Putumayo Presents: Americana
I don't know about everyone else, but I love compilation albums. It stems from when I was a kid sifting through my parents' record collection and listening to albums like Come Together and Freedom Rock. They were two LPs filled with song after song from all different artists. It was a time when I was discovering popular music and what better way to find new musicians to love than to have twenty or thirty right in a row. I loved it then and I love it now. Soundtracks are a good source for compilations. Also, the occasional mixed CD from a friend is always a welcome sight. The album to the left is one I picked up recently. There is a wide range of definitions for the term Americana. To me, it embodies the essence of music that wasn't necessarily born in America, but perfected here. I consider bands like Counting Crows to be in that category along with people like Shooter Jennings and The Carolina Chocolate Drops. That's a few examples of a nearly endless list of Americana groups and solo artists. They're a wide range of sounds under one happy umbrella. This Americana collection is on the mellow side of the genre. It has an air about it that calls to mind folks sitting on their back porch with a guitar and fiddle singing songs that have been played for generations. It has sound elements of folk, country, bluegrass, rock, and gospel. The reason I bought it in the first place was because it has my favorite variation of a Bob Dylan song, 'Wagon Wheel' by Old Crow Medicine Show. I already had the O.C.M.S. album where it first appeared so I knew I would like at least one song off of it, but it turns out that I like them all. I could listen to this music on a Sunday afternoon while writing, in the car on a long trip, or at work while I'm helping people find the right wine to have with dinner. The producer, Putumayo, has so many great albums that they've put together and this one is no exception. There are two different Americana collections. This is the second one. I'll put the track list below so you can check it out if you like.
I don't know about everyone else, but I love compilation albums. It stems from when I was a kid sifting through my parents' record collection and listening to albums like Come Together and Freedom Rock. They were two LPs filled with song after song from all different artists. It was a time when I was discovering popular music and what better way to find new musicians to love than to have twenty or thirty right in a row. I loved it then and I love it now. Soundtracks are a good source for compilations. Also, the occasional mixed CD from a friend is always a welcome sight. The album to the left is one I picked up recently. There is a wide range of definitions for the term Americana. To me, it embodies the essence of music that wasn't necessarily born in America, but perfected here. I consider bands like Counting Crows to be in that category along with people like Shooter Jennings and The Carolina Chocolate Drops. That's a few examples of a nearly endless list of Americana groups and solo artists. They're a wide range of sounds under one happy umbrella. This Americana collection is on the mellow side of the genre. It has an air about it that calls to mind folks sitting on their back porch with a guitar and fiddle singing songs that have been played for generations. It has sound elements of folk, country, bluegrass, rock, and gospel. The reason I bought it in the first place was because it has my favorite variation of a Bob Dylan song, 'Wagon Wheel' by Old Crow Medicine Show. I already had the O.C.M.S. album where it first appeared so I knew I would like at least one song off of it, but it turns out that I like them all. I could listen to this music on a Sunday afternoon while writing, in the car on a long trip, or at work while I'm helping people find the right wine to have with dinner. The producer, Putumayo, has so many great albums that they've put together and this one is no exception. There are two different Americana collections. This is the second one. I'll put the track list below so you can check it out if you like.
