Widely considered one of the greatest songwriters of his generation, Townes Van Zandt has been hailed by such singers as Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, and Willie Nelson. Fat Possum is proud to reissue four titles from his early career - "Townes Van Zandt," "Our Mother the Mountain," "Delta Momma Blues," and "Flyin' Shoes" - that comprise an essential introduction to his best songs. Recorded between 1969 and 1978, Van Zandt's most prolific (and most critically acclaimed) decade, these four titles are the heart of any serious consideration of Van Zandt's career. Featuring some of the most iconic cover art in album history (designed by Milton Glaser), each is a classic in every sense of the word. The four titles are the first in a series of Townes Van Zandt reissues that Fat Possum is undertaking in conjunction with the Van Zandt estate.

Collection includes: 'Ry Cooder' (1970) # 7599-27510-2, 'Into the Purple Valley' (1971) # 7599-27200-2, 'Boomer's Story' (1972) # 7599-26398-2.

Chris Hillman has a long history in the world of rock and country music. He was one of the founding members of The Byrds. He Joined The Flying Burrito Brothers, after that he formed The Souther, Hillman and Furay Band. He released two solo albums on Asylum Records in 1976 and 1977. Slippin' Away was originally released in 1976 and rose to #152 on the Billboard charts.

Garcia Plays Dylan is an album composed of various live performances featuring Jerry Garcia playing covers of Bob Dylan songs. It is culled from performances from 1973–1995, and features Garcia playing with Grateful Dead, Legion of Mary, Jerry Garcia Band, and Garcia-Saunders. Garcia takes lead vocals on all tracks.

Given the quirkiness of Neil Young's recording career, with its frequent cancellations of releases and last-minute rearrangements of material, it is a relief to report that this two-disc compilation is so conventional and so satisfying. A 35-track selection of the best of Young's work between 1966 and 1976, it includes songs performed by Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and the Stills-Young Band, as well as solo work. In addition to five unreleased songs, Decade offers such key tracks as the Springfield's "Mr. Soul," "Broken Arrow," and "I Am a Child"; "Sugar Mountain," a song that had appeared only as a single before; "Cinnamon Girl," "Down by the River," and "Cowgirl in the Sand" from Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere; "Southern Man" and the title track from After the Gold Rush; and "Old Man" and the chart-topping "Heart of Gold" from Harvest. This is the material that built Young's reputation between 1966 and 1972, although he is more idiosyncratic with the later material, including the blockbusters "Like a Hurricane" and "Cortez the Killer" but mixing in more unreleased recordings as the set draws to a close.

"The Musician's Musician". "The Master of the Eclectic". There are probably a dozen more titles by which this "guitar player" is known. To even refer to him as a guitar player is probably a gross mislabeling of this musician. He defies any sort of categorization; this is his greatest strength and for some his weakness. The theme for these nine cuts is rhythm of all different ilk. I won't even give the parameters because he seems to have none. I wondered how many different instruments he played on this album (I thought I counted five different types of guitar); it only says guitar and vocal for his credits. Listen to his version of "All Shook Up," more bop and rhythm than Elvis could put into four of his songs. It seems musicians line up to play with him, and they feel he did them a favor by letting them play on his albums. He always gives them plenty of space to do what they do. This CD will make the dead start tapping their toes.

Montana-born, honey-voiced singer Nicolette Larson headed west in 1974 and quickly became a member of the '70s California rock scene. She sang backup with Hoyt Axton and Commander Cody, did sessions with Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, and Neil Young, and landed a solo deal with Warner Bros., which, in late 1978, released her first single, "Lotta Love" (penned by her mentor Young). It went Top 10, spurred her debut album Nicolette to gold, and launched a promising career. She cut four albums for Warner Bros. and guested on records by others ranging from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band to Van Halen. In Nashville, Larson starred in the musical Pump Boys And Dinettes and cut the album Say When, proving she was adept at country too. Sadly, Nicolette passed away in December 1997 of complications arising from cerebral edema; she was just 45. Now Rhino is proud to bring you the only collection devoted to this underappreciated artist's best solo recordings, The Very Best Of Nicolette Larson. Featuring the hit singles and key tracks from her nine albums released on Warner Bros., MCA, and Sony Wonder, it also includes previously unreleased live versions of "French Waltz" and "Baby, Don't You Do It".

As seen on PBS. Chet Atkins - Certified Guitar Player is a concert-tribute to Chet Atkins, performed by Chet and many giants in the music business: Mark Knopfler, The Everly Brothers, Emmylou Harris, Michael McDonald, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson, backed by Nashville's premier studio musicians. Great music, great fun, and a moving experience as a joyful document created about Chet Atkins' importance in the history of music, and to everyone on that stage. The CD: contains the entire soundtrack of the program above. It has all the music (17 songs), all the interplay between Chet and his fellow stars, and all the excitement felt by the audience that night.

Who says you can't make a great record in one day – or night, as the case may be? The Trinity Session was recorded in one night using one microphone, a DAT recorder, and the wonderful acoustics of the Holy Trinity in Toronto. Interestingly, it's the album that broke the Cowboy Junkies in the United States for their version of "Sweet Jane," which included the lost verse. It's far from the best cut here, though. There are other covers, such as Margo Timmins' a cappella read of the traditional "Mining for Gold," a heroin-slow version of Hank Williams' classic "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," "Dreaming My Dreams With You" (canonized by Waylon Jennings), and a radical take of the Patsy Cline classic "Walkin' After Midnight" that closes the disc. Those few who had heard the band's previous album, Whites Off Earth Now!!, were aware that, along with Low, the Cowboy Junkies were the only band at the time capable of playing slower than Neil Young and Crazy Horse – and without the ear-threatening volume.

On his 1994 debut album, Bloomed, Richard Buckner built a memorable song around the line "This is where things start goin' bad," but Buckner made that notion the overriding theme of his second full-length release, 1997's Devotion + Doubt. Written and recorded in the wake of the collapse of Buckner's first marriage, Devotion + Doubt abandons the largely acoustic, string band-influenced approach of Bloomed in favor of a stark, dusty sound that suggests a sleepless night in a motel room in the Arizona desert. J.D. Foster's production and the accompaniment from Calexico founders Joey Burns and John Convertino is often as spare as a whisper in the dark, but the production is a perfect match for the deep insinuations of Buckner's textured voice and the artful, impressionistic heartache of the lyrics, and this is a significantly more ambitious and accomplished effort than Bloomed, as fine as that album was.

Reissue of his 1983 album. Jim Messina has had a long history with music, being a member of both Buffalo Springfield & Poco. He was one half of the mega-duo Loggins & Messina. As well he issued a few solo albums. Two of those were on the Warner Brothers label. Messina was released in 1981 & One More Mile was released in 1983. The two albums have been long out of print and here it is back in a remastered version.

Three CD set from the Folk/Rock icon containing 44 of his best known tracks gathered together on one set. Includes 'The Times They Are A-Changin', 'Mr. Tambourine Man', 'Like a Rolling Stone', 'Positively 4th Street', 'If Not for You', 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door', 'Gotta Serve Somebody' and many others.

Shania Twain comes full circle on this album, cowriting 11 out of 12 cuts and proving that she can do more than sing. Once again she crosses over into pop-rock territory with this multiplatinum affair, bringing legions of new fans into the country camp. Peppered with hits such as "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?" and "Any Man of Mine," Twain's sophomore effort features crisp and clear vocals and country-flavored pop arrangements. Husband and cowriter "Mutt" Lange, known for his production work with hard hitters Def Leppard, has produced a fresh sound for country, enhancing the traditional with a more gritty, gutsy sound; even the more delicate tunes resemble those power-pop tunes from the 1980s. This is music for all occasions: danceable, romantic, and powerful.

Retrospective: The Best of Buffalo Springfield may not be definitive, but it's a good, basic overview of the group's career, containing most of the group's biggest hits and signature songs. Yes, several worthy album cuts are missing, but as a sampler, this works quite well, offering a nice introduction to the group.

When David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash created this pop super trio in 1968 after their splits from the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and The Hollies, respectively, it would have been a pipedream that a hits package released 37 years later would sound as eternal and essential as this one. The 19 songs straddle the four-album, landscape-altered timeframe between 1969's post-Woodstock debut Crosby, Stills & Nash and 1982's Daylight Again, which helped inaugurate the MTV era. Unbalanced sequencing–which randomly bounces 12 years ahead and five years back–is rescued by the superb harmonies, unique songwriting and divergent personalities of the three members. With politics and culture always at the forefront, Stills bookends the band's trademark canon with "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" and "Southern Cross," Nash incorporates Eastern influences to "Marrakesh Express" and folk timber to "Just a Song Before I Go" and "Teach Your Children," and the ever-capricious Crosby leads the way lyrically with the lingering "Delta" to the Robert Kennedy tribute "Long Time Gone".