10708 - VARIOUS ARTISTS - WHILE NO ONE WAS LOOKING TOASTING 20 YEARS OF BLOODSHOT RECORDS, DISC ONE (2014)
VARIOUS ARTISTS
''WHILE NO ONE WAS LOOKING: TOASTING 20 YEARS OF BLOODSHOT RECORDS, DISC ONE''
NOVEMBER 18 2014
127:57
DISC ONE (63:28)
1 Blitzen Trapper - To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is To Be High) 02:49 (Ryan Adams, David Rawlings)
2 Chris Shiflett - Look the Other Way 02:11 (Justin Townes Earle)
3 Samantha Crain - Cold Forgiver 03:13
4 Chuck Prophet - Dirt 02:32 (Andre Williams)
5 Hiss Golden Messenger - Where I Fell 03:27 (Robbie Fulks)
6 Dave Davidson (of Maps - Things I Didn't Say 02:10 (Shel Silverstein)
7 Ted Leo - Dragging My Own Tombstone 04:42 (Waco Brothers)
8 Into It. Over It. - Deep Red Bells 03:23 (Neko Case, Tom Ray)
9 Split Single - My Backyard 02:30
10 Limbeck - Sound of Running 03:01
11 Tim Kasher - Aspidistra 02:02
12 Shakey Graves - Happy Birthday Julie 03:40 (Wayne Hancock)
13 Ivan & Alyosha - My Winding Wheel 03:10 (Ryan Adams)
14 Chuck Ragan - Survivor Blues 03:46 (Cory Branan)
15 The Minus 5 - Cherokee Grove 02:50 (Mark Pickerel)
16 Carolyn Mark - Last to Know 03:34 (Alejandro Escovedo)
17 Daniel Romano - Strange Birds 02:46 (Jon Langford, The Sadies)
18 Charlie Parr - Manifold 02:34 (Devil In A Woodpile)
19 The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn - St Nick on the Fourth in a Fervor 03:24
20 Possessed by Paul James - I Came Around 05:36 (Murder By Death)
*****
DISC TWO (64:29)
1 Andrew Bird and Nora O'Connor - I'll Trade You Money for Wine 03:53 (Robbie Fulks)
2 Ben Kweller - 200am 02:48
3 Frank Turner - The Corner 04:58 (Cory Branan)
4 Superchunk - Come Pick Me Up 04:00 (Ryan Adams, Van Alston)
5 Koji - East Jefferson 03:10 (Ben Weaver)
6 Great Crusades - Fake Out Jesus (Live) 03:12 (Danny Black, Gina Black)
7 Mike Watt - Up to My Neck in This 02:42 (Jon Langford)
8 Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers - Oh My Sweet Carolina 04:04 (Ryan Adams)
9 Jerry David DeCicca - Broken Bottle 03:41 (Alejandro Escovedo)
10 The Handsome Family - 1000 Dollar Car 04:20 (Brian Henneman)
11 Warm Soda - All Grown Up 02:27 (Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Phil Spector)
12 James Leg - Is That You in the Blue 03:14 (Dexter Romweber)
13 Two Gallants - Truck Driver 03:12 (Scott H. Biram)
14 Diarrhea Planet - Dry Land 03:05 (Waco Brothers)
15 Kevin Russell - All the Time 03:40 (Lydia Loveless)
16 The North Carolina Music Love - Stick to the Plan 05:25 (Graham Parker)
17 William Elliott Whitmore - I Wish I Was the Moon 02:41 (Neko Case, Jon Rauhouse)
18 Samuel Fogarino (of Interpol) - Liked It a Lot 03:50 (John Galway, Charlie Pickett)
**********
REVIEW/AMG
Mark Deming
Independent record labels are not always known for their longevity, so the mere fact Chicago's Bloodshot Records has managed to celebrate a 20th birthday is remarkable in itself. Even more impressive, though, is the fact Bloodshot has survived as a principled and artist-friendly label largely devoted to what was being called alt-country in 1994 (the label has always preferred the phrase "insurgent country"), a movement that produced many great acts but no major commercial breakthroughs. If Bloodshot's influence hasn't necessarily been broad, it's certainly proved to be deep, and on While No One Was Looking: Toasting 20 Years of Bloodshot Records, the label has thrown a grand birthday party by inviting 38 different acts to cover their favorite song from Bloodshot's catalog. It's probably significant that Bloodshot's biggest-selling album, Ryan Adams' Heartbreaker, spawned the most covers here (four), but the fact that lesser-knowns like the Meat Purveyors, Devil in a Woodpile, and the Blacks are shown some love confirms that the label's work frequently fell on the right ears, if not always the most ears. And if you want evidence that the label's staff know a good song when they hear one, the eclectic interpretations on While No One Was Looking reveal that nearly every tune here is a winner that can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Superchunk turn Adams' "Come Pick Me Up" into a big, noisy rocker without sacrificing its soul, Ted Leo's ghostly electronic interpretation of the Waco Brothers' "Dragging My Own Tombstone" is striking and powerful, Mike Watt gives Jon Langford & the Sadies' "Up to My Neck in This" an angular spin that suits his singular musical personality, the North Carolina Music Love Army embrace Graham Parker's "Stick to the Plan" with all the joy and bile that it deserves, Andrew Bird & Nora O'Connor conjure a version of Robbie Fulks' "I'll Trade You Money for Wine" that's even more doomstruck than the original, and Interpol's Samuel Fogarino radically reshapes Charlie Pickett's "Liked It a Lot" into a gloomy bit of goth-influenced electronic experimentation. Different listeners often find different things when they listen to a worthwhile album, and While No One Was Looking confirms plenty of folks heard fascinating things in the music Bloodshot has brought to the marketplace, it's a great listen that's full of fine surprises and passionate music. Now how about a follow-up in which Bloodshot artists cover one another's tunes?
