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More Miles Than Money (Journeys Through American Music)

Various Artists
1 disc

0. DISC 1: TEQUILA SLAMMERS:
1. Castanets - Alejandro Escovedo
2. Hey Leroy (Your Mama's Calling You) - Jimmy Castor
3. Bidi Bidi Bom Bom - Selena
4. I Don't Know - Linda Lyndell (mono)
5. It's Alright - Bobby Rush
6. Traficantes De Michoacan, Los - Mariachi Los Gavilanes de Oakland
7. I Couldn't Spell !!*@! - Domingo "Sam" Samudio/Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs/The Pharoahs (mono)
8. Ain't That Livin' - Dale Watson (previously unreleased)
9. Standing On the Corner (Blue Yodel #9) - Jimmie Rodgers (mono)
10. Gimme a Pigfoot and a Bottle of Beer - Bessie Smith (mono)
11. Able Mable - Mable John (mono)
12. Nothing In Rambling - Memphis Minnie (mono)
13. Woman of the Ghetto - Marlena Shaw
14. Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay - The Dells
15. You Just Can't Beat Jesus Christ - Johnny Cash/Billy Joe Shaver
16. John Henry Blues - Furry Lewis
17. Turpentine - JJ Grey/Mofro
18. Down South - Big George Brock
19. Crazy Love Life - Pipestone
0. DISC 2: DISTILLED MOONSHINE:
1. Death Letter - Johnny Farmer/Organised Noize
2. Mother's Love, A - Charles Wright
3. Mighty Long Time - Sonny Boy Williamson (mono)
4. That's How Strong My Love is - The Keys/O.V. Wright (mono)
5. Didn't Know Love Was So Good - The Goodees
6. Mi Problema - Lydia Mendoza (mono)
7. Flying Shoes - Townes Van Zandt
8. How Far Down Can I Go - Lefty Frizzell
9. Astonished (In Memphis) - Giant Sand
10. Corn Grinding Song - Radmilla Cody
11. Pony - Diana Jones
12. Over the Hill - R.L. Burnside
13. I Gotta Keep On Moving - The Impressions
14. Every Now and Then - David Honeyboy Edwards/Carey Bell
15. Texas Hood Song - Kell Robertson (mono)
16. Sad Days, Lonely Nights - Junior Kimbrough
17. If I Had Wings - Shrive Alive/T-Model Ford
18. Sitting At Home Alone - Hound Dog Taylor
19. Ramblin' Man - Luke the Drifter (mono)
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Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): CDCH21266
Credits

Producer
Engineer
Liner Note Authors: Garth Cartwright; Tony Rounce.
Photographers: Colin Escott; Kell Robertson; Dave Peabody; Garth Cartwright; Todd V. Wolfson; Jimmy Castor; David Yeats; Tony Rounce.
Researched and written between 2006 and 2008, Garth Cartwright's book More Miles Than Money: Journeys Through American Music details his travels through the United States during that period. Cartwright sought out music in, as he writes in his introductory note to this compilation, "honky-tonks, juke joints and barrios," and this two-CD collection is a sort of audio companion piece to the book. It offers a very wide range of American roots music from the 1930s through the early 2000s, from rural blues and country to deep soul, electric blues, and mariachi. With artists like the Impressions, Hank Williams, Memphis Minnie, Jimmie Rodgers, Sonny Boy Williamson, Charles Wright, Lydia Mendoza, and Townes Van Zandt, it's hard not to achieve a respectable level of quality (though the decision to include Selena is open to question). At the same time, it covers so much ground that it's hard to imagine too many listeners heavily digging the program from beginning to end, and it must certainly help to be reading or have read the book, even though Cartwright and Tony Rounce supply thorough track-by-track annotation. Whatever your background, the chief attractions might be the lesser-noted cuts and performers, like the Goodees' little-known late-'60s white soul single "Didn't Know Love Was So Good," the young Jimmy Castor's 1966 single "Hey Leroy (Your Mama's Calling You)," or Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs' obscure swamp rock novelty "I Couldn't Spell !!*@!" These are the kinds of items, and from the era, in which the Ace label specializes. But there are plenty of more modern cuts from indie, blues, honky tonk, and roots rock artists, as well as a some Native American music, with Pipestone's "Crazy Love Life" powwow being one of the most interesting tracks. It's still a little more like hearing an eclectic radio program of roots music than a tight thematic compilation, so listeners are advised to have a very broad palette or be familiar with Cartwright's context to take full advantage of the contents. ~ Richie Unterberger
Critic Reviews

Mojo (Publisher) (p.118) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "With the inclusion of a traditional Navajo chant performed by Radmilla Cody and Spanish language Tejano pop from Selena, its far-reaching diversity is admirable."
Record Collector (magazine) (p.94) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "There's plenty of space for pioneering types, but not at the expense of modern-day performers committed to keeping bygone indigenous music alive..."