A really special album in the career of the great Merle Haggard – a moment when he really started looking back to give credit to those who inspired him – and when he was also really able to express himself in a longer format too! Part of the credit might go to Capitol Records, who trusted Merle so much they not only let him record a concept album, but a 2LP set as well – plenty of space for Haggard to deliver some great spoken passages about the great Jimmie Rodgers, his life, and music – then move into some of Jimmie's classics, but updated nicely with a vibe that's very much Merle's own! Given the way that Hag was stretching out his vocal skills tremendously at the end of the 60s, there's a sense of inflection that's perfect for the bluesy currents of the songs – on titles that include "Blue Yodel No 4", "Waitin For A Train", "Mother The Queen Of My Heart", "My Old Pal", "No Hard Times", "Travelin Blues", "Down The Old Road To Home", "Jimmie's Texas Blues", "Train Whistle Blues", and "Mule Skinner Blues" – plus the classic train song "Hobo Bill's Last Ride". CD

Four rare albums from the great Moe Bandy – maybe not the biggest country star of the 70s, but one who cut a fantastic run of records like these! Bandy's got a very classic honky tonk style – down-home, blue-tinged tunes that often have Moe himself as the punching bag – with an honest look at the struggles of life and love, all served up with lean instrumentation that feels a lot more like some barroom performance than the arena-filling work of some of his superstar contemporaries! All four albums are produced by Ray Baker in a nicely understated mode – almost more 60s in style than you'd guess – with Bandy's wonderful vocals ringing out over some really well-chosen tunes, and classic instrumentation on steel guitar to echo the bluer currents in the lyrics. The set is long overdue, and features the CD debut of these four great records – 40 tracks in all, with titles that include "Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind", "A Baby & A Sewing Machine", "A Wound Time Can't Erase", "Are We Making Love Or Just Making Friends", "Up To Now I've Wanted Everything But You", "A Four Letter Fool", "No Deal", "Bic Flicking Baby", and "I Guess I Had A Real Good Time Last Night". CD

The fantastic early sound of the great Johnny Cash – captured here by Sun Records, who really did a great job of bringing out the rhythmic pulse in Johnny's music! As with his best early singles, the style here is very raw – romping guitar riffs next to the man's incredible deep voice – set up perfectly on the sorts of tunes that just seem to get better and better the more you give them a listen! Titles include "Luther's Boogie", "I Just Thought You'd Like To Know", "I Forgot To Remember To Forget", "Katy Too", "You Tell Me", "Just About Time", "You Win Again", "Thanks A Lot", "Get Rhythm", and "I Could Never Be Ashamed Of You". LP, Vinyl record album

A true late 60s rock masterpiece – and like albums by Love and The Velvet Underground, a set that barely made a mainstream impact at the time – but which has gone on to be the stuff of influence and legend over the decades! The album's the first from Gram Parsons and the group – one of only two they would cut together – and the whole thing is a perfect blend of rough-edged rock and country influences rising up from the LA scene – all those glimmers of brilliance that Parsons had brought to the Byrds and other projects, maybe given their full flowering here in a mode that's unabashed about its country music influences – maybe even more so than some of Gram's later solo work. Sneeky Pete Kleinow's steel guitar really adds a lot – but so does the presence of Chris Hillman on guitar and mandolin, and Chris Ethridge on bass and piano. Titles include the brilliant "Sin City" – a track we'll love until we die – plus "Christine's Tune", "Do Right Woman", "Dark End Of The Street", "My Uncle", "Wheels", "Juanita", "Hot Burrito No 1", "Hot Burrito No 2", "Do You Know How It Feels", and "Hippy Boy". (Rock, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked gem from The Holy Modal Rounders – the group's fifth album, and a set that shows them moving into a slightly more subtle style than before – but still with plenty of their trademark touches intact! The work often has a sweetly folksy feel – one that conjures up the city-to-country modes of some of the Marin County bands of the time – with some sensitive lyrics and instrumentation, all produced beautifully down in Nashville by the legendary Bob Dorough – who was doing some surprising rock projects around this time. Despite the joke of the title, there actually is a timeless quality to this set – one that might almost make the record a good place to start if you've always been curious about the Rounders, but a bit intimidated by the fame of their earlier classics. Titles include "Black Bottom", "Spring OF 65", "Boobs A Lot", "Alligator Man", "City Blues", "The Whole World Oughta Go On Vacation", and "Melinda". (Rock, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album

Early 70s Cali country rock at its finest! This is the first album by Detroit-born, Texas-raised JD Souther – who has a deft hand for sadness-tinged songcraft, a charismatic and genuine southern drawl to his voice, and just enough grit to give his tunes the right kind of emotional undercurrent. There's a realness here that really sinks in. We sort of wish he would've shot to stardom is prominently as other Asylum singer-songwriters and his friends in The Eagles – he definitely deserves it – but there's something warm and cozy (and maybe a little selfish) about having him more to ourselves and other knowing fans. Includes "The Fast One", "Run Like A Thief", "Kite Woman", "Jesus In 3/4 Time", "It's The Same", "White Wing", "Out To Sea", "Lullaby" and more. (Rock, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album

A heavy dose of rare TV performances – pulled from a Cali program that focused strongly on hillbilly sounds of the 50s, but also took time to feature some up-and-coming rockabilly acts too! The quality's about what you'd expect from 1950s TV, but the performances are great – and there's not much footage out there from some of these giant acts at the time! The DVD features 42 performances in all – great work from The Collins Kids, who were on the show all the time – plus more from Skeets McDonald, Jim Reeves, Merle Travis, Joe Maphis, Wanda Jackson, Johnny Bond, Mac Wiseman, Tex Carman, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Patsy Cline, and others! (DVDs & Videos, Folk/Country) DVD

That's a mighty classy truck stop on the cover of this album – and the set's a mighty classy batch of trucker-themed tunes from the catalog of Starday Records! These aren't the shlocky truck country tunes of the 70s, but instead some great material from the postwar years – a time when the interstates were really opening up, and the role of the truck was about to surpass the role of the train. The tunes here all mark the new challenges of the time, sometimes with a good deal of humor – and titles include "Gears" by Johnny Bond, "Man Behind The Wheel" by George Morgan, "Long Haul Weekend" by The Willis Brothers, "Big Footed Dan" by Benny Martin, "Big Rig Guitar" by Joe Maphis, "Truck Driving Buddy" by Frankie Miller, "Sleeper Cab Blues" by Tom O'Neal, and "Pinball Machine" by Lonnie Irving. CD