Various Artists - Straight Outta Boone Country (CD)

All Music Guide

Bloodshot Records built their reputation on a series of compilations that introduced the concept of "Insurgent Country" to the indierock audience, and Straight Outta Boone County is easily the label's best collection, both in concept and execution. 20 honkytonk classics are given a modern makeover in tribute to WLW's Boone County Jamboree and the Midwestern Hayride, two longrunning live country music radio shows that were broadcast out of Cincinnati from 1939 to the early 1960s. The artists in the lineup were some of the best alternative country acts available in 1997, including flagbearers for the genre like the Waco Brothers and Robbie Fulks. The result is a topnotch compilation with nary a dead spot, but a few highlights do arise. Whiskeytown offers up a haunting version of Moon Mullican's "Bottom of the Glass," transforming the jaunty drinking tune into a cautionary lament. The Cowslingers turn the Stanley Brothers' rogue anthem "If I Lose" into fuzzbusting cowpunk, while the Voleb...eats apply their laidback touch to the salty shuffle of "Hamtramck Mama," originally recorded by fellow Detroiters the York Brothers. Merle Travis' populist screed "No Vacancy" is done justice by Holler, with frontman Mike Ireland soaring righteously above the barrelhouse country swing. The Lucky Stars, One Riot One Ranger and Hazeldine also stand out, but every band on Straight Outta Boone County does a fine job of paying reverence to the past while updating the songs for the punkinformed, rockjaded altcountry crowd. - Fred Beldin, All Music Guide Read more Less