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Sep 30, 2023 · Defining the alt.country boom of the late 80s and 90s, the best alt.country musicians stood apart with an almost punk-like approach to tradition. Published on September 30, 2023
- Uncle Tupelo – Anodyne (1993) The last entry in the band’s catalog before Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar parted ways saw the band at its most fully realized.
- Lucinda Williams – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (1998) Up until this album Lucinda Williams was primarily known for her songwriting, earning a Grammy for Best Country Song with Mary Chapin Carpenter’s crossover hit “Passionate Kisses.”
- Gillian Welch – Revival (1996) Gillian Welch and her musical partner may have hailed from Los Angeles and Rhode Island, respectively, but they arrived on the alt-country scene in 1996 as if they’d just melted out of Depression-era Appalachian Mountain ice.
- Son Volt – Trace (1995) Long before there was Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, it looked like Jay Farrar was the genius behind Uncle Tupelo, as Trace was a near-perfect collection of laid-back alt-country ballads like the brilliant windows-rolled-down “Windfall” and guitar-charged college rockers like lead single “Drown.”
- Rank and File – “Amanda Ruth” (1982) One of the first bands to bear the descriptor “cowpunk,” Rank and File also had pedigrees in actual punk. Brothers Chip and Tony Kinman were in The Dils, a California band that had tight, Everly-like harmonies which were unusual in their genre.
- Meat Puppets – “Plateau” (1984) The resident cowpunks on the SST roster in the 1980s, Arizona’s Meat Puppet’s nonetheless translated their country and western influences through a hardcore filter on their debut album.
- Lone Justice – “Ways to Be Wicked” (1985) Maria McKee had a commanding stage presence, a ferocious energy, and a voice that bore a resemblance to one of her earliest supporters, Dolly Parton.
- Mekons – “Hard to Be Human Again” (1985) On paper it might not seem likely that a post-punk group from the same Leeds scene as Gang of Four and Au Pairs would end up recording one of the first great alt-country records.
Nov 25, 2009 · 1. Lyle Lovett. 2. Meat Puppets. 3. Uncle Tupelo. 4. Jason & The Scorchers. 5. Wilco. 6. Whiskeytown. 7. The Mekons. 8. Lone Justice. 9. Cowboy Junkies. 10. Lucinda Williams. 11. Jeffrey Frederick. 12. Steve Earle. 13. Johnny Cash (1990's-2000's work) 14. Blue Rodeo. 15. 16 Horsepower. 16. Drive-By Truckers.
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Jan 19, 1999 · Pitchfork. Genre. Alt-Country. 1. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - I See a Darkness. January 19, 1999. Alt-Country, Singer-Songwriter, Americana. Score. 100. Source →. Amazon. Music. 2. Mark Eitzel - West. May 6, 1997. Singer-Songwriter, Alt-Country. Score. 96. Source →. Amazon. Music. Spotify. 3. Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.
Singer/songwriter Bill Mallonee changed lineups to his Athens, Ga., outfit like some frontmen change hairstyles, and with the personnel moves came a variety of styles from alt-folk to indie rock and even Americanized Brit-pop. But one of the band’s best album’s was a straight-up alt-country gem.
