Where do I start with country music?

..and here’s where you finish

Can’t stand Knopfler or Country, but strangely this ablum was actually bearable as background waffle.

oh, and this

It’s a broad church:

Challenge you to watch that and not fall slightly in love with JN….. 😉

For ‘indie’ country try;

Josh T Pearson, try not to cut yourself while listening (very melancholic)

Mathew E White, a bit happier with gospel/R&B undertones.

Kurt Vile, electric folk, closer to standard indie music.

My head hurts. So much sadness.

Should’ve gone for “what dubstep for” instead…

Nah…. 😀

‘Weed, whites & wine….’

The Jamie XX and Gil Scott Heron album is brilliant if you fancy some good quality dubstep

I’d basically follow CountZero’s suggestions. Particularly Emmy Lou Harris and Gram Parson: Boulder to Birmingham is about the latter by the former.

Gram Parsons – start with the Gram era Byrds, then go to the Flying Burrito Brothers, then move on to luxuriate in his solo albums (where you will also hear the young Emmylou).

For laughs, try Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen – then move back to the source: Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys.

For more laughs plus some truly rousing live music, catch a Hank Wangford gig.

This has been a big Wednesday.

Thanks Rusty!

edit: huws been there for years. Precisely why I want to find the history of country, thanks to Gil Sacot Heron and James Taylor and Emmylou Harris.

Kind of like when you watch the Rolling Stones in ’67.

Where did that come from?

Lambchop?

I’m American and hate the stuff! 😡 There’s entire radio stations devoted to it! 😯

It all sounds like this to me

samuri – Member

They’ve got country…………*and* western.

Very good 🙂

Jason and the Scorchers

Gillian Welsh

Bob Harris on R2.

OP must listen to Alison Kauss and Union Station – Wow, the voice of an angel and well crafted songs with talented players, not least Jerry Douglas on Dobro guitar – check her out! 🙂

Start with two albums

Cash Live at Folsom Prison
Townes Van Zandt Live at the Old Quarter ( careful with Townes some of the stdio albums are shit)

Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the world and I’ll stand on Bob Dylans coffee table in my cowboy boots and say so. Steve Earle

I’ve met Bob Dylan and his body guards and I dont think Steve Earle would get anywhere near his coffee table.After those two try Guy Clark, Blaze Foley, Kris Kristofferson all wrote amazing tunes.

Hayes Carll is my current favourite. Give ‘trouble in mind’ a listen.

If you want the Western bit of C&W then listen to Frankie Laine all entertaining ‘cowboy’ stuff.
Saw a lot of Cajun bands a few years ago, that’s quite entertaining but forget trying to understand any of the lyrics. If you want to sing along just slam your testicles in the cutlery drawer and you’ll be fine.

To make country sound good try “oil field country” almost anything sounds good after that.

Been living with a crazy canuck that loves that shit.

Felt like sticking his head in the fridge door and slaming it repeatedly for subjecting me to it.

He didnt much like the hospital podcast neither though

Finstigator- try the Townes Van Zandt stuff and also try Micah P Hinson.

Sarabeth Tucket (sp) is pretty good too.

I’ll send you an email with a list off my spotifys.

Text me it please.

Mark

Another vote for Hayes Carll here, – I started with ‘K.M.A.G.Y.O.Y.O and other stories’ and soon bought the other 2 albums.
Funny lyrics, good writing and a unique voice 🙂

Can we have ‘Trampled by Turtles’ ?

Cowboy junkies
Martin plock
We died at sea
Elvis costello did an ace country album.

I can strongly recommend Kacey Musgraves album – Same Trailer Different Park – we haven’t stopped playing it for months

David Allan Coe is always worth a listen.

Tyger is right on Alison Krauss and Union Station. I’m a bit of a fan of the Be Good Tanya’s so laid back their almost horizontal.

I know that this a bit of a confession that will destroyer the on atom of credibility I aspire to but here goes……..I think Dolly Parton is pretty good to. Ah that’s better.

Elvis Costello album was ‘A Good Year For The Roses’, good stuff.

Lucinda WIlliams as mentioned earlier is excellent. Car Wheels on A Gravel Road and World WIthout Tears. ‘West’ has some excellent stuff as well. Listen to songs such as ‘Jackson’ or Lake Charles.

I also like Gillian Welch, Ryan Adams, Scud Mountain Boys, Pernice Brothers.

Alison Kauss and Union Station

+1

Mrs Binners, much as I love her, has some very dubious musical tastes. Country being one if them. Its absolutely bloody awful!!

I passed a benchmark in my life when, filled with self-loathing, I skulked into HMV (in disguise, obviously) and asked where the country section was, for this album….

…which is actually really good

Nothing modern that’s for certain.
George Jones is Mr Country if you ask me.
Dwight Yoakam for newer stuff.
DO NOT listen to the radio 2 country show. That’s not country.

Townes. Tower Song. End of thread.

emmylous harris – hard bargain album

George Jones is Mr Country if you ask me.

Has it really taken 3 pages for George Jones to get a mention? I would have posted a G.J. song but couldn’t decide on which one.

Can’t believe nobody has mentioned Dixie Chicks:

I don’t like the rhinestoney stuff at all, but quite like the kind of country that I imagine is played by dangerous-looking drunken rednecks.

Like this:

Not ‘canon’, but still good.

‘King of America’ by Elvis Costello.

‘Almost Blue’ isn’t a patch on it.

+1 for loads of the good (and funny) suggestions already posted. Whispering Bob Harris’ shows are worth a listen for country / americana/ Austin/ Nashville sounds. A few years old, Rough Trade’s country compilation might ease you into the less trad side of things if you find that side of things appealing. Some more “non-american-country” in the following…

First Aid Kit (simple arrangements, pop production, nashville sound, from Stockholm).

the Gourds (Austin meets Compton, some good playing, worth checking their other covers).

Thomas Fraser (pretty interesting guy. A fisherman from the northern isles, listened to old 78s brought to Shetland in the 30s, recorded himself on a reel to reel, “discovered” and released 20 odd years after his death).

I’m going to listen to all of these tonight on the Mac….