The Best of No Depression: Writing about American Music

by Alden, Grant

• ISBN13: 9780292709898
• ISBN10: 0292709897
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-09-01
• Publisher: Univ of Texas Pr

Summary

Since the magazine's founding in 1995, No Depression has reported on and helped define the music that goes by names such as alt.country, Americana, and roots music. Though dismissed by the commercial country music establishment as "music that doesn't sell," alternative country has attracted thousands of listeners who long for the authenticity and rich complexity that come from its potent blend of country and rock 'n' roll and any number of related musical genres and subgenres. To celebrate No Depression's tenth anniversary and spotlight some of the most important artists and trends in alt.country music, editors Grant Alden and Peter Blackstock have compiled this anthology of twenty-five of the magazine's best and most representative feature articles. Their subjects range from venerated country artists such as Johnny Cash and Ray Price to contemporary songwriters such as Lucinda Williams and Buddy and Julie Miller to the post-punk country-influenced bands Wilco and the Drive-By Truckers. All of the articles included here illustrate No Depression's commitment to music writing that puts the artist front-and-center and covers his or her career in sufficient depth to be definitive. Alden and Blackstock have also written a preface to this volume in which they discuss the alt.country phenomenon and the history and editorial philosophy that have made No Depression the bible for everyone seeking genuine American roots music.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Grant Alden
Peter Blackstock
Not Just Another Band from East L.A.: Los Lobos	1	(12)
Geoffrey Himes
The True Believer: Alejandro Escovedo	13	(16)
Peter Blackstock
Ain't Life Grand: Jon Dee Graham	29	(11)
Peter Blackstock
When the Fallen Angels Fly: Billy Joe Shaver	40	(14)
Grant Alden
Outlaw Blues: Ray Wylie Hubbard	54	(10)
John T. Davis
One Road More: The Flatlanders	64	(13)
Don McLeese
Burning Memories: Ray Price	77	(15)
David Cantwell
The Music Came Up from His Soul: Johnny Gimble	92	(11)
Bill C. Malone
The Man in Black and White and Every Shade in Between: Johnny Cash	103	(14)
Bill Friskics-Warren
The Long Journey Home: Rosanne Cash	117	(10)
Lloyd Sachs
Happy Woman Blues: Lucinda Williams	127	(8)
Silas House
Hearts on Fire: Buddy and Julie Miller	135	(11)
Bill Friskics-Warren
Sweet Emotion: Kasey Chambers	146	(13)
Geoffrey Himes
Make Me Wanna Holler: Loretta Lynn	159	(10)
Barry Mazor
Down from the Mountain: Patty Loveless	169	(13)
Bill Friskics-Warren
A Simple Path: Kieran Kane	182	(11)
Peter Cooper
Horse of a Different Color: Paul Burch	193	(8)
Jim Ridley
Coal Miner's Sister: Hazel Dickens	201	(12)
Bill Friskics-Warren
Quicksilver Girl: Gillian Welch	213	(10)
Grant Alden
Go Your Own Way: Ryan Adams	223	(8)
David Menconi
World Wide Open: Jay Farrar	231	(10)
Peter Blackstock
Outside the Wall: The Jayhawks	241	(11)
Erik Flannigan
In through the Out Door: Wilco	252	(15)
Paul Cantin
Rocking Tall: The Drive-By Truckers	267	(13)
Grant Alden
A Life of Quiet Inspiration: Iron & Wine	280	(7)
William Bowers
Author Notes	287