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Following the release of their marvelous 1995 disc Dog Days, Oxford, Mississippi, band Blue Mountain looked to be on the verge of becoming one of the cornerstone bands of alt-country. Their particular blend of roots-rock holds the kind of broad appeal that could potentially connect with an audience the size

When I was a kid, growing up in deepest South Texas, our family used to make an annual wintertime pilgrimage to Colorado to go skiing. My mental kinescope reel of those trips always renders them in stark black-and-white, a series of sensations as well as images -- landscapes covered in

West Coast roots-music pioneers Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen join forces once again with bluegrass/new acoustic titans Tony Rice and Larry Rice for a follow-up to their 1996 debut Out Of The Woodwork. Perhaps as the result of some touring, the foursome emerges as a more cohesive band, in

Cindy Bullens emerged in 1978 as something of a distaff Springsteen, fronting a rock band specializing in a dramatic, urban street mythos. Her muscular debut Desire Wire was a knockout, but its 1979 follow-up Steal The Night flagged noticeably, and Bullens pulled back to focus on songwriting and session work.

It's unfortunate that one of rock's most threadbare myths -- "great art is produced through great personal pain" -- is supported by so damn much compelling work. You don't have to scratch far beyond the surface of this cliche to turn up