Outskirts of Country Blog

It's a matter of perfect timing

Rick Teverbaugh  |  July 1, 2009

As promised last time out, here is an explanation as to why right now is an ideal time to be introducing this blog for this music.

This past Tuesday Wilco released Wilco (the album) and the early reviews have been solid if not spectacular. It seems the only downside the critics can find is that it doesn't seem as ambitious as past releases. Every band needs a chance to return to what it does best and perhaps what made it popular in the beginning. But this release is remindful of why I was so enthralled by Uncle Tupelo and is a signpost to me about where these posts should be headed.

As a very longtime fan of The Band it was also nice to see that group's most distinctive vocalist, Levon Helm, put out Electric Dirt that same day. I've only sampled a few cuts but it seems to me this is a very strong entry.

But not all of this perfect timing is in the recent past. Some of it is in the future and some of it is much further in the past than last Tuesday. Next Tuesday Son Volt releases American Central Dust. If there is a line of demarcation between Wilco and Son Volt, my personal tastes have always gone on the Son Volt/Jay Farrar side. I can't wait to hear this entire album. Check out this site for details.

Then there's the Jayhawks anthology Music From the North Country, also out this Tuesday. There are two different versions of this. One is a single CD that has nothing but great material including my favorite Jayhawks number Tailspin. The second version has three discs. The second CD has unreleased material and the third is a DVD with live performances and videos. Find out more here.

I want to thank all of the acts and labels for timing their releases to sandwich around the start of this blog. It is such a nice sendoff.