Craig’s Friday Countdown:  Alt country bands by best 2 songs

Craig’s Friday Countdown:  Alt country bands by best 2 songs

Alt Country Bands By Best Two Songs

Notes

- Songs not necessarily the best song of the band, just the best two alt country songs

- Thus, bands not necessarily ranked by overall quality

- Songs not necessarily written by the bands

- Alt country = my opinion

 

 

25.  Omar & The Howlers (Hard Times In The Land of Plenty) – They’re guidelines, not rules.  One solid, howling social justice song makes the list, and this one's better than the Bottle Rockets' Radar Gun.

24.  Treat Her Right (I Think She Likes Me) – see Omar & The Howlers, subtract the howling and replace social justice with bar justice

23.  Jason & The Scorchers (19th Nervous Breakdown, White Lies) – Anyone want some decaf?  Thought not.

22.  Jayhawks (Waiting For The Sun, Clouds) - Well, there's your problem.

21.  Kid Rock (Cowboy, All Summer Long)

20.  Long Ryders (Looking For Lewis & Clark, I Want You Bad)

19.  BoDeans (Still The Night, Angels) – Heartland rock, not alt country?  Maybe.  A sturdy debut album, nonetheless.

18.  Paula Cole (Where Have All The Cowboys Gone, I Don’t Want To Wait) – Live on Letterman for the best I Don’t Want To Wait recording.

17.  ZZ Top (LaGrange, Cheap Sunglasses) – Pre MTV.  Not that I have anything against chopped 33 Fords.

16.  Tom Morello, With & Without Bruce Springsteen  (Ghost of Tom Joad, Union Song, live in Madison)

15.  Son Volt (Drown, Windfall)

13. (tie)  JD McPherson (North Side Gal, Scandalous) - a little rockabilly

13.  (tie) Sugar & The Hi Lows (Two Day High, Skip The Line) - a little pop

12.  Lucinda Williams (Can’t Let Go, Side of The Road) - a whole lot of smoldering

11.  John Mellencamp (Minutes To Memories, Scarecrow)

10.  Justin Townes Earl (Rogers Park, Can’t Hardly Wait) – A plaintive song about the streets of my youth and a cover of the Replacements classic.  Who’d have thunk?

9.  Steve Earle (Rain Came Down, Someday, Guitar Town, Copperhead Road, Promise You Anything, Billy Austin, Johnny Come Lately, What’s So Funny Bout Peace Love and Understanding, and on and on) - Copperhead Road best played on North Carolina Route 128, heading down from Mount Mitchell.   Promise You Anything features Maria McKee, perfectly.

8.  Ryan Adams / Whiskeytown (Lucky Now, 16 Days)

7.  Emmylou Harris (Two More Bottles of Wine, Belle Starr) – Pre (and post) alt. country.

6.  Wilco (Monday, Box Full of Letters, & California Stars w/ Billy Bragg) – They grew up, nicely.  Perhaps into the best band in the land.  But the early stuff holds up fine.

5.  Uncle Tupelo (The Long Cut, Chickamauga) – The even earlier stuff.

4.  Lone Justice (Ways To Be Wicked, Shelter) – Maria McKee, in a sundress and Chucks, with a Telecaster.  MTV serves a purpose, and the alt country obsession starts here. 

3.  Old 97s (Longer Than You’ve Been Alive, 19) – A quarter century, and their last album is, arguably, their best.

2.  CCR (Fortunate Son, Lookin Out My Back Door, etc.)

1.  Woody Guthrie (California Stars, This Land Is Your Land) – All, hail.