For a Decade of Sin: 11 Years of Bloodshot Records

Various Artists (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 2005)
• Original Release Date: October 25, 2005
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Bloodshot Records
• ASIN: B000BH4YQS
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #54,814 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Celebrating a little more than its first decade (but who's counting?), Chicago's Bloodshot label continues to reinforce a bond between country roots and punk attitude, with results that refuse to be confined to any categorical corral. Rather than releasing a more predictable "best-of" compilation, Bloodshot shows its ornery spirit with a wide-ranging (and previously unreleased) selection of gems by label mainstays, kindred spirits, and fellow travelers. While the banjo-driven Split Lip Rayfield (sounding here like the Beverly Hillbillies on psychedelic moonshine), the transgenerational mountain harmonies of Paul Burch and Ralph Stanley, and the hopped-up Meat Purveyors conform to alt-country expectation, other highlights range from covers of the O'Jays ("Love Train," by the Yayhoos) and a riotous anthem of chicken stomping ("Call of the Wrecking Ball" by John Doe with Jim and Jennie and the Pinetops) to a recasting of the instrumental Magnificent Seven theme by steel guitarist Jon Rauhouse and a dreamy deconstruction of "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" by the ethereal Sally Timms. Whatever Nashville might think of this music, country just doesn't get any countrier than Wayne Hancock with Hank Williams III ("Juke Joint Jumping"). Anyone drawn by the higher-profile favorites--Graham Parker, the Old 97s, the Waco Brothers, My Morning Jacket--will likely discover a bunch of new favorites within the two-disc bargain. --Don McLeese

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You gotta sin to get saved, December 29, 2005

By	Roy Pearl (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews

This solid 42-song collection of odds 'n' ends from the good folks at Bloodshot Records consists of the expected alt.country twang 'n' tears, but it contains a few great out-of-leftfield surprises as well. Among the expected highlights are the gorgeous "Do You Want To Go Somewhere?" by Richard Buckner, the solo acoustic "Behind That Locked Door" by Jim James of My Morning Jacket, the rollicking "Two Way Action" by Nora O'Connor (with the help of Andrew Bird), and "I'd Be Lonesome" by the Old '97s - all of them perfect examples of the best of Bloodshot's genre. And there's other great tracks by the Bottle Rockets, the Minus 5, Graham Parker & the Figgs, Andre Williams & the Sadies, John Doe, Crooked Fingers, Mary Lou Lord, and Kelly Hogan, but the leftfield stuff is, if not exactly better, then just a lot more fun. Bobby Bare Jr. handles the Jane's Addiction classic "Ocean Size", Dollar Store twang-ifies the Soft Boys' "I Want To Destroy You", the Waco Brothers check in with the Bobby Fuller Four (by-way-of the Clash) chestnut "I Fought The Law", Porter Hall TN throws the Jim Carroll Band's "People Who Died" against the wall, and the Yayhoos brilliantly rock up the O'Jays' "Love Train".

Sure, there's a little bit of chaff. But while you're picking through the 42 tracks for your favorites, you might find a another keeper along the way. For me, it was the Deadstring Brothers. I'd never heard of them before, but their song "Where Are All My Friends" is fast becoming one of my faves of this year. So who knows what you might find?

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars value? yes... quality? no, March 13, 2006

By	punkviper (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews

I'll get right to it: this Decade retrospective doesn't even touch Down To The Promised Land in terms of quality. The tunes present on this comp aren't all garbage, but there IS a LOT of garbage present, and the good stuff is good in an odd toss-off sorta way (Call Of The Wreckin' Ball) that only truly stands out when solid tracks surround it. I mean, if a Soft Boys cover is carrying your compilation, then it's not a great compilation. Don't get me wrong, i love Bloodshot as much as the next guy (and i love em a lot more than Pitchfork) but the brutal truth is that a LOT of folks are trying to do the "alt-country" thing these days, some for better & many for worse. This comp seems to play to the watered-down quality of where the genre (if it exists) has been heading lately. Flash back to 2001 and a lot fewer folks (and a lot less Indie kids, thankfully) cared about this sorta thing, so those doing it were doing it from the heart, and Bloodshot gained success by being a great vehicle for that heartfelt musical release. Now, with each new Bloodshot record, they seem to get lost amidst a lot of "me-too" bands and novelty crap. Maybe when the trend dies down and the truth remains then Bloodshot can shock the bejeezus out of me with a mind-blowing 15-year comp that makes me forget this one. But until then, this is blatantly mediocre stuff.

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars o.k.+, November 17, 2005

By	S. martin "stranded in mooseland" (Way-upstate, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Not as good as the last compilation but still worth having if
you're a Bloodshot fan.
Favorite song: Two-Way Action (can someone recomend an entire CD of this stuff?)
Least favorite: There's a few that are even worse than my local country station plays, and they're not even being ironic!
Well, that's probably too harsh. I'm still ready to move to Chicago.