Chris Whitley Weed Rar
Sad to hear the news that
This mix has my three favorite Chris Whitley albums. It starts with his 1991 debut, Living with the Law, followed by his acoustic Dirt Floor (1998), and ends with his 2001 'rock comeback,' the DMB-aided Rocket House.
Living with the Law is such a lost classic rock album, even I forget about it sometimes. Produced by Daniel Lanois protege/engineer, Malcom Burn, the record introduced Whitley as a great singer/songwriter and an innovative guitarist who mixed acoustic dobro slide riffs into modern rock anthems like 'Big Sky Country,' 'Kick them Stones' and the title track. It also captured that spooky Americana sound Burn & Lanois brought to their work with the Neville Brothers, Bob Dylan and Robbie Robertson, as well as the most-important-album-ever sound of U2's Joshua Tree and Peter Gabriel's So.
As much as Living with the Law deserved to be the big mainstream hit it never was, you can't blame Columbia for not trying. While I was working for Sony Music years later, I learned that one of Columbia's top execs truly believed this was one of the greatest records ever made, and thought this could be their alt-rock smash while Nirvana was breaking. It was everyone's priority, but it just didn't happen.
I'll admit Chris Whitley wasn't always great, but at least he consistently challenged his fans, as well as himself. His grungier records (Din of Ecstasy and Terra Icognita) were a bit too much for me, and by the late 90s, I gave up on him. Then I heard his solo acoustic Dirt Floor at a listening post one day in the now defunct WTC Borders. I regained faith that peaked once more in 2001 with Rocket House. It's tracks (especially the Dave Matthews duet 'Radar')brilliantly blended all the bluesy riffs, dissonance and beautiful melodies within him.
I heard he's been sick for a while, though I'm not sure what was the cause of death. Maybe he knew his time was running out, because he was very prolific in his last years, releasing four CDs since 2003. If you like Living With the Law, check out Weed - a 2003 collection of solo acoustic versions of songs from his Columbia years.
Someday, Chris, I wanna see you in the Big Sky Country. Until then, thanks for the music.
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Chris Whitley died today at 45.This mix has my three favorite Chris Whitley albums. It starts with his 1991 debut, Living with the Law, followed by his acoustic Dirt Floor (1998), and ends with his 2001 'rock comeback,' the DMB-aided Rocket House.
Living with the Law is such a lost classic rock album, even I forget about it sometimes. Produced by Daniel Lanois protege/engineer, Malcom Burn, the record introduced Whitley as a great singer/songwriter and an innovative guitarist who mixed acoustic dobro slide riffs into modern rock anthems like 'Big Sky Country,' 'Kick them Stones' and the title track. It also captured that spooky Americana sound Burn & Lanois brought to their work with the Neville Brothers, Bob Dylan and Robbie Robertson, as well as the most-important-album-ever sound of U2's Joshua Tree and Peter Gabriel's So.
As much as Living with the Law deserved to be the big mainstream hit it never was, you can't blame Columbia for not trying. While I was working for Sony Music years later, I learned that one of Columbia's top execs truly believed this was one of the greatest records ever made, and thought this could be their alt-rock smash while Nirvana was breaking. It was everyone's priority, but it just didn't happen.
I'll admit Chris Whitley wasn't always great, but at least he consistently challenged his fans, as well as himself. His grungier records (Din of Ecstasy and Terra Icognita) were a bit too much for me, and by the late 90s, I gave up on him. Then I heard his solo acoustic Dirt Floor at a listening post one day in the now defunct WTC Borders. I regained faith that peaked once more in 2001 with Rocket House. It's tracks (especially the Dave Matthews duet 'Radar')brilliantly blended all the bluesy riffs, dissonance and beautiful melodies within him.
I heard he's been sick for a while, though I'm not sure what was the cause of death. Maybe he knew his time was running out, because he was very prolific in his last years, releasing four CDs since 2003. If you like Living With the Law, check out Weed - a 2003 collection of solo acoustic versions of songs from his Columbia years.
Someday, Chris, I wanna see you in the Big Sky Country. Until then, thanks for the music.