Bottle Rockets and the Brooklyn Side

“Alt-country” was a term that emerged long after some bands accidentally jumpstarted a new genre in the '80s (among them Rank & File, The Blasters, The Long Ryders, and Jason & The Scorchers). By the time these first two Bottle Rockets albums showed up in the '90s, the only thing that mattered was that these gentlemen rocked hard and played music that was pleasing to ears that loved everything from George Jones to The Ramones. (1995 saw No Depression magazine take off, and bands such as Uncle Tupelo and Whiskeytown had a home.) Twenty years after The Bottle Rockets’ 1993 self-titled debut album, their first two studio records are reissued, with extensive bonus tracks and several demos that further blur the band's history. Uncle Tupelo’s Jeff Tweedy (now in Wilco) and Jay Farrar (now in Son Volt) join the Rockets’ Brian Henneman on 1991 demos for “Indianapolis,” “Manhattan Countryside,” and “Idiot’s Revenge.” The narratives are as engrossing as the melodies, from “Gas Girl,” “Trailer Mama,” and “Got What I Wanted” to “Welfare Music” and “1000 Dollar Car.” Essential.