New reissue of Exile on Main Street

Jdoris, I agree "Exiles" is not the beginning of alt.country, but I think Tweedy & Farrar would agree it goes back to at least Gram Parsons, with The Byrds, "Sweetheart of the Rodeo," then The Flying Burrito Brothers (especially The Gilded Palace of Sin) and his solo stuff. Parsons "discovered" Emmylou Harris (which she still acknowledges)and she sings on his "solo" album, "Grievous Angel."

I don't think the fact that they are "pretty darn English" has much to do with Americana. There are plenty of Americana/alt country bands from all over the world in the Indie scene today. I think it would be pretty hard to trace the genre back to one record but I still hear this one as a pretty early example (hence my preface "roughly"!)...

I guess my main point...aside from expressing my love of the album...was to say it sounds quite like many of the current Americana/Alt Country bands I listen to.

Hell what do I know! Just a great album.

To points about alt/country influence, here is a bit on Gram Parsons's presence at Nellcote in '71.

http://theselvedgeyard.wordpress.com/2009/08/13/keith-richards-gram-parsons-1971-summer-in-exile-villa-nellcote/

The Brit invasion bands were of course magpies of American music forms.

I think some may be confusing Country with Alternative Country here.

While Exile certainly has more blues influence than Uncle Tupelo's 90's stuff, there is still some of that rock band paying country swag. We could probably come up with a bunch of artists/records that have that Americana feel from way before 1990...partly because we are probably old!

genre lines are always blurry, but loving cup, sweet virginia and torn and frayed are as country as it gets. gram parsons was hanging around the studio during the recording (and reportedly 86ed for misconduct), and his influence was obvious