In the beginning there was Country music. That in its turn created ‘Outlaw Country’ music, then ‘Alt-Country’, ‘Paisley Underground’ and now ‘Americana’. It is here that Country & Blues & Punk & Western Swing & any other form you want to include come together.
The Long Ryders first came into being as an Alt-Country band in the 1980’s, founded by Sid Griffin in LA. Griffin describes the album as “two thirds the distilled alt-country genre we helped found back in the 1980s, one third Paisley Underground adventurism, with a dash of our own crazed soulfulness thrown in.” All very true. And the result is a selection of extremely listenable numbers, across many styles, that bear repeated listening, especially on a quality playback system.
The album is produced by longtime collaborator Ed Stasium - famed for his historic work with the Ramones and previous Long Ryders albums. Stasium’s résumé also includes classic recordings by the Smithereens, Soul Asylum, Motörhead, Marshall Crenshaw, Living Colour, the Hoodoo Gurus and Julian Cope.
As to the album itself. 13 tracks crossing from punky pop though melodic rock and into country proper. Griffin has a tuneful vocal style, capable of carrying emotion through songs, while the rest of the band - Murry Hammond of Americana stalwarts Old 97s on bass, guitarist Stephen McCarthy, who also performs live with The Jayhawks and records with Dream Syndicate, Greg Sowders on drums along with guest appearances from DJ Bonebrake of punk legends X on vibes, and bluegrass prodigy Wyatt Ellis on mandolin.
Standouts are plenty. ‘Ramona’ is Country tinged pop, there is a superb version of ‘Forever Young’, a Green Day-esque ‘How How How Do You Wanna Be Loved’ and the single from the album ‘Four Winters Away’. My personal favourite is ‘A Hymn For the City Of Los Angeles’, but really, there isn’t a weak track on the album, and it is a really good listen.
