Texas Outlaws Alaska

Texas Outlaws

Various Artists

Compadre Records, 2003

REVIEW BY: Sean McCarthy

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 12/09/2003

With the surge of MP3s and other forms of online downloading, CDsales have been taking a beating. Some say that if this trend takesits full course, there will be no such things as albums, justcollections of songs, available for the user to make his or her owncollection of tunes. While I remain optimistic, I have to admitthat with the rise of mass online swapping of music, the formatthat seems likely to be the first casualty is the compilationCD.

Who needs a compilation CD when you can just download all ofyour favorite artists of a particular genre to your hard drive?That option has not stopped Compadre records from releasing Texas Outlaws, a solid array of roots-centered songs fromsome of Texas' country and alt-country scene. The collection rangesfrom loyal covers (Roger Creager's dead-on cover of Steve Earle's"Guitar Town") to legends like the late, great Townes VanZandt.

Some could argue that compilations like Texas Outlaws are a quick and thrown-together attempt tocash in on a hot musical movement (alt-country). However, sinceartists like Steve Earle and Lucinda Williams aren't exactlyburning up the charts, it's hard to doubt the sincerity of Compadrerecords. Texas Outlaws gives listeners the chance to hear WillieNelson do a great duet with Lil' Black, but also gives the listenerto sample lesser-known, but definitely worth your ear talent likeCory Morrow's barren "The Preacher."

Texas Outlaws does contain some throwaway tracks. RecklessKelly does a fairly uninspired cover of "Rodeo Man" and Robert EarlKeen's "Whenever Kindness Fails" fails to register, even afterrepeated listens. Dale Watson's "In the Jailhouse Now" is too slickto do the original justice and John Evans' "Folsom Prison Blues" isone step up from an average karaoke version of Cash'smasterpiece.