who were beginning to take over country music. Drawing from alternative country and rock fans, Lovett quickly built up a cult following which began to spill over into the mainstream with his second album, 1988's Pontiac. Following Pontiac, his country audience declined, but his reputation as a songwriter and musician continued to grow, and he sustained a dedicated cult following throughout the '90s.

Born in Klein, TX -- a small town named after his great-grandfather, a Bavarian weaver called Adam Klein, which later became a Houston suburb -- Lovett was raised on his family horse ranch. He didn't begin his musical career until he began writing songs while he attended Texas A&M University in the late '70s, where he studied journalism and German. While he was a student, he performed covers and original songs at local folk festivals and clubs. As a graduate student, he traveled to Germany to study and continued to write and play while he was in Europe. However, he didn't begin to pursue a musical career in earnest until he returned to America in the early '80s.

Upon his return to the States, Lovett played clubs throughout Texas, eventually landing a spot in the 1983 Mickey Rooney TV-movie Bill: On His Own. The following year Nanci Griffith, whom Lyle had interviewed for a school paper while he was in college, recorded his "If I Were the Woman You Wanted" on her Once in a Very Blue Moon album. He also sang on the album as well as her 1985 record Last of the True Believers. Guy Clark heard a demo tape of Lovett's songs in 1984 and directed it toward Tony Brown of MCA Records. Over the next year, MCA worked out the details of a record contract with Lyle. In the meantime, he made his first recorded appearance on Fast Folk Magazine, Vol. 2 #8 later in the year.

Lovett signed with MCA/Curb in 1986, releasing his eponymous debut later in the year. Lyle Lovett received excellent reviews, and five of its singles -- "Farther Down the Line," the Top Ten "Cowboy Man," "God Will," "Why I Don't Know," and "Give Back My Heart" -- reached the country Top 40. Despite his strong showing on the country charts, it was clear from the outset that Lovett's musical tastes didn't rely on country, though the genre provided the foundation of his sound. Instead, he incorporated jazz, folk, and pop into a country framework, pushing the musical boundaries of each genre. Pontiac, his second album, revealed exactly how eclectic and literate Lovett was. Greeted with overwhelmingly positive reviews from both country and mainstream publications upon its 1987 release, Pontiac expanded his audience in the pop and rock markets. The album charted in the lower reaches of the pop charts and slowly worked its way toward gold status. While his pop audience grew, his country fan base began to shrink -- "She's No Lady" and "I Loved You Yesterday" both made the Top 30, but after those two songs, none of his other singles cracked the country Top 40.

It didn't matter that Lovett's country audience was disappearing -- Pontiac had gained enough new fans in the pop mainstream to guarantee him a strong cult following. To support Pontiac, he assembled His Large Band, which was a modified big band complete with guitars, a cellist, a pianist, horns, and a gospel-trained backup singer named Francine Reed. Lovett recorded his third album, Lyle Lovett and His Large Band, with his touring band. Like its two predecessors, the album was well-received critically upon its early 1989 release, and it performed well commercially, peaking at number 62 and eventually going gold. Perhaps because of the album's eclectic, jazzy sound, the album produced only one minor country hit in "I Married Her Just Because She Looks Like You," but his straight rendition of Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man" received a great deal of attention in the media.

Following the release of His Large Band, Lovett settled out in California, which signaled that he was abandoning country. After settling in Los Angeles, he spent the next two years collaborating and working on his fourth album. In 1990, he produced Walter Hyatt's King Tears album; the following year, he sang on Leo Kottke's Great Big Boy and donated a cover of "Friend of the Devil" to the Grateful Dead tribute album Deadicated. Also in 1991, he made his acting debut in Robert Altman's The Player, which was released in the spring of 1992. A few months after The Player hit the theaters, Lovett's fourth album, Joshua Judges Ruth, was released. Boasting a heavy gospel and R&B influence, Joshua Judges Ruth was his most successful album to date, peaking at number 57 and going gold. On the whole, the album was ignored by country radio, but pop audiences embraced the record, and Lovett became a staple on adult alternative radio and VH1.

Despite the success of Joshua Judges Ruth, Lovett became a near-superstar for a completely different reason in 1993 -- his surprise marriage to actress Julia Roberts. Upon the announcement of their marriage, Lovett became the subject of many gossip segments and tabloid stories, elevating him to a level of fame he had not experienced before. Lyle's first project after his marriage was a role in Altman's 1993 film Short Cuts. He didn't release another album until the fall of 1994, when I Love Everybody hit the stores. A collection of songs Lovett wrote in the late '70s and early '80s, I Love Everybody continued his move away from country, and it was the first record he had released that didn't expand his audience in some way. After it entered the charts at number 26, it disappeared 13 weeks later, failing to go gold.

Lovett and Roberts divorced in the spring of 1995, and Lyle began to retreat from the spotlight somewhat, spending the remainder of the year touring and writing. Lovett re-emerged with The Road to Ensenada, the first album since Pontiac to be dominated by country songs, in the summer of 1996. In addition to performing well on the pop charts, where it entered at a career peak of number 24, The Road to Ensenada performed strongly on the country charts, entering at number four. The two-disc covers album Step Inside This House followed in 1998, featuring mostly underexposed material penned by some of Lovett's favorite songwriters (many of whom hailed from Texas). In 1999, Lovett issued his first concert record, Live in Texas, and his soundtrack to the Altman film Dr. T. & the Women followed a year later. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide [-] Hide

With the release of their 1990 debut LP, No Depression, the Belleville, IL, trio Uncle Tupelo launched more than simply their own career -- by fusing the simplicity and honesty of country music with the bracing fury of punk, they kick-started a revolution which reverberated throughout the American underground. Thanks to a successful online site... [+] Read More

With the release of their 1990 debut LP, No Depression, the Belleville, IL, trio Uncle Tupelo launched more than simply their own career -- by fusing the simplicity and honesty of country music with the bracing fury of punk, they kick-started a revolution which reverberated throughout the American underground. Thanks to a successful online site and subsequent fanzine which adopted the album's name, the tag "No Depression" became a catch-all for the like-minded artists who, along with Tupelo, signalled alternative rock's return to its country roots -- at much the same time, ironically enough, that Nashville was itself embracing the slick gloss associated with mainstream rock and pop.

Uncle Tupelo was led by singers/songwriters Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy, lifelong friends born in the same Belleville hospital in 1967. During high school, the pair formed a punk cover band called the Primitives along with drummer Mike Heidorn and Farrar's older brother Wade. After Wade enlisted in the Army, the Primitives broke up, but in 1987, the remaining trio reunited, changed their name to Uncle Tupelo, and began incorporating elements of country into their music as well as writing original material. Touring constantly throughout the Midwest, the bandmembers eventually quit school as their music became more and more successful, and in 1989 they signed a contract with the small independent label Rockville.

Taking its name from the A.P. Carter gospel song covered therein, No Depression reflected the band's disparate influences, ranging from everyone from Hank Williams to bluesman Leadbelly through to the famed post-punk trio Hüsker Dü. The most rock-centric of Uncle Tupelo's releases, its songs were meditations on small-town, small-time life, candid snapshots of days spent working thankless jobs and nights spent in an alcoholic fog. After the release of "I Got Drunk," a brilliant single backed with a cover of the Flying Burrito Brothers' "Sin City," 1991's Still Feel Gone struck a finer balance between their rock and country aims. While Farrar's contributions -- sung in his reedy, Neil Young-like voice -- were often informed by a rootsy, scorched-earth mentality, Tweedy's, with their grittier vocals, delved deeper into the trio's punk origins, as typified by the song "D. Boon," a tribute to the late frontman of the legendary Minutemen.

A year later, Uncle Tupelo released March 16-20, 1992, an acoustic record which saw the group plunging fully into country and folk. Recorded live in the studio with producer Peter Buck (of the band R.E.M.), the album drew heavily on painstakingly authentic covers of standards like "Moonshiner" and "Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down" along with a fitting rendition of the Louvin Brothers' "The Great Atomic Power" and Farrar's and Tweedy's originals, which maintained the record's spare, haunting ambience. Shortly after its release, Heidorn left the group to devote time to his family and was replaced by drummer Ken Coomer, formerly of the group Clockhammer. Multi-instrumentalists Max Johnston and John Stirratt also signed on as part-time members.

In 1992, Uncle Tupelo signed to major label Sire/Reprise and in 1993 issued the LP Anodyne. Widely regarded as the group's definitive statement, it was a true country-rock hybrid which accented the power of both musical forms; the album even featured a cover of the song "Give Back the Key to My Heart" sung with its writer, roots rock pioneer Doug Sahm. After a tour in support of the album, however, the long-standing relationship between Farrar and Tweedy dissolved in bitter acrimony, and Uncle Tupelo disbanded; shortly thereafter, Tweedy recruited Coomer, Johnston, and Stirratt to form the band Wilco, while Farrar reunited with Heidorn in Son Volt. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Despite their alternative rock pedigree and their home on a label better known for experimental music, Freakwater was one of the most traditionally grounded bands on the alternative country scene. Singers/guitarists/songwriters Janet Beveridge Bean and Catherine Ann Irwin mix original material (with a contemporary lyrical perspective) and... [+] Read More

Despite their alternative rock pedigree and their home on a label better known for experimental music, Freakwater was one of the most traditionally grounded bands on the alternative country scene. Singers/guitarists/songwriters Janet Beveridge Bean and Catherine Ann Irwin mix original material (with a contemporary lyrical perspective) and traditional covers, all done in a spare, acoustic country-folk style with close vocal harmonies. Their instrumentation often features string band staples like steel guitar, fiddle, mandolin, and dobro, and the strong Appalachian overtones that result have often drawn the duo comparisons to the Carter Family. Freakwater originally formed in Louisville, KY, as an informal partnership; both Irwin and Bean had played in local punk bands, became roommates in 1982, and first performed together publicly the year afterward. Meanwhile, Bean co-founded the noisy, Neil Young-influenced alt-rock band Eleventh Dream Day with boyfriend and future husband Rick Rizzo, serving as the group's drummer; they soon moved to Chicago, and spent the late '80s and early '90s crafting a series of underappreciated, critically acclaimed albums. Bean and Irwin continued to perform together, however, on an informal basis, and in 1988 were approached by Amoeba label head Keith Holland about recording.

Choosing the name Freakwater -- a term for moonshine -- the duo cut a self-titled, EP-length record, which was released by Amoeba in 1989 (a year before Uncle Tupelo's seminal No Depression kick-started the alt-country movement). Upright bassist David Gay became the anchor of the duo's instrumental support team and remained with the group for the next decade. Their first true full-length, Dancing Under Water, was completed in 1991, but disagreements with Holland led to Amoeba seizing control of the masters and denying the duo any royalties. With Bean still heavily involved in Eleventh Dream Day, Freakwater completed Feels Like the Third Time in 1993, and finally found a home on the Thrill Jockey label, an independent more noted for its avant-garde, often electronic artist roster. Thrill Jockey finally released Feels Like the Third Time in 1995, the same year of the group's critical breakthrough, Old Paint. Benefiting from increased attention due to Eleventh Dream Day's hiatus, Old Paint led many critics to hail Freakwater as one of the best, most authentic-sounding alt-country artists around. They were offered a deal with Steve Earle's Warner-associated label, but ultimately turned it down to remain with Thrill Jockey.

Bean and Irwin consolidated their reputation on 1998's Springtime, which featured multi-instrumentalist Max Johnston of Wilco lending support. Sessions for 1999's End Time were reportedly difficult, but the record was yet another acclaimed outing, and featured all original material for the first time. It also saw the band expanding their sound with additional instrumentation and even a drum kit! Freakwater remained quiet for a few years, and 2002 found both Bean and Irwin working on solo albums for Thrill Jockey. Irwin's Cut Yourself a Switch appeared in late 2002, while Bean and her backing band, the Concertina Wire, issued Dragging Wonder Lake in early 2003. In 2005, reakwater reconvened with producer Tim Rutili and members of Califone to release Thinking of You, continuing with the new group sound introduced on End Time. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Steve Earle always played hard country music with the swagger of a rock & roll star, so it made sense that he would take a detour out of Nashville, both literally and figuratively. On Copperhead Road, Earle opted to record in Memphis and veered away from mainstream country in several directions at once -- into potent hard rock (most notably on... [+] Read More

Steve Earle always played hard country music with the swagger of a rock & roll star, so it made sense that he would take a detour out of Nashville, both literally and figuratively. On Copperhead Road, Earle opted to record in Memphis and veered away from mainstream country in several directions at once -- into potent hard rock (most notably on the superb title song, which became his first rock radio hit), as well as Irish folk (with the Pogues backing Earle on "Johnny Come Lately") and even bluegrass (virtuoso acoustic pickers Sam Bush and Jerry Douglas sit in on "Nothing But a Child"). If Copperhead Road lacked a bit of the tight focus of his acclaimed debut, Guitar Town, it had energy, firepower, and smart-ass humor to spare (along with Earle's always-superb songs), and it made clear that Steve Earle had the stuff to be a contender in rock & roll, if that were what he wanted. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Lacking some of the focus that made her debut album so stunning, Hell Among the Yearlings is nevertheless a thoroughly satisfying second album from Gillian Welch. Instead of backing away from the rustic folkiness of Revival, Welch deepens her bleak, clear-eyed world view, which makes her spare, old-timey arrangements all the more powerful. On... [+] Read More

Lacking some of the focus that made her debut album so stunning, Hell Among the Yearlings is nevertheless a thoroughly satisfying second album from Gillian Welch. Instead of backing away from the rustic folkiness of Revival, Welch deepens her bleak, clear-eyed world view, which makes her spare, old-timey arrangements all the more powerful. On occasion, the performances and songs are a bit too studied to be truly effective, but those moments are fleeting -- Hell Among the Yearlings offers ample proof that Welch is a talented, individual songwriter and that her debut was no fluke. ~ Thom Owens, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Buckner's 1994 debut is an accomplished but subdued affair with hardly a trace of rock in sight. The emphasis is on his rich-but-weary vocals and sober tales of romance and restlessness, with dignified Texas prairie backup by such esteemed regionals as Lloyd Maines (who produced) and Ponty Bone. Very much in the vein of Butch Hancock, but much... [+] Read More

Buckner's 1994 debut is an accomplished but subdued affair with hardly a trace of rock in sight. The emphasis is on his rich-but-weary vocals and sober tales of romance and restlessness, with dignified Texas prairie backup by such esteemed regionals as Lloyd Maines (who produced) and Ponty Bone. Very much in the vein of Butch Hancock, but much darker at this point, without the eccentricity and boisterousness that characterizes much of Hancock and fellow Lubbockite Terry Allen's work. [The 1999 reissue of Bloomed contains five previously unreleased bonus tracks.] ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide [-] Hide

A consolidation of Freakwater's status as one of the best -- perhaps the best -- 1990s exponents of the folk-country tradition. The Appalachian flavor is, if anything, a little more pronounced than usual, but the songwriting is utterly contemporary, and the Irwin-Bean harmonies among their best. "Binding Twine," with its delectably sad... [+] Read More

A consolidation of Freakwater's status as one of the best -- perhaps the best -- 1990s exponents of the folk-country tradition. The Appalachian flavor is, if anything, a little more pronounced than usual, but the songwriting is utterly contemporary, and the Irwin-Bean harmonies among their best. "Binding Twine," with its delectably sad melody and vocals, has the makings of a modern classic; "Jesus Year" has some great trembling harmonies; and "Slowride," more unexpectedly, has the country-rock punch of the late-'60s Byrds in that group's better moments. Most unusual lyrical twist: "Louisville Lip," inspired by Muhammad Ali's toss of his gold medal into the Ohio River after getting denied service at a restaurant. Max Konrad Johnston, formerly of Wilco, helps out on guitar, fiddle, banjo, Dobro, mandolin, and vocals, helping devise a sound that is both spare and textured. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide [-] Hide

It took until 1997 for RCA to get it together and replace their Best of Guy Clark with this package, The Essential Guy Clark. The major differences: almost all of the 20 tracks here were cut by Guy Clark on two separate RCA albums -- Old No. 1 and Texas Cookin' -- although "It's About That Time," and "Good to Love You Lady" have been cut from... [+] Read More

It took until 1997 for RCA to get it together and replace their Best of Guy Clark with this package, The Essential Guy Clark. The major differences: almost all of the 20 tracks here were cut by Guy Clark on two separate RCA albums -- Old No. 1 and Texas Cookin' -- although "It's About That Time," and "Good to Love You Lady" have been cut from the latter album. RCA's Best of Guy Clark contained only 16 tracks. In their place is a true Guy Clark rarity: a cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Don't Let the Sunshine Fool You." Secondly, this collection is represented by an adequate set of liner notes that give all the credits and production information. Lastly, with recordings this important, they are given first-rate sound treatment. All of the cuts on this set have been remastered in 20-bit sound from the original source tapes. Therefore, the original versions of tracks like "Rita Ballou," "The Last Gunfighter Ballad," "Desperadoes Waiting for a Train," and "That Old Time Feelin'" along with as many others, sound better here than they do on any import recordings that are known of. The only complaint concerning this LP is using the term "essential" in the title instead of just using straight reissues of the albums as two-fers with their given titles (The Essential Guy Clark is part of a series RCA had going), which makes it confusing for both the fan and the casual listener. Given this, neither of these records are actually out of print, except individually under their own names, which is ridiculous. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide [-] Hide