THE NEAR-PERFECT BOXED SET
(OR, "EXPLAINING ALT.COUNTRY IN 16 LPs")

We here at CHEEZEBALL.NET were recently presented with an interesting challenge: explain alt.country in sixteen albums. The so-called "alt.country genre" is notoriously dificult to define, we realize. When asked, we usually mutter something about its being "part country, part punk, literate, and left-leaning"--but that doesn't really say much, does it?

In the past few years, various parties have released compilation albums in an effort to help define the genre. Such compliations include:

Hell Bent: Insurgent Country Vol 2 (1995)
Exposed Roots: The Best of Alt.Country (1999)
Rough Guide to Americana (2001)
Lost Highway: Lost and Found, Vol 1 (2003)
No Depression: What It Sounds Like, Vol 1 (2004)
This Is Americana (2004)
This is Americana, Vol 2 (2005)

We like mix tapes, and the compliations listed above certainly do contain some darn good songs. Nevertheless, we still cling to the antiquated notion that the LP is an integral unit of music. So, tossing aside the various soundtrack endeavors, we set out to encapsulate the genre in sixteen full-length records.

Our first idea was to pick our favorite sixteen alt.country albums, and call it a day. We were soon questioning the merits of endorsing an entirely idiosyncratic collection, however, and thus decided to shift our focus from our "favorite" albums to the "best" sixteen alt.country record ever made (in our ever-so-humble estimation). Equally idiosyncratic, perhaps, but we soon had a list. To our ultimate dismay, however, the list contained but eight artists, and most of the sixteen albums were released in the mid-1990s. Perhaps a list of the "best" alt.country albums, we realized, was not the best way to contruct a generic primer.

Finally, we decided that the most productive way to give a snapshot of the genre would be to select strong albums (consensus "best" or "near-best") from a wide variety of alt.country-ish artists (fifteen in all) and to attempt to distribe the selections evenly over the sixteen year period from 1990 to 2005.

Our attempts at uniform chronological distribution were not entirely successful, for in the end, we favored the music over the release dates. Nevertheless, we have compiled a list of albums spanning from 1990 to 2004 that we feel would made an excellent listening guide for anyone wishing to work her way through the alt.country genre in sixteen discs.

So, without further ado, our Near-Perfect Boxed Set:

UNCLE TUPELO NO DEPRESSION (1990)

Yes, we've heard of the Blasters, Jason & the Scorchers, the Beat Farmers, et al. We're familiar with the argument that Uncle Tupelo didn't invent alt.country, that they weren't even the first band to marry punk and country influences. We've even heard tell that "alt.country" doesn't exist, that there is no "alt.country movement," there never was, and, even if there had been, it ended before anyone ever heard of it. Whatever. Even the naysayers must admit that something coalesced around the boys from Belleville, and this, their debut release many not have shaken the earth, but it is THE place to start listening your way through alt.country.

THE JAYHAWKS HOLLYWOOD TOWN HALL (1992)

A stellar album from the Minnesota popsters, arguably their most alt.countrified effort. The Jayhawks seem to get less alt.country and more sugarpop with every Gary Louris-led effort, but Mark Olson was around for Hollywood Town Hall and the subsequent Tomorrow the Green Grass (1995).

UNCLE TUPELO ANODYNE (1993)

The most polished offering from Uncle Tupelo. Still Feel Gone (1991) and March 16-20, 1992 (1992) are both laudable efforts, and while our boxed set doesn't include them, your collection probably should.

SON VOLT TRACE (1995)

Trace is rightly considered by many to be one of the finest albums the alt.country genre has produced. Okemah and the Melody of Riot (2005) is also worth the time.

THE BOTTLE ROCKETS THE BROOKLYN SIDE (1995)

Certainly Bottle Rockets frontman Brian Henneman must detest the "former Uncle Tupelo roadie" label. Ah, well, UT roadie he was. An uneven record, but, despite the warts, tracks like "Welfare Music," "Sunday Sports," and "$1000 Car" make this one obligatory.

WILCO BEING THERE (1996)

Wilco's first release, A.M. (1995) is a listenable collection of alt.country ditties, but Being There is near perfect. After Being There, alas, Wilco abandoned the alt.country scene for the greener pastures of indy pop.

WHISKEYTOWN FAITHLESS STREET (1996)

An argument could be made for Stranger's Almanac (1997), but this ragged collection featuring an oh-so-young Ryan Adams is enjoyably messy.

BLUE MOUNTAIN HOMEGROWN (1997)

Some are partial to Dog Days (1995), but we choose Homegrown.

OLD 97s TOO FAR TO CARE (1997)

We might have chosen Wreck Your Life (1995), but this near-perfect album captures the band at the height of their powers.

STEVE EARLE EL CORAZÓN (1997)

After his release from jail, Earle released a trio of much-lauded albums in the mid-1990s. Train A Comin' (1995) and I Feel Alright (1996) were contenders for this slot, but we went with El Corazón.

RICHARD BUCKNER SINCE (1998)

Maybe Buckner is more of a folkie than an alt.countryman. Maybe we should have chosen Bloomed (1994). Maybe listening to Richard Buckner fills a person with anxiety and incertitude. We don't know. (But we're darn sure that Since is a gem.)

LUCINDA WILLIAMS CAR WHEELS (1998)

In this, our Near-Perfect Boxed Set, women are underrepresented. We know, and we apologize. If it makes you feel any better, Gillian Welch's Time (The Revelator) (2001) made the penultimate draft. And we gave serious consideration to Neko Case. But we digress. Lucinda's no token, by the way, and for those of you new to this alt.country thing, the full album title is Car Wheels on a Gravel Road--it just wouldn't fit in the header above.

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS PIZZA DELIVERANCE (1999)

Southern Rock Opera (2001), Decoration Day (2003) and The Dirty South (2004) get more attention than Pizza Deliverance, but this is a great record in its own right (and more alt.countryish than DBT's later releases).

RYAN ADAMS HEARTBREAKER (2000)

The first solo album by the neurotically prolific Ryan Adams is the benchmark by which all the others will be judged. We suspect that Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (who play alongside Ryan on this release) are to blame.

KATHLEEN EDWARDS FAILER (2003)

She's not the Canadian Tom Petty. We don't know who started that sh*t. If you haven't heard this album, give it a listen--you'll be hooked.

RICHMOND FONTAINE POST TO WIRE (2004)

It took us a while to get past the gimmicky postcards, yes, but this is one of the strongest alt.country records to have been released in the past few years.