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Looking For Lewis And Clark: The Long Ryders Anthology
Long Ryders
Looking For Lewis And Clark: The Long Ryders Anthology
Genres: Country, Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock, Classic Rock
 
  •  Track Listings (20) - Disc #1
  •  Track Listings (20) - Disc #2

"If we'd been 10 years older or seven years younger," says founder Sid Griffin, "we'd have cracked it." Instead, the premier country-punk band of 1980s Los Angeles remains a cult favorite and a pioneering influence on coun...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Long Ryders
Title: Looking For Lewis And Clark: The Long Ryders Anthology
Members Wishing: 7
Total Copies: 0
Label: Polygram Records
Original Release Date: 7/21/1998
Release Date: 7/21/1998
Genres: Country, Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock, Classic Rock
Styles: Hardcore & Punk, Indie & Lo-Fi, Country Rock, Roots Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Number of Discs: 2
SwapaCD Credits: 2
UPC: 731455828023

Synopsis

Amazon.com
"If we'd been 10 years older or seven years younger," says founder Sid Griffin, "we'd have cracked it." Instead, the premier country-punk band of 1980s Los Angeles remains a cult favorite and a pioneering influence on countless alt-country musicians. Along with coleader Stephen McCarthy, Griffin forged a new path by fusing punk's energy with country's plainspoken honesty. This enlightening 40-song, two-CD collection includes cuts from each of their five albums and adds an assortment of B-sides, outtakes, and unreleased demos. High-powered riffs and urgent rhythms are tempered in various places by harmonica, banjo, lap steel, mandolin, Autoharp, and even poppy background vocals. The Ryders provide a crucial link between Gram Parsons and Uncle Tupelo. --Marc Greilsamer
 

CD Reviews

Great Collection of Songs from an Underappreciated Band
Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 01/11/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)

"The California music scene of the late-seventies and early eighties produced numerous roots-rockers: Rank and File, the Blasters, Dream Syndicate, the True Believers. One of the finest was was the Long Ryders, founded by Kentucky native and Gram Parsons devotee Sid Griffin.In the album's liner notes David Fricke says, "The Ryders sang about fading ideals and stubborn idealists...with a wide-angle vision of the American musical experience, one in which Stephen Foster, Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams, Gram Parsons, the Velvet Underground and the Ramones were not just equals but righteous brethren."This 2-disc release includes all 5 tracks from their debut EP 10-5-60, plus key selections from their three studio albums, along with live tracks, demos and b-sides from their all too short career."Looking for Lewis and Clark" is the single that should have broken the band to a wider audience. That single is included here in its extended 10" version along with the loving "If I Were a Bramble and You Were a Rose," a non-album b-side. [It would have been nice to include the other two non-album b-sides from that same single.]The combination of punk attitude, Parsons-era Byrds and Burrito Brothers and traditional country (they covered Mel Tillis' "Sweet Mental Revenge") made for some memorable and authentic music. Griffin and Stephen McCarthy were the bands principal songwriters and played guitars, autoharp, mandolin, harmonica, banjo and steel guitar."I beleived this band NEEDED to be here," says Griffin in the liner notes. "We needed to play this music. There wasn't anything pre-fab or dishonest about this band." And indeed there wasn't as the 40 tracks on this collection will attest to. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED"
A British view
Jeremy Robertson | Bradford-on-Avon, England | 01/18/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)

"For some reason, The Long Ryders always seemed more popular in the UK than the USA. I still remember hearing 'Looking for Lewis and Clark on breakfast radio and thinking "What a great riff!" I even managed to catch them live once, in a poorly attended nightclub gig in Bristol. This double CD brings it all back. From the early classics like Run Dusty Run through the material from State of our Union and beyond, every track is a gem. I was particular impressed with the unreleased demos - if these are demos, the final versions would have had a lot to live up to! The closing Neil Young cover "Prisoners of Rock'n'Roll" kind of sums up the band's career - locked in an unappreciative world, fighting against the forces of bland music!"
The Long Ryders rock the barn down!!
Jeremy Robertson | 04/18/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)

"With hits like "Gunslinger Man" and "And She Rides", the Long Ryders have always fed my intellectual appetite for country punk with intelligence."