Strangers Almanac by Whiskeytown (1997)

Whiskeytown | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 29, 1997)
• Original Release Date: July 29, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Outpost Records
• ASIN: B000002RBZ
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,089 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Strangers Almanac first grabs you because it sounds so great. It's filled with dynamic performances that smolder moodily, then flare quickly into firestorms of twangy and soulful guitar rock that fuse Uncle Tupelo with the Stones, the Replacements, with Gram Parsons. But what makes this album essential are the songs of frontman Ryan Adams. Take "Houses On The Hill," about a man merely going through a box of old letters: in just two verses, and to a melody that's the definition of bittersweet, Adams relates a drama more rich in detail than most novels. One of '97's best albums. --David Cantwell

Product Description

CD

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It Helped Me Through A Hard Time January 21, 2001

By Bryan

Format:Audio CD

I was young and in love in the early twenties with a woman I thought I was going to marry. She left and I was suddenly lost. One of my roomates loved this album. She said it was one of the best albums she had ever heard. I listened to it and it made no impression what so ever. Then, I listened to it after I had experienced some real emotional pain...

I drank a lot for three months, a lot of bourbon actually, and this was the album I listened to at 2, 3, or 4 o'clock in the morning. Songs like Inn Town, Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight, 16 Days, and Everything I Do dredged the pain up nightly and made me deal with it.

Maybe the album is only for certain people at certain times in their lives. But more than once I have been in the used CD section of a record store and saw someone looking at Stranger's Almanac by Whiskeytown. I always walk up to that person and say, "You know, I don't know who you are, or what you listen to, but the CD you have in your hand is one of the best CDs I've ever owned. If you buy that CD, it will be one of the best bargins you've ever had."

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't seem like a stranger, seems like an old friend! April 9, 2000

By Jeff Paszkiet

Format:Audio CD

This is not an Uncle Tupelo,Gram Parsons,etc rip off band like everyone seems to think. Just listen to it without trying to compare them to everyone else. There's a lot of different styles on this CD. Straight up rock tunes like Yesterday's News which has some great lines like"...cause nothing's what you did,and I can't stand to be under your wing..." Everything I Do reminds me of a soul ballad. Not Home Anymore has a cool drone intro. Houses on the Hill is one of my favorites about a kid or guy exploring an old attic discovering past, secret lives. Some of my favorite lyrics"...I found it in the Northwest corner of the attic in a box labeled tinsel and lights. Didn't know what I was looking for,maybe just a blanket or artifacts...." Avenues,Inn Town,Dancing with the women at the bar. There's not a bad track on here if you listen a few times. Your favorite tracks will just keep changing with each listen. Ryan is a great writer and has a great voice for this stuff. I'm glad he switched from punk rock.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice Effort December 21, 2002

By John Moeller

Format:Audio CD

For all the comparisons to country-rock legend Gram Parsons, Ryan Adams does quite well exceeding him as far as artistic merit is concerned. A talent like Adams graces the world of music once every other generation. If it isn't his ability to write sincere, directly spiritual and personal songs that incorporate every era of American popular music it's his incredibly rich and varied vocals that work miracles on the hearts and minds of poets everywhere.
The first six tracks on this record stand up to anything in the entire history of the genre of country-rock, including "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" and "March 16-20".
Although filler starts to take hold towards the end of the album, it's enough of a showing to embellish Ryan Adams' hypnotic force as a song and dance man in the minds of rock fans for an eternity.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the top five of the 90's August 10, 2002

By Charles A Galupi

Format:Audio CD

Ryan Adams has one of those whiskey soaked voices that drives slow sad songs deeper and drives rockers with a frenzy that approaches John Lennon's raspy shouting on 'Twist and Shout.' On this album Adams' songwriting and a dedicated band that drifts easily from deep country with bluegrass tinges to Stones (or John Mellencamp or Paul Westerberg)inspired rock and roll, combine on record ranks easily as one of the top five for the entire decade.

I have heard bands or singers called "World Weary", and no band is a better example than Whiskeytown. Lumping them in the "Alt-Country" or "No Depression" (whatever that means) groups is unfair. Whiskeytown is equal parts rock and roll and country and with Benmont Tench manning the keyboards behind them, this band turns out some of the best [North] American music this side of Tench's full time job, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers or the Band [mostly Canadians]. How many "Alt-Country" could turn out a ballad as souful [including horns] as 'Everything I Do?'

The songs themselves swing from the simple and plaintive opener 'Inn Town' and 'Losering' to the raving 'Yesterday's News' and 'Waiting to Derail' to the bare bones acoustic guitar and fiddle on 'Houses on the Hill' and 'Avenues' and the afforementioned 'Everything I Do.' Every song on here stands pretty much on its own and the changing styles keeps everything moving. Going from 'Houses' to the late era Replacements-ish 'Turn Around' to the dark and brooding 'Dancing with the Women at the Bar' is a good example.

Do yourself a favor and just buy it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Heartbreakingly beautiful September 30, 2004

By Jake Z

Format:Audio CD

This is definately a favorite album of mine. The emotion is just so real and so raw, unpretentious and unapologetic. It really helped me through some hard times, just to listen to it and absolve the meaning. Favorites include "Inn Town", "Losering", "Everything I Do", "Not Home Anymore", "Houses On The Hill", "Yesterday's News" and "16 Days". The group went through a lot of changes through this period, with lots of people quitting, being kicked out, and so forth. You can't deny a good piece of music, quite frankly it changed my life. There's enough dripping sad alt-country here, and angry hard rockers to keep everyone on their feet and listening. Just as good as their other albums, and well worth adding to any music collection.