Various Artists - High Tone Records Anthology

Genre rock Publisher Hightone Records External Links Official Hightone Records Website

Hightone Records is as much an American music history lesson as it is a record label. This anthology shows it to be more country-centric than anything else, but one also finds blues, folk, and even a surf music example along the way.

Over two CDs, there's hardly a dud in the bunch. And with 30 different songs all told, your favorites are likely to change from week to week. Nevertheless, Dave Alvin's "Abilene" is also his best solo composition ever, and Bill Kirchen's live rendition of the old Commander Cody "Hot Rot Lincoln" speed demon takes that song where it's never been driven before. While playing it, Kirchen imitates everybody from Hendrix to The Sex Pistols. So for me, these two tracks are constantly in my mental iPod. The lone surf entry, by the way, is guitarist Dick Dale's "Ghostriders In The Sky." At least he's contributed a surf take on an Old West tune, which is fitting.

It just seems wrong to complain about anything in this stellar set, which is so darn good. Nevertheless, I wish they would have chosen one of Julie Miller's great self-written songs to represent Buddy & Julie Miller. Then again, "Keep Your Distance" is a wonderfully sad Richard Thompson song, and one can never have too much of his stuff.

If you haven't explored the wealth of great music compiled by Hightone Records over the years, this collection is the perfect place to start.