Phases & Stages

The Jayhawks

Drive-By Truckers

Drive-By Truckers

The alt.country craze is just a dim memory to most folks, but Music From the North Country offers more than just a little nostalgia from the Jayhawks, one of that scene's leaders. Offered as either a single disc career overview or as a deluxe package that contains an additional CD of rarities as well as a DVD of videos and electronic press kits, it's a superb survey of the Minneapolis-based band's brand of harmony-laden roots, pop, and rock. Leaders Gary Louris' and Mark Olson's voices still soar on "Waiting for the Sun" and "Blue," while poppier tunes from the band's post-Olson days like "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" and "Save It for a Rainy Day" remain should-have-been hits. The Drive-By Truckers close the book on the Jason Isbell era with The Fine Print, meanwhile. Almost as strong as recent efforts and positively more country-influenced, it's highlighted by covers from Tom Petty (a ripping "Rebels"), Tom T. Hall, Warren Zevon, and Bob Dylan (a potent take of "Like a Rolling Stone"). Isbell's "When the Well Runs Dry" demonstrates his capacity for hooky melody and discerning lyricism. DBT mainstays Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley offer appealing stories like "The Great Car Dealer War" and "Little Pony and the Great Big Horse." Live From Austin TX was recorded for Austin City Limits in 2008, a double-disc CD/DVD offering heavy on songs from last year's Brighter Than Creation's Dark, and finds them at their walloping best.

(Music From the North Country; Live From Austin TX)

(The Fine Print)