Rural Free Delivery: Dissected

Well, first off, I think I was a bit confused as to the release date of Rural Free Delivery. For some reason I was sure it had been released before Faithless Street and was their first release altogether. That's wrong, though, according to Allmusic.com. It seems that Mood Food Records released FS in 1996 as #4 in its catalog, and RFD was released in 1997 as #8.

WTF? This really messes with my head. It explains a lot though -- RFD was the missing link between FS and Stranger's Almanac. That explains its maturity and the songwriting improvements... but... that doesn't explain the difference in the songs Faithless Street and Angels Are Messengers From God. Why re-release the title track of your last album again, but under a different name and with an inferior vocal track? I don't get it.

Ah ha! Reading a little further, it says that "Mood Food issued Rural Free Delivery, a compilation of early recordings, in 1997, the same year Whiskeytown completed their major-label debut, Stranger's Almanac." Now it all makes sense.

Anyway, here's the breakdown of Whiskeytown's Rural Free Delivery, track by beautiful track.

* Take Your Guns To Town - Classic Whiskeytown. Nothing much else to say... okay -- fast paced, upbeat. Not bad at all.

* Nervous Breakdown - A punk-rock cover done in upbeat, country style. Great great song!

* Tennessee Square - This song is the same as on Faithless Street, but better arranged and produced. I love the vocals on this song and the imagery of sitting on "the porch, drinkin' whiskey in Granddaddy's chair." Man, does it get more Americana than that? Damn!

* Captain Smith - The worst song on this album, but still fun in its own way. It seems that Ryan is trying to do some sort of satirical Gram Parsons voice over a hokey country ditty about sinking ships and the Titanic. I would say it flat-out sucked if it wasn't so catchy. Makes my toe tap.

* Macon, Georgia County Line - God, do the upbeat country stompers ever end on this album? NO! They just keep coming! This song has a "dance tent at the county fair" feel to it.

* Pawn Shop Ain't No Place For A Wedding Ring - This sad song has the signature "slow Whiskeytown ballad" sound all over it. Great sad song.

* Oklahoma - Never have I heard Whiskeytown sound closer to Uncle Tupelo than in this song. It features quick biting electric guitar chords and harsh vocal barks that stop abruptly into barely-there acoustic chords and high-pitched crooning and then back again. Jay Farrar anyone? A la I Got Drunk or Graveyard Shift? Great song! This is probably my favorite on this album.

* Angels Are Messengers From God - You know this one better as Faithless Street. And you know it's better as that version too. Besides Captain Smith, this is the weakest song on the album, simply because the definitive version has so much better vocals. You can tell they haven't quite figured out the phrasing on this one. They seem to hold notes too long, or too short, and his twang is a bit uneasy, especially on the classic "damn country band" line. The version on Faithless Street just leaves this earlier attempt in the dust.