Thursday, May 19, 2011

Rig Rock Jukebox (and Truck Stop)

          When doing my alternative country show in the 90s, I always had a fondness for compilation cds from a particular region/scene. One of my faves from this period was Rig Rock Jukebox - a collection from the Diesel Only label of primarily New York City based alt-country acts (actually, the cd came out several years before that term was coined. It's been out of print for some time now, as is the follow-up collection from Diesel Only (which featured bands from all over). The latter isn't quite as consistently good, but I still think they both hold up pretty well. (Oh, and the third Diesel Only collection, Rig Rock Deluxe, an all trucking songs collection, is still in print and the best of them all.)


Good Morning Mr. Trucker World Famous Blue Jays
Punk Rockin' Honky Tonk Girl The Blue Chieftains
Miss Fabulous Mumbo Gumbo
Leaving Angel Dean & The Zephyrs
Why I Drink Go To Blazes
Hands Off Courtney & Western
Baltimore Five Chinese Brothers
Two Hearts The Twanglers
Messed Up Thing Gwil Owen
Do It For Hank World Famous Blue Jays
I Think Hank Woulda Done It This Way The Blue Chieftains
New Blue Yodel (Blue Yodel #14) Mark Brine
Good Morning Mr. Afternoon Mumbo Gumbo
97 Miles Go To Blazes
Diplomat Courtney & Western
Diesel Only Theme (Inst.) World Famous Blue Jays


UFOs, Big Rigs & BBQ Mojo Nixon And The World Famous Blue Jays
Diesel Dazey Killbilly
Hot Black Coffee Gwil Owen
Life Preserver Angel Dean & The Zephyrs
She's A Waitress (And I'm In Love) Five Chinese Brothers
Cheeseburger Deluxe World Famous Blue Jays
Lovin' You Is Killin' Me Courtney & Western
After The Hurricane The Blue Chieftains
Messed Up Again Go To Blazes
Cheater's World Amy Allison and the Maudlins
Woke Up Surreal McCoys
Out Of The Frying Pan (Into Desire) Wheelers And Dealers
Chug-A-Lug Mojo Nixon And The World Famous Blue Jays
Too Much Coffee Gwil Owen
Hoedown In The Sky Jean Caffeine's All Night Truckstop
Ricky Skaggs Tonite Will Rigby
Second Best Angel Dean & The Zephyrs
Hotel Albert Joe Flood
Am I In Love Courtney & Western
Cookin' With Jay (Instr.) World Famous Blue Jays

11 comments:

Paul said...

These are right up there with the Town South of Bakersfield series. Good stuff!

Ishkabibliophile said...

@Paul,
Maybe it's because I'm a NYC boy, but I'm kinda partial to the Diesel Only comps. Of course, the Bakersfield comps (especially Vol 1) did produce a lot more name acts (Lucinda, Dwight, Jann Browne, Jim Lauderdale). Volume 3 is still available, but 1/2 are out of print. If anyone sees them on a blog, please post it here - if not, I'll post it next week.

bob said...

nice thank you

charlie said...

thank you so much for this I had vol 1 on cassette and wore it out. This is some really good music

Ishkabibliophile said...

@Bob and Charlie,

Quite welcome. (I had them both on cd, but I also put both front/back on cassettes for car listening)

LakerCrazy said...

Thanks Ish for these "Comp Gems". Glad the links are still working fine. Hope everything is good for you.Remember summer is just around the corner!

Ishkabibliophile said...

@LakerCrazy,

Of course, I had to re-up these. Perhaps my nostalgia gets the best of me, but I think the best cuts on these comps still hold up pretty well.

philippe said...

Hi Ish

Wow !!!!!

It's Philippe again Sorry to bother you The more I dig in your blog the more I'm surprised Those 2 compilations are deleted from ages now

A pity because most of the bands are top notch & some tracks are impossible to find unless you got the original 7 inches

So if you could please re open those groundbreaking anthologies of alternate obscure bands of the nineties you will make me a very happy man

Many thx in anticipation & really it's such a nice surprise to find those nuggets on your blog

All the best, cheers

Philippe

Ishkabibliophile said...

Phillipe,

Done and done! I also re-upped the Let's Flat Get on It comps - a collection of mostly 90s rockabilly and western swing West Coast acts.

https://rightsideofagoodthing.blogspot.com/search?q=let%27s+flat

best,
Ish

philippe said...

Hi Ish

I have downloaded both of them Splendid

Some of the bands despite of their class are so difficult to find : World Famous Blue Jays,The Twanglers, The Blue Chieftains(despite Tim Carroll great career & marriage, just kidding) or Joe Flood to name a few of them

A goldmine

Fortunately a band like Go To Blazes made a name for themselves for Almost A Decade !!!!!!

Definitively my cup of Bourbon but in this case no trucking :-)

Many many thx but it's only the beginning I will follow your advice & grab Let's Flat Get on It files A very busy afternoon courtesy of your great blog & very gentle sharing policy

Have a great week

Sincerely yours

Cheers, Philippe

Ishkabibliophile said...

Phillipe,

I got to see the Blue Chieftains and Courtney and Western (and I think Go to Blazes) way back in the day. It was a few years before Alternative Country had it's day in the sun so I think that's the big reason for their lack of attention.

best,
Ish