Wayne Hancock - Live on KUT '94 & 10-10 Demo

You ever get a hankering for some classic sounding honky tonk music? The kind of country that sounds like it's being played in some post-WWII juke joint full of ex-servicemen drinking their GI Bill away. Well I just might have the cure for that, and it's called Wayne "The Train" Hancock. To compare Wayne Hancock to Hank Williams would be the easy way out....but really....it's the best comparison. He has THAT sound. Hank III said of him "Wayne Hancock has more Hank Sr. in him than either I or Hank Williams Jr. He is the real deal."

He is a man born 40 years too late, had he been recording in the 50's no doubt he would have been hanging out at Tootsie's with Ernest Tubb in between his Opry performances and on the top of the "hillbilly" charts.

This set is a radio show from '94, and a demo tape that was circulated in 95. Both predating his first album (and my personal favorite) Thunderstorms & Neon Signs released in 1995. Sound quality on both is excellent, and the band is in top shape. A must have recording for fans of hard core honky tonk. Also fans of Justin Townes Earle's throwback country sound may want to check this out as well.

Wayne has a new album out this year called Viper Of Melody, and if you like this you will certainly like the new album. Wayne is pretty consistent with his releases, they always scratch that classic country itch.

MP3

Wayne Hancock - KUT '94 & 10-10 Demo

Kasey Anderson - Nowhere Nights LP & Shirt Giveaway

As promotion for his upcoming album Nowhere Nights, Kasey Anderson is giving away 3 LP/T-Shirt bundles and he asked a few of us bloggers to help him out. But Kasey doesn't want to just give them away, where is the fun in that, he wants you to earn them. So somewhere in this post, and in the other blog's posts (hint: Start at Red River Records) are a series of clues that will lead you to the prize.

If you are playing the game, well, then after me you need to head over to My Aimz Is True for the next clue.

But Wait! There's More! As a thank you to us bloggers for playing along, he has also given each of us exclusive demo tracks from the album to share. The one he gave me is called All Lit Up, and I love it. Really excited for this album because everything I've heard from it has been incredible. From the absolutely phenomenal I Was A Photograph to this demo track here, definitely an album to look out for! (and thanks to Kasey you now have a chance to win the album almost 6 months early!)

Kasey Anderson - All Lit Up (Demo)

Check out The Kasey Anderson twinterview from last week while you're at it.

The Bottle Rockets - Brian Henneman Demos (1991)

The second Bottle Rockets demo of the trilogy I will be posting. Kind of a followup to the Uncle Tupelo demo trilogy. This one is Brian Henneman backed by Jay and Jeff from Uncle Tupelo. Really cool banjo version of "Wave That Flag" on here with what I'm assuming to be Jay Farrar on the banjo.

MP3 @ 192

Bottle Rockets - Brian Henneman Demos

The Bottle Rockets - Brooklyn Side Demos

You didn't know it, but you're smack dab in the middle of a 4th of July post extravaganza here at A Truer Sound. And well, what's else says 4th of July better than bottle rockets? Unfortunately these bottle rockets here won't blow your thumbs off, only rock your socks off. This is a demo that I am not really sure where I even got. I can't find any info on it but it's a great demo of one the seminal Alt Country albums The Brooklyn Side. The demos here are a more subdued affair than the rocking Brooklyn Side, but very very cool, and quite a few unreleased songs. Really love the little intros to the songs too....such as the intro to I'll Be Comin' Around where Henneman explains the song is the result of listening to too much fleetwood mac while thinking about his friends girlfriend. Really love the last song on this thing "Gravity" as well. Don't know why it has never made it to an official album.

The Bottle Rockets have a new album titled Lean Forward due out Aug. 11th by the way, and have just filmed a live DVD due out sometime soon. Read about it here

MP3 @ 192

Bottle Rockets - Brooklyn Side Demos

Uncle Tupelo - Colorblind & Rhymeless (1987 Demo Tape)

In hindsight, I should have probably bundled these three together and called it The Demo Trilogy or some such nonesense. But really where is the fun in that (OK, I'm just covering my ass!)

Big thanks to DownSouth for this one, and thanks to the others who offered. I really appreciate it when you guys "heed the call" so to speak....and so quickly too! DownSouth also provided me with scans from the UT Anthology of the covers of this one and the "Not Forever Just For Now" demo (I have included it in that post for posterity's sake). The artwork was pretty small, so I just incorporated it into the common artwork I did for the other two (hey, I'm lazy like that....wait I mean efficient) .

Not a lot to say about this one except that it was their first demo, and it's actually pretty developed. Can't really find a lot of info on this online either, so I will leave you with a quote from one of the articles over at factorybelt.net (there he goes again with that!)

"To us," Tweedy said, "hard-core punk is also folk music. We draw a close parallel between the two. We'll play both in the same set if we get a chance. We don't have any biases as far as music is concerned."

"We have just as much fun playing acoustic guitars with a whole bunch of people singing along, as we do playing a noisy instrumental."

MP3 @ 127
Uncle Tupelo - Colorblind & Rhymeless (1987 Demo)

Uncle Tupelo - Live & Otherwise (1988 Demo Tape)

Well hell, DownSouth came through on the request for UT's Colorblind & Rhymeless demos and requested this demo tape here. This was Uncle Tupelo's second demo tape. Half of it live and the other half studio, kind of like an Alt Country version of GnR's Lies :P

Listening to these demos are great! Reminds me of how important UT really were. I could only imagine what it was like back in those days in Belleville to see these guys at this era. And while listening to these demos (which are heavier on the punk influence the further you go back) it occurs to me that these guys found the PERFECT blend of country and punk. Other groups tried it in the 80's (you know what they call COWPUNK) but UT really figured out how the two could actually blend, instead of simply playing Hank Williams with powerchords. Just listen to the cover of Black Flag's Gimme, Gimme, Gimme for the prove ;) With this they clearly show that there is not much difference between honest to God country and honest to God punk.....the fundamental commonality being they both rely on three chords and the truth....as the old adage goes.

Anyway, I have rambled on now....I will also say I really like the version of There Was A Time on this one with the harmonica intro. Reading through some of those articles over at Factorybelt.net one of them they state they dropped the harmonicas out of some of their songs so as not to sound too "heartland". Really interesting articles over there....especially check out the one about their mothers.

MP3 @ 192

Uncle Tupelo - Live & Otherwise (1988 Demo)

Uncle Tupelo - Not Forever, Just For Now (1989 Demo Tape)

Here's a slice of music history right here. Uncle Tupelo's last demo tape, assumably the one that got them signed to Rockville (formerly Giant). If anyone has the elusive Colorblind & Rhymeless.....please email me!

So this is very similar to the first UT album, a lot of early versions of those tracks on here. Only a little less polished, a little rougher around the edges. I really like the version of Whiskey Bottle and Screen Door on this thing. I tried and tried to find a picture or something of the original artwork (if there was any) but came up empty handed. I got the pictures used in the artwork from the excellent factorybelt.net. If you want to waste some time peep into the articles section and check out some of the early articles on Uncle Tupelo in there. Also got to love the beer rating article (I liked it so much I put it on the back artwork!).

MP3 @ 192
Uncle Tupelo - Not Forever, Just For Now (Demo Tape)

Afterthought:
Thanks to DownSouth who provided me with a scan of the original artwork for this guy, there it is right there. Also want to point out that this demo was the one that got UT labeled Best Unsigned Band in America by CMJ.

Todd Snider - Viva Satellite Demos

As promised, the Viva Satellite Demos. The shining star on this set (in my opinion at least), is Got That Feeling Again. There are some other great cuts on here, like I Want Out, Wide Awake, Fine Tune (a welcome addition to any Todd Snider collection) and I really dig the version of Godsend on here. Just like Viva Satellite this thing has a real Tom Petty vibe to it.

For more info on this and other Todd Snider info, refer to Eighteen Minutes.com

MP3 @ 128

Todd Snider - Viva Satellite Demos

Buffalo Springfield - The Missing Herd (Rarities and Live)

This is a treat right here. A set of rare and live proto country-rock pioneers Buffalo Springfield. If you don't know it was Stephen Stills and Neil Young's band in the mid 60's (along with Richie Furray of Poco). The second disc of this, the live stuff.....is damned good. The rarities are good too, but I find myself spinning the live disc alot more. Features some of my favorite Buffalo Springfield songs: Mr. Soul, A Child's Claim to Fame and Bluebird (check out the extended mix at the end of disc one and the live jam at the end of disc two). If you like Neil Young......you'll probably like this one........it's got Neil Young roaring guitar work all over it.

MP3 @ 192
http://www.zshare.net/download/525347306839efea/

Torrent

Todd Snider - Colorado Demos

Couldn't find much info on this one here. Near as I can tell, it was recorded sometime between "Step Right Up" and "Viva Satelite". That would put it in the 1997 time frame. Makes a nice little linker between the two albums. If you dig old Todd, this is right up your alley.

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Todd Snider - Colorado Demos

Gene Clark - Flowers On My Grave (Live and Demos)

This is a great little disc here. What information I gathered was that this was never officially released, or was some kind of bootleg. Either way it's incredible, and fans of Gene Clark will want to check this out. The first half, the Mountain Stage show is what makes this....just great little intimate performance. If you're not very familiar with Gene Clark, he was one of the original members of the Byrds.....actually the guy who wrote 8 Miles High. The real meat of his work though is post byrds. He cut a great album with the Gosdin Brothers, two legendary albums with Doug Dillard of The Dillards (you know, the Darlin boys off Andy Griffith....so much more than that though) and then a string of fantastically epic albums through the early 70's. Dying in 1991, he is definitely a forgotten legend. Though I hear he's getting some props nowadays from the likes of Allison Krauss, Robert Plant, and The Black Crowes on their new albums (the Krauss/Plant one actually has 2 Clark songs)

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Gene Clark - Flowers On My Grave

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings - The Revival Demos

This is a cool little disc of what the Gillian Welch masterpiece album Revival sounded like at one time. To me this sounds like they were channeling alot more Gram than Maybelle, and it makes for an interesting comparison. Some of the songs sound pretty good, but some of them just don't work well at all. I'm glad they took the minimalist approach to the final album.....either way these are great songs and it's really hard to mess them up. Just compared to the released album they don't compare.....at least not to my ears.

MP3

Gillian Welch - Revival Demos

Son Volt - B-Sides & Rarites

 This is a nice collection of some unreleased and live songs. A few of these songs are available on the excellent Son Volt Retrospective (buy it if you don't have it), but the majority of these are fairly hard to come by. The ones that are on the retrospective are indicated with an asterisk. Some standout tracks are the "Windfall" demo, the wonderful cover of Towne Van Zandt's "Rex's Blues" with Kelly Willis (This track is so good it's worth having twice!), the acoustic version of "Drown", the Byrds' "Truck Stop Girl" (with Kelly Willis again)....pretty much all the Kelly Willis songs are outstanding. The live version of "Tear Stained Eye" is pretty damned good too. Also of note is the version of "Lookin' At The World Through A Windshield" on here which is different from the one on the retrospective (which is from the Rig Rog Deluxe album).

1. Route [Demo]
2. Windfall [Demo]
3. Tear Stained Eye [Demo]*
4. Rex's Blues (with Kelly Willis) [Red Hot + Bothered]*
5. Tulsa County [Switchback EP]*
6. Drown (Acoustic) [Switchback EP]
7. Going Going Gone [Switchback EP]
8. Ain't No More Cane (with Kelly Willis) [Outtake]
9. Old Dutch (David Boquist Vocal) [Outtake]
10. Seven To A Room (Jim Boquist Vocal) [Outtake]
11. Lookin' At The World Through A Windshield [Pop Culture Flexi-Disc]
12. Truck Stop Girl (with Kelly Willis) [Rig Rock Deluxe]
13. Weighted Down [More Oar Tribute]
14. Tear Stained Eye [Live]
15. Holocaust [B-Side]*
16. Last Time Around [Live]
17. Straigtface [Live]
18. Too Early [Live]
19. Is Anybody Going To San Antone [Live]
    

Download Son Volt - B-sides and Rarities here