Jason Ringenberg - Best Tracks and Side Tracks 1979-2007 (Jerkin Crocus) Given the distinctive trail blazed by the Scorchers and their contemporaries The Blasters in the early / mid eighties, it seems both unfair and astonishing that Jason Ringenberg, as with Dave Alvin, has been rewarded with so little mainstream status and success. This thirty track selection covering the post-Scorchers years details all phases of his solo career and charts the long journey from country-tinged punk to punk-tinged country. Disc One has twenty slabs of what the man himself holds to be his finest material including three selections each from “A Pocketful of Soul” (where he first found touch with his inner Hank Williams) and “All Over Creation”, and no fewer than seven from 2004’s “Empire Building”, including his epic folk sagas “Tuskegee Pride” and “Chief Joseph’s Last Dream”. Predictably this side is chocked full of nuggets including “Bible and a Gun” (with Steve Earle), “One Less Heartbreak” (with The Wildhearts) and a hillbilly run through of the classic “Broken Whisky Glass”. Disc Two is more of a curate’s egg featuring an assortment of the strange, deranged and re-arranged, some of which is frankly irritating but which will appeal in direct proportion to your previous interest and commitment to Jason as an artist. That said, it has enough high points to make it of passing interest to anyone drawn in by the “Best Of…” on its companion set. All in all this is undeniable value and indispensable for those who loved the Scorchers circa ’84, have enjoyed Jason’s regular solo live shows over the last decade, or for newcomers more familiar with younger Americana acts that have taken his influence clearly to heart. www.jasonringenberg.com Neil B.. Next Past Reviews: March 07, April 07, May 07, June/July 07, Sept/Oct 07, Dec07, Jan08, Feb 08, Mar 08