Strangers Almanac (Deluxe Edition)

iTunes Review

Ryan Adams and Caitlin Cary have since gone on to estimable solo careers, but for a brief flicker in the mid-90s the duo managed to work together as Whiskeytown, an alt-country band with roots in Gram Parsons, Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, and the Replacements. Stranger’s Almanac was their 1997 major label debut, after the head-turning indie release Faithless Street. The original album stands as a versatile 13-track collection that established them as virtual veterans (Adams was all of 22!) of the emerging Americana rock scene with several key selections (“Excuse Me While I Try to Break My Own Heart,” “Yesterday’s News,” “Turn Around“). The Deluxe Edition includes five previously unreleased public radio performances and the band’s pre-production demos (known in collectors’ circles as the Barn’s On Fire sessions) that include straight-forward interpretations of Johnny Cash’s “I Still Miss Someone,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” the True Believers’ “The Rain Won’t Help You When It’s Over” and Parsons’ “Luxury Liner” as well as stripped renditions of many key Almanac tracks.