Your Roots are Showing: Immersed in '80s Torch and Twang

     

A couple of years ago, I happened to be watching both Halt and Catch Fire as well as Red Oaks, two shows set in the 1980s.  I generally liked the vast majority of musical choices, but the near complete lack of anything remotely twangy on either show got me thinking about how the rootsy music of the 80s, whether it be mainstream country fare or the various strains of alternative country (even though it wasn't called that then), seems very underappreciated today.  Maybe it's because I'm a Gen Xer, but it does seem like both 70s and 90s roots music maintains both more cache and more popular appreciation.   To remedy (well, as much as I possibly can) the situation, I decided to put together a six volume compilation - volumes 3-6 will follow over the next three months.  I did, however, make a decision not to include any of the artists that were on my '90s and '00s alternative country compilations.

           I should also note that there are probably at least 2-3 vinyl rips on each disc and the quality does vary a bit.  But it's still a lot better quality than listening to it on a cassette player in a car so don't complain to management unless it's really bad. :)  Lastly, I thought I should recommend a couple of the albums that I relied on to put together the compilations.   I highly recommend the Mekons' Honky Tonkin' and the Long Ryders' State of Our Union from the first disk and The Meat Puppets II Blasters  and Ted Hawkins' Happy Hour.

 Download Both Disks

Disc 1
Country Death Song	Violent Femmes
Five Feet High And Risin'	Tracey and Melissa Beehive
Heart Attack	Beat Rodeo
Pledge Of Love	The Del-Lords
Venice Skyline Rag	Pete & The Bigshots
Lights Of Downtown	The Long Ryders
Oh Darlin'	The O'Kanes
Every Angel In Heaven	Gene Clark & Carla Olson
The Way We Make A Broken Heart	Rosanne Cash
Heart to Heart	Skeeter Davis,NRBQ
Diamond Hill	Butch Hancock
Dark Glasses	Ben Vaughn
Crazy Country Hop	The Skeletons
Who's That Knocking At My Door?	The Dreadful Snakes
Crazy Over You	Foster And Lloyd
Misery	The Bodeans
Prince of Darkness	Mekons
Shut It Tight	T-Bone Burnett
Disc 2
The Lubbock Tornado (I Don't Know)	Terry Allen & The Panhandle Mystery Band
Punk Rockin' Honky Tonk Girl	The Blue Chieftains
The Long Bow	Bill Monroe
Thirty Years Of Farming	Fred Eaglesmith
Let There Be Love	Dave Durham
They Never Will Know	Marshall Crenshaw
So Blue About You	True Believers
Track You Down (His Master's Voice)	Green On Red
Tennessee Plates	John Hiatt
Nothing Can Stop Me Loving You	Lone Justice
Lost	Meat Puppets
All Falls Away	The Silos
Ain't It Strange	Drivin N Cryin
Wild and Blue	John Anderson
Border Radio	The Blasters
Happy Hour	Ted Hawkins
Misfits	Neil Young
The Catfish Song	Townes Van Zandt

The Wonder of it All: A Stevie Wonder Collection

   If I was a fella prone to conspiracy theories, I would probably believe it if someone said that Stevie Wonder was much older than his official birth date.  Like, I know, he was first Little Stevie Wonder, but I will never wrap my mind around the fact that he completed the last of his string of mid-70's brilliant albums - Music of My Mind (1972); Talking Book (1972); Innervisions (1973); Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974); and Songs in the Key of Life (1976) - by the time he was 26.   Just bananas.  But rather than dwell on such things, I figure it's much better just to listen to the music so here's a Stevie retrospective.

Download

The First Garden
I've Got You
I Want My Baby Back
If Your Love Cannot Be Moved
Paulsby
If You Really Love Me
Love Having You Around
Golden Lady
It Ain't No Use
Isn't She Lovely
Everybody's Talking
Ain't That Love
Jungle Fever
Be Cool Be Calm (And Keep Yourself Together)
I'm More Than Happy (I'm Satisfied)
Dream
Purple Rain Drops
Heaven Help Us All