No Depression: What It Sounds Like - Various Artists

"No Depression" isn't what country music's all about, of course, but once you listen to the music and read the CD insert, you'll understand where it comes from.

I always wondered where No Depression magazine got its name for music which is, often, highly depressing. Country music, or "alternative country" as has been forced on the realistic, gritty, rural folk music of the people, deals with real life and real situations and so often brings a tear or a tug to the heart. But the term is derived from the very roots of the genre, all the way back to the Carter Family "No Depression In Heaven." No matter what one's hard road, there is a reward at the end.

What actually IS depressing about this music is that it's generally unheard by a public who thinks they know what country music sounds like (hint: there is no one named "McGraw" or "Keith" on this collection.) Here is where you'll find the thundering voice of Johnny Cash singing "The Time Of The Preacher," a rare track Johnny did backed by musicians from Seattle's grunge scene (including Kim Thayil of Soundgarden). Here is Whiskeytown's deeply traditional "Faithless Street." Here Buddy Miller gives us his original, stripped-down and raw version of "Does My Ring Burn Your Finger?"

These are songs and performances which exemplify what country music really is and what it's all about. There's no depression in heaven, but there's plenty of depression here on Earth, especially when considering what's passing for country music doesn't include these artists.