Poor Little Knitter on the Road
In 1985, LA punks John Doe, Exene Cervenka, and D.J. Bonebrake from X, Dave Alvin from the Blasters, and stand-up bassist Johnny Ray Bartel–all of whom had what in those days and in that scene was considered a literal weakness for country music–formed the Knitters, a band that paid homage to Merle Haggard, the Carter Family, and other country icons for the sheer fun of it, a la the Waco Brothers. Unlike the Wacos the Knitters recorded just one album, Poor Little Critter on the Road, mixing a handful of twangy originals with the covers, then faded back into X, with Alvin replacing guitarist Billy Zoom.
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More specifically, it presaged the subsector of alt-country known as “insurgent country”–a term embraced by the Chicagoans who founded Bloodshot Records five years ago with the various-artists compilation For a Life of Sin, whose cover featured a painting of Hank Williams by Mekon and Waco Brother Jon Langford. The label went on to release about 40 full-length albums and has a roster of a dozen or so active artists, but owners Rob Miller and Nan Warshaw are still paying off debts to the people they credit with opening their eyes to the pleasures of twang.
But if you’re a seasoned scene watcher, you may be disappointed with these bands’ failure to challenge expectations. What better opportunity than a one-off cover to test a new direction or tweak an old sound? The majority of the local contributions sound great but lack ambition. Leadbelly’s “Rock Island Line”–as done by Devil in a Woodpile and the Texas Rubies’ Jane Baxter Miller, with all the good humor of the band’s debut album–is the least nettlesome; Devil in a Woodpile is more or less a cover band anyway. The Handsome Family’s mournful take on the Delmore Brothers classic “Trail of Time,” on the other hand, is a bit of a letdown. Brett and Rennie Sparks single-handedly established a weird, wonderful niche that might be called goth country, but they now seem content to merely continue occupying it.
The average tribute album pays simple homage to a collective influence; successful tribute albums reveal something about both the subject and those paying homage. By these standards Poor Little Knitter on the Road is successful, but not the way you’d think–it reminds us that change is as essential to alt-country as it was to punk, that music that stops moving is in danger of sinking under its own weight.
