Three examples spring to mind, immediately
The Band's second album. For me, this is their best collection of songs and studio performances. Music From Big Pink sounds less artistically mature and Stage Fright is disappointingly inconsistent (attributed by R. Robertson to the impact of drug use), both in terms of performances and material. Although others will disagree, I'd assert this is the best Americana album ever made, despite the fact that most of the members were Canadian.
Hendrix: "First Rays of the New Rising Sun"...for my taste, songs such as Night Bird, Angel, Drifting, Freedom, Straight Ahead, etc. constitute his artistic peak. With the incense and Patchouli cleared away, what is left is a more focused, grounded, mature artist. His ability to structure compositions with multiple guitar parts is stunning and the music comes across as much more direct and personal.
G. Dead: Europe '72. The musicianship speaks for itself. I could never be a deadhead-- the band's maddening inconsistency drives me nuts-- but fair's fair, even allowing for the fact that they went back and overdubbed the vocals. And this "Americana" phase in their songwriting is my favorite. They were mining a very similar vein as The Band and that's a very good thing, indeed.
