Intro to Americana – 5 Albums To Get You Started

This si a post for people that night have seen me at Jessica Northy’s excellent online talk show TwangOut. I asked my incredibly well-informed Twitter followers what 5 albums they would recommend to someone just coming to Americana for the first time. Here’s their choices. Of course for a genre as rich as this 5 is just scratching the surface so please leave your choices in the comments section and let’s make this a post for anyone wanting to discover this great music.

Lucinda Williams : Car Wheels On A Gravel Road – This album is Lucinda’s opus and has firmly established her as the Queen of Americana

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ainIBDO6a8E

Uncle Tupelo – No Depression – For many people, including me, this is the band that started them on the road to Americana. After their break up in 1994 principle members Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy went on to form Son Volt and Wilco respectively.

Whiskeytown – Strangers Almanac – Ryan Adams veers between spinning gems and a insufferable self-indulgence. 16 Days from this excellent album show’s him at his best.

Gram Parsons – Grievous Angel – If there was ever a singular person you could point to as the Patron Saint of Americana, it would be Gram Parsons. He influenced the Rolling Stones, the Eagles and Emmylou Harris, who joins him on Love Hurts, with his brand of Cosmic American Music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bwmiJWFHN0

Old 97’s – Too Far to Care -This is my personal choice. Yes Rhett and the boys are a pivotal alt.country/Americana ban, but more importantly theyre from my home town of Dallas!