Americana/Country Rock

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CSN
CSNY
James Taylor
The Band
Gram Parsons
Flying Burrito Bros.
Pure Prairie League
Graham Nash
Ry Cooder
America
Stephen Stills
Firefall
Eagles
Emmylou Harris
Orleans
Little Feat
Robbie Robertson
Michael Chapman
The Byrds
Mark Knopfler
Mary C. Carpenter
The Doobie Brothers
CC Revival
Bobbie Gentry
Neil Young
Boz Scaggs
Linda Ronstadt
Link Wray
Lucinda Williams
Ryan Adams
Tom Waits
Area Code 615
Poco
David Crosby
Dave Alvin
Tony Joe White
Soozie Tyrell
Neville Brothers
Lady Antebellum
Ozark Mtn Daredevils
J.S. Ondara
J.J. Cale
Gretchen Wilson
Marshall Tucker Bd.

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The Beat: You Just Can't Beat It: The Best Of The Beat

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Bruce Springsteen, like Bob Dylan and Van Morrison, isn't your "greatest hits" kinda guy, is he? Like those two, he is not particularly known for hit singles and many of his best album tracks are lengthy numbers.  I am sure there are many Bruce aficionados/obsessives just like me who would have chosen tracks such as Racing In The Street, The Promised Land, Rosalita (Come Out Tonight), Incident On 57th Street, Blinded By The Light, Lost In the Flood, Sandy (4th Of July, Asbury Park), Jungleland,  Backstreets, Cadillac Ranch, The Price You Pay, Sherry Darling, Point Blank, No Surrender, Highway Patrolman .....I could type on endlessly and none of them are on here.  What we get on here are actually a few of my least favourite Boss numbers! So, I'm not quite sure who this collection is intended to appeal to. I will add my song-by-song comments, however. First, a brief diversion - a little intro to "me 'n' Bruce" - On Friday September 29, 1978, aged nine
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Trojan Presents Classic Reggae

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There are certainly some fine collections in this series from the legendary Jamaican Trojan label but this is arguably the best, functioning as a sort of compressed, bite-size history of reggae itself. It also has remastered its many classic cuts outstandingly well.  Let's look at what's on offer - Disc One The collection kicks off by including an original ska number in Byron Lee & The Dragonaires' joyful  Jamaica Ska . Ska was where it all began, of course, before the rock steady rude boys came along.... Desmond Dekker & The Aces' 007 (Shanty Town)  is  Rude Boy Heaven. The song became a hit in the UK. Its James Bond/007 message is unclear, he is only mentioned in one line, but the rest of the song would seem to be another anti-Rude Boy condemnation. "Rude Boy him a weep and a-wail" . Continuing the rude boy theme, Dandy recorded the original of A Message To You Rudy , memorably covered by The Specials. Rico Rodriguez, who played on The Specials'
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Burning Spear: Man In The Hills - 1976

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  After its cult-status predecessor (certainly in UK reggae-punk crossover circles) this was a credible follow-up, although it was noticeably more pastoral, relaxed and chilled-out than its incendiary and righteous forebear.  This is highlighted by the title track, Man In The Hills , which champions a rural existence over an urban one, just as Jacob Miller did with his "Rasta c'yaan live in no tenement yard" sentiment.  Door Peep , released as Spear's first, unsuccessful single, actually dated from back in 1969, when Winston Rodney, after a surprise meeting with Bob Marley while out waking in the fields, decided to go to Studio One to promote his work.  Other highlights are No More War, Lion, People Get Ready and Black Soul . I like this album a lot, it has a nice sound quality to it, melodic basslines and a subtle vibe that is infectious. Not sure about the strange green head cover though! 
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Burning Spear: Marcus Garvey/Garvey's Ghost - 1975

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  Burning Spear (Winston Rodney) gave the world one of the great roots reggae albums here. Burning Spear’s  Marcus Garvey  was released at the end of 1975 and was at the forefront of the black consciousness movement within reggae. It was a veritable foundation stone of the whole roots reggae movement.  It was tied in, of course, with Rastafarianism, and the Jamaican Rasta hero prophet.  Marcus Garvey  gives his name to the album’s title and, indeed its powerful, horn-driven title track that opens the album. This is very much a militant, issue-led album, with a dual attack of religious devotion and cultural awareness, as was so often the case with roots albums. As with the others, too, this does not detract from the appealing, tuneful sound of the album, however. This pretty much applies to all the roots reggae albums of the period. The mid to late seventies were fertile years for authentic roots reggae.  Slavery Days  is an iconic song with clear references - “ Do you remember the days
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Burning Spear: Dry And Heavy - 1977

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Even more full of ganga-inspired, bucolic bliss is the bright and optimistic sound of this excellent album.  Once again, musically, it is top notch and while the bass is deep, dubby and heavy (as of course it should be) it doesn't vibrate your speakers and move the pictures on your wall. It seemed as if Spear had settled down considerably by now, a lot of the righteous ire of Marcus Garvey had been diluted, no doubt by more time in the hills grinding coffee and enjoying the invigorating qualities of the sacred herb.  It was an album that showed that roots reggae, even within its stylistic limitations, could be sonically attractive and at times deceptively beautiful. This is a fine-sounding reggae album.  Highlights are Black Disciples, Dry And Heavy, Shout It Out, Throw Down Your Arms, Any River and The Sun . Also mighty crucial from Burning Spear are Marcus's Children from 1978 and Living Dub from 1979.
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The Gladiators: Proverbial Reggae - 1978

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Burning Spear: Social Living - 1978

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By 1978, Burning Spear (Winston Rodney) was three years away from what was rapidly becoming his seminal album in  Marcus Garvey  and his previous two albums, 1976's  The Man In The Hills  and 1977's  Dry And Heavy  had witnessed a lighter touch to Spear's music - lighter vocals, more lilting guitar work, bucolic lyrics and a general chilled-out vibe.  So, it was a bit of a surprise to find that this album is his heaviest, densest, rootsiest offering to date. While the  Marcus Garvey  album had, notoriously, been re-mixed by Island Records to render it more palatable to UK listeners (not really necessary because a lot of UK reggae fans loved their hard-core roots), this release underwent no such tinkering. By 1978, it seemed, people realised that the heavier and the dubbier the album was the better it would be received.  What we get here, therefore, are a series of dense, grinding roots grooves that rumble along without a huge amount of hooks and Spear's vocals becoming
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Elvis Presley: 2nd To None

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Funnily enough, I find I have arguably more favourites on this, Elvis's compilation of songs that reached number two in the charts, than on the number ones collection! What do we have here, then? A bluesy, rockin killer in Elvis's cover of Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's That's All Right to kick things off with, followed by some more highly credible rockers in Blue Suede Shoes , Mean Woman Blues, Trouble and A Mess Of Blues . If you, like me, like the essential, bluesy side of Elvis then these are for you.  One of my all-time Elvis favourites is the irrepressible  King Creole and Wear My Ring Around Your Neck is a good one too, as is Little Sister . More rockin' and less Wooden Heart -style stuff is to my taste. Ironically, though, I still can't help but love the cheesy fun of  Bossa Nova Baby and Viva Les Vegas !  As we move into the late sixties/early seventies, a period I have always liked of his, we get a superb ballad in If I Can Dream , a wonderfu
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