Best Tracks and Side Tracks 1979-2007

Sometimes timing is everything. Jason Ringenberg was alt.country before there was anything called alt.country. He began his career in the late ‘70s, achieving modest sales and critical respect in the 1980s with his group Jason and the Scorchers and by the 1990s was recording solo work that has never been recognized with the same hyperbole that’s greeted newcomers showcasing his influence such as Ryan Adams, Jeff Tweedy or Jay Farrar. Ringenberg’s soldiered on and this collection of highlights, obscure b-sides and outtakes provides a handy introduction to let people know what they’ve missed. His voice is a genuine country one, as recognizable as Dwight Yoakam in its honky-tonk purity. Several 2007 re-recordings (“Shop It Around,” “The Life of the Party,” “Broken Whiskey Glass”) join Ringenberg’s official releases from the past decade where he was joined by Steve Earle for “Bible and a Gun,” Webb Wilder for “Moose on the Loose” and his pre-Scorchers band Shakespeare’s Riot for “Help There’s A Fire.” With 30 tracks collected, it’s time for alt.country audiences to catch up.