Poor Little Knitter On The Road: A Tribute To The Knitters CD

The Knitters, a spin-off of the seminal punk band X that included original Blasters guitarist/songwriter Dave Alvin, were some young rock & roll fans' exposure to REAL country music. The style of the Knitters--both in their choice of covers and their originals--looked back to a time when country music was still known as "hillbilly," before it had acquired any sort of mainstream polish, when it was still a rough-hewn music about hard times. Here, a bunch of roots-oriented bands pay tribute to the Knitters and the songs they sang. The approaches range from the smooth yet eerily powerful version of Merle Haggard's "Silver Wings" from Whiskeytown to the soulful take on "Someone Like You" by Kelly Hogan to the rollicking honky-tonkin' "Love Shack" by the wonderfully Brenda Lee-like Anna Fermin. As a bonus, this collection concludes with a track from the re-formed Knitters, with original X guitarist Billy Zoom.

Includes liner notes by Rob Miller.

Producers include: Trailer Bride, Alan Weatherhead, Rob Gal, David Domanich, Scott Ramsayer.

Personnel: Vincent Martini (vocals, guitar, lap steel guitar); Travis Good (vocals, guitar, fiddle); Melissa Swingle (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Dallas Good, Danny Black (vocals, guitar); Nora O'Connor, Rhett Miller (vocals, acoustic guitar); Ryan Adams (vocals, electric guitar, Mellotron, drums); Mike Daly (vocals, dulcimer); Gina Black (vocals, upright bass); Rick "Cookin'" Sherry (vocals, bass drum); Kelly Hogan (vocals, background vocals); Exene Cervenka, Anna Fermin, John Doe , Kim Williams, Murry Hammond, Catherine Ann Irwin (vocals); George Goehl (guitar, banjo); Ken Bethea (guitar, accordion); Willie Wall, Sean Schroeder, Scott Goolsby (guitar); Robbie Fulks (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, background vocals); Todd Butler (steel guitar); Paul K. (National guitar); Johnny Ray Bartel (upright bass); Mike Bulington, D.J. Bonebrake, Brad Goolsby, James Emmenegger, Philip Peeples, Mike Belitsky (drums).

Liner Note Author: Rob Miller.

Recording information: Electric Audio, Chicago, IL.

Photographer: Gary Leonard.

Unknown Contributor Role: Dan Massey.Spin (12/99, p.232) - 7 out of 10 - "...The songs are campy-loose, and the performances sufficiently spirited, most notably 99 Tales' 'Baby Out of Jail'....It's one big 3.2 beer hootenanny...a squinting, post-punk Sunday-morning hangover that lingers - in this case, for 15 years."s