Various Artists – Jukebox Cantina
Stu Baker, president of Hayden’s Ferry, tells me that Jukebox Cantina is “a reflection of what artists [and his label] are doing with alt.country/Americana” in dusty Arizona; fair enough, I think, and while I’m not versed enough in the rock-ier currents of that aggregation to guarantee that there aren’t any shamelessly derivative efforts here, it sounds to me as though things are pretty lively in that part of the country.
The album starts off with a hard-rocking “Indian Mile” from Tempe’s H.J. Robertson and ends with an equally jumping “Loving Kind” (in the same key, no less) by Norman Collins. Between these well-matched bookends, there’s a variety of music, ranging from acoustic country swing (Tucson’s Out Of The Blue) to Andy Tanas’ rockabilly-flavored workout “You Gotta Love Her”, but the disc concentrates mostly on permutations of roots-rock, country-rock, and stuff that once probably would have been called folk-rock. In short, a good, broad range of alt.country/Americana, just like Baker says, from the likes of the Ignitors, the Revenants, Grievous Angels and many more.
Given the geographic rather than stylistic organizing principle, it’s not surprising that there are a lot of different sounds here, which probably means that each listener will find his or her own favorites among the selections. Among mine were Stickman Jones’ ethereal “Simple” and the Burnlackers’ charging “Long Lonely Time”, both of which feature strong female singers (Annie Quick and Sarah Temple, respectively).
Still, there’s not a loser in the bunch, which doubtless says as much about Baker’s skill as a compiler as about the vitality of the Arizona scene. Chances are, anyone who picks up Jukebox Cantina will come away from a few listenings not only entertained, but with a list of albums to look for — which is, after all, the point of a sampler, isn’t it?