VA - American Music - The Hightone Records Story (2006) [Blues/Rock/Country/Folk]; mp3, 320 kbps

[Mike1985]

Artist: Various
Album: American Music - The Hightone Records Story
Genre: Blues/Rock/Country/Folk
Released: 2006
Quality: mp3, 320 kbps
Tracklist:

CD 1 - Blues:

1. Phone Booth - Robert Cray Band
2. Stoned, Cold, & Blue - Frankie Lee
3. Tore Up - Otis Rush
4. Smoking Gun - Robert Cray
5. 747 - Joe Louis Walker
6. Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark - Phillip Walker
7. I Want To (Do Everything For You) - King Cotton And The Swamp Coolers
8. I'll Get To Heaven On My Own - Joe Louis Walker
9. Moaning And Groaning - Johnny Shines
10. They Call Me Sundown - Lonesome Sundown
11. Sugar Bee - Chris Gaffney
12. The Devil's Livin' There - James Armstrong
13. Going Down South - R.L. Burnside
14. It's A Minor Thing - Redd Volkaert
15. Fast Food Slow Death - Clarence Brewer
16. Eyesight To The Blind - Kim Wilson
17. Miss Ida B. - Pinetop Perkins
18. How Could You Do It - Henry Gray
19. September 11th Blues - Louisiana Red

CD 2 - Rock:

1. American Music - The Blasters
2. Lord Of The Highway - Joe Ely
3. Flattop Joint - Sonny Burgess with Dave Alvin
4. Blue Collar Blues - Billy Lee Riley
5. Lickin' Stick - The Loved Ones
6. California Sun - Dick Dale
7. Sparkling City - Ted Roddy
8. I Ain't Lyin' - The Skeletons
9. Lonely Guy - Big Sandy
10. Telewacker - Redd Volkaert
11. Bullet From A Gun - Teddy Morgan & The Pistolas
12. Open The Door To Your Heart - Little Willie G
13. The Honky Tonk Wine - Carl Sonny Leyland
14. Saturday Jump - Kim Lenz
15. Hot Rodder's Lament - Deke Dickerson
16. Rockabilly Funeral - The TwangBangers feat. Bill Kirchen
17. Fourth Of July - Dave Alvin
18. Hollywood Bed - The Blasters
19. Little Bitty Kiss - Buddy Miller
20. Jug Hustler Blues - Seth Kauffman
21. Eve Of Destruction - PF Sloan w/ Frank Black and Buddy Miller

CD 3 - Country:

1. Let's Start A Rumor Today - Bobby Durham
2. Rainin' Rainin' Rainin' - Gary Stewart
3. Goodbye Lonesome, Hello Baby Doll - Lonesome Strangers
4. The Garage Sale - Buddy Miller
5. Stay Out Of My Arms - Heather Myles
6. Room 309 - Reverend Billy C. Wirtz
7. Honky Tonk Queen - Big Sandy & his Fly-Rite Boys
8. Ramblin' Fever - Billy Joe Shaver
9. I'm Pretending - Buddy Miller
10. Corpus Christi Bay - Johnny Rodriguez
11. Wine Don't Lie - Dale Watson
12. The Greatest Story Ever Told - Big Sandy & his Fly-Rite Boys
13. Comin' On Thru - Johnny Dilks & His Vistacion Valley Boys
14. Little Ole You - The Hollisters
15. Sting In This Ole Bee - Hank Thompson
16. Here I Am In Dallas - Dallas Wayne
17. Truck Drivin' Man - The TwangBangers
18. It Stops With Me - The Hot Club Of Cowtown
19. Dark End Of The Hallway - Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
20. Walk Away If You Want To - The Domino Kings
21. Birth Of The Blues - Whit Smith's Hot Jazz Caravan

CD 4 - Singing Songwriters & Other Folk:

1. My Baby Thinks She's French - Joe Ely
2. Rainin' Rainin' Rainin - Gary Stewart
3. Just Can't Cry No More - Lonesome Strangers
4. Why Did She Stay With Him - Dave Alvin
5. Blue Highway - Rosie Flores
6. King Of California - Dave Alvin
7. Rum And Rodeo - Heather Myles
8. South Of Round Rock, Texas - Dale Watson
9. My Sinful Days Are Over - Big Sandy & his Fly-Rite Boys
10. The Rose Of The San Joaquin - Tom Russell
11. You Can't Wrap Your Arms Around A Memory - Marty Brown
12. You Can Say That Again - Johnny Rodriguez
13. Lovin' The Bottle - Heather Myles
14. An Empty Glass - Gary Stewart
15. Honky Tonk Moon - Rosie Flores
16. Barn Burning - Dave Alvin
17. En La Central De Colima - Los Reales Del Rancho
18. Tonight We Ride - Tom Russell

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With few exceptions, these are tough times for artists who perform American roots music. It was much the same in the early '80s, when the feisty, Oakland-based Hightone Records coalesced around pals Bruce Bromberg and Larry Sloven. Under their stewardship, Hightone championed blues, country, and folk musicians and singer-songwriters and aided in the birth of the Americana movement--which in turn yielded a radio format and magazines like No Depression. These 79 songs on four CDs and a DVD of music videos are a compendium of Hightone's accomplishments and, in many cases, the footprints of creative giants within those genres. Each disc is defined by style. The blues roster includes Robert Cray's breakthrough hit "Smokin' Gun," which helped launch the genre's '80s revival, as well as performances by Delta heroes Pinetop Perkins and Johnny Shines, Chicago legend Otis Rush, and such potent contemporary players as Kim Wilson, Joe Louis Walker, and R.L. Burnside. The country CD also gets high marks, with underground giants Gary Stewart, Buddy Miller, Big Sandy, and Dale Watson kicking up dust. With Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Tom Russell, Dave Alvin, Chris Smither, and Dylan influence Ramblin' Jack Elliott paired with Tom Waits on the folk/singer-songwriter disc, it also offers plenty of good listening. Hightone's rock history comes up short overall, with fairly pedantic playing and writing from most of its signings. The strongest exceptions are Joe Ely, the Blasters, and former Blasters songwriter-guitarist Alvin, who was Hightone's most diverse and wide-ranging talent before leaving recently for Yep Roc. The disc of videos is a blast. They're either live affairs by the likes of Alvin and Stewart or low-budget studio shoots from the days when the medium was innocent. There's also a lavish, colorful 123-page book featuring a well-written history of the label, a foreword by Alvin, and a story for every song in this often-delightful set.
~ Ted Drozdowski