The Soundtrack To Garth Cartwright's Book

Rating

Album: The Soundtrack To Garth Cartwright's Book: More Miles Than Money
#	Song Title		Time
	Disc 1
1)	Castanets	More Info...
2)	Hey Leroy (Your Mama's Calling You)	More Info...
3)	Bidi Bidi Bom Bom	More Info...
4)	I Don't Know	More Info...
5)	It's Alright	More Info...
6)	Los Traficantes De Michoacan	More Info...
7)	I Couldn't Spell !!*@!	More Info...
8)	Ain't That Livin'	More Info...
9)	Standing On the Corner (Blue Yodel #9)	More Info...
10)	Gimme a Pigfoot and a Bottle of Beer	More Info...
11)	Able Mable	More Info...
12)	Nothing in Rambling	More Info...
13)	Woman of the Ghetto	More Info...
14)	Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay	More Info...
15)	You Just Can't Beat Jesus Christ	More Info...
16)	John Henry	More Info...
17)	Turpentine	More Info...
18)	Down South	More Info...
19)	Crazy Love Life	More Info...

Album: The Soundtrack To Garth Cartwright's Book: More Miles Than Money
#	Song Title		Time
	Disc 1
1)	Castanets	More Info...
2)	Hey Leroy (Your Mama's Calling You)	More Info...
3)	Bidi Bidi Bom Bom	More Info...
4)	I Don't Know	More Info...
5)	It's Alright	More Info...
6)	Los Traficantes De Michoacan	More Info...
7)	I Couldn't Spell !!*@!	More Info...
8)	Ain't That Livin'	More Info...
9)	Standing On the Corner (Blue Yodel #9)	More Info...
10)	Gimme a Pigfoot and a Bottle of Beer	More Info...
11)	Able Mable	More Info...
12)	Nothing in Rambling	More Info...
13)	Woman of the Ghetto	More Info...
14)	Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay	More Info...
15)	You Just Can't Beat Jesus Christ	More Info...
16)	John Henry	More Info...
17)	Turpentine	More Info...
18)	Down South	More Info...
19)	Crazy Love Life	More Info...

Performer Notes

Liner Note Authors: Garth Cartwright; Tony Rounce.
Photographers: Colin Escott; Kell Robertson; Dave Peabody; Garth Cartwright; Todd V. Wolfson; Jimmy Castor; David Yeats; Tony Rounce.
Researched and written between 2006 and 2008, Garth Cartwright's book More Miles Than Money: Journeys Through American Music details his travels through the United States during that period. Cartwright sought out music in, as he writes in his introductory note to this compilation, "honky-tonks, juke joints and barrios," and this two-CD collection is a sort of audio companion piece to the book. It offers a very wide range of American roots music from the 1930s through the early 2000s, from rural blues and country to deep soul, electric blues, and mariachi. With artists like the Impressions, Hank Williams, Memphis Minnie, Jimmie Rodgers, Sonny Boy Williamson, Charles Wright, Lydia Mendoza, and Townes Van Zandt, it's hard not to achieve a respectable level of quality (though the decision to include Selena is open to question). At the same time, it covers so much ground that it's hard to imagine too many listeners heavily digging the program from beginning to end, and it must certainly help to be reading or have read the book, even though Cartwright and Tony Rounce supply thorough track-by-track annotation. Whatever your background, the chief attractions might be the lesser-noted cuts and performers, like the Goodees' little-known late-'60s white soul single "Didn't Know Love Was So Good," the young Jimmy Castor's 1966 single "Hey Leroy (Your Mama's Calling You)," or Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs' obscure swamp rock novelty "I Couldn't Spell !!*@!" These are the kinds of items, and from the era, in which the Ace label specializes. But there are plenty of more modern cuts from indie, blues, honky tonk, and roots rock artists, as well as a some Native American music, with Pipestone's "Crazy Love Life" powwow being one of the most interesting tracks. It's still a little more like hearing an eclectic radio program of roots music than a tight thematic compilation, so listeners are advised to have a very broad palette or be familiar with Cartwright's context to take full advantage of the contents. ~ Richie Unterberger

Professional Reviews

Mojo (Publisher) (p.118) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "With the inclusion of a traditional Navajo chant performed by Radmilla Cody and Spanish language Tejano pop from Selena, its far-reaching diversity is admirable."

Record Collector (magazine) (p.94) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "There's plenty of space for pioneering types, but not at the expense of modern-day performers committed to keeping bygone indigenous music alive..."